For your consideration, here's a Guide I wrote for eBay...
Are you thinking about paying a professional to do spellwork on your behalf? Here's some tips and things to consider before you do...
First of all, these are just my opinions, accept or disregard them as you see fit. Magic is a complex subject and its practitioners are a diverse lot. I offer the following tips as a sort of "community service" because i'd hate to think of all the vulnerable and needy folks out there who may get hosed by an unethical magic worker.
When you are down and out - heartborken, poor, lonely - it is easy to be taken advantage of - this is true in all regards, but with magic in particular. Magic has a veil of secrecy; it seems exotic and unattainable by the uninitiated - and in some instances it is. Many folks who seek to have magic done on their behalf know little about the subject - they just have a willing and open mind without knowing a lot, and therefore they are easy prey for charletans out there, unethical fakes who have flashy ads with mysterious and real-sounding credientials who take your money and do no magic on behalf of their paying clients. To me this is criminal, a monumental betrayal of sacred trust.
Any way, as a confession right off the bat and to avoid any appearance of impropriety, i myself do magic for people and sometimes offer my services on eBay. This being the case, i have no ulterior motives in writing this guide, nor do i wish to advertise my own work. There are a whole host of good, ethical magic practitioners out there, and you will be Spirit-led to the one who is a best fit for you. Not all workers are one-spell-fits-all, they all have their own gifts and specialties, and they all take different clients. In any event, i keep my workload down to a minimum. I just can't handle a high volume of magic work, so therefore, even in the unlikely event that i drummed up hundreds of folks who were impressed by my guide, i unfortunately couldn't take their work - maybe only two or three of them! With that being said, here are some things to think about:
A DEFINITION OF TERMS: SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMON SPELL-CASTERS
Okay...So what's the difference between all these magic practitioners? Witches? Wiccans? Spiritual Workers? Psychics? Voodoo Practitioners? Let's imagine there's a big umbrella called "Magic Practitioners." All the groups that fall under this umbrella practice some form of magic either as a religious expression, for practical reasons as an effective means to an end, and/or as a folk/ethnic custom. Note that in every culture and religion there is some form of magical practice, be it shamanic or mystical in nature - the practice is not some New Age creation. Some of these magic practitioners offer their services to the general public in order to share their talents and eke out a living. You can see a broad sampling of these folks on eBay.
Witches practice a type of magic called Witchcraft. This type of magic is largely European in origin, and some of its focuses are on incantations, chanting, ritual, and group practice. In my opinion, Witchcraft is a skill, not a religion, that can be develop by any sincere student and can be thus incorporated by people of all religions.
To further confuse the subject, there is a peaceful, nature-revering religion called Wicca. Many Wiccans practice magic they also call Witchcraft. To them, the practice of magic is one manifestation of their spirituality and the act is religious in nature. To many Wiccans, Witchcraft is a part of their religion, but not all Wiccans practice magic. Not all Witchcraft practitioners are Wiccans. See the difference? Now, there are some who will disagree with my assessment, but that's okay. The magic that Wiccans practice is only "white" in nature, meaning they do no magic to influence another and no magic commonly referred to as "Black magic." Wiccans are ruled by a tenant of their faith usually called "The Law of Return": what you send out magically comes back to your three times as strong. They will almost always refuse to do magic, even good positive work, on a person who is unwitting. * It should be a red flag to see a practitioner offering a "Black Death Revenge Spell" who also claims to be some 10th Degree Wiccan High-Poobah. A Wiccan would never do a death or revenge or even break-up spell for money. Most Wiccans don't do spellwork for money in any event.
A Spiritual Worker is the category I fall under. Basically a Spiritual Worker is someone who combines prayer, religious petition, and magic on behalf of their client. Usually the work they will take on is Godly in nature, although "Godly in nature" can be totally dependant on the circumstance. Sometimes getting rid of an abusive husband can be serving God. Sometimes getting rid of the home-wrecker who's seeking to split apart a married couple joined in holy matrimony can be a Godly act. You see the subjectivity? A Spiritual Worker usually is also a good spiritual counselor. They often are active in a church community, although they are in no way affiliated with any one religion. Any person who uses their strong relationship with the Divine to help the interests of another can be considered a Spiritual Worker. If you pray for people regularly and people ask for your prayers, then you, in my opinion, are a Spiritual Worker. Many Spiritual Workers who practice magic, light candles for people - prayers and candlework go nicely together. They might make up supplies such as spiritual baths for their clients to use while praying, and they might engage in various other magical practices, spells, hands-on work, etc, on their behalf. The range of services a Spiritual Worker will do on behalf of their clients is broad.
Psychics are folks who have developed Extra-Sensory Perception and thereby use their skills to counsel their clients on life issues. Some psychics will use divination tools such as Tarot Cards to help them in their efforts. A session with a psychic is typically called a reading. Usually no magic work is included although there are exceptions. Some magic practitioners are also readers to some extent or another, and they will consult their talents/divination tools on behalf of their clients. All magic practitioners should have some internal feedback mechanism, psychic, intuitive, or otherwise, to guide their work, but this is different from a psychic reader. You would hire a reader to give you insights on a particular situation, to make a decision more clear, or to ask questions. You usually do not get spellwork included.
I am no expert on the religion of Voodoo. Vodou (Voodoo, Vodun) is a name attributed to a New World syncretistic religion, or family of religions, based on the faiths of the Fon, Ewe, and related peoples of West Africa, of the Kongo people of Central Africa, and of Christianity. It has strong magico-religious practices, and some of its devotees offer their services as magic practitioners to the community. I would recommend further reading on the subject. Wikipedia would be a great first step.
Warlock is not a term commonly used by magic practitioners. In common parlance it is known to be a male witch. In my experience, be that what it may, i have never met a genuine male witch who called himself a warlock.
SOME BASIC THINGS YOU SHOULD EXPECT FROM ANY SPELL-CASTER
1) A prospective worker should always answer ANY questions you may have (but please don't expect them to put up with obsessive and bothersome emails). Their answers to your questions is the only way you can feel out someone you are considering hiring. Also, more importantly, a spell-caster should want to feel-out you and your situation. To me it is disingenuous for a worker to claim to be able to help out in every and all instances - at the least it's optimistic! Most workers will have certain "off-limits" situations (or people) or issues they won't want to touch with a ten-foot pole. An ethical worker will tell you when they can't be of service or if the outcome look bleak - for instance if you're obsessing about an ex-boyfriend you broke up with ten years ago who now lives in another country and is happily married with kids, and you want to have magic done to break up his marriage and bring him crawling back.
2) A good worker will give you feedback about your particular situation BEFORE doing magic and BEFORE you hire them. It's just ethical. When people contact me with a question, i first tell them if i can take their case and i then tell them whether it's a reasonable expectation. Now, of course magic can't be guaranteed and no one ever knows for sure what the outcome will be - that's up to you and God, but a magic worker should at least give you realistic feedback, at least according to their experiecne, whether your desires are likely or reasonable. Let's take the above instance of the break-up and reconciliation spell - is that one likely to happen, or even reasonable? No. And any magic worker who would tell you otherwise is a liar. Now, not all clients listen and many have to try, try again, but the spell-caster, as a professional, is bound to give honest advice to inexperienced clients.
3) Upon request, a practitioner should give you a general description of the magic they are going to do on your behalf. If anyone says something to the effect of: "Oh, but it's a blood-sworn secret. If I tell you, the spell won't work," they're full of it. Now, most spell-casters don't divulge their tricks and don't expect them to give you detailed specifics, but it is absolutely reasonable to give a client a flavor of the work they're undertaking on their behalf. This description might be something like this (this is a total make-up spell, not something i do, just for the record): "For your money-drawing spell, I am going to ritualy prepare a candle which I'm going to burn over your photo and a chunk of pyrite. I'll invoke the diety ___ into the candle and pyrite, pray while it burns, and then ritualy bury/mail to you the pyrite to continue drawing money for you, etc., etc.). To me this step is very important for several reasons. One, you should know what you're paying for. Two, anyone who gives you a bunch of garbage about magic secrets is probably a fake; and three, you may want to do something yourself on your own that complements the magic being done on your behalf such as buy your own piece of pyrite, be in prayer at the same time your spell is cast, do some research and attune yourself with that particular diety, etc. Also, a spell-caster should seek out information from you. In order to do effective magic custom tailored to your unique situation, the practitioner needs as much relevant information from you as you're willing to divulge.
4) A good worker will educate their client about magic, what they're doing, what the client should do, and what to expect. If this step is left out, consider it a red flag. It's natural to have a lot of questions, most people don't know a lot about magic, and you're paying a professional. It's their job to enlighten you. Now, don't expect a book or thirty emails, but you should be given feedback about the process, what to look out for once the spell is cast, and what you should do in the mundane world to help your magic along.
5) All workers should give you thorough instruction about what to expect after the magic work is done and steps you should take yourself to help effect the outcome. Anyone who tells you that you don't need to do anything is not giving you a full service. Sure, you can sit back and not give your magic a second thought, let your hired professional do the work, and you might get fine results. But a competent and thoughtful worker will at a minimum give you additional suggestions, magical and mundane, for things you can try to help move your magic along.
Let's consider an example: You hire a spiritual worker to help give you a boost while searching for your dream job. You're not being especailly proactive in your hunt for a job, and you're really hoping that a good magic spell will do the hard work for you. You sit back and watch tv while a spell is cast on your behalf. Now, do you think your perfect employer is going to be willed to your front doorstep job offer in tow by your skilled and powerful spell-caster? Probably not.
Now, let's compare this to a thorough worker who gave our lazy job-seeker some advice: The worker told the job-seeker when she would be doing the spell. She recomended he search on the internet at the same time and gave him a prayer to say beforehand. While searching online and at the same time his spell was cast, our job-seeker found a local job that he felt strongly attracted to. A good sign, right? Furthermore, the magic worker gave her client a simple herbal recipe for employment success that was comprised of common kitchen herbs: cinamon, bay leaf, salt, allspice, and nutmeg. This worker gave out an easy preparation method and instructions on how to use this herb mix to dress papers and other items: most notably a resume to take in to prospective employers. She advised her client via email to contact the employer whose job the client was attracted to and set up an interview, she reassured him that he was Spirit-led to this work, a direct consequense of the magical working, and she reminded him to use the herbs on his resume and place a pinch in his pockets.
Now, that is good magical work, and this is a realistic example of what to expect from a quality worker.
It is also very important for the client to know what signs they're looking for once the spell is complete. I have a formula I give out to my clients that gives them a timeline. For one, it helps people in knowing what to expect, and two, most importantly, it let's people know when the particular spell was unsuccessful. An example of that would be if a woman was having magic done to reconcile with an ex-lover. If at the end of a certain timeframe (three months, in my workings) her lover has not returned, she knows to either repeat the spell, rework her intentions, or accept it as a sign to move on.
With the two examples given above, you can see how CRITICAL it is for a ethical spell-caster to provide relevant, client-specific information at the end of the working. And this does not even account for the worker's magical feedback that they gained while doing your work - signs and omens, visuals, religious experiences, diviniations, natural happenings, etc., that are so, so important to our craft. Which leads us to...
6) A spell-caster should give you magical feedback they gleaned from doing your work. Magic speaks to us through symbols, feelings, and intuitions, and a skilled worker can decipher these omens and use them to shed light on their client's situation. All kinds of "things" happen while doing magic: candles burn in patterns, wax and/or remnants leave telling shapes, strong messages come through the practitioner's altered states, and this is not to even touch upon divination tools used to further expand upon the issues such as Tarot cards, pendulums, Runes, etc. An ethical spell-caster should share these impressions and signs with you - they might be extremely profound to their client. Ask any paractitioner and they will certainly have some hair-on-your-arms-raising story about a seemingly "coincidental" magical happening and how it played out in the physical world.
Every spell is different because every client is different. It is a practitioner's duty to share this important feedback with you. It usually makes all the difference when deciding what course to take.
SOME RED FLAGS TO BE ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR1) A large quantity of auctions listed. For starters, magic is hard work. It's not just a 30-minute process. A good magical working takes hours, if not days. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lazy or a liar. In fact, it's insulting to the art. Here's an made-up example of the process (again, for the record, not an actual spell i perform) - you tell me how much work is involved:
~ Someone hires me to do a fertility spell. First off, since i don't do a million fertility spells, i have to do a little research in my various spell books, maybe make a quick phone call or two to another worker, check out correspondences, etc. I then have to consult an astrological calendar to check for auspicious times. I then write a detailed email to the client with info about the spell I'm going to do, when I'm going to do it, what she can do in the meantime, and what to be on the look-out for.
~ On the date of the magical working, I assemble about 9 different herbs, roots, and minerals, some candles, incense, and other tools, and make sure I know the spell my heart and am all ready. I take the phone off the hook, tell my husband and 8 year-old to kindly leave me alone, lock my door, and I then have to ritualy prepare myself for the work: spiritual cleansing and a good bit of time in meditation to wipe away all the cares of the outside world.
~ I dress in "working" clothes, turn on some music, dim the lights, light incense. Then I pray, invoke who I wish to, and fully get into the work at hand. Maybe this includes reading holy works, intense prayer, chanting, drumming, dancing, God knows. I mix up a customized herbal blend, bless and consecrate them, and maybe give the herbs a few good grinds in a mortar and pestle. I prepare some candles: carving, oiling, dusting them with the herbs, and sealing them. I dedicate the herbs and candles to my client's cause, light the candles, and majorly work my mojo. I stay in prayer for a good while as the candles burn.
~ Now, I return back to the real world, and i have to cleanse myself, removing my client's karma from off of me. I ritualy dispose of the spell remnants, divine any feedback from the working, and write a long email with my findings.
Okay. Believe me when I tell you that the above example is a highly simplified spell. Many workings include far more "props," are days long in duration, require elaborate religious rituals, and sometimes trips to other places, spiritual baths, and altered states. Real quality spells require real quallity work, and any one who gives you a load of bull saying, "oh, my powers are so, so advanced that all I have to do is sit in meditation for five minutes, go directly into a grand-high-wizard trance, and I can manifest any desire straight from the ethers," is most surely a fake.
Now, in the above example how much time did I spend working this magic spell? Hours and hours. Now tell me how many of these I could do in a day? A week? Remember that the example was a pared-down version of a real spell-casting. Even if I had a whole "coven" of witches helping me out, is it realistic to expect someone to be able to pound out spell after spell after spell and still deliver quality work? You decide.
2) A spell-caster who promises the Moon, their spells are centuries old blah blah, who says their work is infalable. This brings us to the FAQ: "Do Magic Spells Always Work?" Here's an honest answer: Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. For magic to work or not work is based largely on different variables - namely nothing in life is guaranteed, we often don't know what is best for us, and we certainly don't know what God/Fate has in store for us, even when we have the best of intentions. Any magic worker who states to the contrary is not being honest.
Some more info along that vein: Magic can be well related to prayer. Sometimes our prayers are not answered. Why is that? 1) It is not God's Will. 2) It was not for our highest good. 3) It was not the way our life is supposed to unfold. 4) There is something better right around the corner. 5) If we were to have it, it would interfere with whatever lesson/next thing coming to us. 6) We are being obsessive and the Universe is telling us to LET IT GO!!, etc. You get the idea. These are all good explanations for why magic sometimes doesn't work. We just don't always know what's best for us, nor do we have the big picture. I can look back on several occasions in my life where I pined and pined for something and didn't get it. Now looking back, I realize that getting that particular thing (or person) would have been disastrous in my life. I now have a bigger piece of the puzzle, and I thank God for some of my unanswered prayers and "failed" magical undertakings.
Spells that don't work are often not the fault of the competent, honest magic worker - although this is only the case for workers who actually DO the work for you, of course. A good worker will use their common sense, their experience, and their intuition/psychic gifts to help guide you magically into the right work and right intent and outcome - they should not promise you the moon or encourage you in any unreasonable and unattainable goals. They should work with you to craft work that is suiting to your needs and is realistic. But even so, sometimes magic does not bear fruits, and this is not the fault of your well-meaning, hard-working magic worker. Sometimes doctors fail even though they tried their hardest and we don't assess blame. Sometimes the Reverend's prayers do not save your loved one from Death's grip and we don't blame the Reverend. We simply reassess our desires, rework our intentions, make a new game plan, look for unlearned lessons, and brush ourselves off and go on again. God has something greater in store for you, something beyond what you're hoping for!
3) The spells offered are inconsistent with the magical tradition of the practitioner. The most common instance of this is with the example I gave earlier: A Wiccan advertising a Black magic revenge spell. I would also check the spell-caster's listings and see what "family" of magic spells they offer. Every practitioner has a specialty: a love worker, money worker, enemy worker, etc. These strengths should be apparent by their offerings. It is unlikely to find a spell-caster so well-rounded that they offer every magical service under the Sun from love-drawing to death spells and everything in between. Almost every worker i know of has spells they do a lot of and spells they don't do at all.
4) You get little or no feedback about your particular situation. Now, of course you can't expect a busy seller to spend hours answering a question, but you should get helpful information specific to your unique circumstances. This is just common sense and something i already expanded upon above.
5) The worker requests little or no personal information from you. The less a spell-caster knows about you, the less the spell is going to be tailored to you. I'd say at a bare MINIMUM you need to give out your name, birthdate, names of anyone else involved, your location, your desired outcome, and background information about your circumstance. I send out a two-page questionnaire to this aim. I would hope all other workers do as well. I know I couldn't work without it.
That's the best, be it incomplete, advice i have on the subject - maybe to be revisited in the future. Hopefully i shed some light on a subject many know little about. This guide may not win me any eBay spell-caster popularity contests, but somehow i think i'll survive.
If this guide was of interest and was of service, please vote for its helpfulness. The higher the score, the more visibility it gets - therefore, the more people it will educate. Kind thanks for this consideration.
If you're contemplating having magic work done for you, let me give you a virtual pat on the back! Congratulations for having the courage to seek help, and i dearly hope you find it a fruitful undertaking. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me. i enjoy exchanging with kindly folks.
May you realize and actualize all the abundant gifts the Universe has in store just waiting for you. May you be happy and healthy, and may your heart know its Divine nature. All my blessings for love and peace,
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