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How to Shuffle Tarot Cards and How to Cut Them
How to shuffle tarot cards and cut them is perhaps not a straightforward as you might think! I was asked recently by a visitor if she “had” to shuffle and then cut her cards as so many sites she had visited recommended that this was always done. She wanted to know if she could go with her gut feeling rather than follow a rigid protocol.
My answer was basically “yes” because I don’t believe there is just one right way of shuffling and cutting. I do recommend that tarot cards should be shuffled prior to doing a new reading but how long you spend doing so and whether (and how many times) you cut the cards is entirely a personal choice.
I tend to use a combination of the riffle and overhand (or stripping) shuffles but not always. Sometimes I use one only and it will be whichever one feels right on the day.
Once shuffled I put the cards on the table or hold them flat in one hand for the cut. To cut the cards I close my eyes and let spirit guide me as to when and where to cut the cards.
Opening up to spirit and trusting them to nudge you works well for both shuffling and cutting. It is something (like everything else tarot related!) that you will need to practice and perfect.
I have always felt the “nudge” when the time is right to stop and to deal the spread instead. The process is never identical and varies in time and the number of shuffles and cuts I use.
However, there is a caveat. Whereas I do think that you should always trust your intuition to get it right for you if possible, that doesn’t mean it’s always the best way especially for new tarot readers.
If you find that going with your intuition results in your readings becoming less accurate then you might want to try a more formal and fixed approach to shuffling and cutting and see if anything else works better for you. With time you will almost certainly find your intuition for shuffling and cutting improving.
How to Shuffle and Cut Your Tarot Cards? – Article by Paul (Admin)
Original Photo (Overhand Shuffle) by en:User:Essie [GFDL or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Original Photo (Riffle Shuffle) by Johnny Blood – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
