Storing Your Tarot Decks

I’m coming down with a cold and don’t feel up to thinking too hard, so I figured I’d do a light and fun post this week, with a bit of show and tell. Let’s look at different ways of storing your tarot decks.


I want to get something straight right away: it really doesn’t matter how you store your tarot cards. The cards are just paper, and they won’t get mad if you decide to keep them tied with rubber bands in a stack on the floor. You don’t need to spend any money on extra accessories or do anything fancy to store your cards. 


That said, it’s really fun to come up with personalized storage for your deck collection. Pampering your decks can make taking them out to do a reading feel a little more special.


You could store your decks any number of ways - in boxes, in a desk or bureau drawer, stacked on a bookshelf, or out on display. You can keep them in their original packaging, place them in bags, wrap them in cloth, or tie them up with ribbons. You can store them by themselves or add crystals, trinkets, or memorabilia.


When I first started getting into tarot, the prevailing wisdom was to keep your tarot cards in velvet bags, preferably black. (Oh the ‘90s . . .) That was never quite my style. Now the trend is to wrap your decks in silk scarves, a look I’ve always loved.

I keep my decks together in boxes. I picked these two boxes up on sale at a craft store.

Serious collectors may cringe, but I hate fussing with the deck’s original packaging. With the exception of really well packaged decks like the Wild Unknown, I’ll either toss or file away the original boxes and little white booklets, and wrap my decks in scarves and bandanas. I collect my decks to use them, and not for the sake of collecting, trading, or re-selling out of print decks.

I like to keep tumbled stones in my tarot boxes - amethyst for cleansing and clear quartz for amplifying energy.

When I get a new deck, the first thing I do is head to the nearest consignment, vintage, antique, or junk shop to find a scarf to match the artwork on the deck. I’ve had amazing luck finding scarves with the perfect prints in $1-$5 bins. I love this silk ‘60s scarf paired with the Jolanda Tarot.

My all-time favorite (so far) is this fantastic compass scarf, paired with the Morgan Greer deck. I found it the day after I wrote The Compass Rose Spread, now my go-to spread for general readings. The Morgan Greer deck is my main deck for reading for others.

A nice alternative to scarves, especially if you don’t like mixing pre-owned items with metaphysical tools, is to cut a square piece of cloth, about the size of a bandana. I used a scrap piece of lace to wrap up my Dreaming Way deck for two reasons: it was lying around and it matched, and lace like this doesn’t fray on the edges when you cut it. 2-Minute no-sew projects are the best projects. You can pick up similar lace at any fabric store in almost any color. You should only need 1/4 yard to wrap a deck, which will set you back $1 to $3.



How do you store your tarot decks? Let me know in the comments!