How To Keep Your Tarot Cards Safe

So you've finally found the deck of Tarot cards that speaks to you -- congratulations! You've brought them home... but now what do you do with them?

Cleansing and Cleaning

Typically, it's a good idea to protect your Tarot cards from both physical damage and negative energy. There are a few ways to do this, and the manner which you choose to use is entirely up to you. You can do any of the following, or even a combination of methods:

• Ritually consecrate your deck
• Wrap the cards in a silk scarf
• Keep your cards in a small box
• Put the cards in a cloth bag with a drawstring

Ultimately, the goal is to never leave your cards laying scattered around the house. If you're taking them somewhere with you, don't just stuff them in your pocket -- keep the deck in their protective shield until you get where you're going.

With a brand new deck of cards, it's a good idea to "get to know the deck" before you use them. You may wish to put them under your pillow for a few nights so they can acquire your personal energy. Many Tarot card readers don't allow anyone else to touch their cards. This is because the cards pick up on the vibrations around them -- imagine if you had five unhappy friends come over, and all five of them played with your cards! On the other hand, some readers will allow a Querent to shuffle or cut the cards prior to a reading. The choice is yours.

Brigit at Biddy Tarot has a couple of excellent suggestions for keeping your cards clean once you've done a cleansing. She recommends, "Store your cards with a quartz crystal which is a wonderful absorber of energies... [or] place your Tarot cards at a specially made altar in between readings."

If it's been a while since you've handled your cards, or if they've been handled by someone whose presence bothers you, you should either ritually re-consecrate them, or carry them on your person for a while until they "feel right" again.

Do you absolutely have to do anything magical with Tarot cards between uses? Kate at Daily Tarot Girl suggests, "You don’t need to wrap your cards in silk and keep them somewhere sacred in order to have a good reading experience. But if doing so makes you feel good about your cards, then do it! What’s important is that you feel good about how your storing your Tarot deck. So if you feel guilty about how you treat your cards, its time for a change. Start treating your Tarot deck like a treasured guest and notice how your readings improve."

Tarot Cards as Gifts

There are some people who believe you should never accept Tarot cards as a gift. If a deck is given to you as a heartfelt offering from someone who has nothing but positive thoughts about you, there is no reason why you can't accept them - just give them a good cleansing before you use them the first time.

On the other hand, there are people who believe you should only use Tarot cards which were received as a gift, and never buy your own. I can tell you, as someone who owns approximately two dozen decks, the source hasn't made a bit of difference for me. Some were gifts, and some I purchased for myself simply because I wanted them. Regardless, in almost three decades of reading cards, in my experience it doesn't matter one way or the other how a deck came to me, as far as the accuracy of the reading.

The bottom line? Take good care of your cards, treat them with respect, and they'll do the same for you in return!

Are you ready to learn more about the Tarot? Use our 6-step Intro to Tarot Study Guide to get yourself started!