Thanks .. You got it!!!!!! I'm just proud she is thinking like a Mentalist!!!! She recently did a Mind Reading stunt in her job application interview .. Got the gig hands down.
They asked her if there was anything special that they should consider for her employment .. She said "Shure. I'm a Mind Reader from a long line of Mind Readers, I can read peoples minds under various conditions!"

I love it.

I'd like to chime in -- I do a three phased tarot routine with the major arcana that was inspired by Doc Shiels.

First, my "stack" is keeping the major arcana in 0-21 order. That's it. I do true cuts, reveal a card or two, explain the interpretations, even spread them ITH face up. No one, not even dyed-in-the-wool tarot people, think of the cards as having an order like playing cards do.

Allowing the spectator to cut the cards, spread them and select one is perfectly deceptive. Cut at the selection, glimpse the bottom card and there you go.

I have seen a few decks of the major arcana where the number isn't printed along with the name and image. This could maybe be of interest to some. But I have to stress again: I've done effects for new-agers and "psychics" who don't catch on that the arcana is in order. There isn't any need to make things harder than they need to be.

Another fun fact: if you come up with a nice script for explaining the meaning of each card in a succinct way, you can set up the stack openly in front of the spectator as part of your patter in under 90 seconds.

Shuffling is not as necessary as with regular cards. I find that a false hindu shuffle and some true cuts are all that are needed. Remember, when you're doing Tarot routines, there is so much less heat on you as a performer because the focus has been shifted to the spectator. By making it about them, they're more anxious to see the reading and experience the mystery than obsessed with burning you.

Another important point to consider -- the major arcana of every deck I've ever seen will function as a ONE WAY deck ON THE FACE.
So immediately following a stack effect, the spectator can make a true selection and be given the cards to shuffle.

Things like Jean Hugard's "Psychic Stop!" in the spectator's hands and the cross cut force have so much more resonance when done with tarot.


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I could see a stack being a consideration if you were using the major and minor arcana as NDO would be way too transparent.
But please remember, there are people -- tens of thousands of people -- who make good money and captivate their audiences using Tarot cards and and absolutely zero magic tricks. So approaching these styles of magic with a better understanding of the Tarot and what the audience expects and brining only a little magic to it will go a very long way.



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TL;DR: stack 0-21, true cuts and a false hindu. Don't worry so much. There's no heat.


Best,
-alex