What happens after you open the box on a new deck of cards be they Tarot, 36 card fortune telling decks or any oracle on cardstock?
Most folks like to do an unboxing or write a review for their blogs and then the new deck gets to join the others on a shelf if they are a collector or to wait until a mood strikes if they are a dilettante . If the person is a regular card reader then the deck gets placed in the rotation to be used if the energy is good. If the energy is good means in most cases if the buyer/reader “feels” a connection to the images of the deck. This is why theme and concept decks are often relegated to a certain time of year and the user never gets familiar with their cards.
How does on get to know a deck of cards? My first act is to open the deck. This requires a thorough shuffle to break up the pre-formatted order of the cards. The goal of opening a deck is to get a message from the deck about what it brings to you -as a tool of divination. This ritual first act allows the deck to make the first move and speak to you. No question is needed other than your intention.
The opening card is recorded.
After opening the deck if it is a 78 card Tarot the layout is always the Pentagram Spread as it tells me if the energy distribution of the deck. This spread is also recorded. The first spread used varies with 36 card decks and other oracles but it is basic in all cases which means not more than 5 cards.
Then what? If the deck is a good energy fit, it is time to move beyond the LWB or the guidebook which came with it. A reader has to discover what the symbology and the scenery on the cardface mean by direct experience. Reading is personal. It uses the treasure house of the Reader i.e. the contents of their subconscious (aka personal unconscious) to interpret the situation of the client.
What the symbol means to a client means absolutely nothing. The layout is arranged in front of the Reader and INVERSE to the client across the table. It is the reader who functions as interpreter. A spread is a mirror. The client is the face in the mirror which momentarily looks back at us which is not our own.
This is why a professional Reader immediately takes up the cards and puts the deck back together to end the session before a client rises from the chair. They may use some additional ritual techniques to “clear” each face to face reading session which ensures all the client’s energies go out the door with them.