Shuffling & Cutting the deck.. CONFUSED - help!

[Endy]

http://www.tarotforum.net/library/8/2002-03/shuffling-cutting-the-deck-confused-help-20020307.shtml

posted by New2Tarot

 

OK guys,

 

When I go to do a reading, I riffle shuffle the deck, then cut the deck cleanly into 4 stacks. If when I cut the deck into these stacks a card falls onto the stack I just cut, or a "false cut" occurs, I reshuffle the deck and then attempt to cut cleanly again.

 

I do this with my left hand.

 

Then, when I have the four stacks in front of me, I turn over the top card from each stack with my right hand. I have always turned them bottom over top (vertically). However, now I question this.. what should I do?? I know most turn horizontally, but up until now I haven't really thought twice about it.

 

(BTW.. this is the 4 Door spread Miss Cleo uses.. I have been using it forever, I never use any other spread.. and I didn't know what it was called or how it worked until recently.. I just adapted it from the early infomercials because I liked how it seemed to be a general spread with no position assignments.. which it is, and I prefer)

 

ANYWAY

 

my question here is - HOW DO YOU PERFORM READINGS??

 

Do you shuffle, cut in three stacks left to right and reassemble the deck left to right, and then turn over the top card and place it in a spread???

 

Or what??

 

All of my books mention cutting the deck but don't describe it.

 

Does this mean :

 

shuffle, cut, reassemble, deal..

or

shuffle, cut, pick a stack, and deal from that..

 

or what??? What is the purpose of cutting the deck and how do you do it?? Talk about your personal methods also.

 

I cut my deck only to make the stacks for the spread.. I feel it's like the top card of each stack is meant to show..

 

bah!

 

Help me out here,

 

Greatly appreciated -

New2Tarot

 

I hope it's ok that I am posting this! There are already threads on this forum about shuffling, but this one seems more focused on cutting which is what I am curious about. Here are the other threads on here that are about shuffling (cutting is mentioned sometimes):

How do you shuffle your cards?

Method of Pulling Cards

Why doesn't it matter how you shuffle or select cards?

I apologize if I missed a thread!

[Endy]

What is the purpose of cutting the deck and how do you do it??

This is a question I have been pondering or a few days now! I have been cutting my deck because that is what I have read so many people do, but every time I do it, I feel like I am disrupting the energy of the reading. When I shuffle, I ask the question and think over it. I keep shuffling until I've thought about it enough. When I cut the deck, it feels like I completely cut this flow of thought in half. I've decided cutting the deck is probably not for me, but it has really sparked my curiosity about why people do this.

[Rupicapra]

The way I see it: Cutting the deck is just one extra shuffle-step. You somewhat mix up the pile once more by cutting and restacking. And then you draw from the top.

I cut my stack once. Because it feels right.

I can imagine for some people it is more a ritual to cut the deck several times and restack it?

 

If you feel cutting breaks the energy flow of your deck, then don't cut.

Trust your hands, they'll choose the right card for you. Do what feels right. 

 

 

I'm aware that this is probably not a lot of helpful information and I might simplify this. But I like things uncomplicated: There are no rules. 

[moonglow]

What is the purpose of cutting the deck and how do you do it??

This is a question I have been pondering or a few days now! I have been cutting my deck because that is what I have read so many people do, but every time I do it, I feel like I am disrupting the energy of the reading. When I shuffle, I ask the question and think over it. I keep shuffling until I've thought about it enough. When I cut the deck, it feels like I completely cut this flow of thought in half. I've decided cutting the deck is probably not for me, but it has really sparked my curiosity about why people do this.

 

I have been wondering the same thing Endy[/member]! I haven't ever felt any inclination to cut the deck, so I have yet to bother with it, even if it seems to be "wrong" to everyone else. I think it's because I'm just reading for myself. In person, I think it's common for the reader to shuffle the deck and have the querent cut the deck, similar to formal card games (link to Wikipedia).

 

Can't resist adding

. ;D

 

Edit: Fixed links.

[Guest Night Shade]

I cut the deck three times to the left, with my left hand, but only because when I first got into tarot, I read that that's the way you're supposed to do it.  Now it doesn't have any real meaning for me, it's just become a habit.  I truly don't believe that there's any real right way to cut the deck, just the way that feel's right for you - and if you don't feel you should cut it at all, then that's all right too. 

[HermitWriter]

Similar to what moonglow said, I cut the deck mainly because I'm used to doing it from playing traditional card games. For my personal readings, I like cutting into three piles and pulling the top card from each. For larger spreads, I usually only do a single cut. When I'm reading in person, I'll offer the querent a chance at cutting it, and then deal from there.

 

As far as traditional purposes, I'm sure every intro tarot book has a different reason and method for cutting (or not cutting) the cards. It feels natural to me. In playing games, it's a means of ensuring that there isn't any "stacking of the deck" going on, so I suppose the ritual of cutting the cards probably stems from that. I suppose I mostly use my left hand because that's how I was taught. At this point it just feels like a natural progression :)

[Babalon Jones]

Ditto what Nightshade said. I used to always do that too and it became a habit. But now I experiment and do whatever instinctively feels right at the time.

[Thoughtful]

There are no rights or wrongs to shuffling and cutting the cards. Be led by what you feel, go by your own intuitive instincts. Experiment with all the different options and then stick with what feels right for you.   

l have never felt to cut my cards, for me the shuffle itself puts the cards in the right order for my readings.

We all have diverse ways of doing things which is good, that makes us each unique  :thumbsup:

[Little Fang]

It became a habit for me to cut once with my left hand, intuitively feeling out the best spot to do so, and then drawing from the cut.  Like a little reading ritual that I'm not comfortable forgetting! :)

[Raggydoll]

I don’t ever cut the deck, I simply over-hand shuffle until I intuitively know it’s time. (To be more specific, I shuffle until I feel tingle in my forehead/third eye. It builds up slowly and when it’s really pronounced to the point of aching, thats when I stop. It might sound weird but this is how I experience and identify most of my psychic information. It’s been that way since I was a child. I used to think it was a medical issue but once I learned what it was it became quite a practical signal to have.)

[Grizabella]

I've been just trying different things with the Everyday Enchantment since it's so big. I never used to cut the deck because it didn't seem much more than superstitious to me. I've been trying just cutting the deck to each card in a spread with the EE. I'm not sure I'll continue doing it, but it's worth a try to see if it works well. I'm trying to find the way to use such a big deck because I can't riffle it or overhand it. Normally, with decks I can riffle or overhand, I just read from the top card and move on down the deck. Cutting to each card might be workable. I'll just decide that later.

[Jewel]

The way I see it: Cutting the deck is just one extra shuffle-step. You somewhat mix up the pile once more by cutting and restacking. And then you draw from the top.

I cut my stack once. Because it feels right.

I can imagine for some people it is more a ritual to cut the deck several times and restack it?

Yep, just an extra shuffling step, and ritual for me.  I cut the tarot deck twice with my non-dominant hand and towards the left then restack it in whichever order spirit moves me with my dominant hand.

[Saturn Celeste]

I hope it's ok that I am posting this! There are already threads on this forum about shuffling, but this one seems more focused on cutting which is what I am curious about. Here are the other threads on here that are about shuffling (cutting is mentioned sometimes):

How do you shuffle your cards?

Method of Pulling Cards

Why doesn't it matter how you shuffle or select cards?

I apologize if I missed a thread!

 

Thank you for this Endy!  It's really thoughtful!  And you put this thread in the right place too, good job.  ^-^

[Netzach]

I shuffle until the deck 'feels' right.  Then I ask the client to cut with her/his left hand and put the lower section on top of the upper section.  The base card becomes the first card (giving the theme of the reading) and the client then picks however many are needed for the spread.

[Barleywine]

On 3/21/2019 at 12:36 PM, Jewel said:

Yep, just an extra shuffling step, and ritual for me.  I cut the tarot deck twice with my non-dominant hand and towards the left then restack it in whichever order spirit moves me with my dominant hand.

When reading for myself, I do it like this too. When I have a "live" sitter, I instruct them to do it this way as part of the ritual. Ultimately, the mechanics of the process are up to you; consistency should be maintained, though, or you may never gain total confidence in your methods. One thing I did like about Mojo's comment in the old AT thread is glancing at the bottom card to see which way is "up" for the deck after the shuffle (but not as a "shadow" card since I don't use those). Since I always randomize for reversals, this adds a nice extra wrinkle to that. I think I'll start doing it, so thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[Morwenna]

For the most part, I don't cut. I've been known to do so on occasion but usually because when I was new at reading for the public I thought it was expected. But I don't feel it's needed. I shuffle a lot, and sometimes I riffle if I feel like it.