Signs & Spells: Astrology, crystals, tarot, and witchcraft in the Canadian book market

In previous blog posts we've examined the effect of social media trends on book buying in Canada, looking into the popularity of poetry, houseplants, oh-so-hygge knitting and needlecrafts and how their book sales stack up. This time, we're examining four other subjects that have seen growing popularity around the internet, and particularly on Instagram: astrology, crystals, tarot, and witchcraft.

Instagram trendy subjects: astrology, crystals, tarot, and witchcraft are having an impact on book buying and borrowing according to @BookNet_Canada.
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Reports of a resurgence in these topics began around 2016, when outlets were abuzz with the rise of "mysticore" in the wellness and fashion industries, and editors at Broadly and The Cut noted that traffic to their horoscope pages grew exponentially in 2017 when comparing to previous years. YouTube searches for "tarot" have risen steadily since early 2018, and crystals have become an omnipresent part of the global wellness industry. Whether for spirituality, self-care, escapism, or #thegram, it seems like trend forecasting group K-Hole was onto something when they suggested Chaos Magic was coming. Closer to our wheelhouse, there's been a resurgence of literary witches in the pages of fiction, too. But are readers only on the hunt for fictional magic? Or were there non-fiction topics related to these trends on the rise? We wanted to dive into the data and find out!

We turned to BNC SalesData to find that the "Non-Fiction / Body, Mind & Spirit" BISAC subject experienced a 23% increase in units sold from 2018 to 2019 in the Canadian English-language trade book market. We drilled down even further to get year-over-year sales of the more granular sub-categories: Astrology ( OCC002000, OCC300000 and OCC00900), Crystals (OCC004000), Witchcraft (OCC026000), and Divination / Tarot (OCC024000).

Sales of Tarot titles had the biggest increase: 235% between 2015 and 2019. Astrology sales increased by 157%, Witchcraft by 136%, and Crystals by 92%.

What about libraries? While the Tarot titles are the most popular at Canadian retailers, interest in these subjects rank differently in library circulation. Of these four subject areas, Witchcraft titles are the most popular titles by loans in Canadian libraries from September 2019 to March 2020, followed by Astrology, Crystals, and lastly Tarot — a fascinating difference between borrowers and retail buyers! 

The top 10 bestselling titles of 2019 in Astrology, Crystals, Tarot, and Witchcraft BISAC subjects

1. The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

2. The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need by Joanna Woolfolk 

3. Everyday Tarot  by Brigit Esselmont

4. The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall

5. The Witch's Book of Self-Care by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

6. The Good Witch's Guide by Shawn Robbins and Charity Bedell

7. Chakra Wisdom Oracle Cards by Tori Hartman

8. The Astrology of You and Me by Gary Goldschneider and Camille Chew

9. Your Personal Horoscope 2020 by Joseph Polansky

10. The House Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Are you a publisher, retailer, or librarian who wants to see more data like this? Check out SalesData, the sales tracking service for the Canadian English-language trade book market. And if you're a library that's interested in our LibraryData project, find out how you can start sending us your circulation data.

If you have questions, or want to know more about SalesData or LibraryData, contact us!