Small, large, purplish, iridescent. “Nature”, “queer”, “sacred feminine”. In the window of the esoteric bookshop Bussière, and almost everywhere in these few tens of square meters in bazaar nestled in the heart of the Latin Quarter in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, we only see them. “Oracles, everyone wants them these days”, grumbles the guide of the places, Anne-Laure Le Lidec, president of the editions backed by the store, arranging her latest issues. From the top of her shelves, the specialist saw the enthusiasm for these works explode. Since Covid-19, sales related to esotericism in publishing have jumped: + 32.8% in 2021 according to the National Publishing Union. A success, driven mainly by these little cards that some draw to take the pulse of the future, their destiny or their morning. The oracles have even participated in rejuvenating the main esoteric clientele, today 25-30 years old, according to the figures of the edition.
Between two large books with mystical symbols, Anne-Laure Le Lidec points to the Haziel collection, which houses classics of esotericism. Austere books with blank covers. Then she shows a fashionable oracle, full of colors and magical characters: “Before, magic was serious, intimidating, but the public is now attracted by the playfulness and the beautiful visuals. It has to flash”, sums up -She.
In this game, the productions of Isabelle Cerf, followed by more than 200,000 people on Instagram, are the best. Each oracle of the author, “born” medium and columnist in The mag that feels good on C8, tears away. His best score so far: The Oracle of the Voice of Souls, supposed to “develop mediumship and intuition”. 78,000 copies have passed since 2021, according to Edistat.
From the bookstore to TikTok, and vice versa
This box, with logotyped illustrations, does not appear at the Bussière. Isabelle Cerf preferred Guy Trédaniel, the other historical actor of esotericism. Initially, the two houses were struggling in their corner. But for a few years now, major generalist houses such as Albin Michel (Le Duc) or Hachette (Le Lotus and L’Eléphant) have no longer hesitated to sign authors who, like Virginie Despentes, would like to decline their texts. Something to reshuffle the market cards.
This is the case of Eyrolles, known for its textbooks of physics or computer science, all that is more rational. The bookshop of this general publishing house, a stone’s throw from that of Bussière, is one of the largest in Paris. “When I arrived, a few oracles were waiting under the stalls in a corner, now we have an entire department”, welcomes Joanne Mirailles, well-being manager of the company since 2019. Sometimes, she draws a card to restore the smile: “Eyrolles does not sell negative oracles”, reassures the manager. Others do.
How far could fashion go? “We haven’t stopped selling since the Covid-19, but I have the impression that the phenomenon is running out of steam. Everyone may already have their cards,” jokes a saleswoman. On TikTok, the hashtag “Cartomancy”, which also includes other divinatory arts such as tarot, a much more standardized and complex game than oracles, has 1.8 billion views. Proof that the soufflé has not fallen. On the platform’s very short videos, young people, even children, film themselves mimicking the mood they have drawn, sometimes lending authority to the resulting predictions. By sending their oracles to influencers, at a time when magazines shunned this content, publishers participated in this virality.
A profitable strategy: it makes it possible to attract and renew an audience that is more and more fond of “well-being” and “spirituality”. Even if it means keeping it away from science, while some teenagers burn all their Culture pass in these objects? “Orthorexia, that is to say consuming only one type of product, is not reserved for divination”, pleads Joannes Mirailles. “If my clients ask me for esoteric products for cancer, I send them to the doctor”, assures Anne-Laure Le Lidec.