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Do you put your cards back in order after a reading?


Guest Night Shade

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5 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

I think most people agree with that, unless they have a spiritual understanding that goes beyond it. For animists, shamans and spirit workers it is usually way more complex. I see my cards both as tools that help me tap into my gifts, as well as being infused with their own energies (best described as “tree spirit” from the cardboard used). And I do believe that they can be utilized as magical vessels for spirits. And the way they can be used in chaos magic or sympathetic magic also adds to this complexity. But that’s far beyond the topic of this thread, so I’ll try to rein myself in ☺️ It was just a very interesting discussion that I think deserves its own spot. 

I have created talismans that work the same way. The sigils used charge the object with their power, which exists independent of the use to which the magician intends to put them. The difference with cards is that, unless we create our own deck, that power comes to us second-hand.

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3 minutes ago, Barleywine said:

The difference with cards is that, unless we create our own deck, that power comes to us second-hand.

Yes. Unless you are an animist and believe that everything holds a spirit and a vibration... ☺️

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As noted early in this thread, I always put my cards back in a very specific order.  I do consider them the instruments of my art and just as if I were a violinist and they were my violin, I keep them in the very best condition I can.  For me, and I respect that others feel differently, this includes careful sorting and reordering after each use.  I enjoy the process as well.  

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Cards are definitely tools. But I have picked up decks in my hands and felt a vibration. I have picked up other decks and felt a dark vibration, and I have kept those but don't really use them. I have picked up decks and felt nothing. I have also picked up decks and felt negative vibrations. 

The positive feeling decks I use quite frequently and the more I use them in rotation the more incredible, the cards in the spreads become. The feeling I get, not really the artwork on the deck depends on whether or not I buy them, keep them and/or use them. Intact, I lean towards vintage decks that have been around for a few decades.

But that's just me. 

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HeavenlyWren

Hello!! 

 

I'm one of these Lazy munchkins who doesn't put the cards back in order, unless I check if they're all there. 

 

I loose things an awful lot you see, so it's good to make sure some days all though it's tedious and can take time. 

 

There's an other reason why if I do want to put my cards in order I do it also, and I've read some where that if you want to cleanse a deck it's best to put them all in order so they can spend time with their own little families. 

 

Like we miss our family so i guess they'd feel disorientated and miss there's eventually, i normally let them to chill and once in a blue moon do this. 

 

Just so the swords can spend time with the swords, wands with wands etc. 

 

Sometimes too much interaction with others drives me nuts, so i don't see why the same theory wouldn't work for them. 

 

Now the crazy lady is going 🤪 

Edited by HeavenlyWren
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No, def not.  I don't want "types" clinging to each other.  If using the whole (Tarot) deck, then after a reading, like most on here have already said, I shuffle (Riffle, bc I suck at overhand:  picture cards getting chipped and all over the floor.  When I pretend I'm Malkiel R. D. it's gets REALLY messy!  Good way to lose a card or 2 😬)   Shuffle 7X, and then cut the deck into 3 piles and shuffle 3 more times.  I saw this fm a card-sharp on YT who said 7 x for a 52 card deck.  After that it was counter-productive.  But a 78 card deck gets a few more fm me.  🙂  To randomize and send off any lingering stuff fm previous use.  Somewhere during the randomizing process I remove the Significator (mine) or the Lady and Lord in Lenormand, and place them on top.  I can add them in later.

 

Don't use reversals (yet), but inevitably some show up reversed.  I just take note and upright them again.

 

And a bit of superstition:  I always place a very positive card (Sun or Star usually) on the bottom facing the rest of the deck before putting the deck aside.  Then place it in the deck just before shuffleing for the next use.  Those few things give me a satisfied feeling of closure.  (That said, I often leave the spread out for awhile to review my impressions and conclusions.) 

 

ETA:  I also knock 3X ("on the ceiling if you want me") on the finished deck for a little added woo (insurance).

 

Peace to all fm northern California  🥰

Edited by bastetly
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4 hours ago, bastetly said:

When I pretend I'm Malkiel R. D. it's gets REALLY messy! 


I want mine to go WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! like Malkiel's, but I've never unlocked the secret. He always shuffles a little bit outside the frame, I can't SEE it.
And I'm no overhander anyway. I've been riffling all my life.
But that WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! is cool. 😸

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2 hours ago, katrinka said:


I want mine to go WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! like Malkiel's, but I've never unlocked the secret. He always shuffles a little bit outside the frame, I can't SEE it.
And I'm no overhander anyway. I've been riffling all my life.
But that WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! is cool. 😸

I really miss him doing his funny videos.  Yea, you never get to quite see exactly HOW.... god I TRIED but he is too fast.  Faster than the eye!  Riffling makes nice sounds too, but I LIVE for that WHAP WHAP WHAP  🤣

 

For anyone who wants to watch, well more like LISTEN to his overhand style it's here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MQJRp-pLew

Edited by bastetly
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I deliberately and purposefully don't put the cards back in order. Not unless I'm selling or giving the deck away. There is a reason for this.

 

All of my decks have been shuffled multiple times. There is no way of knowing what order they are in. They will all be in entirely different orders. 

 

When I read, I have multiple decks with me, and get the client to choose quickly without looking through them. This is the number one time their intuition gets to me involved in the reading, choosing a deck with the right pre-shuffle starting-point for the reading. Number two time is how long they choose to keep shuffling. Number three time is when I ask them to split it in four piles and put it back together again in a different order.

 

On those three occasions, the client's intuition has plenty of opportunity to make certain that when I start peeling cards off the top of the deck and laying them out, the right cards will come out in the right order.

 

I re-ordered a deck once. It didn't work out well. No matter how I shuffled, it took quite a while for the deck to stop giving me sequences or original-order cards, that made absolutely no sense in the context of any reading. Never again.

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TheLoracular

Like most people, I definitely don't re-order cards after a reading.  What I do is shuffle them one more time and then slip them away.   

But I have two copies of certain decks.  For example, there are two copies of the Haindl deck sitting on my desk in front of me right now.  One of them is in a specific sequence:  Majors (Magician first, World Second to last, Fool last), then Ace-King Wands, Ace-King Cups, Ace-King Swords, Ace-King Stones (Haindl's Eath suit) and its marked with a sticker to tell me that's my research deck.  That's the deck I grab specific cards out of to write about or use for meditation, other things.  I won't shuffle it at all.

The Haindl deck I'm using for ~readings~ has no sticker and it will get shuffled each time it comes out and I use it for that and then get shuffled again before it goes back in.

This is all part of my quirky habits.   But it saves so much time/energy in the long run that its worth the investment for me to have two copies of decks I'm going to be doing both content creation and readings with during the same day over the course of weeks or months.  The reason I keep my research decks in that specific sequence relates to the Qabalah and how my brain works.  There's no "right way" or "wrong way" to it, just a "me" way.  

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After I have finished with a deck (no reading in the next hour or so) I put them in order: coins, batons, cups and swords Ace thru King), trumps and the fool card last.  I do it with my Petit Lenormand, too. I see this as closing the deck.  

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21 hours ago, Nisaba said:

I deliberately and purposefully don't put the cards back in order. Not unless I'm selling or giving the deck away. There is a reason for this.

...

I re-ordered a deck once. It didn't work out well. No matter how I shuffled, it took quite a while for the deck to stop giving me sequences or original-order cards, that made absolutely no sense in the context of any reading. Never again.

 

Hard same. I've ordered a deck a couple of times to check all the cards were there and to look at the story through the suits and majors, and every time, it takes ages and ages to properly shuffle.

 

7 hours ago, TheLoracular said:


But I have two copies of certain decks. .... That's the deck I grab specific cards out of to write about or use for meditation, other things.  I won't shuffle it at all.
 

 

That's a great idea for a student of Tarot.

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Nope, I very rarely put my decks back in order.

 

As others have said, it would take a *lot* of work to properly randomise them again - it would be like taking the strings off your ukulele (or guitar, lute, etc) every time you had played it!

 

I like having a thoroughly shuffled,  well-seasoned deck to read with.

 

 

However; a lot of the stuff I do with tarot does *not* involve pulling random cards; various forms of study, meditation, journaling etc.

For those things I like having some kind of order in the deck (although I occasionally give them a quick shuffle by mistake.... :D).

 

So, for decks that I use both for readings and for other activities, I do usually end up with two copies.

 

Depending on size and design etc, often the reading deck gets trimmed, or I buy a pocket version; I prefer shuffling and reading with smaller decks.

The bigger, pristine version, complete with borders, titles, keywords, gilding etc, gets used for non-reading stuff.

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On 4/8/2019 at 4:43 PM, Guest Night Shade said:

Hi everyone

 

I remember reading somewhere that you should put your cards back in order after a reading to remove the vibes from that reading and cleanse them for next time.  I used to do this, but it got to be way too much trouble.  Now, I just put the cards away as they are, which doesn't seem to be affecting my readings at all.  What do you all do?  Do any of you do this, or have any other rituals or practices for putting your cards away?

Nope, this was never something I saw the idea behind. 

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I only do that when i actually cleanse them as a part of the ritual but i have the habit to shuffle it after to remove the energy before i put it back 

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I always put mine back in order, after a reading.  

ONE, because I like the next reading to start from fresh.  Reversals, etc, will come only from the new reading, and not be left over from an old one.

TWO, because handling the cards and putting them in order helps me get familiar with them, especially if I'm using a deck that's new to me or one I haven't used for a while.

THREE, because re-ordering the cards is a great way to 'come down' from a reading.  I find myself thinking about the reading as I put the cards back in order.  I always say 'thank you' to the deck afterwards, out loud, and mention what I liked about the reading. Re-ordering the deck just seems ...dunno ...respectful?  Kinda like cleaning up after cooking a meal, or making a bed, or turning the lights out before leaving the house, etc.

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I used to put the cards in order after a reading, but it was just too time-consuming, so now I don't do that, but I do make sure all the cards are upright, and I often (though not always) shuffle them once to "clear" them. Works fine for me. 

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Normally I try to be orderly, meaning to put the cards back sorted. But for a reading, I feel it is fetter if the cards are as random as possible. So I really should put them back WITHOUT sorting. Will try.

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7 minutes ago, Teemu said:

Normally I try to be orderly, meaning to put the cards back sorted. But for a reading, I feel it is fetter if the cards are as random as possible.

Well of course. I doubt that most, if any, of us who put our cards in order after a reading draw directly from the ordered deck for the next reading.

 

8 minutes ago, Teemu said:

So I really should put them back WITHOUT sorting.

There is another option. Shuffle before the next reading. I'm guessing that even most people who do not reorder their decks shuffle before the next reading.

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10 hours ago, Esclarmonde said:

I used to put the cards in order after a reading, but it was just too time-consuming, so now I don't do that, but I do make sure all the cards are upright, and I often (though not always) shuffle them once to "clear" them. Works fine for me. 

When I worked the phone lines (many years ago) there was definitely no time to put a deck in order and then re-shuffle between clients. Similar working in a store when I might have clients back to back. So I never even realized this was an option };>

 

I do order the cards when I feel they need a “re-boot”. If a deck starts feeling “tired” or giving gibberish answers. It gets put in order and maybe a little “time out” to rest. Something I never could have done back in the days when I only had one deck!

Edited by Misterei
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Same as with the others here, I used to do this. Now I just reorder my deck when I feel that it has become too saturated with a querent's questions/personal energies after a long reading session and I want to reset it. After that I would let it rest for at least three days. 

 

If I see that my deck isn't ordered at the start of a session, I'd just shuffle it at least 7 times. I learned somewhere that riffle shuffling any 78-card deck around that number of times effectively randomizes it.

Edited by Akhilleus
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On 12/3/2022 at 3:27 PM, Chariot said:

I always put mine back in order, after a reading.  

ONE, because I like the next reading to start from fresh.  Reversals, etc, will come only from the new reading, and not be left over from an old one.

TWO, because handling the cards and putting them in order helps me get familiar with them, especially if I'm using a deck that's new to me or one I haven't used for a while.

THREE, because re-ordering the cards is a great way to 'come down' from a reading.  I find myself thinking about the reading as I put the cards back in order.  I always say 'thank you' to the deck afterwards, out loud, and mention what I liked about the reading. Re-ordering the deck just seems ...dunno ...respectful?  Kinda like cleaning up after cooking a meal, or making a bed, or turning the lights out before leaving the house, etc.

I did want to add that if I'm doing readings for several different people at a sitting (I'm not a commercial reader, so it would just be friends) I would use a separate deck for each person.  I have lots of decks, including four mini-decks that are easy to carry around.  I would wait till I get home to put them all back in order ...but I would put them in order before using them again.

The only time I wouldn't re-order is if the querent asks a question that requires a follow-up reading at the same session to clarify an issue.  I would then just reshuffle the cards without reordering them.  After all, it's the same querent and the same energy.

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