Adyar Bookshop, Clarence Street, Sydney (courtesy of Adyar)
Sydney’s metaphysical epicentre, Adyar Bookshop, has closed its doors indefinitely. It’s difficult to see a well-established Sydney icon of the spiritual community gone, having been around in some form since 1922. But as George Harrison once said, all things must pass.
The Sydney branch of The Theosophical Society owned and managed Adyar for nearly a century. The bookshop supported the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science, as well as the investigation into the unexplained laws of nature. Texts devoted to Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, atheism, witchcraft and paganism sat alongside astrology charts, tarot cards, healing crystals and joss sticks. Talk about inclusive.
I began my journey with astrology at Adyar sometime in the 1980s. In those days, the store was situation on Clarence Street in the city. The premises came with base-to-ceiling shopfront windows. Standing on the outside looking in was tantalising. Gazing onto its floor, I saw a rabbit warren of open shelves arranged free form, stacked with books on the ancient wisdoms.
What made Adyar vital was its specialisation in traditional esotericism, such as the teachings of Alice Bailey, Madame Blavatsky, Charles Leadbeater and Krishnamurti. Now that the bookshop is gone, a younger generation of seekers have lost the gateway to these teachings at a time when society is moving further away from the natural world and hitting the pinnacle of materialism with force.
I am sorry to see another Sydney icon go. Soon there will be little-to-no unique bookstores or record shops left to define Sydney, thanks to the pull of cheap online shopping. Adyar’s closure follows a downsize last year by the sci-fi and fantasy specialist Galaxy Bookshop, which is now contained within the parameters of another independent entity, Abbeys Bookshop. Only a few doors away are the formidable Utopia Records, legendary Red Eye Records, and the unassuming Mojo Records. We need to support and enjoy these rare gems while we still can.
I went to visit Adyar today and was truely heartbroken to realize it had gone. Yes, I agree it is such a loss to Sydney and to people who will never discover the wisdom contained in its doors :(
ReplyDeleteYes, it's tragic that an icon that has been around nearly a century has gone. My father frequented the bookshop back in the 1950s, and later recommended it to me. At least we had the opportunity to appreciate Adyar for the time it was available to us.
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