The state of Tarot -

[.traveller.]

Even shopping at chain stores supports your local economy, because those businesses employ local people. The money those people earn goes back into the neighborhood. Those businesses also have to pay state and local taxes.
A large (chain)department store here is going out of business, leaving 100+ people out of work. That is going to definitely impact our local economy for the worse.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Logiatrix]

Hi, desertreader...

Is one of the local independent shops you go to called The Arc?
http://arkbooks.com/

It's a favorite of a friend of mine who lives in Santa Fe; lots of tarot and other divination tools. Recently he mentioned that there was a lot of construction on the street, though, and parking was limited.

 

[desertreader]

The Arc? I forgot about that place. It's been around for years - the 80's at least. I don't think I've ever gone there. I l live in Albuquerque which is about 45 minutes from Santa Fe. Santa Fe has been undergoing a lot of construction though so the Arc may be in trouble. I think that's what hurt one of my bookstores here. The area of town it's located in is undergoing a big remodel and lots of upscale stores are planning on moving in. But thank you! I may look at the web site to see what they have.

 

[Rusty Neon]

Canada

I find it a lot easier nowadays to support my local metaphysical store here in Canada. They sell all items in their store at U.S. prices, so that ends up costing less than if I order from amazon U.S. and pay shipping (and possibly a levy for Canadian sales tax and customs processing charge). And they have a large variety of decks in store or that they can quickly get in. I was very surprised to see that they even had a small label product in stock (Major Tom's Tarot of Marseilles) though I didn't buy it.

 

[6 Haunted Days]

Ok, so the person living in the cave bought the Gothic Tarot of the Vampires and Tarot of the Cats.

The vampire one was for two reasons: one, it's a dark deck and I'm experiencing a lot of dark energy and because I write and read vampire stuff - it seemed appropriate. The cat one, I'm not sure, I like cats and I liked the cards.

Have you checked out the Bohemian Gothic tarot that just came out recently? It's a dark atmospheric.....very eerie deck.

 

[desertreader]

As a matter of fact, I have checked Bohemian Gothic out. It's under consideration. So is that Deviant Moon deck. The wormweird or whatever it's called looked kinda yawnish to me - not that interesting.

Funny, when I first started reading I went for pretty, interesting, decks. Then I went for ethnic - native american, japanese, zenish, then the historical or qabalistic ones. Now I've gone Dark Shadows - the darker, the eerier - the better.

Unless it has kitties in it.

 

[Rosanne]

Now, my questions:

Should I broaden my search throughout the city? Maybe it's them.

Is Tarot out of fashion? (Not that I care about trendy versus untrendy but it may affect my access)

Don't bookstores carry tarot decks anymore?

Does Tarot sell well these days?

Does AT get a portion of my amazon purchase since I accessed amazon here?

Do I sound like I've been living in a cave for the last five years?

Your answers are most welcome - Thank you

I can answer some of your questions from my neck of the woods in the South Pacific. It is only in the last 15 years you could get anything other than RWS and Thoth. Now there are a few outlets. There used to be a lot of Metaphysical shops- now there are none to be found. This is because of buying on-line, and the up and downs of our dollar. It is far easier for me to order from Tarot Garden for example and pay the postage, than to buy locally. 15 years ago I bought everything that was available here to boost the possibility of greater stock being imported- but really it did not make a difference. it was this that made me a collector.

I do not think Tarot is selling less, because there are so many decks still being produced- and it is not a cheap production item. I think it is the Web. It was forcast to change the local market and it has.
If you buy from Tarot Garden or some of the mentioned named sellers here, it advantages Aeclectic- but I do not think that applies to Amazon.
Everything does go in cycles- There was a huge Feng Shui craze a few years back- then there is the Japanese card market which is huge, but is not by any means only Tarot- but all sorts of card swap. Divination goes up as the world gets crazy and I have seen 3 huge times when Tarot was on everyones lips.(70's 85 and 97) It is also less 'spooky' and more accepted now and people can access sites like this without leaving home. As a crass example- Porn in DVD and Video has crashed- but has increased on the web.
I am expecting as we draw closer to 2012- the divination with Tarot will increase- as will I Ching and the like. There are Tarot stayers and passer byes who stop for a while- just like in anything.
Good luck with your re- newed reading and all the choices available.
~Rosanne

 

[Grigori]

Its the same here. Bookshops have next to nothing. A pile of Doreen Virtue decks, and maybe a Rider Waite or Original Waite (at $45 each, no book, just deck) and that is about it.

Borders does have a good selection of decks, though never the one I'm interested in at the time of course. There are a few small new-agey shops, and they have a comparable selection to Borders, though never any staff who know anything about the decks which disappoints me. I think oracles are more assessable than tarots, but mostly those in the same vein as Doreen Virtue, or from the same publisher at least.

I get decks pretty much exclusively from Amazon or Tarot Garden. Even with international shipping it works out cheaper for me, and the range is so much more extensive than anything local to me. And if you purchase via a link on AT, a percentage of the profit goes back to supporting our community, and I like us better than the useless clerks at my local stores. (Well there is one store that I like to buy stuff from cause they are very useful, but they moved to the wrong side of the city, so not so useful for me anymore )

 

[6 Haunted Days]

If you buy from Tarot Garden or some of the mentioned named sellers here, it advantages Aeclectic- but I do not think that applies to Amazon.
~Rosanne

Yes, if you click on the Amazon link in AT to Amazon, AT does get a percentage!