I first picked up a pack of Tarot cards about 22 years ago , when I had just turned 18 . For many years I did readings for myself , family and friends , but didn ' t ever think about doing it for a living until many years later . I bounced from casual job to casual job with little focus , as had failed to find anything I truly enjoyed doing . I was interested in Tarot , Runes and Astrology but it never occured to me to do these things for a living . It wasn ' t until after the sudden death of my Father in 2004 that I considered trying my hand at the Tarot on a professional level . The drastic change in my life after his loss had prompted a lot of soul-searching and I decided it was high time I tried to make a career for myself doing something I knew I liked and was pretty good at . And so I put a website together- www . theenchantedland . com , then not long after this , I noticed Ebay had quite a few people selling readings on there . I decided to give it a go , and began getting orders instantly . It was basically " pocket money " for the first year or so , but then things really began to take off ! Within the space of a few years , I was the top-selling Tarot reader on there , earning a full time living and really enjoying my " time in the sun ". All this was to change , however , in the most unexpected way ....
In August 2012 , Ebay announced shocking plans to prohibit sales of various esoteric services as of September that same year . In the space of a few short weeks , dozens of spiritual businesses around the world offering psychic readings , spell castings , distant healings and spelled objects were destroyed with little warning , while thousands of regular customers were left wondering where to go to find such services in a similar online venue . This completely unexpected turn of events was a complete disaster for me , effectively ruining my main business overnight . At the time the news was released , I had gained over 4 , 000 positive feedback ratings for my services as a Tarot reader there . I had a thriving business , earned a steady income . What was I going to do ? What were all my fellow metaphysical sellers going to do ? Sure , many of us had our own websites but for a lot of us , myself included , Ebay was the main portal for sales .
After the shock and anger I was feeling began to abate , I started brainstorming ideas for new ways to get myself " out there " as a reader . One night , something significant occured to me : there was not yet one single site like Ebay that was dedicated to sales of metaphysical products and services . All the other auction sites had categories for these types of things , but dozens of other categories for nonrelated things . I thought it would be a fantastic idea to create a venue that operated just like Ebay , but where the things for sale there were ONLY related to the metaphysical niche . And so the idea for " Mystic Emporia " was borne . I put aside all funds earned from my last few weeks on ebay , hired a web designer and got to work at creating www . mysticemporia . com . After a lot of hard work , the site launched mid November . I manage the site myself and at present there are no sponsors or large advertising campaigns as the project is being funded entirely out of my own pocket , so the site relies heavily on word of mouth at the moment to gain interest .
As the site is still very new , it is going to take time to gain attention . So far though , there have been around 900 people signing up to become members and quite a lot of people who used to sell on Ebay can now be found there . In addition , the Facebook page has attracted over 7,000 likes , so clearly there is a lot of interest in a venue like this .
Visitors to the site can browse listings in categories which include Astrology reports , clairvoyant readings , distant healing , dream analysis , magick and spells , pagan and wiccan products , occult collectables , life coaching , Numerology , divination decks and tools , spiritual jewellry , arts and crafts and more . Joining the site as a buyer or seller is free , and as a thank you to all new sign-ups , members can claim 3 emailed Astrology reports free of charge . Sellers can place listings on the site for free , with the option to enhance their listings with upgrades for tiny amounts . As the site is international , it welcomes buyers and sellers from all around the world .
Looking back at what happened with Ebay , it now feels like it was the exact change that was needed in my life . For many years I had been complacent , relying mostly on traffic there to find work , and not really pushing myself to try my hand at new projects or kick start various other ideas I had been mulling over for quite a long time . The journey since " losing my job " on Ebay has been a challenging one , but such a rewarding one at the same time . I do hope you will pop along to
Mystic Emporia ; Each and every new member helps us to build a stronger , more stable metaphysical buying and selling community , so that we can all benefit . Namaste , Victoria
www . cheekyangelsmagazine . webs . com MAY / JUNE 2013 65