Shuffling and caring for your deck

In this lesson: three easy ways to shuffle tarot cards, how to cut and lay them out, and simple, safe ways to store and care for a deck.

You have your deck and your notebook. Before your first reading there is one more practical skill to learn, and it is the one beginners are most shy about: shuffling. Tarot cards are larger and stiffer than playing cards, and many people feel clumsy the first time. That clumsiness can make a reading feel awkward before it begins. This short lesson gives you three easy ways to mix your cards, a simple way to cut and lay them out, and a few habits that keep a deck in good condition for years.

Why shuffling matters

Shuffling does two jobs. The practical job is to mix the cards, so that what you draw is not just the order you left them in last time. The quieter job is to give you a minute to settle. While your hands move, your mind can turn towards the question. Many readers say that shuffling is when the reading really begins. There is no single correct method and no magic number of shuffles. Any method that mixes the cards and feels calm is fine.

Three easy ways to shuffle

The overhand shuffle is the one most people already know. Hold the deck in one hand, lift a block of cards from the back with the other and let small packets drop in front, again and again. It is gentle on the cards and works even with small hands. If the cards feel too big, hold the deck sideways along its long edge.

The table wash is even easier, and perfect for a brand new or oversized deck. Spread all the cards face down on a clean table and swirl them around with both hands, like stirring a pool of water. Then gather them back into a pile. It takes a little more space and mixes the cards thoroughly, and it is also an easy way to let some cards turn upside down if you read reversals.

The riffle shuffle, splitting the deck and bending the halves so they spring together, is what casino dealers do. It mixes well, but it bends tarot cards and can crease or split their corners, especially on thin stock. I suggest leaving it out at first. If you love it, riffle gently, close to the table, without the big arched bridge at the end.

How many shuffles is enough?

Modern Mathematicians have studied this question. In 1992 Dave Bayer and Persi Diaconis showed that for an ordinary deck of 52 playing cards, about seven riffle shuffles are needed to mix the cards well. Fewer leave traces of the old order. A tarot deck has 78 cards, so it needs a few more riffles, and the slower overhand shuffle needs very many more to mix as thoroughly. For reading, perfect randomness is not the aim, but this is a useful fact: if the same cards keep turning up together, you may simply not be shuffling enough.

Shuffling with sore hands or small hands

Tarot cards are larger than playing cards, often about seven by twelve centimeters, and they can be hard to hold. If your hands are small or painful, the “wash” method is kindest: spread the cards face down on a table or soft cloth and swirl them with flat palms, then gather them. You can also split the deck into three or four piles, shuffle each small pile and stack them again. Some readers buy a smaller “pocket” edition of their deck. None of these methods is less “proper” than an elegant riffle.

Cutting and laying out

When the cards feel mixed, place the deck face down and cut it. A common way is to split it into three piles with your non-dominant hand and stack them back in any order you like. Some readers simply take the top card, others fan the deck out in an arc and choose by feel.

Pick one way and keep it for a while, so the steps become a familiar little routine rather than something to think about. Lay the cards out face down in the positions of your spread, then turn them over one at a time, sideways like the page of a book, so you do not accidentally reverse them.

Caring for your deck

Card stock dislikes three things: water, heat and sunlight. Keep your deck dry and out of direct sun, in its box or in a cloth bag. Wash and dry your hands before reading, especially after eating. If a deck gets sticky, a dry, clean cloth usually helps. Never use salt water or a wet cloth, which will warp the cards.

If you enjoy a cleansing ritual, choose dry, safe methods such as a moment of quiet, a thorough shuffle or setting a crystal near the deck. If you use a candle or incense nearby, keep the flame well away from the cards, open a window and never leave it burning unattended.

An example: the first shuffle with a new deck

Imagine you have just unwrapped a new deck. The cards stick together a little and are in perfect order, Fool to King of Pentacles. You spread them on the kitchen table and wash them gently for a minute, which separates them and breaks up that factory order.

You gather them, do a few slow overhand shuffles while thinking about your first question, then cut into three piles and stack them. You draw one card and turn it over like the page of a book. The whole routine took three minutes, and it felt calm rather than clumsy. Over a few weeks your hands will learn it, and the cards will soften and shuffle more easily.

Cleansing and other customs

Modern Many readers have small rituals for their deck: knocking on it, fanning it, passing it through incense smoke, leaving it in moonlight or resting a crystal on it. These customs come from modern practice and personal taste, not from historical tarot, which began as a game. They can be a pleasant way to mark the start of a reading. Two cautions: water, salt and direct sunlight all damage card stock and ink, and burning incense near paper needs care. If you like a custom, choose one that keeps the deck dry and safe.

What the 1910 guide says about shuffling

Historical Arthur Edward Waite, who designed the Rider-Waite-Smith deck with Pamela Colman Smith, gave simple instructions in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910). For his Celtic Cross method he wrote: “shuffle and cut the rest of the pack three times, keeping the faces of the cards downwards.” For a longer method he advised: “Shuffle the entire pack and turn some of the cards round, so as to invert their tops.” That second sentence is a deliberate way of making reversed cards appear, upside-down cards that some readers interpret differently.

Notice how practical these instructions are. Waite does not ask for special words, objects or timing. He asks for a mixed deck, cut three times, faces down. That is a good reminder that the routines many of us enjoy today are personal choices layered on top of a very plain method.

Shuffling and reversed cards

Your shuffle decides whether reversed cards appear at all. The table wash naturally turns some cards upside down. The overhand shuffle keeps them all the same way up, unless you deliberately turn part of the deck round, as Waite suggests. Lesson 7 on reversals helps you choose whether to read them. Until then, a simple rule works: if a card comes out upside down, turn it upright and read it as usual. Write your rule in your notebook so you do not have to decide again each time.

A missing or damaged card

Cards get lost, chewed by pets or stained with tea. A deck with one damaged card still works perfectly well. If a card goes missing, you have three easy choices. Many publishers sell or send replacement cards on request. You can write the card’s name on a blank card of the same size and use it until a replacement arrives. Or you can buy a second copy of the deck and keep the spare cards. Some readers like to keep a slightly battered card as a reminder of the deck’s history, and that is fine too.

Reading away from home

If you take your deck travelling or to a friend’s house, a small cloth or scarf makes any table into a clean reading space and protects the cards. A rubber band can bend the edges over time, so a box or a pouch is kinder. On a train or in a café, a one-card draw with a quick overhand shuffle is discreet and takes less than a minute.

Questions beginners ask

Can other people touch my cards? That is your choice. The rule that nobody else may touch them is a modern custom. Many readers ask the person they read for to shuffle.

Should I riffle shuffle? It is effective, but it bends cards over time. If you want your deck to last, use overhand or wash shuffles.

What do I do when a card jumps out while shuffling? Some readers treat it as a message, others put it back. Decide your rule beforehand and keep it.

How do I store my deck? In its box, a cloth bag or a wooden box, somewhere dry and away from direct sunlight.

Myths to drop: A deck does not need to be “charged” to work. A bent or replaced card does not ruin a deck. And there is no single correct way to shuffle.

Try this

Try all three shuffles with your deck: overhand, table wash and a very gentle riffle (or skip the riffle). Choose the one that feels best. Write it down in your notebook, together with how you will cut and lay out the cards. That is your personal routine.

Recap

Shuffling mixes the cards and gives you a minute to settle. There is no correct method, so any shuffle that mixes the cards and feels calm is fine. The overhand shuffle and the table wash are gentlest on new or larger cards, while the riffle can damage them. Cut the deck, lay cards face down and turn them sideways. Keep your deck dry, out of direct sun, in a box or cloth bag, and use only dry, safe cleansing methods.

What next

Press “Mark as done” and continue with What tarot is, and what it is not. For more on rituals, read how to cleanse tarot cards.

Further reading: Dave Bayer and Persi Diaconis, “Trailing the dovetail shuffle to its lair”, Annals of Applied Probability 2 (1992), for the curious.

Sources

• Lauri Mukkala, The Novice’s Guide to Tarot, “Using this book with another deck”.

Go deeper: The Novice's Guide to Tarot

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