What do you keep your Tarot decks in?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 12 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Demonesse	12 Oct 2002
I prefer silky bags...I have one deep blue bag with a bell on it and another yellow one with embroidery and golden motifs. I don't favour boxes.

Sulis	12 Oct 2002
Velvet bags with drawstrings and beads which I make myself from velvet cushion covers which I got for 50 pence each. The cards are in the boxes they came in inside the velvet bags. Love and light Crystalmynx xx

Liliana	12 Oct 2002
various bags bought from various sources, i guess i have a tarot bag collection as well as a deck collection. www.tarttotes.com is a good place for bags, as is ebay :) :THP

WolfSpirit	12 Oct 2002
It is my policy to give all my decks their own bag eventually :D I make most myself, I bought a few: for my wolf pack deck (with wolves on it, surprise) and for my halloween tarot (with bats), the other bags are usually crocheted in colours that match the deck. I used to keep the boxed sets of deck + book together in the box, but it just took up too much space. Now I have all the books on big piles in a cupboard and the decks in a big basket, now I have space for more decks })

Lovelace	12 Oct 2002
I love buying pretty accessories too much! I keep my cards wrapped in a pretty silk scarf in a pretty carved-wood box from India. Mmm, accessories. Comes of living in a hippie town with too many gorgeous exotic/mystical type stores. :T2S

Phoenix	12 Oct 2002
I have moved this post into Talking Tarot. Phoenix Co-moderator, Tarot Books

bellaluna	13 Oct 2002
I keep my deck wrapped in a gorgeous black silk slip from France. It is much too pretty to wear. Now I finally have a use for it. Dawn

Zhritza	13 Oct 2002
What I prefer to do is make a pouch out of fabric (I hang onto pretty fabric of clothes that are torn or fit me wrong, etc., for this purpose, especially hippie-ish fabric for some reason), and keep the cards in there without a box. Once I have a pouch for a deck I throw away its box; I'm aesthetically opposed to cardboard. I put buttons or beads on the pouches (preferably glass beads) for closures. Making buttonholes is a pain but I don't know how to make drawstring bags yet. :| I do have a few bags that I bought, too. However, I've been accumulating cards fast enough for the last nine months or so that I only have pouches or bags for 10 or 15 of my decks. The rest are in their original boxes, and all the decks are crammed into one box, which they are about to outgrow.

Sinta	13 Oct 2002
My tarot (have only one deck at the moment, and is my main deck) is wrapped in a long silk shawl of my mother, sleeps in the embrace of a pouch a friend gave to me from india. This pouch rests beneath an amethyst stone attatched to a string and they both are kept in a carved wooden box from home (Asia). I always feel better when what i do is symbolic. The silk shawl makes me feel the protection of my mother. The pouch from the friend, helps me feel a friendship between me and the cards. The amethyst stone allies fears and the box gives me security of home. ;)

Pollux	13 Oct 2002
VELVET VELVET VELVET!!! Soft, furry, warm, welcoming dark Velvet. Blue or Black - till I finish the scraps I have! *LOL* Next time I'll buy a deep dark green one, since black and blue are not for every deck I have - Gill is homeless at the moment, for example. I plan to keep my decks in pouches too, and highly dislike the idea of keeping them boxed and puched at the same time, also because the angles of the box will deform the pouch itself... so anti-esthetic! *LOL* Usually, I keep the deck tied with a string inside the pouch, so that I don't have to take it out of it card by card, and to avoid damage and deformations to the cards. I also think it is hightime I started beading too, or at least decrate the bags even more - not to mention that I should start sewing them myself entirely, but what would my mother think if I did? *LOL* I also just received a communicatin from a marvellous lady that said she would send me a bag as gift, I am so overwhelmed!!! (:*) I also have a Tarot Tote, the Rock and Roll, for the R&R deck -predictbly? *LOL* And you all don't forget we have Crown Royal bags that Lunalafey sent to us! :D Liliana, please, stop suggesting Jack Daniels tins... *LOL*

Maan	13 Oct 2002
saidly enough the largest part of my decks still are in there original boxes...but i'm planning to find them all a bag, or make one, or find a box etc. My favo decks all have there own little homes. Fairies are in a beautiful tarot tote, Robin wood also. Spiral has its own velvet bag and the phantasmagoric lives in a bag ment for marbles that i found at a toy store :) Its fits the personality of this deck perfect:) O and the glastonburry has a wooden box and the hanson roberts a tin box with a prettey goddess picture on it! So far the homes of my decks ;)

Phoenix	13 Oct 2002
I just keep my decks in the original boxes that they come in. Sometimes though, like with the Llewwllyn Decks, I try to find something else for them to go in.

jema	13 Oct 2002
i make my own bags but it is slow work, i have no machine and sew it all by hand. and i am not terribly good at it i am afraid. and i have a habit of giving bags away. so i only have about 5 bags right now. i need at least 10. most of my decks are in the box in a shelf by my table where i do the readings. the most current reading decks are in bags as is the ones with tricky boxes. like the cosmic tribe. i think i threw away that box. now i wanna do an order of bags from the net but is there no other site that has them then tarot totes? anyone here that makes and sell bags? not too expensive though - bu i would rather support one of You then another site.

wavebreaker	13 Oct 2002
I keep all my decks in bags. Some are from Tarot Totes, others I've made myself, either sewn or crocheted (sp?). The decks in their bags are kept in two boxes, one for my reading decks and one for the rest of my decks.

Trogon	13 Oct 2002
Primarily, I keep the decks in their original boxes as they fit in these very well. Almost as if the box were actually just for that particular deck! }) I do have a heavy, silk-lined, felt, draw-string bag for my RWS deck. I am planning to get a bag for my Röhrig Tarot... soon I hope. ;) I do have to admit that the box for my RWS deck was starting to fall apart a little bit... it now has a fair bit of packaging tape holding it together... :|

ihcoyc	13 Oct 2002
Some decks, especially the ones that came in two part boxes, remain in their original boxes. My 1JJ Swiss remains in its box, even though that is 25 years old. Some of my favourite decks, though, came those useless Lo Scarabeo/Llewellyn boxes. For these, I have a number of black metal boxes made for 3" x 5" index cards that I get at Office Depot. I take one of these boxes, cement some black cloth to the insides of it, and put in a small wooden divider, and the box holds two decks. I cut out the card image from the box and cement that to the top of the box.

RedWood	13 Oct 2002
My decks---Shapeshifter in a wooden box...mythic wrapped in a clothe..feng shui in its original box..Gendron in a crown royal bag..I bought many scarves at garage sales this past summer..so eventually i will be making bags out of them..I keep my runes also in a crown royal bag..hanson roberts is in an oilskin bag..

jema	13 Oct 2002
ok, i cave, what is a crown royal bag? i MUST know...

ihcoyc	13 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by jema ok, i cave, what is a crown royal bag? i MUST know... Seagram's Crown Royal is a top-shelf premium and expensive brand of Canadian whisky. The fifth bottle (750 ml in godless French Revolutionary measurements:)) typically comes in a purple drawstring bag that says "Crown Royal" on it. This bag is perhaps slightly larger than ideally desirable for a typical deck, but can easily be put to use for that.

Liliana	13 Oct 2002
People discussing my sig again? I have an extra special Crown Royal bag,made out of purple velvet, from the more expesnive version that a kind someone sent me :* I also have a felt one my mom gave me. Crown Royal bags are excellent for decks that have smallish book for them, like Tarot of the Cat People and its book are in my velvet one :) :THP

Kaz	13 Oct 2002
lili, about your sig.... what does a jack daniels tin look like? scan it, show it here, we dont have these things...... kaz

Maan	13 Oct 2002
i know someone who keeps some decks in an old sock ;) love it!!! :*

Liliana	13 Oct 2002
Im not sure what a Jack Daniels tin looks like, Im not the one who keeps a deck in it ;) :THP

Alissa	14 Oct 2002
First I tie my primary deck, a Universal Waite, together in a knot made from 3 leftover pieces from my toe shoe ribbons. Then, I keep them in a Crown Royal bag 8) with a lovely 3-wand clear quatrz crystal.

Page	16 Oct 2002
Hi keep my decks in blue silk in a wooden box. When I started of I used to keep them under my pillow. Maud

Kath	16 Oct 2002
I keep mine in drawstring bags too. I make them myself... well, I buy the fabric and my mum makes them because I don't have a sewing machine :) I also make a matching spread cloth for each one. I store the decks wrapped in their cloth, in the bag. Cheers Kath

Zhritza	16 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Liliana Crown Royal bags are excellent for decks that have smallish book for them, like Tarot of the Cat People and its book are in my velvet one :) whoa! I have one CR bag (obtained from the lost and found at my job) and have never realized that those little U. S. Games books could fit in there with their deck. now the beloved CR bag will actually get some use. liliana, you're a genius :* Quote: originally posted by ihcoyc Some of my favourite decks, though, came those useless Lo Scarabeo/Llewellyn boxes. I'm curious... how do you find these worse than, say, U. S. Games boxes?

HOLMES	17 Oct 2002
tarotphelia awesome home made bags. :O) and a red cooler, haveing no excess to a chest box before that i kept in a an old box in their old boxes sure enough lose some cards, and the boxes get ruined. then just before i came to the forum i put my tarot cards into a cooler and now i got my tarot books and cards in one box (soon have to get anothercoolr and divid them :) eheh tarotphelia home made bags are awesome again :O)

Demonesse	17 Oct 2002
Wow.. a lot of people sure seem to be talented in sewing...my claws aren't fit for all that delicate work. Most people seem to prefer bags/pouches to boxes...how about keeping your deck in a kangaroo then? :P I've never really considered velevet until now...acquiring a velvet bag for my next deck will be my new objective, lol. Liliana, if I could get my hands on that Crown Royal bag, I wouldn't mind having a bright strawberry coloured neck...;)

LGarrick	23 Oct 2002
I wrap my cards in a little silk scarf that once belonged to my darling "Grandma Honey" It makes me happy.

Melvis	23 Oct 2002
TAROT TOTES BAGS!!! Holy cow, I've got dozens of them! I go through these phases where I realize that I've purchased several new decks and I have no more room on my Tarot bookshelf to store them! So I go to www.tarottotes.com and buy about 10-12 of their most fabulous bags. When I have each deck housed in an appropriate bag, I have a black metal quilt rack that I hang the bags from. My only problem now is remembering which bag holds which deck! :D I'm thinking of writing their names on ribbon and tying the ribbon to the bags' drawstrings. They're in alphabetical order, but when you have over 90 assorted decks, it's still hard to figure out which is which! ;) Peace, Melvis :TSTRE

Cerulean	23 Oct 2002
I'm still experimenting. Silk-lined, crush-velvet bags --- I have one in blue and just got one in evergreen. Mostly I look for inexpensive Chinese silk bags or a silky nylon at cosmetic counters or import stores. One or two of the decks go to work in a zip-up book bag. When I'm not using the cards, I store them in a zip-up lunch bag cooler. Some I have a few heavy cardboard storage units that I want to do away with and instead have plastic storage boxes. The blue crushed velvet bag sometimes holds Tarot De Paris or a Scapini, usually the Romeo and Juliet. The evergreen one holds the Stained Glass tarot. I've got two less-expensive silky plush material in a delightful burgundy---Vision and Visconti Gold jumped into that bookbag with the Visconti Gold book.

divinerguy	23 Oct 2002
The boxes they came in. My cards are a tool for me, no different than a computer or a pair of pliers. I don't see them as being imbued with any special characteristics because they're in a silk bag.

RedWood	23 Oct 2002
True divinerguy...Hey i would keep my computer in silk if it would stop it from freezing up so much! :)

wavebreaker	24 Oct 2002
I use bags simply because I like pretty bags and because I think they are more practical than the boxes the decks came in. It has nothing to do with seeing the decks as "imbued with special characteristics".

Riversea	24 Oct 2002
Tarot Totes, preferably. :) Though I've gotten a number of decks recently that are still in their orginal boxes. I need to order more Tarot Totes! I like bags for my cards. It's easier to dangle them by their drawstring, when you've got your hands full, and then decide at the last moment that you really need to take that deck along too! If I grab a boxed deck with full hands, I often drop it at some point. Also, I've collected Hallmark Christmas ornaments for years, and it has been drilled into my head that to protect collector value, the original box must be kept in good condition. It is a hard habit to shake! :)

Kiama	24 Oct 2002
I keep my reading deck in a bit of black silk which is etting pretytragged nw, but not cuz the cards are special... It's just more practical! If I keep them in ntheir box, the box gets tattered and wet or stuff, and so do the cards, but in silk, it's more protective... And of course it doubles up into a spread cloth for when the table in the pub is a bit dirty... (My cards now stink of beer, vodka, smoke, and pot cuz of reading too much for students in pubs or clubs!) Other than that, tat's all I keep my reading deck in. It goes everywhere in my bag with me though, so I guess you coudl say I keep it in my bag... Along with all my other daily essentials. (It's funny, cuz whenever I need to pack stuff for a trip, the 'eesentials list' includes Money, Phone, toothbrush, and Tarot deck!) My other decks are in their original boxes. Kiama

rota	24 Oct 2002
The 'practical' deck is kept in a zippered green bag that was probably a change purse in its original incarnation. It has a piece of worn seashell and a little red rock with it. I keep that in a side pocket of the bookbag that goes everywhere with me. My sketchbook, my deck and my bag of pencils are my honored companions; it's rare for me to be without them. All those other decks I have are displayed about the house: a partial deck (from an old friend who did the most to introduce me to the Tarot) sits on the ever-changing household altar, other decks I occasionally use are set near places I usually sit (the desk, the couch, at work) in case I need them, and a few decks I have but never touch are used as decoration here and there. (I mean, what do you actually DO with 'the world's tiniest Tarot...?)

Indigo	24 Oct 2002
I make crocheted pouches. They are thick enough to protect the deck, but are meshy enough to see what deck is in the pouch. I love making them, because they're a quick enough project that I actually finish them and they usually don't wind up on the unfinished pile of craft-crap.

augursWell	24 Oct 2002
I collected bandannas for years in all sorts of different patterns and colors and a few of my favorites became "wrappers" for my most used decks. I find that unravelling the bandanna from around the deck seems too complicated nowadays so I bought a few bags from Tarot Totes. They're nice and inexpensive but now I'm looking for things that match the deck itself. For instance, my Arthurian Tarot(Matthews) seemed perfect for this tile topped box I found with a picture of deer in the woods, so that's its new home.

zorya	25 Oct 2002
have to use natural fabrics for my bags. i make my own. for the outside i use cotton fabric that i recycle from used clothing etc. the lining i make out of silk (also recycled from silk blouses and scarfs). to close them, i like to use a double draw string.

fairyhedgehog	25 Oct 2002
I keep all my decks in their original boxes, but with the LWB separate. They fit so well, as Trogon said: Quote: Almost as if the box were actually made just for that particular deck! :D But I also keep them in bags as well! I've got Tarot Totes bags - thin material, but pretty and well-made. Home-made bags - rather indifferently hand-made (no sewing machine) but good thick material. I get remnants from sewing shops and charity shops. A lovely dark blue velvet bag, with yellow silky lining and spongey padding. Only £1 from a charity shop! A pretty home-made bag with green sea print - thank you faunabay :) A Crown Royal bag (the felt sort) - thank you truthsayer :) A Body Shop make-up bag. I like the bags because they're pretty and it adds another dimension to this hobby. Also, it helps keep the boxes from getting tatty - I realised this a bit late for my Hanson-Roberts deck. But mainly, it's part of the collecting urge :)

VGimlet	25 Oct 2002
I finally gave in and got one of the velvet bags from tarot totes I'd been coveting. I am keeping my primary reading deck in that. I like to keep them in bags, except for my collector decks that I probably would never read with. Those stay in their cardboard boxes. I've gotten bags from tarot totes, my local metaphysical store, and other places. I also recently bought fabric (cotton with silk lining is the plan) to try and make a few, and I'm going to ask a friend who weaves if she'll make some fabric for me on commission. Just for fun. I'd also like to have my father-in-law make me a few of his beautiful wooden boxes, especially yew, cherry and birch. I prefer natural materials, but just because I do anyway, not for any special reason. :)

Sea Sprite	03 Nov 2002
I keep my decks in silk/velour pouch and tucked away in individual wooden boxes.

zander770	03 Nov 2002
i have two "pretty nice/cool" "oval" shaped boxes (the lids sort of "snap on") that were made in india, and i bought/found them at a thrift store! (also, a great place to find small, "old style" glass containers for storing magickal herbs!) 770

The What do you keep your Tarot decks in? thread was originally posted on 12 Oct 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.