How do you pick them?

[jasper]

I was wondering HOW you pick your cards for a spread.

I always shuffle like with playing cards.While doing that I think of the question or situation.I try to imagine the personsame involved and feel the situation that they are dealing with in the present.

Then I cut the cards in half.I hold the deck in my one hand and with the other I kind of open them like a fan and feel them.with my fingers and my eyes closed .while picking the card I say what position it for.ex.this is for current situation or risk is for what she is scared of ect

I've seeing many videos on YouTube that he parts aren't picked out but instead after halfing the deck they just open the cards one by one.

How do you pick?am I doing it wrong?

[stephanelli]

I don't feel that there is a right or wrong way to pick cards for a spread.  Just what feels right to you.

 

Personally, I tend to do a 'spread them out on the table or blanket and thoroughly mix them up' shuffle and then cut the deck twice and stack them as feels right.  I then just take from the top of the pile into the positions on the spread.  Sometimes I'll add in an extra overhand shuffle if I feel its necessary.

I always think about the question and/or the spread sometimes saying bits out loud (often the question itself and what each position in the spread is for).

[Saturn Celeste]

Hi jasper[/member]!  There isn't a right or wrong way.  Do what feels natural to you.  Your style might even evolve through time as you get more familiar with the cards.  ^-^

[DevonCarter]

I think every person just does what works for them, and it might be different for different decks! Generally with my tarot decks I shuffle them like poker cards then overhand shuffle, and usually I do that three times. Partly because it may take three times to get my mind to shut up and focus on the question. Then I cut it in three stacks and put them back together however, and pull off the top. I have no idea why I do all those things, just that's what's ended up being the usual way I do it. I'm still learning, though, so maybe it'll change later.

 

I have some oracle cards that are way too big for that, though, I usually just mix them up and fan them out and randomly pick one.

[Guest Night Shade]

To shuffle mini-decks, I lay the cards out on the table, scramble them around for a while, then gather them up into a pile.  For standard size decks, I cut the cards several times, then deal all the cards out randomly into about 15 piles, then pick up the piles randomly and reassemble the deck.  Both of these methods save wear and tear on the cards (although you won't get reversed cards with the second method unless you purposely reverse some of them while you're dealing them into plies).  Then I do the traditional "cut three times with your left hand", and deal the cards straight from the top of the deck for the reading.

[TheFeeLion]

Like others have said everyone has their own unique way of doing it, so there isn't any right or wrong way.

 

For me personally, I like to moosh all the cards around in a big messy pool in front or me to kind of reset the deck before starting. If I don't have the room I'll put my hand on the deck and give the cards a spin. That way I get different reversals from the last reading. From there I overhand shuffle (and sometimes riffle shuffle depending on the deck) and use whatever cards fall out while shuffling until I either have the amount of cards I need (for a specific spread) or until there's no more of those lovely jumpers. If necessary I'll pull out another deck (particularly if I don't have enough cards out) and do the whole process again. The only time I put cards back is when I get big chunks fall out. I kinda go with the flow though so sometimes I use those big chunks if there's enough cards there for the spread.

[Grizabella]

What happens in Tarot reading happens in you, not in the cards. I know that sounds confusing, but it's true. I think it's more important to just be consistent in the way you shuffle and draw, rather than in there being A way to do it. The rhythm of the way you shuffle and the way you pick the cards become sort of a mesmerizing, hypnotic thing after you've done it hundreds and thousands of times the same way and it's that rhythm that will bring out the message in the cards that's there for you because it takes your "reading mind" to the place where it can perceive what the cards are conveying. Over time, you'll find that a certain way of doing it just evolves that's personal to you and it doesn't feel quite right to interrupt that and try to do something else. I've experimented with it myself and that's what I've found is true for me.

 

 

 

 

[Grizabella]

Coming back to actually answer the question asked in the thread. I lost the plot there, as the Brits would say. :))

 

I do a lot of overhand shuffling now since my hands are getting very arthritic. I used to always riffle, though, and it was such a part of my Tarot process that it was hard to give up. Now I deal out the deck into four piles to fully randomize them and then I gather them up and overhand a few times. I've gotten used to doing them this way now. I deal the cards off the top after cutting the deck into three sections, putting the middle section on the top of the deck and dealing from there.

[Catspur]

If I'm reading for someone I shuffle for 1-2 minutes until it feels done - it's a mix of overhand shuffle, an over-under shuffle, and an occasional riffle but I won't be done until I've got at least one good riffle in there.  (If the first couple of riffles are bad, then it's usually a sign that the first good riffle is my cue to stop).

 

Then I cut the deck into three piles, and ask the client to pick a pile, and draw from the top of that pile.

[jasper]

Thank you all!!! I would like to also draw cards from the top but it doesnt feel right for me so i guess i'll continue to feel and pick :) :) :) when reading for me

Also i didnt want anybody else touching the cards ,,,but i do think that when reading for someone else it would be good to let them shuffle and cut and then io could take off the top for them.

I guess i'll try and see!

[Wanderer]

I sometimes do exactly the same as you, jasper[/member] . Usually I'll just shuffle until the feel of the right card catches my attention, but in many cases it comes down to a clump of them... in which case, I'll fan them out exactly as you say, while focusing on the position the card is to represent. In more formal face-to-face readings, I'll spread them all on the table in a large fan, for the querent to choose the cards from.