The Cards Have Spoken: Why Russia's Esoteric Boom Ended as Quickly as It Began

The Market in Numbers: Scale and Dynamics 2024–2025

In 2024, esoteric services evolved into a mass consumer phenomenon: demand for tarot readers, astrologers, and "spiritual practices" surged both offline and online. Market estimates exceeded 2.4 trillion rubles. But 2025 has brought a reversal: spending on esoteric goods and content has cooled significantly, dropping 40% year-over-year, while demand has become more rational and less impulsive (down 46%). The paradox is that interest in the subject hasn't disappeared—Russians are simply spending less. The question is whether 2024's spike was a reaction to anxiety and uncertainty, and why the market began to deflate in 2025.

2024: The Boom Year

According to Yota, internet traffic to esoteric resources increased 38% in 2024, while time spent on such sites rose 19%. Notably, 50% of users visiting occult resources chose astrology services.

Another indicator: surging purchases of "magical paraphernalia." Rossiyskaya Gazeta, citing ATOL Online, noted that demand for magical items grew 34% in 2024, with the average esoteric kit costing 9,400 rubles (up 10% from 2023).

2025: The Correction

But by 2025, data began emerging showing declining expenditures. According to analysts, Russians spent 40% less on esoteric goods in summer 2025, sales of esoteric books fell by nearly half, and interest in Tarot cards and runes declined. Analysts also recorded falling sales of physical books on esotericism and psychology—meaning people are cutting back on spending for "searching for meaning" in offline formats.

Objectively assessing the market is difficult, as most of the sector operates in a "gray zone." Most payments are processed as transfers to self-employed individuals or private persons, the market lacks a clear classification system, and a significant share of services is sold through social networks, private chats, and subscriptions. As a result, statistics essentially consist of "traces" from banking analytics, marketplaces, and traffic data.

What People Actually Bought During the Boom and Why It Was Popular

The 2024 boom was fueled not only by consultations but by an entire ecosystem of products:

• one-time readings and "forecasts" (tarot, runes, numerology);
• astrology: natal charts, forecasts, "financial/career analyses";
• digital products: PDF forecasts, subscriptions, marathons, and chat groups;
• physical goods: decks, sets, candles, and accessories.

The market grew precisely through mass and impulse consumption: users would purchase an "answer" to an anxious question with a single click—about money, relationships, health, or the future.

Why did 2024 become a boom year?

1. Uncertainty and anxiety
   During such periods, esoteric services typically function as "cheap therapy"—an illusion of control over the future, a chance to get answers without the lengthy process of working with a psychologist.
2. Low barrier to entry
   The surge in demand coincided with a surge in supply: becoming a "tarot reader" is quick—courses, starter kits, templates, monetization through social media. At a time when traditional small businesses face mounting costs, esoteric services look like an easy way to make money.
3. Larger audience
   Research by Platforma showed a 30% growth in the audience interested in mysticism—from 7.3 million in 2023 to 9.5 million in 2024.

Why did the market start declining in 2025?

When household incomes are under pressure, the first expenses to be cut are those that don't deliver visible results. That's precisely why the 2025 decline is concentrated in physical goods (cards, books)—a classic discretionary spending category. After a year of mass consumption, fatigue is inevitable: the "answers" don't materialize in real life. In a market where expectations are sold faster than results, disillusionment turns into customer attrition.

When too many sellers enter a niche, the noise intensifies, the share of weak and fraudulent practices grows, and trust and demand decline. What drops first is impulse demand—one-time purchases made "on emotion." What remains is the core: an audience that makes consultations regular or maintains a subscription. In practice, this leads to segmentation:

• cheap online formats (quick predictions, chats);
• expensive individual consultations, where the client pays for "personalization" and ritual.

For practitioners, 2025 means lower average income and higher customer acquisition costs. Against the backdrop of declining spending on goods and books, it's become clear: selling a "magical lifestyle" has gotten harder. Part of the market is shifting to more aggressive marketing and gray schemes, while another part is trying to "repackage" itself as coaching, wellness, and psychological formats to appear more legitimate.