Intuitive Reading
I don’t care about Tarot because I want to know the future. The interesting thing about Tarot cards are how they can reflect our concerns, ideas, anxieties, emotions, etc. In short, they can become a mirror, or a way for us to project our subconscious into a conscious place. So, while I do research the cards on occasion, I am not beholden to what it says. I might disagree with an interpretation. I might gain further insight from it. It depends.
Shuffling
Shuffling can be a hotly debated topic among Tarot readers believe it or not. Some people like to reset their deck after a reading. Personally, I do not. My deck was in order only once: when I bought it. After that, it has remained as is. I do still shuffle, to introduce an element of randomness, but that only builds upon the randomness of previous shuffles and readings.
Why?
Because life cannot be set back in order once it has begun. Once you have begun to make decisions, for good or ill, they are things that have happened, and it is a fool’s hope to think that we can truly “start fresh,” as it were. There’s a reason the fool only appears at the start of the journey and makes no other appearance.
This holds true for when I shuffle the deck for other people. To read someone’s Tarot, in my experience, is rather like giving one therapy. I don’t often make declarative statements, but begin by asking questions. What’s more is I believe that meeting people makes them a part of my own life story, and so I do not reset the deck after reading for them.
For the same reason, I don’t care if other people touch my deck or handle it. Even granting the possibility of some superstitious energy or what have you that may enter the equation, this is no different to when you encounter someone. Their presence in your life may make a good or bad difference, or it may make no difference at all. Amor fati, I suppose.