Okay, so I wanted to talk about what I did today. Just practiced my tarot shuffling. Sounds simple, maybe a bit boring to some, but I actually find it pretty important, keeps me grounded with my deck.
I started by just grabbing my main deck. It’s the Rider-Waite, yeah, classic I know, but it’s the one I learned on and it just feels right in my hands. The edges are soft now from use. Found my usual quiet spot, sat down, and just held the deck for a minute. Felt the weight of it.
First off, I went with the good old overhand shuffle. Holding the stack in my left hand, using my left thumb to slide small packets of cards off the top into my right hand. Did this over and over. It’s got a nice rhythm to it, quite calming actually. Focused on the sound, that soft flick-flick-flick as the cards dropped.
Then I thought, okay, let’s try the riffle. Split the deck roughly in half. Honestly, I still feel a bit clumsy doing this sometimes, even after all this time. You gotta bend them just right. Managed to get the corners interlaced, then let them spring together. Got that satisfying zzzzzzip sound. A couple of cards jumped out, like they always do when I’m not paying full attention. Just picked ’em up, stuck ’em back in the middle somewhere. No big deal.
Getting the Feel
Shuffling isn’t just about mixing them up randomly, for me anyway. It’s about putting my focus into the cards. Trying to clear my head. While I was shuffling, I tried to just think about mixing the energies, letting go of any lingering stuff from the last reading. It’s weird, sometimes the cards feel almost sticky, other times they flow real smooth. Today was pretty average, not too sticky, not too slippery.
It kinda makes me think back to when I first got a deck. I was so worried about doing it ‘correctly’. Watched videos, read instructions. Dropped cards constantly. Felt like a total failure if the shuffle wasn’t perfect. Took me a while to realize it’s more about the connection and the intention you put into it. Like learning to ride a bike, you just gotta get the feel for it yourself, stop overthinking the ‘rules’.
So, I switched back to the overhand shuffle for a bit, then did another riffle. Cut the deck a few times too, just placing one half on top of the other. Kept going until it just felt… right. It’s hard to explain, the deck just feels sort of settled, energetically quiet. Ready.
Once I felt that stillness, I stopped. Squared the cards up nice and neat. Held the deck one last time, then put it away. Felt good. Like I’d properly connected with my tools today.
Yeah, just a simple practice. But doing the physical act of shuffling, really focusing on it, feels necessary. Keeps the relationship with the cards strong, I think. Definitely worth doing, even if you don’t plan a reading right after.
