A Sense of Serenity

This store has lots of cool things. It could be a cool place to spend some time looking and learning about new things. That is, if you don’t mind the tense, creepy vibes in the place. One person of a supervisory position in particular, talks to her staff very poorly. This makes me extremely uncomfortable, and it has happened more than once.
Then, there are the prices. Outrageous! I think if you shop around you will find you can get what you are looking for for a fraction of the price elsewhere.
I did have a card reading there once, and I admit, it was really fun. It doesn’t seem like they keep staff for long. which I can readily understand. I wouldn’t stand for being treated rudely either.

After my last visit (and review), I wanted to give A Sense of Serenity one more shot. I visited around 2pm on a weekday and the store was empty, leaving me ample time to browse.
The shop, once again, had me feeling uneasy, and the gentleman behind the counter had an off-​putting vibe about him, which didn’t help.
They offer a wide selection of Angel and Tarot cards, many of the decks being at least $ 5 more than the same decks purchased at a similar store downtown.
While I can’t speak to their other book and gift prices, I can speak confidently about their stone collection.
Since I frequent many shops for stones every few weeks, I am able to gauge whether certain crystals and gems are in line with pricing around town. I couldn’t begin to fathom the exorbitantly high prices listed for the stones in ASoS. Most stones were AT LEAST $ 5 — $ 10 more than you could purchase them anywhere else and when I found pieces of optical calcite (comparable to a specimen I purchased for $ 4 at another store the previous week) labeled with $ 80.00 tags, I made up my mind. I will NEVER shop at a store that so blatantly takes advantage of it’s clientele. It’s places like A Sense of Serenity that give new age/​metaphysical shops a bad rap.
I ask ANYONE looking for stones and crystals to go to ANY other shop in town. You will find friendlier, more knowledgable staff, pleasant vibes, and fair prices.

As someone with only a mild interest in tarot and crystals I must admit I don’t frequent these kinds of shops all that often but after reading all the Unilocal reviews (both recommended and not) my curiosity eventually drew me in here.
Although the space is small they manage to keep their impressive selection of crystals, jewelry, stones. books, cd’s, and figurines relatively tidy and I was able to find things that I was interested in with relative ease. The staff were very friendly when I came in the store and informed them it was my first time in. I honestly really liked their enthusiasm about giving good customer service and also about the products they sell but to be honest at times found them to be a little overwhelming. One staff member in particular approached me four times and it was getting to the point where I felt they were keeping an eye on me incase I stole anything. I am pretty understanding about the fact that yes I do carry a very large purse and am more then happy to leave it at the counter when there is a sign in place or someone approaches me politely but I hate being followed around.
I found the prices to be fairly close to what I would expect to pay for the item. I didn’t notice any mark up on books or cd’s and they do run alot of specials according to the staff which helps with making things more affordable. The only thing about their pricing that bothered me was how they price their loose stones. I approached several containers of small stones and asked why there was more then one price written on the tags and was informed there are different sizes in the containers and each size is priced differently. This makes total sense to me but why not separate the sizes to reduce the chance of customers trying to debate the size of their stone and create headaches for the staff? Even the staff member I had initially asked the question to seemed unsure about the sizes and said the stone I had first pointed to could be either a four or five dollar stone.
Honestly I mostly enjoyed my visit at Sense of Serenity today and didn’t notice any issues with the owner and her staff like the ones mentioned by prior reviewers. The lady seemed friendly enough and even let me pick a stone out of a chest they have by their door as a gift to commemorate my first visit in. I will definitely be in again as I noticed they do tarot readings which I love getting and should my second visit go to hell in a hand basket I will definitely write an update but until then this place is a solid four stars in my book.

Really great selection of resources for self-​empowerment, self-​healing, self-​love, self-​acceptance, self-​reliance, etc. Would go back to buy many gifts of many forms for many friends and loved ones.

I have visited this store numerous times, generally whenever I’m on Whyte Ave I like to stop in. It is a really nice store with a large selection of various new age and metaphysical items. I had a tarot reading done here several years ago and it was quite an interesting and insightful experience.
However I do find the things here are overpriced. I’ve seen the same items, or similar items for significantly less in other stores. A book they were charging $ 40 for, I purchased for $ 10 elsewhere. Most of the employees are friendly and approachable, and while the owner is obviously very knowledgeable about her products, at times I have seen her berate the staff and come across as hostile and defensive, even to other customers.
My last visit was a rather awkward experience of having to wait at the till to be served while the owner berated a poor sales girl because she had given a customer an incorrect price. I felt bad for the girl and I didn’t think it was an appropriate exchange to have in front of other customers. Once that was finished, instead of helping me, the owner walked away and went to make a phone call. I had to ask another sales girl to come to to till so I could make my purchase. So while I do enjoy the atmosphere of this store, I’m unsure if I will buy anything from here again. There are several other metaphysical stores in the city that offer better prices and a more positive customer experience.

This place is pretty good. They deal in a lot of new agey-​witchy stuff. The store is very small and jammed packed but they set it out where you can move around quite nicely. They do have a couple of girls walking around offering help which I think is a little too much for a store that size but its better than no help. I believe the owner works behind the counter too since I usually hear her giving orders to the other girls in the store. She is very nice, is a good looking woman with striking dark eyes who gives off good energy. The store will make you feel comfortable. The prices are fair and there is much to see. Come in and take a look.

As always Asha and her staff were couteous and professional. Even foud a couple of gifts I’ll need very soon.
As always Asha and her staff where courteous and respectful even picked out a couple of gifts for the family. Many thanks and blesed be

A small store packed with New Age themed books, trinkets, jewellery, and ritual items, but also with Buddhist, First Nations, and even a few Jewish and Catholic items in the mix. The staff was very friendly and showed me around. There are Tarot readings, intuitive sessions, and other services available here. Lots of things seemed to be on sale, and I particularly liked the selection of stones, crystals, and pendants. The place does have a calming atmosphere and I will return and maybe actually buy something!

I was referred to this store by a former colleague of mine (I work in the natural health industry). In all truth, it had taken me a couple of months to finally be able to get down there, but it was well worth it.
First and foremost, I would like to start by saying that Awsha (sp?) is a kind and wonderful woman, and incredibly helpful. Her knowledge of the products surpassed my expectations by far, and the other staff members there are just as amazing to work with. They are very attentive, and will often give information and insight as you browse the store.
Secondly, the overall atmosphere of this store is phenomenal. Even when there are several shoppers at a time or if the noise level increases a bit, it still maintains a rather calm and peaceful environment.
I personally have yet to try their services (readings and such), but the selection of books, crystals, tarot/​oracle cards, music and other such items is fantastic. They are the kind of store that will carry a little bit of everything in their field, and they do it well. You can find just about anything you require for your spiritual and relaxation needs.
There is a slight lack of ‘moving space’, but I find that’s the case in most stores that deal in new age and spiritual products/​services, so it really did not bother me that much. I do suggest being a touch careful if you are carrying a larger bag or backpack of any sort though, as it can be easy to knock an item off the shelf. Also, for those of you who are ‘scent sensitive’, do take caution as they tend to burn a couple of incense throughout the day.
All in all though, I highly recommend you drop by and check out this store if you haven’t done so yet. If you have checked it out, I hope your experiences have been as amazing as mine.
Live well, rest well, be well =)

The name says it all. You definitely feel a sense of calmness when you enter the store.
They carry things like Buddha statues and books about the mind and witchcraft. Most of the stuff they carry represents or relates to a type of peace and calmness. They have a lot of self healing stuff which seems to be all the rage these days.
Even if you aren’t into the new age stuff you will find this store pretty interesting.

I stumbled on A Sense of Serenity almost by accident but it was a blessing I did. I was walking around aimlessly one day in the neighborhood and saw the shop. I had never been in before so in I wandered. I immediately felt a sense of calm when I walked into the shop. I am not overly into a lot of the things that they carry, but I did find some of their spiritual books very interesting as well as some of their meditative CD’s. There was free Reiki sessions on that particular day and I decided to try one out. I am the biggest skeptic in the world and I was having a bit of a rough day, so you can imagine my amazement when I did feel a difference during the session. I walked out of the store with a smile on my face.

Whenever I walk into A Sense of Serenity, I instantly feel a sense of calm. I’m not sure if it’s the smell of incense, the general atmosphere, or if it’s just in my head, but I like being in this store. I used to really be into new age stuff, but once I started to learn more about psychology, I realized new age was just another way to think about things. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with new age, but I’m just not into it anymore.
I still like coming to A Sense of Serenity though; this store has some really nice items. They have a huge selection of different gemstones, like pyrite, rose quartz, and hematite. Each gem also has a description about it’s meaning and healing powers. I actually collect rocks and gems, and sometimes I will buy a few based solely on their meanings. I’m not sure if I really believe in this, but I still find it fascinating.
Other cool stuff here are the sage bundles, Buddha statuettes, and jewellery. The book selection is also quite impressive. You can find topics on witchcraft, chakra, and «the power of the mind.» I had my chakra read once, and it was very accurate! There’s also a great selection of angel merchandise. Some of the angels are really beautiful – just kind of expensive.

I found this shop while I was looking for angel cards for my mom, since she’s into the whole New Age interpretive stuff. It’s never really been my thing, but I have to admit this store is pretty neat, even if I don’t know what half the products are used for.
Sense of Serenity carries crystals, jewelry, incense, and many books and cd’s on things like self-​healing, shamanism, paganism, and Reiki. At first I thought they didn’t have the cards because all I saw were almanacs, but then I noticed they had an entire back corner full of books and cd’s. They not only had my cards, they had the whole collection! I’m definitely bringing my mom here when she comes to visit!
The staff are very warm and friendly, and they offer services such as psychic readings and massage therapy. I’m a little curious about the psychic readings actually … maybe I’ll check out the costs the next time I go there.