Thank you so much!
For me, this is the best method of shuffling tarot cards!
It makes so much more sense!
I went from being a total noob relying on interpretations from books and electronically drawing cards to being a confident Tarot reader.
Now, I draw at least one Tarot card a day and interpret it. And this is how I do it.
There are 5 steps in the process that works for me:
I’ve played around with different ways to shuffle.
At first, I used the Casino Shuffle (or Riffle Shuffle). That will assure that you get reversed cards as well. I love to use reversed cards in my drawings, because they will tell the whole truth about the card you got.
I was afraid to ruin the cards, though, so I switched to a gentler method. I held the cards on the long side and did an Overhand Shuffle. That meant that I would have to make sure some cards were turned the other way, so I had spread them all out to begin with and done a Table Shuffle.
That way of doing it didn’t feel right though. But I did it for a while.
When it came to picking a card, I would repeat the question in my mind until I found a card.
Often, that felt… not comfortable. I kept asking myself, Is this the card? Nah, it isn’t. It doesn’t feel perfect. Is it this one? No… well, maybe, I’m not sure.
When I got bored of shuffling, I would force myself to believe that now I had the right card, but I was always left with doubt.
Then from two different Tarot readers I learned two different ways to shuffle and draw. I combined them and this method works so well for me.
You can see it in this video:
In short, I ask the question.
Then I do a side-ways overhand shuffle, switching between putting a small stack of cards in front of the existing in my other hand and behind the existing. This ensures a thorough shuffle.
While I shuffle, I count the number of times I’ve gone through all the cards.
In the first shuffle, I go through them 3 times.
Then I split the deck into 3 stacks. I put them down on the table from the left towards the right and turn the middle one over 180°. Then I stack them from the right towards the left.
Now I shuffle 4 times more and flip over the top card from the top of the card and put it down, face up, on the table.
That’s my card.
The way I do it is to describe the card upright, whether I got it reversed or not.
I will simply do my best to describe what I see in the card. Most of the time, I don’t try to understand. I just describe.
I will write down things like, “The queen sits on her throne in a lush meadow.”
I found that the more I got used to making those descriptions, the more I understood intuitively while describing the card.
Here’s an example from today where I drew Queen of Pentacles, Upright.
The queen sits on a gray throne. It’s decorated with pears and fruit on the seat and back. At the end of the armrest, there’s a ram’s head. On the side and the top, there’s a child or elf. Maybe a cherub. It’s not clear.
The queen holds a big pentacle in her lap. It’s gently resting there between her hands. She’s not afraid of losing it. It’s there and it’s hers to hold. She has her head bend towards it, but she’s staring up into the sky as if in deep thoughts or meditation.
She’s humbly dressed. She wears a golden crown with two red wings or feathers on top and a green veil that runs from the top of her head to her feet. She wears no jewelry. No necklace or bracelets. Just a simple white shirt and a loose, red, sleeveless dress and red-brown shoes. White for her virtue and red for her passion.
She has both feet on the ground in a lush meadow clad in autumn colors. A rabbit jumps into the picture and a tree behind her spreads its branches with green leaves and red flowers above her like a portal. Lilies grow next to her.
The sky is a clear and warm yellow and there is a volcano in the horizon as well as jagged mountain. Her journey hasn’t been an easy one, but she’s here now, sitting in perfect harmony and peace with herself.
A stream of water separates the meadow from the mountains. Her emotions may have made the difference in where she is now.
If there are many details in the card, I will often take a picture of it with my phone so I can enlarge the card and take in all the details.
This took me more than 30 years to learn…
I relied on books and descriptions for all that time. That would often lead to that I read the official card interpretation, but I was unable to relate it to my question or situation.
This book by Biddy Tarot almost changed it overnight.
Now the interpretation and the answer to my question will often come to me, bit by bit, while I describe the card.
Based on how I described the Queen of Pentacles above, this is the answer I got for my question, “What do I need to know today?”
That’s what I need to know. I need to be calm and confident. Yes, it has been a struggle, but overall, I’m here and I shouldn’t worry. No need to boast or become another person. Stay me, indifferent to nice clothes and jewelry. Take a break today and just think and be grateful.
Now, you may be asking: How do I know if I got the right interpretation?
It’s a good idea to keep a Tarot journal. Write down what card you drew and what question you asked.
Write down your description and your interpretation.
Then come back later and check. Did you get it right? Were there tiny adjustments? Or maybe big ones that you understand now that you look at the card again and know what happened?
This will help you get clearer answers in the future.
When I chose a Tarot deck a few years ago, I wanted one that I found absolutely stunning.
I found it in the Shadowscape Tarot Deck.
That deck isn’t meant for reading reversed cards, though. I could get around that, but what I couldn’t get around as a beginner was…
That I didn’t understand any of the symbols. They didn’t speak to me.
Until then, I’d stayed away from Rider-Waite because… well, I didn’t find the pictures stunningly beautiful. They were more plain.
It wasn’t until I discovered how rich in symbols they are that I began to consider them.
Not only that. Those symbols are centuries old and we intuitively understand them, well, most of them at least, easily.
That’s why I ordered the Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot and chose to get my deck in a metal box that will keep them nice and like new.
At some point, I’ll also get the original Rider-Waite, but I really love the radiant colors in this deck. And I also appreciate the metal box that protects them well.
Thank you so much!
For me, this is the best method of shuffling tarot cards!
It makes so much more sense!
Yes, right? I wish I’d found that method earlier.
Now I’ve taken it one tiny step further. I hold the cards in both hands before I shuffle. I take a moment to think about the question. Then I start shuffling.
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Judith says:
Thank you so much!
For me, this is the best method of shuffling tarot cards!
It makes so much more sense!
Britt Malka says:
Yes, right? I wish I’d found that method earlier.
Now I’ve taken it one tiny step further. I hold the cards in both hands before I shuffle. I take a moment to think about the question. Then I start shuffling.