If you’ve ever had a Tarot reading, you probably noticed that the reader shuffled the cards before hand and maybe also during the time that they talked to you about your topic. Quite often, it’s simply an activity that the seeker really doesn’t think about, yet seekers see it as part of the process without thinking much about it.
Well, this process ‘clears the cards’.
To the logical mind, shuffling is an exercise of reordering the cards. The idea is to get the cards as random as possible. Energetically, it helps the reader move away from the previous questions in order to allow an egoless reading of the next card or reading.
Ultimately, as a reader, you want to feel good about knowing that you can select the next card without conscious interference. This means that you need to be ‘blind’ to the cards or you need to not be able to guess cards in the deck.
Let’s look at a few different shuffling techniques and see what they do.
The Overhand Shuffle
This is the technique you will probably see a Tarot reader use. It is a very gentle way of working the cards without bending them or losing control of the deck. It also works very well for larger cards that you can’t really shuffle other ways.
The following video demonstrates this technique and points out its strengths and weaknesses.
As you have seen, if the reader is not aware of what they are doing, the shuffling process is not as effective as they might be expecting. Yet, the shortcomings can be overcome as long as the couple tips are applied to the shuffling process.
The Surface Top Shuffle
Here is another technique that I’ve seen people use. It does give off a sense of randomness, but I wouldn’t really call it a shuffle. Also, this technique works better for smaller cards then for bigger ones. Larger cards tend to block each other on edge forcing the reader to lift cards in order to get them to blend.
If you’ve never seen this, you’ll probably immediately recognize the process once you load the following video.
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As you can see, this technique may not be suited well for an organized situation.
The Riffle Shuffle
Even when it gets to the Riffle Shuffle, if the reader does not pay attention to how this shuffle is performed, they may be singling out cards that can be consciously determined. Fortunately, the shortcomings of this shuffle can be overcome with a couple simple moves.
The biggest deterrent that readers have to using this particular shuffle is that it is hard on the cards. To get the shuffle to work, you need to bend the cards. If you use your cards a lot, well, this is going to wear them out. Likewise, when you bend the cards the finish on the cards tends to flake and crack. Card stock is heavier paper, but the fabric of the paper comes apart one thread at a time leading to a warn or bent look.
Notice the cards that I use. They are warn, but not torn. My solution to this problem is to print up another deck of cards! I can print a deck up for you too. It’s a good feeling to see my cards wear out. It demonstrates to me that I’ve been using my cards and getting my money’s worth out of them!
Let’s visually look at some details of this shuffle so that we can see the shortcomings and demonstrate how to work around them.
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As you can see, if you are conscious about how you use this shuffle it’s easy to get the results that you’re expecting.
Dealing off the top
This technique always seems to leave me puzzled. It just seems too unbelievable to take seriously. If you’re a logically minded person and you witness a reader doing this you would probably lose all hope or any sense of belief in the process. Why?
Think of it this way. That reader just shuffled the deck a few times and then picked the top 10 cards as the perfect cards for the seeker for this spread. Not only does each one of those cards need to be the right card, but they have to be shuffled into the right position! If the spread is a ten card spread, it would be like shuffling the cards so you get two straight flushes on the top of the deck.
What this does is move the selection process into the shuffling activity. It’s as if some magic needs to happen in order for the cards to line up correctly.
My observations of the readers that use this technique lead me to believe that they are more psychic in their readings then literal. They tend to use the cards as a focal point in order to talk about the first thing that comes to mind.
But, hey, Tarot is that way. That can work too. I just tend to feel that when I let the body select the cards, it will simply draw the two straight flushes out of the deck with no complications and I won’t have to rely on the shuffling process aligning the cards perfectly.
To me, dealing of the top of the deck is great for a card, provided your shuffling technique allows for that top card to not be known. Or, better yet, split the deck making the top card a new one.
Selection: to Fan or to Ribbon?
The next step is a tricky one. How do you know that you’re selecting the right card?
This is where the ego is left behind and the subconscious shines.
The Ribbon
If you’ve search the internet much for Tarot, you’ve probably seen pictures of the Indian Tarot Card reader sitting cross legged on a meditation pillow with the Tarot Cards arched out in front of him in a long ribbon. When you see it in action, it’s usually done in a single graceful stroke.
The beauty of the ribbon for selecting is that most every card is uniquely displayed making it easy and effortless to select the one correct card. Also, they are usually at arm’s length which means that the entire body has to get into the action of selecting that one perfect card. If you’ve done any kinesiology, or studied the work of David R. Hawkins, you’ll know that one of the most common techniques that drives subconscious interactions is the body sway or lean.
If you haven’t studied this work, the basic concept is that you ask yes and no questions of the subconscious and then allow the body to provide you the answer by leaning forward or backward. To be clearer, you stand upright balanced and close your eyes. You make sure that you’re completely relax and then you test the points of engagement to figure out what a yes and no feels like. To do this, you conscious lean forward until you feel the muscles of the body kick in to bring you upright again. Likewise, you completely relax and then allow the body to start leaning backwards just to the point where the muscles engage. The movement is subtle, it may not even be seen by an onlooker, but you will feel it.
With this in mind, the body sway, or lean, becomes effective in steering the body towards the location of the correct card to select. Picture the Tarot cards in a large arch from your left side all the way around to your right side. Then, rather than allowing the sway to take you just forward or backward, the body will ‘drop’ in the direction of the card that you are to choose. Sure there are lots of cards in the direction that the body leans, yet with practice, and if you keep the ego out of it, you will select the correct card.
I rarely use the ribbon technique because there space is usually limited where I give readings.
The Fan
This method is similar to the ribbon, but it’s done in your hands. It works a bit better in close quarters yet still allows you to energetically find the right card.
Let’s take a look at how I select cards from a fan and how I keep my confidence up knowing that the right card was selected from the deck.
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As you can see, unlike the ribbon where the body would lean you the correct direction, you have to trust that your fingers will find the right card.
My Technique
Before every reading it’s important to clear the cards. You do this by shuffling the deck in a way that arranges the cards in positions you cannot consciously determine. The whole point is to arrange the cards in a way that you are comfortable with and they are random – or at least as random as you can get them.
If you’ve seen any of my videos, you’ll know I typically perform a riffle shuffle with very little bend in the cards. The amount of force that you need to get the cards to spring into the shuffle is not all that much. Once the cards are threaded, gently finish the process by simply pressing the cards towards center to align the edges.
Note that you need to take note of how you shuffle in order to make sure that you are rotating the cards into a reverse or upright position. Inspect how you split and start your shuffle with an aligned deck. If a single shuffle keeps the cards all in the same orientation, you’ll need to split and rotate one half of the deck. Thus:
- Split the deck relatively evenly
- Rotate one side to the reverse position
- Shuffle to evenly thread the cards together
- Gently bring them back to deck form.
If you follow this process consistently, only a few shuffles will be needed to give you a good enough feeling that the cards have been cleared in order to draw another card or reading.
It is recommended that when shuffling, you do so gently. In time, all cards chip and fray around the edges giving them a ‘lived in’ feeling.
Also, be extra careful not to bend or damage any card so much that it can be identified. If this happens, you’ll want to learn to shuffle without really watching what you’re doing so as to not be able to track that card in the deck. If you can track a card, it’s going to make it more difficult when selecting cards too. I quite often close my eyes when selecting cards so as to make sure I can’t consciously choose, or avoid, a particular card.
One last thing; watch closely how you shuffle so as to see if you always lead with the same hand or finish with the same hand. This can lead to situations where the bottom card always remains the bottom card. Check your style so as to make sure the top and bottom cards get mixed in. If they don’t naturally, perform a waterfall shuffle to redistribute the cards before shuffling again.