Shuffling mixes the cards; drawing selects the cards you will place in a spread. Practise these as two separate movements. The overhand method below avoids bending the deck. Use small packets, keep your grip relaxed and reverse left and right if that is more comfortable. You do not need a prescribed number of shuffles.
Overhand shuffle: move small packets between your hands
- Place a clean mat or cloth on the table. Decide whether reversed cards are included; for upright-only practice, keep all tops pointing the same way.
- Hold the face-down deck in your right hand by its long edges, above your open left palm. Support the cards without squeezing.
- With your left thumb, slide a small packet from the top of the deck into your left palm. Start with a few cards so you can control the movement.
- Bring the remaining right-hand deck close to the left-hand stack and slide another packet onto that stack. Keep the packet faces hidden.
- Repeat until the right hand holds only a small remainder; place that remainder on the left-hand stack. Do not try to make the packet sizes identical.
- Square the edges gently against your palms. You now have one stack again. Repeat the sequence if desired, then stop shuffling before you start drawing.
Hold the main deck
The right hand supports the face-down deck above the open left palm.
Transfer small packets
The left thumb slides a few cards at a time onto the growing left-hand stack.
Gather the remainder
Place the last right-hand cards on top, then gently align the edges.
Drawing is the next, separate step
Put the mixed deck face down. Write the positions before selecting any card. For a simple top draw, slide the first card off the stack and place it face down in position one; repeat for positions two and three. Turn them over only after all three have their places. Alternatively, spread a face-down fan and choose three cards without looking. Pick one method beforehand; do not switch methods to replace an unwanted image. Cutting is optional: lift one upper section, place it beside the remainder, then put the remainder on top of it.
If packets are uncomfortable
Divide a large deck into smaller stacks, or gently mix face-down cards across the clean table with both palms. Table mixing can change orientations; restore the tops afterwards if you chose upright-only practice. Gather by sliding cards together instead of bending corners. A dropped card may be an accident: decide before starting whether you will include it. Hand pain is a reason to change the movement, not a test to overcome.
Once the deck is mixed, decide what the drawn cards will answer. Write the positions first; the hand movement does not determine their meaning.
Try this question in the reading guide.
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