The Complete Handbook of Tarot Cards
A Field Reference for Professionals, Businesses, and Serious Practitioners of Tarot Card Reading and Collection
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
Select, maintain, and profit from the right tarot deck for your professional practice.
About this book
This is the practical reference for anyone who works with tarot cards as a profession or serious pursuit. Whether you are a professional reader selecting a deck for daily client work, a shop owner curating an inventory, or a collector evaluating rare editions, this handbook provides the concrete technical and market knowledge you need. It covers the real-world specifications that matter — card stock weight, laminate finish, edge sealing, and dimensional consistency — and explains how they directly impact shuffle feel, durability, and professional presentation.
The handbook goes far beyond a simple buying guide. It offers a structured method for matching a deck to your specific business context, from high-volume event reading to quiet one-on-one consultations. It describes proper handling, care, and routine maintenance, as well as a diagnostic approach to common problems like sticky laminates, bent cards, and fading edges. For those interested in the commercial side, it details actionable business models, including reselling, private-labeling your own deck, and consulting for retailers, alongside an honest assessment of supplier positioning from budget to premium markets.
Finally, it looks forward to the trends reshaping the tarot industry — new printing technologies, shifting consumer demographics, and evolving material standards — and points toward the expert resources, associations, and publications that serious professionals use to stay informed. This is not a book of divinatory interpretation; it is a complete operational manual for the tarot professional.
Reader Reviews
Deborah Hall
★★★★★I've been reading professionally for six years and I've never seen the physical properties of a deck broken down this clearly. The card stock chart alone was worth the price — I finally understand why my favorite deck breaks down after a year of heavy use and my other one feels like new. The maintenance chapter has already saved me from throwing out two sticky decks.
Melissa Hill
★★★★★Solid, practical reference. I bought this for the business chapter because I'm thinking about selling decks at my stall, and it didn't disappoint. The supplier positioning was genuinely helpful. My only complaint is I wish the chapter on historical deck types was twice as long — it's good, but it left me wanting more detail.
Lisa Perez
★★★★★This is the handbook the tarot industry has needed. As someone who has bought dozens of decks over the years, I have wasted so much money on beautiful cards that are impossible to shuffle. The practical charts on card weight and laminate thickness are exactly what I needed. It's neutral, direct, and incredibly useful. I've already recommended it to two of my professional friends.
Steven Lopez
★★★★★It's a decent reference, but I found some of the technical specifications a bit overwhelming, and I'm not sure the advice for a professional reader fully applies to someone like me who is just looking for a nice personal deck. The business section was interesting but felt a bit removed from the day-to-day hobbyist experience. I did learn a lot about why my old deck feels different from my new one, though.
James Taylor
★★★★★I'm not a professional reader, I'm a collector, and this book has become my go-to for evaluating vintage decks. The chapter on types and specifications gave me a solid vocabulary for communicating with other collectors on forums. The troubleshooting section is also very practical, I used it to gently clean a 30-year-old deck I found at an estate sale without damaging it.
Lisa Mitchell
★★★★★Finally a tarot book that treats the cards as a working tool rather than a mystical artifact. The chapter on daily usage had some great, concrete advice on pacing a long reading session without wearing out the cards. I docked a star because some information about newer deck materials feels a bit dated, but overall this is a five-star resource for anyone serious about the craft.
Nicholas Wilson
★★★★★I run a small esoteric bookstore, and this handbook has become our staff reference. We now recommend decks to customers based on the specifications outlined here — like card stock and shuffle feel — instead of just on the art, and our return rate has dropped significantly. It's a must-have for anyone in the trade.