Decks that are nearly impossible to shuffle

[Chariot]

Aaargh.  I was just trying to use a deck I've owned for a while, but never use.  I was reminded of why.  It's The Light Seer's Tarot.  The cards' matte finish and thick card stock makes them cling together.  I can't shuffle them.  Is there any edition that doesn't have this issue? 

I have one other deck that I LOVE, but never use for the same reason: Poppy Palin's The Everyday Enchantment Tarot—again with the matte finish.  I've even tried magicians' dust on this one, and nope ...not only does the dust get everywhere, but the effects don't last.

Have any of you experienced this issue?  Or is it only me?

[FindYourSovereignty]

41 minutes ago, Chariot said:

Aaargh.  I was just trying to use a deck I've owned for a while, but never use.  I was reminded of why.  It's The Light Seer's Tarot.  The cards' matte finish and thick card stock makes them cling together.  I can't shuffle them.  Is there any edition that doesn't have this issue? 

I have one other deck that I LOVE, but never use for the same reason: Poppy Palin's The Everyday Enchantment Tarot—again with the matte finish.  I've even tried magicians' dust on this one, and nope ...not only does the dust get everywhere, but the effects don't last.

Have any of you experienced this issue?  Or is it only me?

 

The Kickstarter edition is thick, matte card stock that is miserable, imo, to shuffle. The Hay House edition was a good shuffler when it was first released. I don't know if that has changed.

 

[Chariot]

11 minutes ago, FindYourSovereignty said:

 

The Kickstarter edition is thick, matte card stock that is miserable, imo, to shuffle. The Hay House edition was a good shuffler when it was first released. I don't know if that has changed.

 

Which deck do you mean?  The Light Seer's or the Everyday Enchantment?  My Light Seer's IS the Hay House Edition. 😞 It's like a brick that occasionally splinters.

The Everyday Enchantment Tarot that I own (which I can only find in this version) seems to be published by Shiffler Books.  I  have got rid of the box, as it was bulky, and have lodged the cards in a smaller box, so I don't have the original box any more.

[DanielJUK]

The deck publishers cannot win with us, we all moaned when the cards had that plastification finish, with the weird smell and that came about because we complained the cards before that were so flimsy, they would bend and warp in time. Now they are thicker and matte and we are still not happy

 

I think they probably got rid of a lot of that laminate finish, due to social views changing about plastic being in everything.

The linen finish on cards and no borders, is honestly some of the best finishes we have had. I get some are super thick though and that makes it hard to shuffle.

[Chariot]

7 minutes ago, DanielJUK said:

The deck publishers cannot win with us, we all moaned when the cards had that plastification finish, with the weird smell and that came about because we complained the cards before that were so flimsy, they would bend and warp in time. Now they are thicker and matte and we are still not happy

 

I think they probably got rid of a lot of that laminate finish, due to social views changing about plastic being in everything.

The linen finish on cards and no borders, is honestly some of the best finishes we have had. I get some are super thick though and that makes it hard to shuffle.

Yeah, I suppose there is no deck that will satisfy everybody.  But for me, being unable to shuffle due to the cards sticking together is a game-changer.  I particularly LOVE the Poppy Palin deck ...it would become my favourite deck if I could shuffle it.  But it just stubbornly sticks together.  So I am reduced to looking at the cards and wishing I could actually use them.  Bummer.  

The oracle decks I've bought from Phil and Jacqui Lovesey here in the UK (The Matlock the Hare series) are large, matte-finish, and beautifully shuffle-able. I've also never had a problem with The Druidcraft Tarot either ...also, I believe, UK - produced.  The Druidcraft is actually VERY large, and I've trimmed it for size. But the card surfaces are matte, and shuffle well.  But these other two decks I mentioned?  Nope.  It's not the size, it's the finish.

Edited August 15 by Chariot

[gregory]

Fanning powder.

 

Just saying.

[FindYourSovereignty]

1 hour ago, Chariot said:

Which deck do you mean?  The Light Seer's or the Everyday Enchantment?  My Light Seer's IS the Hay House Edition. 😞 It's like a brick that occasionally splinters.

 

Light Seer's. I have the indie deck, but also had pre-ordered the first HH editions that were good shufflers. However, there were issues with that print run and they did it again so maybe the cardstock changed.

 

As @gregory shares, I've had pretty good results with the fanning powder that @katrinka recommended.

 

Did HH publish an Everyday Enchantment edition?  

 

[FindYourSovereignty]

1 hour ago, DanielJUK said:

I think they probably got rid of a lot of that laminate finish, due to social views changing about plastic being in everything.

 

And let us not forget TarotTube that cannot show off the cards if they are reflecting back to the camera. 🤩😊

 

I love the linen, no border decks - when they aren't too thick or stiff. 😍

[Chariot]

2 hours ago, gregory said:

Fanning powder.

 

Just saying.

I got some to use on the Everyday Enchantment deck a while back. At first it worked, although it was messy to use. But then the cards started sticking again, once the powder wore off.  😞

[gregory]

So use it again ! It's cheap.

[geoxena]

I don't have a problem shuffling my Light Seer's deck (HH version), but it happens differently.  Yes, the deck is somewhat stiff.  I riffle shuffle, and I can bend this deck the first way, but then the cards slide together before I can bend it back the second way.  Know what I mean?  So, for me, they're actually kind of slippery, not sticky, but I think that is due to their thickness and stiffness, not the finish.

 

The one deck I had problems shuffling is the 25th Anniversary edition of the Zerner-Farber deck, AKA The Enchanted Tarot, or whatever else they're calling it now.  The cards were too long, and I mean super long!  I was so frustrated by trying to shuffle them!  I have large hands and have always been able to shuffle larger-sized decks, even the Tarot de Paris, but I couldn't extend my fingers enough to grab the tops and bottoms of the cards in the Z-F deck at all.  So, I couldn't do an overhand either, if held horizontally.  I tried overhand while holding the cards vertically, but that made shuffling awkward and sloppy.  I had to trim them and then write the names of the cards on the bottom.  That's also the only deck I ever trimmed, but it was necessary.  However, it made me resent that deck and I rarely ever want to use it.

 

 

 

Edited August 15 by geoxena

[Chariot]

4 hours ago, gregory said:

So use it again ! It's cheap.

My original gripe is more about the cards clumping together in the first place, rather than looking for ways to get around the issue.  I didn't like using the dust because it not only got dust all over my tarot cloth, but the relative ease of shuffling didn't last for more than a couple of readings.  I still have plenty of the powder left ...cost has never been an issue. 

 I quoted two examples of large cards printed here in the UK that are really easy to handle, despite the matte finish.  I'm wondering if the printing process here in the UK is different, as both of the 'sticky' decks I mentioned were published in the US.  Dunno.  

 

That being said, I have many many decks published in the USA that are fine.  My two latest acquisitions, the Dreaming Way Tarot and the Allcento Tarot are both manufactured by US Games Systems, and printed in China.  The Allcento Tarot has a very smooth matte finish that is a dream to handle.  The Dreaming Way is also easy to handle, although it has a slightly more glossy finish.

I would be less annoyed about the clumping if I didn't love The Everyday Enchantment Tarot so much.  😞

Edited August 15 by Chariot

[Chariot]

1 hour ago, geoxena said:

I don't have a problem shuffling my Light Seer's deck (HH version), but it happens differently.  Yes, the deck is somewhat stiff.  I riffle shuffle, and I can bend this deck the first way, but then the cards slide together before I can bend it back the second way.  Know what I mean?  So, for me, they're actually kind of slippery, not sticky, but I think that is due to their thickness and stiffness, not the finish.

 

The one deck I had problems shuffling is the 25th Anniversary edition of the Zerner-Farber deck, AKA The Enchanted Tarot, or whatever else they're calling it now.  The cards were too long, and I mean super long!  I was so frustrated by trying to shuffle them!  I have large hands and have always been able to shuffle larger-sized decks, even the Tarot de Paris, but I couldn't extend my fingers enough to grab the tops and bottoms of the cards in the Z-F deck at all.  So, I couldn't do an overhand either, if held horizontally.  I tried overhand while holding the cards vertically, but that made shuffling awkward and sloppy.  I had to trim them and then write the names of the cards on the bottom.  That's also the only deck I ever trimmed, but it was necessary.  However, it made me resent that deck and I rarely ever want to use it.

 

 

 

Oh, interesting.  I just looked up the Zerner-Farber deck, and it is published by Schiffer ...the same company that does The Everyday Enchantment Tarot.  Hmmm.  Maybe Schiffer should pay a bit more attention to the card size, stock and handling properties?  A shame, because the cards in both decks are fantastic to look at.  Bummer.  The Everyday Enchantment Tarot cards were also too large for me to handle, but I trimmed them ...and so size is no longer an issue for me.  Just that danged clingy surface....

[geoxena]

40 minutes ago, Chariot said:

I just looked up the Zerner-Farber deck, and it is published by Schiffer

 

The 25th Anniversary deck I have was published in 2017 by Race Point Publishing, which is maybe why they renamed it The Enchanted Tarot.  I bought mine in Barnes & Noble back in 2019.  The guidebook's copyright page states that Race Point is an imprint of The Quarto Group.  I looked them both up and it seems they have published a few decks and some books about tarot, but not a ton.  Race Point seems to focus more on illustrated books. By the way, the measurements for the Enchanted Tarot are 3.3×6.5" according to their product description!  Even after having trimmed them, my cards are 5-3/8" long!

 

 

 

Edited August 15 by geoxena

[Chariot]

11 hours ago, geoxena said:

 

The 25th Anniversary deck I have was published in 2017 by Race Point Publishing, which is maybe why they renamed it The Enchanted Tarot.  I bought mine in Barnes & Noble back in 2019.  The guidebook's copyright page states that Race Point is an imprint of The Quarto Group.  I looked them both up and it seems they have published a few decks and some books about tarot, but not a ton.  Race Point seems to focus more on illustrated books. By the way, the measurements for the Enchanted Tarot are 3.3×6.5" according to their product description!  Even after having trimmed them, my cards are 5-3/8" long!

 

 

 

Aha!  Confusion solved.  The deck I was looking at was this one: 

 

But the one you were dealing with was that 25th Anniversary Deck, made by them. The reason I was so curious is because I suspected that MIGHT be a deck I  used to own ...and when I finally found a picture of the 25th Anniversary edition,  yep, that's the one. I gave it away several years ago because the cards were not only too big to handle, but the pictorial representations were too complex and somewhat vague to be very useful.  So yes, I feel your pain.  I never bothered to trim them because I just didn't like them all that much. The fellow I gave it to was quite happy to get it, so all happy on all sides.  

[DanielJUK]

The original deck by Zerner-Farber was called the Enchanted Tarot (published 1992), it had huge white borders and it was hard to see the artwork on the small cards. They were playing card size. They are real HQ photographs of the fabric quilted tapestries they made btw.

The next version was called the Zerner-Farber tarot (St Martin's Press 1997) after their names and they dropped the enchanted tarot name. They managed to get it borderless but the cards were regular tarot size but still made it hard to see the artwork.

The 25th Anniversary version was published as @geoxena said in 2017, 25 years after the original. The feedback was always that people wanted to see this gorgeous fabric artwork, so they made the cards huge and long! They are such a weird long shape. No one really understood the deck under their own names, so it went back to Enchanted Tarot. This is the only version still in print now.

 

The latest edition is gorgeous, I love the artwork and you can really see it on the cards. But they are so huge and thick and the whole box set is one of the biggest decks in my collection

I do shuffle it in a weird way on the table and I have large hands, it just is hard to shuffle. I do love reading with it though.

 

It has had a resurgence in recent years. I bought it because I saw someone using it on Instagram and I was like "what is the Death card?" and went to find it!

You see a lot of younger readers using it on social media channels for video readings.

[Wyrdkiss]

Ugh, the True Black for me.  that is really a challenge and requires patience.   For that thick one, I think handling it differently helped.  Like just laying cards out, one after the other, in 5 piles, etc.  let them breathe, get some natural oils from your skin on them, and break it in.   this mayor may not be useful for you.

[fire cat pickles]

Tarot of Marseilles Grimaud 1970—thick as plywood! I don't know what the appeal is for "everyone" wanting one other than collecting value...

[StarkRavenMad]

Personally, I have teeny tiny hands, so I struggle to shuffle most decks, unless theyre pocket sized, even when I use the overhand shuffle. So, I just use the good ol' Magic the Gathering pile shuffle. I create 6 piles and place one card in each pile until im out of cards, then take the bottom right hand pile and sort it into the other 5 piles, then I do the bottom middle pile, and I continue to work my way around in a clockwise motion until all my cards are in a single pile. Then Ill do some overhand shuffling, but because Ive mixed the cards thoroughly already with the pile shuffle, this is more about handling the cards and contemplating my question/intentions until I feel ready to draw. 

[Redfaery]

I had a Fenestra Tarot about a decade ago and while I liked the art enough, the fact that it seemed to FLING itself out of my grasp no matter how gingerly I handled it when trying to shuffle the cards, made me pass it on to a friend. She had no problems shuffling.🫠

[fire cat pickles]

It seemed to deFenestra itself out of your hands?

 

I'll show myself out...

[StarkRavenMad]

14 hours ago, fire cat pickles said:

It seemed to deFenestra itself out of your hands?

 

I'll show myself out...

🤣🤣🤣 This had me cackling! Thank you so much for this! This is an incredible pun! Kudos to you! Bravo! 

[Tanga]

On 8/26/2025 at 6:02 AM, fire cat pickles said:

It seemed to deFenestra itself out of your hands?

 

I'll show myself out...

 

😆🤣

 

@Chariot I have the Hay House edition... from a while back.  No shuffling trouble.

[Chariot]

1 hour ago, Tanga said:

 

😆🤣

 

@Chariot I have the Hay House edition... from a while back.  No shuffling trouble.

Well, I'm glad you're having no trouble.  Mine sticks.  I tried again a few days ago, and actually had to pick cards apart with my fingers because they kept coming out two or three at a go.  The card size is fine, but if I can't shuffle them properly, I don't use the deck.  Bummer.  It's a pretty deck, but it's going on my give-away pile.  I've got many other decks that work beautifully. Ach well...

Edited August 27 by Chariot

[zurgles]

I had the Cook’s Tarot for a year. Image from Tarot Garden.

 

I really liked it. I like colorful decks, it’s diverse, and the color quality of the deck was bold. The guidebook was good too. I also was specifically looking for a food related deck, and this fit perfectly. The cards are big, but that wasn’t an issue (plus apparently some of the images might be cut off? Apparently on one card the guidebook references a dog we can’t see). The issue was the deck was clumpy and sticky. It was a pain to shuffle. I looked up online that unscented baby powder could be used as a substitute for fanning powder, so I tried it. It was alright, but still clumpy. Plus now there was baby powder all over the deck 😂 I brought it to my then local witchy shop for a tarot trade event and warned everyone that I’d used baby powder to destickify the deck but someone was happy to take it anyway and I left with the Cosmic tarot.

One deck that is large but ok to shuffle is the Next World tarot. The cards are thin but the colors are still bold. They don’t stick. I side shuffle them.