We’re going to take a look at some different approaches so that you can learn how to shuffle tarot cards in the manner that works best for you. All of these techniques can be used, but we’ll cover the benefits of each one as we go along.
When you start with reading tarot cards, you may view the shuffling aspect of card reading to be the simplest part. Shuffling is the easy part, but that’s not to say that there aren’t mistakes to be made and ways of shuffling your tarot deck that are more efficient than others.
The Purpose of Shuffling
If you’ve ever used playing cards, you’ll understand the importance of shuffling a deck. You don’t want players to know the likelihood of certain cards being dealt into play in poker or blackjack.
The more often you shuffle the deck, the more random the cards are in each hand. Keeping the game random is an important aspect of any card game.
With tarot cards, the purpose of knowing how to shuffle cards is slightly different. While you are trying to keep the deck random, it goes beyond that.
We shuffle the cards (or get someone else to shuffle the cards) to transfer some of the person’s energy onto each of the cards. Otherwise, selecting cards later in the reading process would be random, which isn’t how tarot card readings work.
This energy transfer is important to remember as we explore the different styles of shuffling.
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How to Shuffle Tarot Cards
Whether you’re shuffling playing cards or Tarot cards, there is one more commonly used technique than all others.
Standard Hand-to-Hand Shuffle
It goes by many names, but you’ll probably know it better from the description. To learn how to shuffle cards in this manner, you simply split the deck into two piles.
Taking a pile in each hand, you then deal cards from one hand into the other half of the deck, dropping cards randomly into the front, back, and middle. There’s no denying that this approach works. If it didn’t it wouldn’t be so common.
However, it does have its flaws. There’s no guarantee that you’re coming into contact with all the cards, and so you may only transfer your energy to a small number of them.
Also, even though the cards are being shuffled, large chunks of cards will still be in the same order. These are things to consider before choosing this method.
Cutting the Deck
When you’re learning how to shuffle tarot cards, you may want to choose a gentler method as tarot cards are often more fragile than playing cards.
People sometimes struggle with quickly dealing cards into the deck, such as in the method mentioned above, and so if you’re one of these people, then this method may be more practical for you.
For this approach, all you’re going to do is cut the deck repeatedly. The benefit of this approach is that you’re not limited by how many times you cut the deck.
You can split it into two piles, three piles, or any number you feel like. So, you could split the deck into 6 piles, move them all back into one pile, then split it into 6 piles again, then back into one.
You can do this until you feel like the deck has been properly shuffled. The benefit of this approach is that you touch a larger number of cards.
However, you’re still unlikely to touch every single one, so the transfer of your energy isn’t guaranteed to reach every card, even if you shuffle the deck a high number of times this way.
The Fan Shuffle
When you’re learning how to shuffle tarot cards, you’re going to have to try several different methods until you find the one that is most compatible with your style of reading. The fan shuffle is a combination between the previous methods and our final method.
To do this, you lay the cards out flat on the table, almost as if you’re creating a rainbow shape. You should be able to see a part of each card, and from here you can simply pull cards out in random order.
Alternatively, you can take two cards out at a time and swap their positioning, and then you would put each tarot card back into the deck. Many people will use this method and then leave the cards in the rainbow shape for the card selection part of the reading process.
This approach certainly mixes up all the cards, and if you do it enough times, you’ll likely have touched most, if not all of the cards, making this a more efficient approach for transferring energy to the deck. Let’s explore the final method for how to shuffle tarot cards.
Table Shuffle
As you’ve probably noticed through exploring the ways to learn how to shuffle tarot cards, the main problem with all these various methods is that you’re never sure if you’ve made contact with every card.
The final technique we’re going to discuss doesn’t face this same problem, and it’s a great way to ensure that the cards are thoroughly shuffled. This approach does go by many names, but it’s commonly referred to as the table shuffle.
You simply lay the deck of cards face down on a table and begin spreading them all out across the table. Ideally, you don’t want any groups of cards lumped together, you want them separated and spread out. From here, you use one or both of your hands to mix the cards up.
With tarot cards, you should do this slowly to avoid damaging them. If you do this for about 30 seconds, you’ll likely touch every card several times, ensuring that there is sufficient energy transfer before selecting cards.
When you’ve finished shuffling, simply collect the cards up into a singular deck and lay them out in whatever spread you’re using. When you’re learning how to shuffle tarot cards, don’t be afraid to try all of these methods.
You could even do all of them in turn before a reading. As you begin to get the hang of tarot card reading, you’ll naturally lean towards a certain shuffling technique, and each person knows which one works best for them.