tarot cards stored in a divination pouch

How To Store Your Tarot & Oracle Cards To Keep Them Safe

Last Updated: July 26, 2022

Let’s take a look at the ways we can store your tarot and oracle decks. I’ve heard many things over the years, such as one where the superstitions were to not store your cards with other decks, or they may absorb their energies! I would like to take this moment to say, don’t worry! 

The cards will be absolutely fine stored together and many seasoned practitioners store all of their cards together or near each other and to this date all is fine! So what can we do to make sure our cards are safe and protected?

Table of Contents

5 ways to safely store your oracle & tarot decks

1 - Pouches

Pouches are a wonderful way to keep your decks protected. Not only will the pouch keep your deck safe from sun damage and accidental spills (such as candle wax and from water), it will help keep the deck protected spirituality. Many will go for material such as velvet or imitation velvet for this exact reason. 

The Backyard Banshee Divination Pouch is created from a natural organic cotton material that is unbleached, meet Oeko-Tex safety standards, are produced in a SEDEX certified factory, with SMETA social audits. Lizzie really cares about the production of this magickal tool.

oracle cards protected in a divination pouch

2 - Salt

Ah the power of salt! What’s better is it is readily available in most shops, and very accessible. To use salt for storing your tarot deck, wrap your cards in either parchment, cloth or plastic to help protect them from wear and tear from the salt itself, and then lay them on a bed of salt and cover them up with it. Leave overnight or when you need them. It’s best to do this in a bowl or plate with a lip to avoid spillage. That way your deck will be cleansed and ready for the next reading too!

Related Article: How To Cleanse Your Tarot & Oracle Cards

3 - Crystals

You can place crystals on top of your decks. My go-to is black tourmaline or obsidian to add a wonderful protective energy from outside influences. Other great options are selenite or satin spar to help keep your deck charged and protected. Simply place a crystal on top of your deck that is programmed with the intention you require. To do this hold your cleansed and charged crystal in your hands and tell it what you would like from it.

tarot deck with rose quartz crystal

4 - Manifestation box

This can be done in a couple of ways. If you are trying to manifest a specific target then you can take one of your cards such as the 10 of pentacles (for work & career goals) or The World (for travel or community) and place it into the box with the adjoining items. Then each time you wish to use your deck you can take the card out and use your deck as a whole before placing the card back into the box. 

The other way is placing the deck of cards into the box. You can programme your manifestation box for whichever desired outcome you wish, such as enlightenment or strong intuition, and then use your cards as normal to track the progress of your manifestations.

5 - Sacred spaces

Sacred spaces can come under many aliases; may they be altars, rooms,  boxes and more. This wide array of spaces, however, has one thing in common. They are areas that have been spiritually cleansed. If this is through smoke, sound, sprays or visualisation. The spaces will all be neutral or positive within their vibrational frequencies. Since they are, many people will for example place their decks on their altar, knowing it’s safe and sound.

tarot decks with crystals around

4 places where you should not store your Tarot & Oracle cards

Although the storage of your deck is completely up to you as an individual there are some points I would like to cover that I wouldn’t suggest, and will protect your tarot or oracle deck.

1 - By the window

Although this may be extremely tempting and can be used to charge your cards within the elements. During the colder weather, it can be less than satisfying. The cold temperatures hitting the glass can cause a build-up of condensation causing the cards to become wet and ruin them. Another thing to consider near a window is if your cards are not placed into a pouch they can suffer sun bleaching over time leading to them losing any protective layer and becoming unreadable.

2 - Under your pillow

This in some circumstances can work and it’s up there in the “what ifs” section of ideas floating around. However, we need to consider all that can happen from this. I understand that many want to sleep with a certain card or keep them close in the first few days to form a connection with the deck but while we sleep we move, sweat and sometimes (eek) drool. Not exactly the best for a shiny deck of cards!

Instead, consider in the first few days placing the cards on your bedside table in a pouch or with a crystal on top of them! It may be worth considering that if your mind is overactive at night, it may be best to keep your tarot out of sight completely and out of the room, to prevent further stimulation before sleep.

If later on, you want to use a card to help manifest, consider placing the card in a pouch under your bed or on your side table – keep in mind if you have pets that are under your bed it still may be available for a fluffy ambush, and it’s best to play it safe!

3 - Near candles

As much as the glowing images on social media may look dreamy with the tarot decks spread out and stored among glowing candles, it simply isn’t a long term solution. The fire safety risks that go with this are immense and the risk of wax falling onto the card could ruin a perfectly good deck. I would highly advise not leaving your cards spread out as they can take damage from ash, waxy remnants and sun as well as the candle wax.

4 - Near your front door

Placing your deck on altars, sacred spaces or in cupboards are all wonderful places; however, if it is right by your front door you might want to be mindful of incoming energies to everyone you open your door to. Potential rainfall, snowy cold, the general hustle and bustle of people walking past that may accidentally knock your deck to the floor damaging the edges or the readability.

Conclusion

Overall what I would say is the best thing to do here is find what you are most comfortable with. I have decks of cards on my altar and then some behind glass in a display unit in my lounge with a crystal placed on top and this works for me. It may not work for you and that’s absolutely fine. Work with your intuition and keep in mind what can be damaging both physically and spiritually for your cards and you won’t go far wrong.

Divination is generally a personal practice, and you must be guided with what feels right to you, but hopefully, some of the ideas above give you information on how others have practised too.

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Written by Eve

A spiritual individual with a love for the universe… I enjoy life as it comes, with a passion for reading, gaming, and crafting!

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