Cutting the cards

Cutting the cards means, after shuffling, splitting the deck into two, or sometimes three, piles and putting it back together in a different order. A widespread tradition in cartomancy holds that the cut should be made with the left hand, associated with the heart or with intuition, and that it be left to the querent to involve them in the reading. Some readers also read the card revealed by the cut. These customs belong to tradition, not to a fixed rule.