How to Shuffle Tarot Cards

This is the way to shuffle the cards when reading for another person who is sat beside you.

The best place to sit is at a desk or table with the cards in front of you, face down. If you are reading for another person, ask them to sit next to you rather than opposite you, it is less confusing when they pick their cards this way. Decide what question you wish to ask the Tarot beforehand, kindly remember to always do this, it is much clearer this way, trust me.

I recommend that you write the question or topic down on a piece of paper before shuffling the cards, this keeps you focused and prevents complete amnesia when the first card is turned over!

So, in front of you should be the Rider Waite Smith Tarot cards, the question has been written down and now it is time to pick up the cards and shuffle them. You may wish to focus on the question asked and still your mind for a moment, some of you may wish to sit quietly and request assistance from your spiritual guides, there is no right or wrong way to approach the cards - intention is everything.

With both hands you can either spread the cards on the table and move them around with your hands until they are thoroughly mixed, or you can shuffle them in your hands in the same way that playing cards are shuffled, and if there are any professional poker players amongst you, then we can stand back in awe and watch you really shuffle them. Finished shuffling them, the cards in the deck will also be reversed and give us double the meanings? Then hand them to the person asking the question and ask them to do the same, which ever way they feel comfortable.

Watch our for any cards that leap for freedom or jump on the floor, they are insisting on special attention, so put them to one side and read them as a separate card/s. It will give you insight into what is happening at that moment.

The querent (the person you are doing the reading for) can also think of the question while they move and shuffle the cards. Then after a moment, ask them to stop and collect the cards into one pile, which should face downwards; ask them to make three piles of cards with their least dominant hand, so if they are usually right handed they would use their left hand to do this. All it takes is to pick up a third of the deck with their left hand and move it to the side of the bigger pile, and do the same with the remaining cards. Three piles of cards should now be in front of you both.

When that is complete, ask them to place the three small piles back into one big pile, and they can do this in any order with their least dominant hand. They will be concentrating and focusing at this point, they want to do it right, and should they make a 'mistake' that is fine, no harm will be done. We are using this as a way to focus and become centred on the task at hand.

Now is the moment to pick the cards out: turn to the querent (the person asking the question of the Tarot), and request them to spread the cards out in a fan shape in front of you both. If it looks like a perfect fan, well done, because I haven't ever managed that yet!

With their right or dominant hand, ask them to pick the required number of cards out. Now concentrate, they must pick the card up and place it above the deck on the table, without turning it around or moving it upside down. You want it to remain the same way it was in the deck.

Then move the card over like turning a page in a book, from the right to the left, not the bottom to the top. Please read that again to get it right. Turn the card over like a page in a book, side ways.

Now you can start to read the cards. Take a deep breath and begin.

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