You agonized over which tarot deck to buy for months before finally picking out the perfect one.
You meticulously studied each card’s design and individual meaning.
You invite your friends over to gain divine insight into their past, present, and future.
They sit down.
You sit down…and realize that one of the simplest steps of reading tarot eludes you: how to shuffle tarot cards.
If you’re reading this after hiding from your friends in your bathroom and frantically Googling “how to shuffle tarot cards,” don’t worry. Here’s everything an aspiring Psychic Witch needs to know about shuffling a tarot deck for more accurate readings.
Why Is How You Shuffle Tarot Cards Important?
Any Cosmic Witch will tell you that the first thing you have to do in a tarot card reading is hand the deck over to someone else. Shuffling is not your responsibility, it’s the responsibility of the person seeking answers.
Why?
Because through shuffling the cards, the individual seeking answers is getting their energy on them and building a relationship with them. The energy transfer that occurs during shuffling is what builds up a bond between the person seeking answers and the cards.
Because of this, shuffling is an extremely important part of tarot readings. It’s less about shuffling the cards so they are well mixed (although that’s important too) but more about your energy bonding to them.
Shuffling also allows you to funnel your intentions and questions into the cards so that your reading is as productive as possible. You can use the time you spend shuffling to guide your reading.
Is There a Special Way to Shuffle Tarot Cards?
Tarot is not just a game, it’s spiritual, so care should be taken with cards. This isn’t the deck of cards you use to play King Cup with your friends on a Friday night, it’s a powerful divination tool and should be treated as such.
Other than failing to treat the cards with respect, there really is no way to go wrong with shuffling tarot cards. There are, however, ways to shuffle that will enhance your reading.
Keep in mind and utilize cosmic principles to make sure that you’re transferring the most energy possible to the cards and to guide your reading so it’s more accurate and powerful.
For example, the left side of the body has always been associated with feminine and intuitive energy, so many card readers who handle tarot decks will use their left hand to shuffle, so there is more intuitive energy on the cards. Readers who do this swear by it, saying that it opens the cards up to receive cosmic wisdom.
Similarly, some tarot card readers use their non-dominant hand to shuffle, since the non-dominant hand has more of a connection with your internal being, while the dominant hand is more innately linked with your exterior persona.
To manifest answers that will guide your core being, try shuffling with your non-dominant hand.
The shuffling process is about connecting, grounding, and centering the cards so that the energy and answers they receive are clear and easy to decipher. Because of this, the most important thing to keep in mind when you’re shuffling – is you.
Be your authentic self, and don’t get too caught up in doing things the “right” way. Whatever feels right to you is probably the best way for you to connect with the cards.
Before You Shuffle Your Tarot Cards
To ensure that your reading is accurate and clear, there are a couple of steps you should take before shuffling tarot cards, including cleansing the cards of energy from other individuals who have used them and setting your intentions for the reading.
Cleanse the Cards
Shuffling is about connecting with the tarot cards and getting your energy on them. However, that’s the point of shuffling for each person who gets a reading. After a reading, that energy doesn’t dissipate, it still remains.
To make sure someone else’s energy doesn’t cloud your reading you need to cleanse the cards so that the message they convey is clear and fully meant for you.
Getting energy off of cards is a fairly simple process that you can complete in a variety of ways. Below are some of the most popular ways people cleanse cards:
- Smoke Cleansing: Meditate with the cards, focusing your intentions on them. Visualize the cards being cleansed of the energy on them so that they are a blank slate. Pass the deck of cards through the smoke of palo santo or sage while visualizing them being reborn.
- Silk Cleansing: This is one of the most common ways to cleanse a deck of cards. Use a piece of silk and rub the cards down, visualizing the energy coming off of the cards and being absorbed into the silk. To make this easier, consider storing your tarot cards in a silk bag so you can easily access cleansing material whenever you whip them out.
- Knocking Cleansing: Knock on your deck, with your eyes closed while chanting out loud, “One door closed, another one opens” as many times as feels necessary.
By doing any of these practices, you can cleanse your tarot cards of all the energy remaining on them so they provide you with a clear and accurate reading.
Set Your Intentions
Now that you’ve cleansed your cards, it’s time to ensure that the reading you do with them is not only clear and accurate but also guided.
Tarot card readings, while they can address your entire life, tend to hone on one aspect of it. You can guide what aspect that is by setting your intentions for the reading.
Before you begin shuffling the cards, take a meditative moment to consider what answers you seek. They may be answers that have to do with your love life, health, career, family, friends, or literally anything else in your life that has been troubling you or that you want clarity regarding.
It could be something as important as “Will I get into grad school?” and as frivolous as “Will that cute barista finally ask me out?”
In setting your intentions, also set yourself up for the tarot reading, transitioning from the mentality you bring to your everyday life into a spiritual and open one. Tarot readings are powerful and should be treated as such so they do require a mental shift.
How to Shuffle Tarot Cards: 3 ways
We’ve established that there really is no “right” way to shuffle tarot cards, however, there are a few popular ways you can shuffle them that will maximize the amount of energy you get on the deck, enhancing your reading.
Below are three of the most common methods for shuffling tarot cards. See if any of them call to you or would physically be the natural choice for yourself.
Overhand Shuffle
This is the most common way to shuffle cards so it’s the go-to option for most people. It’s super simple and allows you to have contact with each of the cards, so it’s ideal for beginners.
Below are the steps for an overhand shuffle:
- Pick up the deck and hold it in one hand. It can be your dominant or non-dominant hand.
- Separate a section of the back part of the deck and drop it near the top of the deck.
- Continue to do this with back sections, adding them at random points to the top of the deck.
- Repeat this 5-7 times, or until the deck feels fully shuffled.
- Split the deck one more time at a random point and place that section at the very top of the deck.
Pile Shuffle
If you consider yourself a free spirit, there is no better way to shuffle cards than the pile shuffle! This is the easiest way to shuffle and it really ensures that you get a good connection with the cards because you get your energy all over them.
Below are the steps for a pile shuffle:
- Lay the cards face down on a table.
- Using your hands, spread the cards out in a big pile.
- Continue spreading and mixing them until you feel like they have been well-shuffled.
- Bring the cards all back together into one big pile.
Weave Shuffle
While weave shuffling is one of the easiest ways to shuffle normal cards, it has an added challenge with tarot cards, since many decks have larger-sized cards than standard playing cards. Nevertheless, this is still a popular method because of how well it shuffles cards, really mixing them all up.
Below are the steps for a weave shuffle:
- Cut the deck in half to make two decks.
- Place your thumbs at the top of the decks, fold your pointer fingers so they’re on the middle of the decks, and have your middle fingers and ring fingers on the end of the decks.
- Release the cards with your thumb so they fall in an interwoven pattern together on the table.
- If you feel fancy, you can even try to make a bridge.
- Do this a couple of times until the decks are sufficiently shuffled.
Does It Matter Which Method I Use to Shuffle Tarot Cards?
Yes and no. As I’ve previously stated, there is no wrong way to shuffle tarot cards, you just need to choose a way that reflects you and respects the cards.
If you want to use one of the above shuffling methods, do it. If you want to mix and match and do a hybrid shuffle method, go ahead. If you want to try a different shuffling technique, go for it.
Respect the cards, stay true to yourself, and channel your intentions into the deck. With these three tips in mind, there’s no way to go wrong.
Now You Know Everything About How to Shuffle Tarot Cards
You don’t need to be a psychic witch to use divination tools like tarot cards, but learning to shuffle them in a specific way to help with clarity and intention can help you with your readings.
So, now you know how to shuffle a tarot deck, get out there and get a reading. If you’re a solitary witch, you have a better understanding for shuffling tarot or oracle cards for your own readings.
If you’re a tarot reader, you now know how to advise people to shuffle tarot decks in a way that will lead to a clear, accurate, and guided reading. No what type of witch you identify as, these tips should help you engage more fully with your deck and gain greater clarity the next time you use it.
