looking for tarot in the uk

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Oct 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

loveinspirit	27 Oct 2004
tarot reading doesnt seem like a big thing in the uk, or it might just be where im living. im looking for any courses, groups or other tarot readers in the west midlands area.. i know of spiritutalist churches near me.. but impossible for me to get there, and they do more mediumship than anything. so any ideas would be good.. thanks

Moonbow*	27 Oct 2004
Hi loveinspirit Have you tried your local metaphysical shops? Where I am, most of the Tarot circles, workshops and meetings seem to be advertised at the shops and are usually in the back room or upstairs. I agree though that we seem to be at a disadvantage for being able to find like-minded people here in the UK. Maybe the larger cities are more open about it but where I live (a small village with school and pub and little else!) it's not easy to find people with the same interest. I also think that in the UK Tarot is STILL not so openly accepted as it seems to be in some other countries.....from what I hear on Aeclectic.

inanna_tarot	27 Oct 2004
Well, first port of call (on the net) would be www.tabi.org.uk they are mostly from the UK with a few international members, with lots of yahoo groups for members and non-members alike! Also a free beginner course and other courses will be available though there might be a small fee for that - not sure what the bigwigs are saying yet :) In the west midlands, well, theres a GREAT tarot shop in Shrewsbury, Shropshire called Sacred Moon heres the link www.sacredmoon.co.uk but there are a few pagany type shops in the Shrops area, full of tarot and that. So all is not lost from the west midlands - ahh back home lol Sezo (used to live in shropshire, funnily enough!) x

loveinspirit	27 Oct 2004
thanks for the help, but no metaphysical shops either round here lol. seems there are loads of sceptics, very difficult to talk about tarot to anyone except on here...

Emily	27 Oct 2004
I live in the West Midlands too and nope I don't know of one metaphysical shop. There must be some in Birmingham City but I haven't managed to find any yet. There is a great little new age shop in Barmouth called 'Shalimars' - she sells all the Lo Scarabeo decks but is a little bit more expensive than say Amazon but I have managed to pick up decks from her that I couldn't get from Amazon. It's a long way away but if you ever go on holiday to Barmouth its a shop worth a visit. :)

Moonbow*	27 Oct 2004
You know I am lucky enough to have a very good shop a couple of miles away in Romsey, and although his prices are a little higher than I could get on the net, I have bought loads of decks, books, crystals, candles etc etc from him, because I realise that these shops really do need alot of support here. He has suffered hate mail, broken windows and other traders not doing business with him because they think his shop is evil. This morning he was clearing up tomato ketchup from the front of his shop. If you find a shop, try and support it if you can.

Mesara	27 Oct 2004
Try Diagon Alley :)

IDN	27 Oct 2004
Hi, I live in Shrewsbury and can also vouch for "Sacred Moon"- I have bought most of my decks from there- they are VERY friendly and enthusiastic. Dawn (who owns the shop) also does readings- Myself and my mother have both had readings by Dawn- she is very good. "Sacred Moon" also run various courses. They have a 2 day "Introduction to Tarot" course running next April- I am booked onto that and really looking forward to it. Regards, Ian

gareth.	27 Oct 2004
It has been very informative to learn about sources here.Im in Wales so Shrews and Barmouth both not too far away.I now dont attend Psycic fairs and have my Tarot read as I feel it is usually dissapointing as I can see my own message in the cards.It tends then to lead to isolation.Sometimes that is not too bad a thing as the secret is to find the way personally.Thanks again.

Nycelle	27 Oct 2004
If you ring directory enquiries (118000) and ask for new age shops in Birmingham, they should be able to help. I used to work for them and they do have a category for new age shops. Good luck!

krazymayj	27 Oct 2004
cardiff

loveinspirit	28 Oct 2004
thanks for the help guys, i will hopefully go to sacred moon one day, shrewsbury is a 40 minute drive from where i am, and transport for me is lacking since i dont drive. but i did have a look at the website its really good... i was hoping for one a lot closer to home. hey this might be telling me to start up my own business, in tarot readings.. i have moved to this area 7 months ago, i have not been able to find anyone with the same interests in tarot.. i have done a reading for one of the mums that my boy goes to school with her son. it was a very good reading and i even gave her a full description of her nan, what she was like and wore etc. this she hadnt told me about before. the look in her face was like wow, but she still thinks im mad lol it would be good to talk face to face with people around here with people who like the tarot just as much as i do thanks

Emily	28 Oct 2004
Hi Nycelle, I never thought of ringing Directory Inquiries - thanks for the tip. :)

jmd	28 Oct 2004
I have just read through this thread and am quite shocked at the description given by Moonbow* of the repeated incidents on that person's shop. From the description, it also sounds as though it may be more than just a couple of deranged individuals, but rather also other shop-owners somehow not wanting to trade with him! This kind of discrimination and vindictiveness is difficult to transform - but not impossible... And trust that the invisible support the owners and the shop itself gets from us adds to the light of understanding.

sungoddess	28 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Moonbow* You know I am lucky enough to have a very good shop a couple of miles away in Romsey, and although his prices are a little higher than I could get on the net, I have bought loads of decks, books, crystals, candles etc etc from him, because I realise that these shops really do need alot of support here. He has suffered hate mail, broken windows and other traders not doing business with him because they think his shop is evil. This morning he was clearing up tomato ketchup from the front of his shop. If you find a shop, try and support it if you can. You know, before I came to England I would have told you I found this hard to believe; but I realise as soon as you leave London or a big city, you could as well be in the boondocks, because the attitude of the average Briton is one of ignorance. Sad to say it, but I'm beginning to realise this. When I left the Caribbean, I had hoped for open-mindedness and step away from that kind of thing, so to come here and find it in such great numbers is quite disappointing.

loveinspirit	28 Oct 2004
i looked on the meet up website. and guess what the closest place is... in birmingham, which is still to far for me to travel and i did have to laugh about this, the last post you put was looking for tarot in the uk about the ignorance of the average britian and there are only 4 tarot readers in birmingham rofl, sorry i shouldnt laugh but it does show how much there is ignorance around. im british and proud of it dont get me wrong but im not the type to shy away from being different im proud of wanting to learn about tarot. just wish we could get others to see the difference in the world and how we can make our lifes better not to hide away. any way i guess i have to kept looking, i might even start a group around here, or something along those lines. happy hunting with your search any way

Moonbow*	28 Oct 2004
Well I'm on the south coast and down here the word Tarot is whispered. If you mention it, people think you are a weirdo. I find the only people that are comfortable with me using the word seem to be those who are not straight down the middle Cof E or Catholic. I have a couple of Indian friends and I have had great chats with them about tarot and reiki, and I think it's because they are more open about different religions and ways of life.

tabbycat	28 Oct 2004
Not very close to you, but maybe worth a visit is New Aeon Books in Manchester. I haven't been to their shop, but I have bought decks from them on eBay, including a good condition PoMo. I believe there's an occult shop near Nottingham, although I haven't found my way there yet. There's a dearth of shops on my side of the country as well (East Midlands/East Anglia) but there's a good small crystal shop in South Lincs that trades under the name Earthly Gems. Jilly

ribbitcat	28 Oct 2004
So where is the West Midlands ? :-) Or rather ...what area does that cover ? Then I can ask if there's any TABI members round there ... I must say , I don't find a lack of acceptance ; ignorance , certainly . I am not in London , so count as "in the boonies" :-) But perhaps it is very dependent on locale . Brighton I know has at least one very good reader - Moonbow , which bit of the south coast are you on ? Tabbycat - you must know Inanna's Festival in Norwich ? And I believe that there's a couple of New Age shops in Colchester . There's one tiny one in Ipswich , and another tiny one in Woodbridge . Peterborough has none that I'm aware of , but perhaps in Cambridge ? I haven't been there for some time ... ribbitcat

Moonbow*	28 Oct 2004
I am in Southampton, and fortunate enough to have a couple of good shops within driving distance. One in particular has a Tarot group that meets regularly. But they are definately few and far between which is one of the reason that I found Aeclectic.

loveinspirit	29 Oct 2004
west midlands is kind of north, i havent really lived here long enough to get my bearings, its close to wolverhampton and birmingham.lol(i hope i got that right), i actually came from essex and lived in wiltshire for 4 years to... so i certainly can see a difference with the new age shop and tarot readers being less of round here. and wonder if there are TABI members round here. i actually thought of becoming one, but not sure what it entails, but i have seen their website, need more info though.

tabbycat	29 Oct 2004
No, ribbitcat, I didn't know there was a shop in Norwich. Haven't been there for a while, as Norwich is as far away from me as London and I usually have less reason to go to Norwich. Peterborough has very little of anything! ;) Horrible place, which could only be improved by dropping 5-10 megatons on the cathedral! Jilly

IDN	29 Oct 2004
West Midlands: The big patch starting to the left of Birmingham and continuing right over to the Welsh Border- ie Oswestry, Shrewsbury, etc! Regards, Ian

loveinspirit	29 Oct 2004
wow idn i didnt think the west midlands was that big, in the little bit im in i think most are sceptics.. i found out that the tarot class im teaching, its taken them 3 years to set up. at least it shows that things are changing slowly. i have found a shop could arcana-arcana in walsall, it has a website to. but i think they just sell alsorts in there, they dont do readings or have readers in the shop...

Emily	29 Oct 2004
There used to be an occult shop in Walsall, or so I was told, about 20 years ago. They eventually got run out of the town but I suppose for those days it was very adventurous. I do remember Arcana Arcana, i think its in the old part of the town but not sure if they sell tarot decks, they hadn't used to. But it might be worth a phone call. Edited:- Just phoned Arcana-Arcana and they do sell tarot decks :) - the saleslady said that they have a wide collection of around 30 decks in. I'm in a sort of shocked silence here, never realised that a shop so close to me would be so well stocked! :D

loveinspirit	29 Oct 2004
hi emily, thank you i do know they sell tarot cards, its tarot readers in my area im at a loss to find lol, pretty nice shop though

The looking for tarot in the uk thread was originally posted on 27 Oct 2004 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.