Do You Use a Surface Pad or a Cloth to Do Your Readings On?

[RickInBakersfield]

I used to use a fancy cloth that I got from eBay to do my readings on.

 

But my primary way of mixing the cards is riffle shuffling the cards, however I noticed that the cloth would move around on the tabletop when I did that.

 

So, I switched to a jewelers' display pad, but I found the pad wasn't thick enough or big enough to do the layout on.

 

Then I found the perfect solution - The Magicians close-up pad. It makes riffle shuffling easier and they come in different sizes. I have two of them, a red one 11 X 16 which is perfect for my monthly coffee shop gig in which I do three card spreads. And my big pad which I do my regular layout of the cards on 16 X 23 black pad.

 

Standard Close-Up Pad 11X16 (Black) by Murphy's Magic Supplies

 

Just curious, do you use a surface pad or a cloth to do your readings on?

 

Rick,

Edited January 12 by RickInBakersfield
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[Raggydoll]

43 minutes ago, RickInBakersfield said:

I used to use a fancy cloth that I got from eBay to do my readings on.

 

But my primary way of mixing the cards is riffle shuffling the cards, however I noticed that the cloth would move around on the tabletop when I did that.

 

So, I switched to a jewelers' display pad, but I found the pad wasn't thick enough or big enough to do the layout on.

 

Then I found the perfect solution - The Magicians close-up pad. It makes riffle shuffling easier and they come in different sizes. I have two of them, a red one 11 X 16 which is perfect for my monthly coffee shop gig in which I do three card spreads. And my big pad which I do my regular layout of the cards on 16 X 23 black pad.

 

Standard Close-Up Pad 11X16 (Black) by Murphy's Magic Supplies

 

Just curious, do you use a surface pad or a cloth to do your readings on?

 

Rick,

I have some fabric table mats that I will use for readings. They stay put and work well with my favorite small decks. 

[katrinka]

13 hours ago, RickInBakersfield said:

 

Just curious, do you use a surface pad or a cloth to do your readings on?

Hardly ever. I riffle off the table, like this, so there's no pad needed:

 

 

And I only consider spread cloths necessary for reading on less-than-spotless surfaces, like on the fly readings in public places. Other than that, I just use them if I'm taking a photo and I'm trying to spiff things up. And then only rarely.

But that's just me. I'll lay cards virtually anywhere, like on these shearling boots that I stuffed with paper in preparation for putting them away last spring. 




 

[DanielJUK]

One of the old tarot superstitions is about wrapping the deck in silk or a fabric and laying the cards down on some sort of fabric. Plenty of books before around 2000, had these instructions and the belief that outside energies could ruin your readings with the deck. It was spiritually protective.

 

If that works for you and is in your ritual, good for you. I think there is no need to do it now to protect the energies of the deck. There are practical reasons to lay them on something, like keeping the cards clean or protecting them physically.

 

I am fairly relaxed about it, and will sometimes lay them on any surface but I like to have a reading cloth under my cards with a spread. Especially taking a photo of the reading to send to my querents, it looks nicer! A tarot friend sells fabric bags and cloths and so I buy velvet reading cloths in different colours. So I do use a cloth, mostly 🙂 .

 

Some decks recently had gorgeous matching silk or silk-like reading cloths as accessories, really cool!

[Arkana]

I use a plain white soft cotton cloth to cover the whole table when reading the cards. At first I wanted to buy something fancy, like a starry sky or something, but now I realise that what I use is enough for the purpose and I do not need anything else. The background is also good if I need to send a picture of the spread.

[gregory]

I make sure the table (or couch, or whatever) is clean. That's it.

[Misterei]

On 1/12/2025 at 9:58 AM, RickInBakersfield said:

... pad which I do my regular layout of the cards on 16 X 23 black pad.

Standard Close-Up Pad 11X16 (Black) by Murphy's Magic Supplies

Interesting, I never knew such mats existed! I'm temped to get one - but it might be too small for my longer client readings which tend to use a lot of cards.

 

When I worked in a shop I always brought my own tablecloth and oya yazma scarf b/c I wanted something w/ *my* vibes [other readers also used the table]. I love the traditional Turkish floral yazma designs and oya lace. Although we're Greek, my grandmother made crochet oya and the scarf motifs are similar in Greek culture too. But nowadays I almost always take photos of the spreads so the yazma is maybe too busy for photos. At times I still like it as a folkloric maximalist aestheric 😇 

 

I like to lay directly on my own clean table as best for photos, but the hard surface is difficult to fan the cards and to pick them up after. To solve that problem, I use a poly velvet fabric.  It's a pleasant teal color that matches the room decor and does a similar function as the mat you use. For myself I often lay cards on my bedspread since Im relaxing and the bed is the largest flat surface. But the cats think this is a game and get involved which negates the benefit of the bedspread as a good surface. 😉

Edited January 15 by Misterei

[Morwenna]

When I was reading in public I tried out various table covers. Bottom layer was always a tablecloth of some sort (actually my favorite was a madras striped bedspread), and topped with something more decorative. I started with a floral-bordered shawl, but I had to give that up because it was outdoors in September and all the bees thought the flowers were real. 😮 Then I went to a pastel silk topper. That was OK except it tended to blow around, so I started weighing down the corners. That worked! 

 

But since then I've been collecting cotton or cotton blends in small or subtle prints. A yard or a little more square is just about right. It's even better if you double the fabric, or back it with a different piece, maybe a coordinating solid. That gives it enough weight. If you really want to go crazy, add tassels to the corners! 

Edited April 11 by Morwenna

[katrinka]

It's gotten to where you can usually tell if a person can read cards or not by...well, contrast this prettied-up faux reading:

https://youtube.com/shorts/-sg93yXmttY?si=Pigwz7XZTrihI6aR

with Moderately Quick Silver, a very GOOD reader, and his bandanas:

 

Really, don't worry about nice cloths and a bunch of swag on the table. It only makes you look like you don't know what you're doing.

Edited April 11 by katrinka

[Ferrea]

1 hour ago, katrinka said:

It's gotten to where you can usually tell if a person can read cards or not by...well, contrast this prettied-up faux reading:

https://youtube.com/shorts/-sg93yXmttY?si=Pigwz7XZTrihI6aR
 

 

Holy cannelloni! I don't know if that's funny or troubling. Like imposing tariffs on islands populated by penguins.

[Ferrea]

I like to have a nice fabric under my cards. Thick linen or velvet. I'm such a sensitive snowflake that I even got some IKEA cork placemats to put underneath, just to muffle the noise when I bounce the deck while shuffling.

[Nemia]

I love textiles and have a number of cloths and shawls I that I use for readings, but often, I simply put the cards on the table. Now that I think about it... I have reduced ritual over the years. 

[Natural Mystic Guide]

typically, I do not use a spread cloth.  I like a plain, clean table surface.  Always I use an altar cloth with my portable altar very close to where I am doing the readings.

 

It's mostly a matter of aesthetics.  I'm highly sensitive.  To work for me, a spread cloth would have to be:  natural fiber; beautiful and not busy -- no patterns.  I have not encountered a cloth like this, so I don't use one.  I have some cloths that came with decks.  Sometimes I will use one with the deck it came with.  Most of these are not natural fiber though so they give me the heeby jeebies.  Keep it simple.  Do not distract from the cards themselves.

[katrinka]

Why not get a square yard or so of linen or cotton from a fabric store, like this?

[Nemia]

Oh, fabrics are beautiful, and you can embroider or paint on them. Makes me want to take out my old needles again...

 

If it doesn't have to be fabric - I have turned an old art calendar into spread maps for my favourite spreads. I made these maps many years ago for a party with tarot content, and they were a great hit. I have kept them, and from time to time, I use them. I made nicer spread maps for my four Signposts of the Year readings (two equinoces, two solstices). 

 

  

 

 

   

 

I stole the diagram on the last spread map ruthlessly from the creators of the Wooden Tarot - when I wanted to buy it, it was sold out, so I made my own, simply on good paper. 

 

Using something handmade "elevates" everything, but as the years have passed, I get more and more slippers-and-pipe with my readings. I don't know whether that's a good or a bad sign. 

[DanielJUK]

Often fabric shops like @katrinka mentioned and Haberdashers (British term version - dressmaking accessories) often have waste scraps of fabric. You can often pick up bits of velvet (they can be natural or not) to use as reading cloths. When I was starting out, I got a piece of blue velvet that I used to wrap my first deck in (I believed the superstitions in the books I was reading then 😄 ) and also I made a reading cloth from it. You can line them and make them thicker if you have skills in the area. They gave me a large lot of velvet which was just an off cut and was going to be thrown away and then wouldn't take any payment for it 🥰

[katrinka]

Thrift stores can be a good place to find fabrics, too. Have a look at tablecloths and the bed linens. You never know what you'll find. There are whole youtube channels where people make pricey-looking clothing from repurposed, thrifted fabric. It should be fairly easy to find something for a spread cloth.

[borderless]

I have a nice smaller cane pad I really loved for this, ideal for reading up to 5 cards. I've stopped using it since I started fearing the slightly sharper cane might microdamage the cards, a pad is supposed to protect them, duh.

Now I got some ugly thin yet larger piece of cotton fabric, cut-off from an old bed sheet or something. It does the job and I very often use it, alone or over a dishcloth, depending on the surface. Sometimes I wrap the deck inside it too if I know I'll be using it again soon enough and I don't feel like putting it back to its pouch or cardboard packaging.

Sometimes I just downright lay cards on my bed. It's almost like bed sheets are a thing for me now, lol.

Every time I think about buying a fancier cloth or pad, I always deduce I'm better off buying another deck instead. I might invest into something nice and purpose-made eventually, but fabric shops and thrift stores you guys mention sound like a perfect idea.

[heaven]

It depends. I sometimes read on my couch cushion or coffee table. I have a few decks that don't like to be read without laying on a cloth and they make that very clear lol. If I need the space, I'll use the carpet.

 

I'll read for myself on my bed, but I avoid doing client readings on that surface.

[FindYourSovereignty]

It isn't a ritual or anything, but I do find i usually lay down a cloth. A friend of mine made it for me and I have it right with the decks Imam currently working with so it is readily available. I do think it has saved me a few times from unexpected water or debris on the surface I am using.

[Elaina]

On 4/11/2025 at 12:16 AM, katrinka said:

It's gotten to where you can usually tell if a person can read cards or not by...well, contrast this prettied-up faux reading:

https://youtube.com/shorts/-sg93yXmttY?si=Pigwz7XZTrihI6aR

 

I used this fabric print to make the bed spread and bed curtains. Mine is jacquard and not metallic.  Except for the fact that everything else is solid in the room, it would be overwhelming.

 

I use them when I do readings for others, but it depends on where. I made all mine.  One is black silk velvet and beaded trim, I've got blue, red and green with coins, lace. If I read at a Ren Faire I tend to do full on movie set. Other than that,  I lay them out on my cutting table.