I Have Completed The Great Quest

Or at least found a much better Tarot bag!

Quite some time ago, inspired by something I read on another Tarot Substack, I wrote about the observation that it seems far fewer men than women are interested in the Tarot today.

The line that inspired my writing, and what ultimately became my quest was this:

“I’m also quietly on a mission to get more men to engage with the tarot.”

By

Andreas

of Tarot Studies

My initial post about that is here.

The bit of that post that has remained on my mind since is:

I mean, here below is a small sample of my Tarot bags, holding a few of my decks.

Can I really see myself openly carrying one of these things as I walked down a sidewalk?

Nah, couldn’t do it.

The stuff of nightmares

Honestly, I’d have nightmares about the second grade playground bully somehow manifesting into my adult life to teach me a lesson about what no boy should carry!

Beyond that, let’s be honest, there is no way one of those bags is going to offer effective protection for a deck. Certainly not from liquid spills. About all they are good for is keeping the cards together.

But, alas, that’s what’s available in all those Tarot shops, online and Brick and Mortar. So, that’s what I’ve used for a very long time.

But

Andreas

’ words kept rattling around in my head, and my words kept rattling around in my head…

And I was shopping in a mid-sized city here in my State of Washington recently…

When I happened upon a waxed canvas tool bag. Not a big one. It seemed to me to be the perfect size and shape to hold a few Tarot decks, a bottle of water, pen & paper, and an accessory or two. In other words, absolutely perfect for the Tarot Reader On The Go!

Now at this point I should go back and explain that I have this odd affinity for bags. I’ve got a huge collection of them. Military bags, attache cases, briefcases, unique luggage, a rather insane amount of bags.

And my most recent bag obsession is Filson. I’ve acquired a lot of Filson through recent years, and truly love it.

But, Filson has nothing in a size and shape that would work well for Tarot. Plus their off the rack stuff is very expensive, and their one off Workshop stuff is even more so. Filson was out on this Tarot quest.

But, there it was, sitting on a store shelf, waiting for me! A waxed canvas tool bag.

It wasn’t Filson, but it was cool in its own way. And heavy duty. And remarkably inexpensive. It was cool, so I brought it home and made it into my Tarot on the go bag.

But still, the decks remained in frilly velvet.

Not good. Maybe as Orwell would say, double plus ungood.

So, I visited this bag company’s website.

And what did I find?

Pencil Pouches or some such absurdly named things.

A few days later, the UPS driver came, and lo and behold, I’ve completed my quest for the ultimate Tarot Reader On The Go setup!

Now that’s nice!

Now that’s a setup!

And the second grade playground bully won’t somehow materialize to beat on me for carrying it!

I’ve got four decks in the four bags. The RWS Majors that I read Majors only spreads with. The RWS Centennial, small size, that I use as my daily driver. The 1909 Art Restoration Deck for when I want the true historical look. And the Weiser Tarot for when a change of pace seems right.

Yeah, they are all Waite-Smith decks, but I can’t help it, I’m a creature of habit!

So my great quest is now complete! I’ve managed to banish velvet and lace from my Tarot practice!

Plus, I got to write this goofy post about it!

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Just as a quick note about size: A standard Tarot size deck fits great. One of those huge oversized decks would not.

If you want to follow suit, all this stuff came from here:

Readywares

Specifically the:

16 Inch Utility Bag

And the:

Pencil Case Pouch

All in all, about $65. Which is an exceptionally good price for the quality of the product. Waxed canvas will last forever, and with just a touch of occasional maintenance will be quite water resistant, protecting decks from spills.