View Full Version : Toronto stores
Zoe Kate
23-05-2004, 19:15
Does anyone know of any good stores in Toronto to buy Tarot cards? (other than Chapters or Indigo...I don't like giving my money to chain stores like that).
darwinia
24-05-2004, 05:27
I love Odyssey Books in Pickering, which is worth the drive slightly east of Toronto. They have two shops, one is packed with books and tarot and Odyssey Two is packed with books, crystals and gift items like statues and masks.
Very nice store, and they also offer an extensive list of classes. The owner has gone out of her way several times to special order decks for me and she has quite a selection of gift and oracle-type decks too.
http://www.odysseybooks.on.ca/odypictext.html
Makes a nice day trip if you have a car or can round someone up with a car for a day trip.
There is one on Yorkdale Avenue too. Can't pull up the name, I think it may be Omega Healing Centre. But walking north on Younge, you turn right on Yorkdale. It is within the the first block on the south side of the street.
The emphasis of the store is on healing but they have a huge book selection, oils, etc and a smallish selection of decks.
Zoe Kate
24-05-2004, 10:53
awesome. thanks guys! :)
Silverlotus
24-05-2004, 12:47
Here is the Omega Centre website: http://www.omegactr.com/
Their deck collection is very small though.
I know you said you perfer not to go to big chain stores, but the Worlds Biggest Bookstore on Edward Street (near the Eaton Centre) has a large selection of decks. They used to be semi-independant, but they are now owned by Chapters Indigo.
There is also the WiccaShoppe on Queen Street near the Beaches, but I've never been down there. Has anyone else?
darwinia
24-05-2004, 14:22
Originally posted by Silverlotus
There is also the WiccaShoppe on Queen Street near the Beaches, but I've never been down there. Has anyone else?
No, it takes me too long to get into the city. Alas, alas for all the beading and fancy paper and art shops on Queen St.
There's a small shop in Sharon, Ontario just north of Newmarket on Leslie Street called The Hedge Witch, which has a few decks.
http://www.thehedgewitch.com/
If you're ever up in Orillia there is a wonderful shop on Mississauga Street called The Witch Doctor's Office. She is just around the corner from the orillia Opera House. She has books, herbs, tarot decks, jewellery and crystals. It's a small small shop on the second floor of an old building in the downtown core but well worth a visit.
Here's a good page with addresses and web links for tarot and related shops:
http://www.canadapagan.com/CanInfo/shopping/ont.htm
Originally posted by Silverlotus
There is also the WiccaShoppe on Queen Street near the Beaches, but I've never been down there. Has anyone else? I saw it one day when I was visiting with my sis and her hubby. Wanted to go in but got a lot of sneering about witches etc so backed off. Looked interesting. Though that whole Beaches area looks like it would be a fun shopping dawdle if I wasn't with my shopping-averse nearest and dearest. And how would that ever happen, sniff.
Originally posted by Marion
I saw it one day when I was visiting with my sis and her hubby. Wanted to go in but got a lot of sneering about witches etc so backed off. Looked interesting. Though that whole Beaches area looks like it would be a fun shopping dawdle if I wasn't with my shopping-averse nearest and dearest. And how would that ever happen, sniff. I'll go with you!
Zoe Kate
30-05-2004, 20:23
Tommorow I'm going into the city and I'm going to check out the WiccaShoppe, I'm sooo excited. Thanks for the info, guys!
Silverlotus
31-05-2004, 08:15
Please let me know what it's like! I'm hoping to visit it later this week, if the weather is nice. :)
Zoe Kate
02-06-2004, 13:17
disaster! i took the streetcar all the way down there from queen and yonge. it was raining and freezing, and the store wasn't even open! i was so dissapointed. ah well, another time i guess... :(
Silverlotus
02-06-2004, 16:53
Oh dear. I just checked their website and it looks like they are closed on Mondays. Well, I will try to get out there tomorrow or Friday. I am very curious about their Tarot collection. Although, I need another deck just about as much as I need another hole in my head.
Anyway, if I am successful I will report back with a summary of the decks they have.
Silverlotus
03-06-2004, 19:40
I made it down to the WiccaShoppe today. I am actually a little disappointed with it. While it does have a great selection of stones, herbs, incense, and jewelry, its selection of everything else leaves a lot to be desired. They had almost no books, and nearly all of what they did have was from Llewellyn. You can buy those anywhere!
The Tarot deck collection as pretty small, in my opinion. They had some boxed sets on the shelves. I remember Froud's Faeries Oracle, Soul Cards 1 and the Hanson-Roberts deck boxed with some book. There were one or two other sets, but I can't recall what they were. Nothing hard to find anyway.
Over in a case they have a collection of about 30 decks. Everything on the bottom self is first edition or out of print. They are all fairly mundane, yet cost and arm and a leg. There was a couple of Aquarian Tarot decks, a few old Thoths and Rider-Waites. Again, nothing hard-to-find.
As for the normally priced decks, they had an okay selection. Daughters of the Moon for C$48 (which you can buy from the author, with book, for US$25), Motherpeace, Nefertari's, Secrets Tarot, Hanson-Roberts, Caligostro. Again, nothing hard to find at all.
Really, I think they best selection, at an independent bookstore, would be the Omega Centre on Yorkville. It is easy to get to from Bay Station. (PM me if you'd like directions.) And the best overall selection, numbering at least 100, would be the World's Biggest Bookstore on Edward Street, near Eaton Centre. (Again, PM me for directions. I'm new to TO, but I will try the best I can to give good directions.) WiccaShoppe is great though, if you are looking for stones, herbs or incense. I finally got a piece of lapis! :)
Hopefully some day I will be able to check out some of those other stores on that site darwinia linked to.
isthmus nekoi
04-06-2004, 16:17
The best thing I love about the World's Biggest is they have cards for most of the decks on display in a big binder so you know exactly what the cards will be like.
Also, I don't believe anyone's mentioned Pages on Queen Street? It's at Queen/John and while their selection is not so hot, I remember buying decks there for like $5 cheaper than average. Although this may have changed, it's been awhile since I bought my last deck!!
I know this wasn't the question, but as for tarot books, BMV beside World's Biggest always has used copies for a lot of the popular tarot titles. I got my Book of Thoth there. I have on occasion, seen decks there too.
Zoe Kate
07-06-2004, 00:18
they have tarot decks the worlds biggest bookstore?! damn. if only i had known. i will definitely be checking that out soon.
thanks for the report on the wiccashoppe...i still want to check it out some day, but i won't go down there specifically looking for tarot stuff now that i know their selections not great.
The World's Biggest Bookstore has one of the largest in-store collections that I have ever seen. I didn't mention it before because the thread starter had mentioned being adverse to buying in the larger chains, and WBB is part of that group. They have lots of display cards too, which is great.
Zoe Kate
07-06-2004, 11:48
yeah, it was me who started the thread....damn, i always forget that wbb got bought out by chapters. grunt. and even after they had all those anti-chapters posters in the windows....ah well.
it's funny, in my experience chapters and indigo don't have a very wide selection of tarot cards...hmmm...
I just came back from a week in Toronto. i visited the WBB and the Omega Book Centre, lol, all I bought was the new Doreen Virtue deck, Archangels. So much for taking advantage of the big city!
I was in Stratford, and we were wasting time before the play and I poked into a bookstore. Lovely little independant, nice book selection. I noted they had Magic cards under a glass topped counter and I bent over to look at them. Then I realized that someone had carefully put a large display on the counter that effectively hid a small selection of tarot decks beside the Magic cards under glass. In a little town like Stratford, I could see that they might do that. Got a bit of a chuckle out of it. No special decks.
isthmus nekoi
13-06-2004, 19:16
Forgot to mention Seekers in the Annex (Bloor b/w Spadina and Bathurst). They're a used bookstore that specializes in New Age-y topics. The energy in there can be really weird - I honestly can't stay in there very long - but lots of good deals. Plus the Annex is such a great neighbourhood.
darwinia
08-01-2005, 07:24
If you're ever up in Orillia there is a wonderful shop on Mississauga Street called The Witch Doctor's Office.
Just to update, she has moved around the corner into a street-level shop on Peter Street and changed the name of the store to Season of the Mystic. (Or is it Seasons of the Mystic?) Anyway, it is still a great shop with great customer service.
NightWing
11-01-2005, 23:01
The Eternal Moment store on Bloor, just east of Bathurst, has a selection of decks and related books, plus a lot of other stuff (Wicca, Native-, etc.).
There is also a pagan/wicca supply store up on Vaughan Road, about a block north of St. Clair and just west of Bathurst. They have a selection of tarot decks and books as well, but I'm afraid I can't recall the name. Check the yellow pages under Books or Bookstores.
I DID find some interesting stuff both at "Worlds Largest" downtown (second floor), and once or twice at Omega in Yorkville (got my Alchemical Tarot there).
There are several stores on Harbord that may still carry tarot stuff, in the first block or so west of Spadina.
Sorry I don't have specific addresses.
HOWEVER, if you are looking in Toronto for Tarot materials other than by the mainline publishers,...good luck. I spent months checking out places and overall, was disappointed. I had to turn to online sources like Tarot Garden, Alida, etc. If you want anything unusual, I suspect you'll have to go that route, sooner or later. For a city of 2.5 million people, Toronto is not as much a tarot centre as you might think, or wish.
All the best in your search.
Been there,
-NightWing
I live just north of the Beaches and the WiccaShoppe so I'm down there quite a bit. They do rotate their tarot stock so it's worth checking from time to time. Great quality incense, too (though a little pricey).
With my small-press publishing background I might not encourage you to buy books from WBB, but they've got a great assortment of tarot and oracle cards, deck/book sets, and books. A couple of the staff are knowledgeable in this area and one of them likes to hear about new or interesting decks... you can special-order, too.
I've got an itch for a new deck, so if I find a store not previously mentioned I'll add it to this post.
Haunted
Woodsong
20-01-2005, 12:53
It's been a while since I've been there, but "The World's Biggest Bookstore" off of the Younge strip used to have a used tarot deck section upstairs. Most of the stuff was in a display case -- the prices were pretty good, too. I remember they had the "Shakespearian Tarot" when you absolutely couldn't find it anywhere else.
I know this wasn't the question, but as for tarot books, BMV beside World's Biggest always has used copies for a lot of the popular tarot titles. I got my Book of Thoth there. I have on occasion, seen decks there too.
Was in BMV on Edward St. two days ago and they do have a handful of tarot decks. According to a staff member, the BMV at Yonge & Eglinton has a "good selection." Might be worth checking out.
In my last post I typed WBB --short for the World's Biggest Bookstore. Sorry if this confused anyone. (don't know what BMV is short for! that's just what it's called). They just received a small shipment of decks, oracle cards, rune and stone sets.
For anyone in Brampton (or the west end and willing to drive) there's Breakthrough Books. They seem to have everything from ear candles to tarot cards, but I haven't been in a while and can't recall the selection. They're on the Net, too.
Odyseey Books sounds great!
I know someone mentioned Eternal Moment on Bloor Street, but I wanted to give it another mention. They have some nice decks in there, and the guy who runs the place is always willing to track stuff down for you - they also have a pretty good selection of books. ( It doesn't hurt that it is in the Annex, and I can relive my younger days living in the neighbourhood, when you could judge the health of the economy by the number of futon stores between Spadina and Bathurst!)
NightWing
15-02-2005, 05:18
I'm reviving this as an appeal to members in Ontario, Canada, or elsewhere, who know of any stores in the greater Toronto area that sell Tarot material (decks, books, sets...) that haven't yet been mentioned in this thread.
Are there shops in Windsor, London (Ont.), St. Catherines, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Guelph, Mississauga, Oakville, Peterborough, Ottawa, Sudbury, Kingston, or any other Ontario centre that carry Tarot materials?
My "vested interest" is that I'm traveling there soon, and would like to take advantage of an opportunity to add to my tarot collection. "Tarot" and "Divination" tend not to appear the the Yellow Pages (!?). An odd omission.
isthmus nekoi
15-02-2005, 10:21
(don't know what BMV is short for! that's just what it's called).
Books Music Video
Are there shops in Windsor, London (Ont.), St. Catherines, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Guelph, Mississauga, Oakville, Peterborough, Ottawa, Sudbury, Kingston, or any other Ontario centre that carry Tarot materials?
In Oakville on Kerr Street there is a TINY LITTLE New Age type shop called "All Is Well". The owner is quite involved with the local community and has a schedule of events usually with a tarot reader on hand giving mini readings.
I also tend to find lots of tarot decks at the travelling psycho fair/expo when it comes to town in the greater Toronto area. You can see their schedule at: http://www.esp888.com/ There is a big one coming in March (if you can wait that long) or you can do some internet research to find smaller local ones. Of course once you're at a psychic fair, there are plenty of people to ask about where to get new or unusual tarot decks that you can't easilly find.
The Occult shop is the BEST, IMHO. Though I admit I've not been there in a few years :D
109 Vaughan Road, York - 416-656-6564
I emailed the Wiccashop last year and he said he was going to go internet only. I've not heard again since.
Moon mind
23-01-2007, 09:31
Thanks Uma, I live minutes from Oakville..will check that out.
Gregory,
I still buy stuff from Wiccashoppe, privately now, as he sold his place in the city.
(you live in UK, no?)
I miss very much the trip to Wiccashoppe and don't know if there is any similar - ocult-type stores around ...
anybody knows any ?
sorry - miss-read the post...Ocult shop York...will find it!
Odyssey Books in Ajax--other end of the city but packed with books and cards and other things like jewellery, aromatherapy--lots of classes.
http://www.odysseybooks.on.ca/
Moon mind
23-01-2007, 09:59
^^^
oh! cool, will wisit there!
thankyou, room!
Gregory,
I still buy stuff from Wiccashoppe, privately now, as he sold his place in the city.
(you live in UK, no?)
I miss very much the trip to Wiccashoppe
I live in both.
I shall be in my Ontario home over Easter. Tell me more......... :D :D
Moon mind
23-01-2007, 10:21
gregory,
Chris is still taking people , you just have to call or contact him via email before you do...i can pm the info.(i think it is on his site)
it is not the same as going to the store but he still has a lot of his macik oils mixtures and incense.
Purrceyz
23-01-2007, 18:43
Hi all,
Another Torontoian...unfortunately both the Wicca Shop and the Omega Store closed.
There's a store on the main street of Kleinburg that sells tons of beautiful crystals and a few tarot card decks. (It used to be called Rock of Ages but I can't remember the new name.)
As well, the store in Brampton is now called Earthworks and she has a few more tarot decks. Her website is:
http://www.earthwrks.com/
There is another store in Brampton called "Breakthrough" -- see their website:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/breakthrough/index.htm They carry quite a few decks.
Also another travelling psychic fair that goes to a lot of little venues in the GTA (this is the one I usually attend):
http://www.e-psychic.com
The people who run it are quite friendly and knowledgeable and they will likely know of local stores in small towns because they are usually sponsoring their event.
Costco's sometimes carries decks like Doreen Virtue's ones... Most small bookstores nowadays carry them but it would be nice to find that dying breed -- the specialty shop.