Snowshill in the Cotswolds is known for two, albeit distinct, reasons. Perhaps you might recognise it from a few brief scenes in Bridget Jones’s Diary, where you can watch a quaint little car drive through a quaint little road on the way to Bridget’s parent’s house. Or, you may know it from the occultist attic hidden at the top of the village’s manor– although I appreciate that this one might be a bit more of a reach.  

I visited Snowshill when I was seventeen, slightly anxious and strangely drawn to anything paranormal. It seemed fitting that, on an evening stroll, I should happen upon a pile of tarot books, seemingly waiting at a deserted bookstall. That I would learn to read tarot, felt obvious.  

I tell this story, not because I believe that it is particularly meaningful to anyone other than myself, but to show how fundamentally personal the practice is and how the commercialisation of tarot (and spirituality) in recent years is such a distantly bizarre phenomenon.  

To understand Tarot today, it is useful to be familiar with how dynamic the practice has previously been. Most sources trace the origins of Tarot to a card game in the 15th century, played by members of the Italian court and named ‘Trionfi’ (‘triumphs’). It was not until the 18th century that tarot began to be applied as a tool of divination, with French occultist Court de Gébelin’s theory that behind the symbolism lay the lost ancient Egyptian book of Thoth. It was with these contributions that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was influenced, with the popular ‘Rider-Waite-Smith Deck’ being created in 1910.   

Tarot in the 2020s, although similar in form and use, is as far away from the secret societies of the early 20th century as could be imagined, with elements of the practice moving into the mainstream. US Games, one of the more popular tarot card manufacturers has seen sales of tarot cards double in the last five years and even triple in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This boom can also be witnessed in the quantity of new decks being created each year, with the market valued at $1.292 billion and projected to rise to $1.589 billion by 2030. Within this, we can see a distinct movement away from decks that might be associated with the occult and towards more secular decks such as ‘Kawaii Tarot’ and ‘A Jane Austen Tarot Deck’.  

But why the sudden popularity? There has undoubtedly been an occult revival within the last five years. From the wide array of astrology apps available to the rise of WitchTok, it seems as if occult practices are becoming increasingly run of the mill. This prevalence is not unusual. Revivals of this kind happen frequently, with the 1920s and 1970s being spiritual epicentres in their century. However, what has transformed, is the way that we consume and produce media. As a young person on social media, you are never far away from a short tarot video, claiming to be ‘a sign’.  The prevalence of these videos can be attributed in some degree to the pandemic and the need for tarot readers to maintain an income whilst being confined to the home. The isolation and confusion in lockdown also resulted in many searching for a spiritual or simply reflective outlet.  

Unsurprisingly, the movement of tarot to social media did wonders for the tarot market. This can be seen in the hundreds of thousands of unboxing videos found on social media platforms, as well as the now huge variety of decks found in metaphysical bookstores. It is likely that the secularism of tarot comes from this new level of consumption, with tarot moving away from being a practice for those with spiritual interests and towards becoming a practice for the layperson. 

Whether this is a negative outcome is largely debated. Can consumerism and tarot live cohesively or does the drive to buy conflict with the search for spiritual truth? Most tarot readers have welcomed the greater publicity, with many claiming that the new interest is brilliant in helping a greater number of people reflect mindfully on their lives, as well as allowing readers to be able to earn a living off their passion. 

Thinking back to Snowshill, I’m reminded of one of the books I managed to purchase from the abandoned bookstall. It was a small early 70s paperback named ‘Tarot of the Witches’. Looking at it now in isolation, it’s strange to think that such a small book represents a new movement for tarot at that time; the rise of the cheap paperback ( an ultimately a consumerist pursuit!). Although it’s difficult to the condone mindless spending and waste today, it seems that tarot has been caught in this web a little longer than it seems. Whether this balance between production and practice will remain has become nestled at the centre of the tarot community. In regards to the future? Maybe we should consult the cards… 

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