Top Five Tarot Deck Publishers

Tarot deck publishing has exploded since the 1990s. Once a single company, US Games Systems Inc, ruled over almost all the tarot publishing landscape. But now, major publishing companies, like Hay House and Random House Penguin, are major players in the tarot publishing field.

Also, crowdfunding has become yet another way to get a deck published and distributed, especially through Kickstarter. This article will look at the top five publishers and some of their flagship decks.

Methodology

Thanks to Amazon, we can see not only which decks are the best-selling, but which companies are making and distributing the decks. You will see the list of the top-selling tarot and oracle card decks, which include multiple entries from the largest publishers. The top five publishers are a mix of the size of the publisher and the highest-ranking decks by the publisher.

My Top Five Tarot Deck Publishers

It is the case that a small publisher can have a high-ranking deck, like Harperone, which only produces one tarot deck, the Wild Unknown (ranked #17). To be considered one of the top five tarot deck publishers, the publisher needs to publish multiple decks and have high-ranking decks.

Insight Editions

At the time this article was written, this company had the #1, Disney Villains Tarot, and #3, The Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot, decks on Amazon. Having a licensing deal with Disney will put you on the map immediately. Other licensed decks include:

• Supernatural Tarot (from the TV show)
• Labyrinth Tarot (from the movie, Labyrinth)
• Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Tarot
• Tarot Del Toro (inspired by the cinematic work of Guillermo del Toro

Even though they have a small number of decks, they can pretty much hit a homerun with any new deck that gets to use the most popular TV shows or Movies as the basis for the deck’s images.

Want to Draw a Tarot Deck Based on a Licensed Property

No clear way to submit it; just contact them: https://insighteditions.com/pages/contact-us-1

Sterling Ethos

For quite some time, this company had the deck in the #1 spot, the Modern Witch Tarot, which is a modern reworking of the Rider-Waite tarot that has hit the mark for tarot enthusiasts and casual buyers. They have a small, but growing catalog of decks which include:

• White Numen: A Sacred Animal Tarot
• The Luna Sol Tarot
• The New Chapter Tarot
• The Grunge Tarot
• Mystical Medleys: A Vintage Cartoon Tarot
• The Essential Tarot
• Yarn Tarot
• The Wildwood Tarot
• The Daemon Tarot
• Kawaii Tarot

They are getting new decks out and have a solid anchor point with the Modern Witch Tarot.

Want to Submit Your Tarot Deck Concept

https://www.sterlingpublishing.com/contact-us/

Penguin Random House

Penguin Random House gets us to a traditional publisher that has entered the tarot card publishing game and can make a sustained splash. Their highest-ranking deck is The Light Seer’s Tarot, at #4. Their catalog is a bit more extensive, but not growing as quickly as the first two companies. Their decks include:

• The Housewives Tarot
• The Psychic Tarot Oracle Cards
• The Zombie Tarot
• The Original Dog Tarot
• The Cathar Tarot
• The Good Tarot
• The Wisdom Seeker’s Tarot
• The Illuminated Tarot
• The Fountain Tarot
• The Akashic Tarot
• Angel Tarot Cards
• Archangel Power Tarot Cards
• Fairy Tarot Cards
• The Chakra Wisdom Tarot
• Tarot of the Divine (#9)
• Women of Science Tarot
• Angel Wisdom Tarot
• The Witches’ Wisdom Tarot
• The Tarot of Light and Shadow

As you can see the list is much longer, and they have a second top 10 deck.

Want to Submit Your Tarot Deck Concept

Through a literary agent only.

Llewellyn/Lo Scarabeo

While they do not have a deck in the top ten, they are second only to US Games Systems in terms of the number of decks they offer, which is well over 200! There is a very good chance that if you have been buying tarot decks since 1987, then you have one or more decks from Llewellyn or Lo Scarabeo. Some of their best-known decks are:

• Manara Erotic Tarot
• The Pagan Tarot
• Native American Tarot
• Tarot of Druids
• Medieval Tarot
• Sacred Circle Tarot
• Happy Tarot
• Tarot Del Fuego
• Gilded Tarot Royale Deck

They continue to put out numerous decks each year.

Want to Submit Your Tarot Deck Concept

https://www.llewellyn.com/_theme/llewellyn/about/Deck_Sub_Guidelines.pdf

US Games Systems Inc

Founded in 1968 by Stuart R. Kaplan, it has published over 350 tarot decks and produces about 20 new titles annually. Decks are marketed through a network of traditional retailers, including bookstores, museum gift shops, metaphysical shops, greeting card stores, and hobby shops, as well as online distributors like Amazon. Best known as the publisher of the Rider-Waite Tarot, the company remains the leader in the tarot deck publishing field.

Besides the Rider Waite Tarot, other popular decks include:

• White Sage Tarot
• Pride Tarot
• Medicine Woman Tarot
• Tarot Grand Luxe
• Hanson-Roberts Tarot
• Tarot of Mystical Moments
• The Herbal Tarot
• The Deviant Moon Tarot

Want to Submit Your Tarot Deck Concept

https://www.usgamesinc.com/new-product-guidelines.html