My auntie’s bookstore

You must have noticed how the demand for magic has grown these days.  Every second one is interested in astrology, every fifth one reads tarot, and every tenth one considers themselves a follower of Norwegian or Druidic paganism.

 So it is not surprising that so many windows with signs like "Tarot Reader", "Palm Reader", and "Crystal Reader" appeared on the streets. Did you notice?  Everyone is a reader!  Maybe because everything just starts with reading?  It starts with childhood fairy tales that your mother read to you, with a passion for Tolkien's books, and then you find a seedy second-hand esoteric book somewhere in a flea market and off you go.  Yes, perhaps magic begins with books.  Therefore, the bookstore, which I inherited from my auntie, comes in handy as never before.  My aunt has handed over her magical little kingdom of thousands of printed worlds and a tiny back room to me.  She has gone on a trip around the world - of course, not to have fun, but to replenish her already not small, but alas! mostly theoretical knowledge about various magical practices of the world.  Surprised?  Yes, this happens - a witch-theorist.  Of course, my beloved auntie had basic magic skills, but she likes studying more than practicing.  Her magical research has been published in magazines, and blogs, and discussed on forums.  And she also wrote several books, which, of course, could be found in our store.  You might be thinking: “Surely these are closed forums, limited edition magazines “only for insiders”, and books are hidden on special shelves, away from unwanted eyes.”  No way! Everything is in the public domain, the main thing is to take the trouble to express at least a drop of interest, and the sources of “hidden” knowledge will be found on their own.  As Uncle Aleister said, "The secret will take care of itself."  The need to hide something from someone has sunk since the Middle Ages.  And interest in magic fades away, then rekindles again. Are you interested?  Well, we have the history of magic right there, just after the Harry Potter collection, and also over there, next to Lovecraft, and probably even in the very last row on the left, right after the Castaneda’s books.  Yes, sorting books was not in the rules of my beloved auntie and I continue her little traditions.  And in general, order is a rare element for witches.

 The weather this day was vile - it was something in between snowing and raining outside the window.  No white Christmas this year! No, we don’t celebrate Yule, but scary tales about Krampus are always favourites in our family.

 I didn’t wait for buyers, but I didn’t want to close the store either.  Our cat (not stereotypically black, but gray and fluffy) curled up at the cash machine, and I was once again rereading Dandelion Wine, plunging into the warm, long-awaited summer.

 Suddenly, the bell above the front door rang, announcing the appearance of a client.  A young woman entered the store.  Her large round glasses (already wet from snow and rain) immediately became foggy.  She greeted me softly and promptly disappeared into a maze of bookshelves.  For a while, she wandered among the shelves, stopped, picked up a book, looked at the cover, read the annotation, put the book back and moved on to the next shelf.  I call people like her dreamers - those who prefer written fantasy worlds over the “gray reality”.  Often these are people who have a predisposition to magic but are not even aware of it.  There are a lot of wizards among people, and they are always drawn to something mystical, and magical.  Non-magical folks (let's borrow Rowling's definition - Muggles), will never be interested in magic.  Moreover, they will not even take a fantasy book into their hands.  They prefer books on self-development, self-realization, time management, etc.  "How to be the most productive of all the most productive" or "How to shove a five-year plan into 24 hours" is an appropriate reading for Muggles.  There have never been such books in our shop.  And my client continued to look at our assortment.  So she may not be a witch, but she's definitely not a Muggle.

 This went on for a while, until she made her way to a small coffee table deep inside our shop, away from the window and the sun.  Our modest collection of Tarot cards was laid out there.  There were countless Tarot and Oracle decks these days, and more and more new ones appear every year.  But my auntie never chased novelties, so the last time our collection was replenished was over 10 years ago.

I saw the girl's eyes light up.  Here it was!  That's what made her go out in nasty weather on Christmas Eve when everyone was busy and getting ready for the holiday.  That's what drew her to our bookshop.  Perhaps it was because of her that I did not close the store.  She reached out for the cards with her hand but immediately pulled it back, as if afraid of getting burned.

 - I remember my first deck was given to me for my seventh birthday.  - I quietly approached from behind and seemed to frighten the customer, because the girl jumped in surprise.

 - Isn't it too early?  How can a seven-year-old child read Tarot?

 - Not at all!  Tarot is the same picture book, only with many variations in the development of the plot.  - I smiled at the bewildered girl.

 She looked at the cards, and then looked at me again with shyness and almost a pleading in her eyes.

 - I need your help.  It might seem funny and stupid to you.  But could you please gift me a Tarot deck?  - and before I had time to open my mouth, she quickly continued.  - I’ll pay! Let me buy you a book,  any book, whatever you say.  I will buy a book and give it to you, and in return, you will give me a deck of cards.

 I couldn't help laughing.  I knew exactly what the customer was asking me for.  There is a belief that the first Tarot deck must certainly be received as a gift, in no case should be bought.  Thus, a person seems to receive an “invitation” to begin practicing reading.  But it is just an old superstition that everyone chooses to ignore.

 - I never thought that I would ever meet a person who still follows such “rules”.

- I know it sounds silly, but I want it to be real!

 - Well, so be it.  Choose your book.

 - Really?  - the girl's face lit up with a happy smile and she almost jumped on the spot.

 - Desire of the client is the law!

 She looked at me carefully, as if trying to guess my clothing size, nodded to herself and disappeared between the bookcases.  A few minutes later she handed me the book Catcher in the Rye. Well, she did get my taste.

 - Good.  Now you need to choose a deck.  Be careful!  Make no mistake.

 - But I thought it would be a gift and you would choose the deck.  - Surprise and almost disappointment could be heard in the girl's voice.

 - Nonsense!  A deck for a Tarot reader is like a wand for a wizard.  This is a very important moment!  You can't trust someone else to do it.  Close your eyes and reach out.  You’ll feel for yourself which deck is yours.  - I spoke the last words in a conspiratorial whisper to create a sense of mystery.

 Such a game relished my customer and she obediently closed her eyes and extended her hand.  She slowly passed her hand over the cards and paused over one.  I moved closer to take a look.

 - I feel warm! - the girl whispered.

 - True sign! Now grab it!

 The girl opened her eyes and stared in amazement at the vintage (I said that the collection has not been replenished for a long time, and some decks have been gathering dust on our shelves for decades) deck in her hands.  She chose Smith-Waite Tarot.  Well, of course!  Who hasn't started with this deck?  This is exactly what beginners need.  This deck is easy to read, and also heroically endures all the mistakes of inexperienced readers.

- Great choice! - I complimented the girl.  She looked as if Santa had come to her a day early this year.  - and now if you do want everything to be real, let's perform a ritual.  Do you want to?  - I was pleased with the surprised face of my customer.

 - Yes!  - she whispered admiringly.

 - Aren't you scared?

 - No!

 - Are you ready to take Tarot seriously?  Not playing with this deck, not asking silly questions and being respectful?

 - I'm ready!

 - And you are ready to feed the cards with your own energy?

 - Yes!

 - Very well, then let's get started.  Now I will connect you to the Tarot Egregore.  Sit right here, we'll have a meditation.

 We sat down right on the floor.  She closed her eyes and I began:

 - Imagine yourself...

And after that we drank tea with cookies that my mother baked according to the recipe of my great-grandmother.  For the sake of this recipe, she arranged a whole spiritual session!  (I do believe that such rituals should be taken seriously, but you should not be too serious either).  Our cat showed favour to my new friend and lay down on her lap.  We talked for a long time about everything in the world: about the phases of the moon, about our favourite books, our preferences in music and even cartoons.  For a long time, the walls of our store hadn’t t heard so much ringing and happy laughs!  But twilight began to descend on the earth and my guest was getting ready to go home.  She did pay for the book, but I persuaded her to take the purchase:

 - Let this be my Christmas present to you!

 - Merry Christmas!  - the guest smiled at me.

 - Merry Christmas!

 She went out the door.  In her hands was a small package with a deck of cards and a book, into which I secretly stuffed a note with my phone number.  Well, just in case she needs some help with her very first Tarot reading… or else.