Ascendant Books

Great place for buying new agey things like books, muisic and crystals, jewellery.
Very friendly helpful staff.
I rarely go there anymore though because of parking issues. I hit it occasionally on a sunday.

Whenever I need to slow down and get my zen back on, I pop into this lovely book store. The music immediately puts me at ease and the staff are always helpful and pleasant. There are tons of books on self-​help, spirituality and nutrition as well as a great selection of crystals, jewelry and other trinkets. If you like the music that is playing, you can usually find it in the CD isle.
A great place to go and get some take home inspiration.

Popped in during the Red Shoe Crawl 124^th street edition!
How have I not been here before?!?
Huge, awesome, and packed full of awesomeness!
I will be back!

This store has everything that one who cares for their spiritual well being could want. Great pricing too!

Ascendant Books is a great place to pop into when you’re looking to kill some time or looking or some great gift ideas. Ascendant is in a great location, right next to the newest Remedy Café on 124 Street, and it made for a great place to pop in while I was waiting to meet a friend at the café.
There are so many things to see in the store from a huge book selection, jewellery, angels and fairies, décor and more. My favourite was in the incredible selection of rocks and gemstones with everything from small pieces for making jewellery to large and dynamic pieces that would look stunning in any home. There’s an incredible amount of different rocks of every different size in every budget that you can imagine.
I was definitely disappointed by the service as I wasn’t once greeted by any of the staff, even though I was in there for ten minutes and made my way through the entire store. I would still go back though for beautiful gift ideas and that incredible rock selection!

Ascendant Books isn’t for everyone, but I love it. It’s a new age/​metaphysical bookstore, but they also have other products, like crystals, Tibetan singing bowls, dream catchers, meditation CDs, incense, etc. They also often, but not always have psychic and other intuitive readers. Usually you need to book these services in advance, but they’ll have a schedule on their website. The store is big, but not huge, and the staff are friendly in helping answer any questions you have.
One thing I love about Ascendant Books is that they have a wide variety of tarot and oracle decks, and they have open decks. So this way you can look at the open deck and see what the cards look like before you make a purchase. Some decks might have just artwork on the cards, some might have some text, some come with an accompanying book and others not, so it’s nice to be able to see each deck and decide what you want before you buy it.
The only downsides to Ascendant Books is there isn’t much for parking right beside the store, the parking closest to the store is metered. If you are willing to walk a little ways you can park for free in the residential area on 123 Street. The other thing is that people who are sensitive to perfumes and incense might find the store a little overwhelming. Honestly, because the store is so big the incense is only really strong if I go in that section. When I’m in other areas of the store it’s not too bad.
Basically, if you like or want to learn more about new age spiritual topics and practices Ascendant Books is a great place to go to. I always like coming here, and I’ll definitely come back again.

It is impossible for me to walk down 124^th Street without popping into Ascendant Books. For hours.
There’s so much to see inside, there is truly something for everyone including gifts, windchimes and similar instruments, a fantastic selection of alternative new and used books, aromatherapy, incense and candles, music, and my personal favourite, crystals and gemstones!
The back of the shop has gallery quality crystals. The more impressive pieces are priced higher than other shops, but the quality is amazing. The owners clearly take pride in their collection, purchasing special, unique pieces, all of which are displayed beautifully.
If you’re like me, & purchase your stones based on «feel», you may find it a little difficult. Understandably, employees must unlock cabinets and show you the pieces, but I often feel awkward choosing stones with someone standing over me. I have learned to ask to take potential stones to the counter, where you can really take a look at the pieces and make the perfect decision without worrying about looking shady.
If you’re looking specifically for tumblestones, comparable quality stones can be purchased at other rock shops in Edmonton for a better price, but for larger or statement crystals and jewellery, Ascendant is the place to shop!
Everyone working there is kind, helpful, and patient, willing to answer questions and make suggestions. They are so passionate about what they do!
If you like readings, there are a variety of intuitive readers scheduled Wednesday thru Sunday! Just walk in and book a spot — easy peasy!

I haven’t been here in ages, and every time I come back to it, I wonder why I waited so long. Not much has changed in the many years this book story has been around, but it’s absolutely beautiful as always. So much to see!
Whether you are into the metaphysical or not, you can probably find something you like. Perhaps some artwork or jewelry? I just bought a friend a lovely red hanging crystal for her birthday (Oh, those cold Canadian winters that lead to all those September/​October birthdays!)
I’ll be back for Christmas.

I do love Ascendant Books. It’s a huge store full of lovely and inspiring metaphysical and new age products. The book selection is huge and diverse and i especially love the crystal and gemstone collection.
I’ve had awesome customer service here and some not very impressive service. Generally i find the staff to be friendly and very knowledgable on the products they carry.
A beautiful and unique store.

Such a beautiful store — I love this place! It’s one of my favorite metaphysical and new age stores I’ve ever been to. They have so much great product, and so much variety. Tons of awesome books on every subject you could be looking for, meditation, tarot, spirituality, reiki, dreams, crystals, and the list could go on. They also have an amazing selection of crystals, gemstones and jewelry. Most of it is locked away and you have to ask a staff member to get out various pieces if you want to look, which is not my favorite way to browse, but I understand this policy and generally the staff are very friendly and approachable. So much great energy in this place! This is an incredible store and highly recommended.

I consider myself a spiritualist and I have been to many a new age shop. I recently moved into this neighborhood and decided to do some exploring around and I was delighted to stumble upon this shop. It’s huge! It has so much to offer, stones and crystals, giftware, aromatherapy products, Buddhist, Hindu and Feng Shui products, meditation materials, jewelry, CDs and books. When I was in they were offering Tarot card readings. I didn’t get one done but I wish I would have.
The staff here is very friendly and knowledgable and the prices are reasonable.
They also have stamp cards where if you spend $ 25 you get a stamp, and 10 stamps means you get a free $ 20 purchase. Love it.
Overall, if you’re into new age, spiritualism, or just want a unique shopping experience, I recommend Ascendant Books.

I came across this place during my wanderings in and around the Glenora area today and decided to stop in and browse even though im not big into new age or paganism. I like the layout of the store most of all as there is lots of room to browse without worrying about bumping into other shoppers. One of the biggest turn offs for me when it comes to stores that carry breakable merchandise is when they have their shelves packed in tightly together making it hard to move around.
They have a wide variety of merchandise including wall scrolls, figurines, books. music, stones, and jewelry. I was interested in the music they were playing over the store speaker and probably would have purchased it had I not been turned off by the customer service. The girl at the front was staring right at me as I came in the door and even though I smiled at her did not acknowledge my presence. I was totally ignored for my roughly fifteen minutes of browsing until I shifted my recyclable shopping bag from my right hand to my left and then she literally shot out from behind the counter and asked if I needed any help finding anything. I genuinely think the rustle of the bag made her think I was shoplifting and I left shortly after.
A cool store for sure and the largest I have seen in the city if you are interested in this type of merchandise but the suspicious sales girl turned me off of any further interest I might have developed in visiting this store again.

The largest New Age book store in Edmonton, Ascendant has a great selection of books, CDs, crystals, and related items from a variety of New Age and Pagan traditions. There are also kitschy things to adorn shelves, but also musical instruments, incense, jewelry, and a children’s section. Stones and jewelry are in a separate room — this place is rather huge and there is a lot to look at. Finally, there is a section of used books. I found the customer service to be very helpful — I was purchasing a book by Starhawk and was directed to the same book in the Used section — saved me a few bucks for sure.

This is a great store when your looking for all your alterntive religion needs. The staff is very nice and they will help you to the best of their ability. The selection is huge due to the size of their store. Theres lots of room to move around and one can look at their goods without them hovering over you or bumping into people. They have a large selection of books and even some used books. If your looking for Dryad Design staues this is the place to go. Overall I love this place and recommend it!

I’ve been shopping at Ascendant Books for almost 20 years now.
I first discovered this place in the early 90s when I was in high school. Back then Ascendant was a small, crowded bookstore located in the same place Where Faeries Live is presently located. Things have certainly changed for the better.
Ascendant is the biggest new age bookstore in Edmonton. Yeah, they have nick nacs, and stones, and statues and other useless dust magnets, but the real draw and the reason I’ve been coming back all these years are the books.
The books! I could spend a whole day just browsing through the fascinating books they have here. And all of the books they carry are categorized into separate sections like Eastern Religions, Inner Child, Women’s Issues, Men’s Issues, Relationships, Money, Mental Health, Psychic Powers, ESP, Tarot, Inspiration, Feng Shui, Health and Fitness, Past Lives, Conspiracies, just to name a few, making it real easy to find what you are looking for. (Ask to see the books written by Stuart Wilde. His writings are entertaining yet very powerful, a personal favourite.)
I don’t get the beef some of these reviewers have with a supposed lack of customer service at Ascendant. I LIKE the fact that they leave their customers alone to browse at their leisure. Not like Chapters, where pimply-​faced dorks ask you a dozen times if you need help finding something. Really, like it’s that hard to walk 20 feet to the counter to get assistance or something?
Something the other reviewers haven’t mentioned is the used book section located at the back of the store. This is an absolute treasure trove of rare, out of print, discontinued and hard to find titles. It never fails, I always find something cool and interesting in this section. It is my favourite section of the store and the best part is that those used books are sold at discount prices!
If you’re looking to improve any aspect of your life… if you want something inspiring and soul-enhancing…if you are attracted to the weird, the strange and the unknown — then stop into Ascendant Books and you’ll find what you are looking for.

This is a new age store with a lot of merchandise so make sure you have some time shop when you stop in. Ascendant Books has way more than just books. They carry a huge number of polished stones and crystals, quite a few home décor items, and some cute bags.
They have a great selection of journals that are really quite beautiful. I also came across a bag that caught my eye — it had a quote from Ghandi. It read ««Be the change you want to see in the world.» I love that saying.
If you are looking for new age books, there are a lot here (as the name suggests). I would be prepared to look on your own though because no one offered to help me, no one greeted me, and there were lots of staff just standing around talking to each other. I was very disappointed in the customer service aspect of this store.
There was a psychic table set up near the back for card readings but no psychic (perhaps she was talking with the staff too).
There are a lot of things in this store but the customer service is not good. I wouldn’t recommend it (unless you want the Ghandi bag, it’s pretty sweet).

This is such a cool shop! Despite its name, it’s got way more than just books. This place is a treasure trove of alternative belief and meditation objects, like crystals, fairy and angel figurines, Tibetan singing bowls and prayer wheels. It took me awhile to browse the shop, as there’s so much to see. The book section is located in the middle of the store, and it’s vast — there are topics from angels to dieting and meditation. They even have a kids’ book section! Just when I thought I saw everything, I noticed their stones and beading section. They have every kind of stone to make your own special necklace, and many cases of breathtaking jewelry. We’re talking major bling with big shiny stones like jade and amethyst. A great place for gift ideas; this store has it all.

This shop has been a long-​time favourite. I drop in after yoga class at Lion’s Breath down the street, sometimes just to look at the beautiful things. Zen-​inspired objects, candles, crystals, rocks, wind chimes, lotus candle holders, angel figurines, Buddha statues, Celtic crosses, fertility goddesses, meditation chimes, instruments, aromatherapy and greeting cards are just a small list of the things here. The store’s mid-​section is filled with books on topics like yoga, Feng Shui, astrology, colour energy, Kabbalah, Tarot, Qi Gong, diet & nutrition, hypnosis, Runes, sound therapy and much, much more. You could spend hours in here, and I have; it’s easy. They have a great selection of CDs and a couple of listening booths so you can sample before you buy. The staff is friendly and helpful. And don’t forget to ask for a frequent shopper card to get a discount on your tenth purchase. There’s also a community notice board in the back, excellent for postings on upcoming workshops, courses and alternative health service offerings.