[Ivy Rhiannon]

Originally posted by Chronata
I am one of those agressive shufflers! Yep. That's right...I am one of THOSE people...

lol! I have a kitty too, and he has to be the center of everything, even my spreads!

[ScarabFlight]

Originally posted by Chronata
The decks I use constantly have this great bowed shape (ahh...kinda like the cresent moon...) due to my rifle shuffle!

Yep. That's right...I am one of THOSE people...
...
Oh...and the Faeries Oracle never gets rifled...or I would be in serious trouble...

I have to rifle shuffle my Buckland Romani because it came out of the box bent, but it bends the wrong way!! I've tried to flatten it under loads of weight but nothing seems to work. If only they would bend up instead of down!! lol I guess I'll have to keep up the riffling, although I do have to admit I like the noise of a good shuffle! BDRRRRIIIIIIPPPPP (sacrilege, I know )

As for the Faeries Oracle, I know exactly what you are saying. They are quite particular aren't they?

[Chronata]

Originally posted by Centaur


Chronata, do you have a special box in which to store your bow-shaped cards? Hehehe.

Box?? what box??? That's what tarot bags are for!!!

[Moongold]

I am reluctant to admit this but I just can't shuffle!

I have quite small hands but I don't think it's that alone. People seem to shuffle with such ease and grace but when I start all the cards seem suddenly to stick together. Or they clump or simply tumble out.

When I shuffle myself, I just do as Aun described but I don't think that looks as good as a real shuffle. I found a little video on the web about shuffling but have not been able to master the act even so.

I would pobably ask the querent to shuffle.

[Apollonia]

Well, I used to let the querent shuffle the cards, ande then one evening I was reading for several family members one after the other. The daughter bopped in and I handed her the deck. While merrily shuffling away, she confided that she had just had her palms hennaed, and oops, now it was all coming off on the cards. Yeah. Oops. I'm so sorry your henna didn't stick. On the other hand, maybe you should have told me you had red goop plastered on both your hands before you grabbed my deck. Now I make everyone wash their hands right before doing a reading, and I usually shuffle myself. I used to think the querent had to shuffle the cards themselves for the reading to be accurate. Now I do Internet readings, and they turn out fine, so I don't think it matters at all.

[rachelt]

when you mentioned aggressive shufflers, i immediately remembered an incident last night when i was really feeling bad because i had a huge fight by my bf and incidentally, i was shuffling very loudly...to which i fon't usually.

then the cards laid out had a negative reading...could it be that because i was feeling negative that the reading was also negative???

please enlighten. thank you.

[catlin]

Usually I let the client shuffle the cards because this is a good way to take away their nervouseness or to give them the feeling they are an active part in the reading process.

However, I don't permit ppl to brutalize my decks (ok, I usually have 2-3 copies of each of my most used readings decks such as RW, Thoth, Legend, Lenormand, etc). Luckily, most ppl cannot shuffle tarot cards in a rough way because:

1) ppl don't play so much cards today with real cards

2) Tarot cards are usually bigger than Standard German playing so ppl have to shuffle them slower

3) I never ever do readings for drunken or drugged ppl

[catlin]

However, until now I haven't found a way to prevent my furry felines from stopping jumping on the table and spreading themselves out on the cards when I do a reading in the living room.

I am too soft hearted to block them out the room (besides, they will run havock with the door) but the trouble is (apart from strawing the cards around the whole room when they jump on top of them) they also flex their claws out of shere pleasure on the cards and my orange Persian Benny is very good at drooling and slobbering when he feels absolutely happy (which he is when he can follow me around and take part in nearly everything I do).

I always wonder when I pay a visit to a friend: she has 3 cats and a dog (a Spanish windhound aged about 6 months) and they sit politely in front of the table and watch us doing card readings without ever interrupting us.

[Amaterasu]

I despise aggressive shufflers!

I riffle shuffle, but I'm very careful and never get my cards bent.

Until I let someone else riffle shuffle for a reading.

Now, I shuffle unless I know the querant's shuffling habits. Yeah, it seems a bit grabby and possessive, but it keeps my cards from getting damaged.

<3 Amaterasu

[Umbrae]

If you simply hand a deck to a sitter - you've invited disaster. The cards are considerably larger than a 52-card deck. Many folks have trouble shuffling a regular deck! And you've just handed them an old limited edition...okay maybe not...

You may tell them to shuffle and cut. Remember, reading for another is a relationship -it's an event - that it's a conversation and not a monologue - that it is about rapport.

So you demonstrate, "Just shuffle like this" (I demonstrate a 'running cut' that neither bends or mangles the cards) and how not to shuffle the cards.
Show them.

Then give your clients a little credit. Then if they begin to abuse your cards you simply say, "Excellent!" and reach over and take them back.

It's not a big deal.

It's really about learning to communicate with others while holding a Tarot deck...