There is an oft repeated myth that Tarot cards "must" be kept wrapped in a silk cloth. Like a lot of myths, it has a foundation in fact, but is not to be taken literally. The foundation in fact is that Tarot cards are expensive, and effective workers take good care of the tools of their trade. If you don't respect your medium you are not likely to respect its message. Wrapping the cards in a silk cloth would certainly accord them respect - but so would keeping them in a carved box bought especially for them, or washing your hands before touching your cards. It's the spirit of the myth that's the key, not following it blindly without understanding the reasons for it.

Another popular myth is that your first deck of cards should be given to you, not purchased. This one comes from the times when Tarot cards were rare, and information about them even rarer. If you didn't receive your cards from someone who could instruct you in their use, you were likely to be completely in the dark as to how to interpret them. These days, they are freely available and there is plenty of information around on their use. So there is no need to sit around waiting for your Fairy Godmother to visit you, waving a pack of Tarot cards. Go buy some like everyone else does.

The third myth is so silly I can't really understand how it got started - except maybe as self justification. "You should steal your Tarot cards." No, I don't believe so! The bad karma attached to such an act would be unthinkable. Pay your money over the counter and read them with a clear conscience please!

These myths and others like them all come from a school of thought that believes that the cards are somehow "magical." Nope, they are just bits of coloured card. The "magic" resides within the reader. No matter how "magical" the cards are supposed to be, without the reader, they just lie there doing nothing!