Shuffling Your Tarot Cards

Tarot readers talk about methods of clearing and cleansing your Tarot deck. However, few articles describe exact methods of shuffling your Tarot cards as a way to clear them.

Performing a ritual on the cards as way to cleanse or clear the cards is one thing, but shuffling can be a whole other thing. The act of shuffling the cards thoroughly does have the power to clear the deck in some way.

In the end, the power of magick is that you believe. If you believe the act of shuffling will clear the cards, it will. In this article, we will talk about some exact methods for shuffling your Tarot cards.

If you are looking for a new deck to shuffle, go here.

Random Order

Ideally, you would want the cards to speak from a purely chaotic and random state.

When I do my own readings I want to make sure that I have removed any clumped up patterns from previous reading sessions. To do this I use a combination of shuffle methods to randomize the cards. The time I spend shuffling is my personal ritual to focus my intentions into the cards.

Random Consideration

Here is an interesting thing to consider. It would take about 10,000 overhand shuffles to get a 52 card deck into a random order. This is a contrast to the 7 riffle shuffles it would take to put that same deck into a random order. Check out the math in this embedded clip.

If you were to only do overhand shuffles then you will keep clumps of cards together. The overhand shuffle preserves the original pattern of the deck in some way, unless you have time to do 10,000 shuffles.

Shuffle Methods

I use three methods of shuffling. The wash, the riffle, and the overhand shuffle. If I want the cards in the highest random state possible I do a wash for a minute, then 10 riffle shuffles, then up to 10 overhand shuffles. I do the shuffles in that order usually.

This works well for my personal ritual. I lay the cards out on to a cloth or a mat of some kind and I mix the cards around. I use this time to clear my mind and focus on the feeling of the cards.

The wash method of shuffling is especially important if your deck works with reversed cards. The wash also allows the cards to flip upside down.

Once I have washed the cards I gather them up and I preform 10 riffle shuffles. As you know from the math above 7 riffle shuffles will get a 52 card deck into a random order. So, I chose to do 10 riffle shuffles. 10 is a nice completion number and is a strong number in the Tarot. I am also just guessing that if it takes 7 shuffles to get 52 cards into a random order, it should take more to get 78 into a random order.

To end off the shuffle process I do a few overhand shuffles. I would normally do between 3 and 8 overhand shuffles, but never more than 10. This will help the cards that get caught at the bottom to get to the top.

These three phases of shuffling will get your Tarot deck into the highest state of random order. The absolute chaos will provide you with excellent divine answers.

Individual Methods Explained

The Wash

Take your deck and fan them out on a surface. Avoid rough surfaces because they will scratch, scuff, or damage the cards over time. To be on the side of caution use a cloth or a mat. I like to use duck brand shelf liner. The surface has some stick to it, and the cards can easily move with a little force. The shelf liner works for me. Try it out.

Once you have fanned out the cards just start washing them. Mush them around, get them really mixed up. Doing this for 2 to 3 minutes will have shuffled your cards really well. Make sure cards move from one side to the other. Take care to see that cards are going over and under each other.

The Riffle

If you have never done a riffle shuffle before then it could be difficult to do the bridge part at the end.

To do the riffle you cut the deck in half. Take both piles and fan the cards into each other. You want to be using your thumbs to help control how fast you fan the cards.

When both piles have been fanned into each other you can bridge the cards. This makes a nice flapping sound from the cards being bent upwards that fall back into your hand. This makes a great finish to the shuffle. It helps to push the cards together at the end. You can learn how to do the bridge here.

The Overhand

The overhand shuffle is a good way to quickly mix the cards if they have already been shuffled. I like to do this at the very end to finalize the cards. I tend to do 5 over more of them after I have shuffled the cards thoroughly.

To do the overhand shuffle you hold your deck with your non-dominant hand. Now use your dominant hand to grasp about 80% of the cards. Now just drop a little bit of the cards into your non-dominant hand. Release the cards in front of the pile that is building up so that you are shuffling the bottom into the top.

Watch this video for a full walkthrough of all the shuffles done in order. Doing this will adequately shuffle and clear your deck for a Tarot reading. You will get excellent results. It never fails.

Conclusion

Either of the first two shuffle methods will work exceptionally well at shuffling your Tarot deck. The wash or the riffle is adequate in removing clumped up cards and randomizing the cards. Using all three in order will give you an exceptionally random deck to work with. Use these methods in any way you like to create your own shuffling ritual.