Learn to Pull Tarot Cards Like an Expert

February 26, 2025 7 min to read

Beginners who are starting to familiarize themselves with tarot culture have many questions and discover tips and secrets of tarot reading with great enthusiasm. No matter whether you prefer to only pull tarot cards for yourself, or do a reading for someone else, being confident during shuffling and pulling cards is the must.

To help you see the ability of options, instead of various ways to shuffle cards, we will focus on the art of pulling in tarot practice.

In our article, you will find information about different approaches to pulling tarot cards and will be able to choose the preferred one for yourself.

The variety of ways to pull tarot cards

Professional tarot readers are aware of many ways of shuffling tarot cards and mostly follow their routine way of choosing the cards from the deck. If you’re at the initial stage of learning to read tarot cards, consider different ideas of how to pull cards to choose the best for yourself.

We asked experienced tarot masters from our team to provide us with their most working approaches to pull tarot cards online and gladly share them with you. Choose several ways after trying them all to define, which fits you best.

Intuitive one-card pull

This is the most basic option to start learning to pull cards and maintain the connection with the deck. Start shuffling with one of the basic ways, for example, use the classic overhand method of shuffling. Try to feel the need to pull the exact card at a random moment and do it once you hear the ‘call’ of your intuition. If after pulling one card you feel the need to pull another one, don’t limit yourself even if you planned to do a one-card reading. The purpose would be completely trusting your gut.

‘Flying’ cards

During shuffling some cards may fly out and fall. Pay attention to the cards that are ‘jumping’ from the deck while shuffling. No matter whether the card (or even several cards) falls bottom up or bottom down, you must consider them as a part of a reading. Experienced tarot masters never ignore the jumping cards and are attentive to their position and meaning. By adding the interpretation of a ‘flying’ card to the main cards you pulled during the session, you may gain valuable insight.

One of the creative tips from professional readers is to use only jumping cards in a reading and don’t pull tarot cards during shuffling at all. Tarot is all about intuition and experiments, so don’t limit yourself.

Three-card pull

The most suitable way to use this type of pull is when you do a three-card tarot spread, but this method fits other spreads too. Start shuffling cards with any preferable way and then divide the deck into three piles. Now you can randomly pull one card from each pile and see the meanings of their combinations.

Another variation of the three-card pull would be considering only the cards that are on the top of each pile. It’s up to you to decide which approach fits you better.

Basic random pull

One of the classic ways to pull cards randomly with one hand. It requires having a well-developed connection with your tarot deck. After you shuffle the cards, put the deck in one hand, lift the deck, and use another hand to pull the required number of cards. Note that if you pull more than one card, you must pull them from different parts of the deck. The process is intuitive and random, so you let your hand decide what card to choose at the moment.

Fan pull

This method is widespread in movies, as it looks very fancy. This type of pull requires concentration and no rush, hence it better fits detailed spreads that involve many cards. You start shuffling the cards, and then you need to fan out the whole deck spreading them on the table. After you need to try to scan the cards with your hands and feel the need to pull an exact card from the deck. To select the card, concentrate on the feelings in your palm. If during ‘scanning’ the cards you’ll feel the vibration or sense hot waves, these will be the best tarot cards to pull.

Dice pull

For this method of pulling tarot cards, you’ll require additional props – we’ll use dice. The spread must start after throwing the dice and pulling the number of cards that corresponds with the number you rolled. Then you need to shuffle the deck and throw the dice again to decide the position of the card you’ll pull. For example, if you roll two, you need to count two cards off the top of the deck, and then pull the third one. Repeat the process until you pull the required number of cards.

If you wish, you can add more creativity to this process by pulling cards from the bottom instead of the top, and so on.

These methods of pulling tarot cards aren’t the ultimate. You can develop your unique approach to pulling.

Essential tips on pulling tarot cards

Here are some hacks from experienced tarot readers that will help you feel more confident during shuffling and pulling tarot cards.

• Consider the specifics of the deck. The size and the density of a paper are crucial factors. When you choose the deck for the first time, be attentive not only to its visual appearance and what your gut is telling you but also to the characteristics of the cards. If you have small hands, you must choose the smaller deck that’s easy to handle. The larger cards may limit the methods you can use for shuffling and pulling cards. Also, try the flexibility of cards. If they are too thick it may be hard to pull them fast.
• Be gentle with cards. If you want to use the deck for a long period, it’s crucial to be careful during shuffling and pulling cards. When you use the deck that fits you, it will be easy to shuffle cards in multiple ways without binding them or leaving marks on the paper.
• Don’t limit your creativity. There are no bad tarot cards to pull and there are no bad ways to shuffle cards. Develop your intuition and let it guide you to the right option. You can start with one or two basic pulling methods and combine them. Experiment with different options to find your unique style.
• Use rituals to set the mood. It’s crucial to read cards only with a positive and organized mindset. Find the specific approach to readings that will help you to feel calm and confident during each tarot session. It can be meditation before readings, special music you listen to during sessions, or aromatic candles you lit before shuffling.

By following these tips and regular practicing you will discover your specific way to pull tarot cards.

Wrap up

In our article, we provided you with several popular approaches to pulling tarot cards. Now it’s up to you to decide, what method fits you better. Professional tarot masters have their unique style of pulling and shuffling tarot cards, but they all started with the basic ones. During tarot sessions when you’ll be consistently trying new ways of pulling cards, you will realize what is the best method for you.

Be attentive to the choice of your tarot decks and consider the size of the cards as well as the paper’s density. You must feel comfortable while shuffling and pulling cards.

We hope that you found our pieces of advice useful. We wish you to have insightful readings. Good luck!

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