How is your deck packaged ?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Mar 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Lion-O	24 Mar 2002
My mage deck comes in a large box in which its divided in two stacks with the (quite large and thick) booklet laying on top of it. The box is actually quite luxorious as well as the cards themselves; good size, and quite firm as well (not easily folded, even not by accident). I'm very pleased with this setup since I can easily place it under my pillow without damaging the deck or the box at all due to its stern build. Last week I got my Rider Waite deck and to my 'surprise' the cards were much thinner then the Mage deck (Rider is like a regular deck of playing cards where thickness comes in) and its packaged in a box which is also like a regular box of playing cards; the whole deck goes in but it does leave some room for the (tiny) booklet (which I don't keep with the deck itself therefor the cards are easily put in and out of the box). But its because of this box that I don't dare keep this deck under my pillow; because of the extra room its also more easily damaged. So now I'm wondering how you guys handle this (if you do this at all). Do you keep your cards in the original box (and if so; does my 'Rider description' look familiar) or have you come up with other solutions to keep your deck safe and secured ?

fairyface	24 Mar 2002
peter, i never keep my cards in it's box i rap them in a cloth or like me mum dose jade some are in an nice thick sock . so i suggest that you take your cards and let them pick what they want to be in even a nice thick sock would keep them safe and as a perk if you are sleeping and you wake up and they are on top of your pillow not under they are still soft enuf that they may not even wake you up! good luck! xoxox fairyface

Umbrae	24 Mar 2002
I toss the packaging and booklets as soon as I get a new deck home. I do not bond well with marketing materials. Each deck goes into its own cotton bag. My prime deck is wrapped in a silk, and placed in a wooden box.

jade	24 Mar 2002
LOL.........let me explain. THAT deck asked to go into a sock, and it's a cotton sock. LOL all the rest of my cards are in silk bags or cotton wraps. :) i don't bond well with packaging either (something we have in common!) i take mine out of the box and make them more 'mine'. in light, jade (fairyface's mom who, believe it or not, is trying to teach her to spell LOL)

Lion-O	24 Mar 2002
Eya, First of all; fairyface and jade are family? Cool, oh man does this ever prove my statements I made in the other forum section (about people in here not being simply nicks to me). Gotta love it, really.. Anyway; back to the socks and bags. Now I'm a bit puzzled here; you keep decks in a silk sock, cotton bag or (Umbrae's prime deck): a wooden box. I can understand the wooden box simply because I don't have much problems seeing how well protected a deck is in such a box. Now this may sound funny but could you guys explain / ellaborate a bit more on how you treat the cards which you keep wrapped in silk or a sock ? The reason I'm asking is because the "keep it under the pillow" approach has worked miracles for me with my Mage deck. But I can't help seeing folded cards and all when you put them all into a sock (or wrap them into silk) and put that under your pillow. Or is there something I'm overlooking big time here?

truthsayer	25 Mar 2002
when a deck comes with a nice box i keep them in the box. for example the nigel jackson deck comes with a box the deck and book fit nicely into my bookcase. however, my tarot of the saints deck didn't come with a storable box but i hang onto the box for some reason! maybe it's b/c the original box is often desired in trades. i do love to trade!!!!! i have decks i keep in wood boxes. some are in scarves. some are in little specially made bags. i have a small chest i keep about 10. i keep some in their boxes on a shelf. i keep some gathered around me on my desk. they seem to like it there and i enjoy their company. (there i go anthropromorphizing my decks again like they have feelings and think!! LOL)

cjtarot	25 Mar 2002
Hi all, I guess you CAN call me the "Bag Lady". All my decks are in bags that I make. Some are cotton with cotton lining, some are in velvet (I have just learned to do embossing on velvet-I'm so excited) . My faovorite bags are the velvet ones my friend Shell has hand painted for me. I pull the deck out of the package right away and find a material that I feel fits the deck, then make a bag. I usually keep the little white book, but rarely read it. PS you can see a rather bad picture of the bag my web page (I am still workin on it). www.magickcottagecreations.com Cj

Jewel	25 Mar 2002
Perhaps it is the collector in me, but I always keep the boxes and pamphlets, etc. I also like storing my decks in my bookcase and the original packaging works well for this most of the time (particularly the deck/book sets). Those decks that do not come with a box to store them in once the package is opened, well if it is a deck I will be using it will go into a bag or box, if it is a deck I will seldom use I will simply leave it in the packaging it came in. It was interesting to see how your Mage deck came ... mine came in a regular card box, not like yours. I do have one special deck (Robin Wood) that is wraped in silk and is in a beautiful wooden box that looks like a treasure chest.

Emily	25 Mar 2002
I keep all my decks in their original boxes, I like to keep the boxes, complete with LWB's, with my study deck, Rider Waite, and the Diamond tarot in wooden boxes - I need to get boxes for my Spiral and Hanson Roberts but not seen two I like yet. My I Ching coins are kept in silk purses but books, tarot and I Ching, are kept in a bookcase where they are easy to see and get at :)

Lion-O	25 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by cjtarot I guess you CAN call me the "Bag Lady". Ask and you shall receive ;) Well, you didn't really ask but oh well. Say, thanks a lot for the link; this clears it up for me a bit, at least I now have some better idea with the bags and all.

zorya	25 Mar 2002
I make velvet bags with silk linings. Then I use special beads on the ties. (gemstone etc.) I always use natural fabrics.

dolphingirl	26 Mar 2002
Hi Guess I am a wierd one but one of my biggest pet peeves is that often when you buy a boxed set of tarot cards that there is no box for just the cards alone. This driven me insane I want a box to put them in or use for travel. I am so od that if the price is the same I will buy the deck and book seperate if at all possible. I will use a bag to cary the box in for travlel but I always want a box ( go figure) btw I am a Scorpio :). I love the new Victoria Regina Tarot as the set comes with a blank design it yourself box for the cards only AND a pretty velvet and satin lined bag, the best of both worlds! Samantha

Jewel	26 Mar 2002
DolphinGirl, I also prefer that each deck have its own box (decks without boxes are a pet peeve of mine to)... I feel exactly the same way you do. The only decks I keep in bags and boxes are those that simply did not come with them (except that one Robin Wood - but I do still have its box). I also travel and do exactly the same thing you do, I protect the box and cards by placing them in a bag.

Geenius at Wrok	27 Mar 2002
I've also got the Nigel Jackson as my primary deck, and the box is so compact and convenient that I'm tempted to just keep using it. The Vertigo box, though, is a pain in the keister. When I can scrape a few beans together, I'll probably get a nice bag for that deck.

Kiama	27 Mar 2002
All my decks are still in their original boxes other than the one I read with most, and those that don't come with their own boxes... The one I read with most (Robin Wood) is wrapped in black silk, nestled snuggly on a bed of deep red velvet, in a gorgeous wooden box, with stars and the Moon on it... Perfect! Some of the ones that don't come in a box of their own I wrap in silk, some I hold together with a hair band... :eek: But I've never done the whole 'under the pillow' thing.. So I guess I don't have the problem of trying not to crumple the cards! Actaully, I don't think I could sleep if I had a deck under my pillow, for fear of damaging it! Kiama

Zhritza	02 Apr 2002
I am actually in the process of making pouches for all my decks; I'm about three-fourths of the way done. They have button closures. Ideally I would make drawstring bags, but making proper drawstring mechanisms by hand is a real pain. It all started with a skirt I inherited from my mother. Occasionally she will discover something buried in her belongings from her hippie days. (Incidentally this is also how I acquired my Crowley and Marseilles decks - although I never use them because they're both really huge.) The skirt was made of six or seven beautiful batik fabrics from India. It was far too loud to wear, but I had to use those gorgeous fabrics... At my job (bookstore) we have velvet Llewellyn tarot bags for $12.95, and I thought, "Jeez, I can *make* something fancier than that!" So I am. A friend of mine teases me about my "tarot cozies," like tea cozies (coseys?) but much more, well, useful to a tarot addict.

The How is your deck packaged ? thread was originally posted on 24 Mar 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.