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A collection of ConjureMan Ali's thoughts about magic, the occult, and spirituality.



Sunday, June 26, 2011

Tips for Working with a Rootworker and Reader

People who come from a culture where spiritual practitioners are common often are well aware of protocol and customs regarding working with such individuals. For example, people who were raised with conjure in their family generally know how the relationship between client and rootworker is meant to be and so have no difficulty. However, in our internet age, there has been an influx of people who were raised in cultural backgrounds vastly different than those that accept professional spiritual practitioners and these people often have a hard time understanding how the unique relationship between client and spiritual counsellor works.

Generally, myself and my colleagues find that people who are new to this dynamic have a hard time understanding what to expect, how to behave, and the norms of social interaction. It isn't their fault, they simply come from a cultural background that is very different from those that still hold to their spiritual roots. I find that generally such clients are from a Western European and US background and view the relationship between spiritual counsellor and client through the filter of their experience with customer-oriented retailers.

This approach is the wrong way to go about things. The relationship between a rootworker, reader, and other practitioner and client should be more akin to how one would treat a spiritual guide, counsellor, or priest.

Here are some tips for people who would like to know the proper behaviors and attitudes to have when entering into such a relationship:

1. Respect your spiritual worker- Understand that your spiritual worker is not some bloke at a call center, they are a respected member of their community with vast expertise in their field. Approach them with respect and be courteous to them as they are the doctors of their field. Their job is not to fulfill your every request or to be at your beck and call, but to be the guide that helps you through your life, overcome the rough patches, and to help you grow as an individual. Your interaction with your spiritual worker should be respectful. As one example, don't call your reader or rootworker by their first name. They are not your drinking buddy. They are a spiritual worker with power and authority granted directly from the spirit world; call them by their professional name. If they are Dr. Matt, call them Dr. Matt, not Matt. This usually quickly points out how new you are to this situation. Even root doctors who didn't have appellations or professional names were always addressed with an honorific by clients (who did it out of their sense of respect), with names like Mamma, Papa, Uncle, Auntie, Reverend, Doctor etc.

Also respect, that your spiritual worker, for all their power and authority, are indeed human.

2. Don't argue with your spiritual worker- Following on the heels of respect, do not argue with your spiritual worker. People sometimes go into readings with the expectation to hear what they want to hear. Ethical readers and workers will tell them the truth which causes defensiveness in such clients. It is perfectly fine to share your concerns, your feelings, and ask questions, but do not argue with your spiritual worker. Just because you disagree with what they say doesn't give you the right to be argumentative or defensive. You came to them, you sought them out, and frankly if you had any maturity you'd get over your ego and actually listen to someone who may know a thing or two about situations like yours.

3. Let the spiritual worker do their job- When you seek out a spiritual worker to read and do magical work for you, there is an implied trust there. If you are new to this type of work it is fine to ask for guidance and illumination about different aspects of the work that will be undertaken, but don't pressume to tell your spiritual worker what to do. This means that you shouldn't try to micromanage the work. This isn't a fast-food drive through where you order from a menu, it is rather more akin to diagnosis and treatment. If the rootworker reads the situation and says the work should take a gentle and sweet approach don't insist on a coercive and binding approach. They are the expert, not you. You don't tell your doctor that you disagree with their diagnosis and insist on your own. Spiritual workers are the experts of their field, let them do their job.

4. Be honest and transparent- Do not withhold information from your spiritual worker. People who do this are often trying to manipulate the situation or the rootworker. It only hurts your case. If the reader is skilled they'll pick up on it and will most likely drop your case. Secondly, if you withhold information no matter your justification, you run the risk of seriously impeding your own success. That piece of information may have been necessary for the worker to adjust their approach or the magical work being done on your behalf, but keeping it from them, you'll run the risk of your work not producing the success you desire. For example if you got in a fight with your intended during a reconciliation case, tell the rootworker so they can adjust to the situation rather than let things get worse.

Honesty and transparency should be your general approach to the relationship. Be honest about working with other spiritual workers in the past, be transparent if you want to seek a second opinion or if you've had a development. For example, many readers and rootworkers are comfortable with you seeking a second opinion, but you should be honest and trasparent with both individuals, if you fail to do so you'll come off as sneaky and deceptive and will quickly find yourself without the aid of either spiritual worker.

5. You are not the only client- Remember that you are not dealing with a retail store dynamic. Instead you are like a patient with a therapist. Your worker is concerned for your situation and they sincerely want to help you, but they also have other clients. Remember this in your interaction with your spiritual worker. Don't flood their mailboxes with emails and voicemails, don't nag, and don't rush the work that they do for your.

6. Read their policies and follow their procedures- Many spiritual workers have their own set of policies and procedures. If they have a website, this will be posted up for you to read. To ensure a smooth interaction, follow these procedure. For example, if they require a reading before they take on a client, then schedule a reading. Sending "please help" messages without bothering to follow through their procedure isn't going to get the best response. If they state that as a policy they don't take on certain types of cases, then don't contact them about that type of case. If they require you to provide certain information for them to read or do work for you, then do so. If they have certain regulations about communication with them follow them.

7. Follow their advice- If a spiritual worker gives you advice or a set of instructions to follow, make sure to follow through. You need to do your part in order for you to be successful. Your spiritual workers will do whatever they can to help you succeed, but they need you to do your part. If there are baths you need to take, rites they want you to do on your end, or even behaviors they want you to avoid then do them. If you fail to do your part then you have no right to complain when things don't turn away the way you want them to. For example, if you were told to avoid fighting during a reconciliation case, but then go and get in a fight with your intended; you're basically working against your own success.  There is nothing more frustrating to a spiritual worker then putting in all the work and effort and finding out the client didn't even do their part; it shows that you aren't serious.

8. Have patience and a little faith- Patience is an important factor in the relationship between spiritual work and client. If your case is taken on by a spiritual worker, they will perform your work usually at magically significant times to best help your case out. This means that you might have to wait for your work to be performed. If you are taken on, it does not mean that the magical work will be performed on you behalf immediately. Have patience during this process. Similarly magical work doesn't always produce immediate results. When your work is complete, depending on the policy of the spiritual worker, you'll either get a confirmation of some type at which point you it you might ask what to expect and when to expect it. Then sit back and have some faith. One of key signs of impatience and doubt is running from rootworker to rootwoker. If you've just finished work with one and run off to another, you aren't helping your case out. Remember that more doesn't equal better in spiritual work and too many chefs in the kitchen doesn't always lead to the best dishes.

9. Treat your spiritual worker as you would a priest, or a spiritual counsellor, don't treat them like a mojo assassin- Your spiritual worker aims to improve your life. However, they are not your personal assassin. Don't expect them to burn down the house of someone who cut you off while driving. While some of us do engage in justified work, it is always done with the aim of improving the lives of their clients while maintaining a sense of justice and balance. This also means that you don't "order" magical work from your spiritual worker, *they* determine what needs doing and when it needs doing.

That said, treat them as you would with a counsellor or priest, be straightforward in your communication. Keep open and healthy communication with your spiritual worker to ensure that you get all yours questions answered and the help you need.

10. Magical work is not an exact science- There are no guarentees in the work that we do and rarely is spiritual work an exact science. Keep this in mind with your expectations and you'll find yourself having a far better quality experience. This isn't to say you should have low expectations--magick can indeed be miraculous, simply keep your mind open and be flexible in your attitude.

All of these points are given with the understanding that you are working with a reputable and skilled spiritual worker, they do not stand for fakes and scammers, of course.

For those who are my clients or wish to be my clients  here are some aspects about working with me along with things to avoid:

1. I require a reading/consultation before any rootwork- Before I take on any case, I need to perform a reading and/or consultation. This means that if you want me to help you in a situation then you'll need to first select the option for getting a reading. I get dozens of emails a day from people who cannot follow instructions and send me emails asking for my help and detailing their woes and they haven't purchased a reading/consultation. It is unfair to my paying clients who have waited patiently and followed my procedures faithfully to take time away from them in order to answer you. I am courteous enough to direct you towards the right procedure if you send such an email, but it would help the proccess out a great deal if you simply read instructions. 

If however you've been referred to me by a colleague, I will perform a reading for free, but will need to get in touch with that colleague first.

2. I don't do emergency readings- Along the same lines as above, I don't do emergency readings. All my readings and consultations are booked in advanced. Demands like, "I need to talk to you today" simply won't work. I am one of the most sought-out readers and rootworkers with usually the minimum of 100 requests for client work a day. Given this, my readings and rootwork are scheduled in advanced. My phone readings are generally booked anywhere from 4-5 weeks in advanced. On the other hand my email readings have a turnaround of 2 days to 1 week, depending on the schedule. I am able to do email readings frequently as I am able to work through them throughout the day.

3. Rootwork is scheduled according to magically significant times- If I've agreed to take on your case, then the rootwork will be done according to magically significant times. This means that I am not going to immediately start your case, but will begin the work at a time that will be potent for the situation. I do my work according to the phases of the moon, the days of the week, the hours of the clock, and also astrological timing. Depending on the guidance of my spirits, I will select the best option for your case. Frequent questions of if I've started your work yet, are pointless. Sit back, relax, and know your work will start when it is best for the situation. Magick should never be rushed.

4. All rootwork includes photo proof and a check reading- At the conclusion of the rootwork and conjure that I've performed on your behalf you will be provided with photo proof of the work that was done as well as a check reading. The check reading will divine the effect of the magical work and give us an idea of what to expect in the coming days. Both of these services are provided for all rootwork clients, so clients do not need to constantly ask how things are going, I won't give progress reports of the work as it is ongoing. Simply wait and you'll get a progress report when all is done.

5. Patience is a the key- Impatience will get you no where. For example, it roughly takes me 2-3 days to respond to emails, sending me an email a day until I respond to you is not making a good impression. If you need to get a hold of me, send your communication then wait patiently, I will get to you. Simiarly if work is being done on your behalf, try to remain calm and relaxed it will help your case out a great deal.

These little pointers and facts can help you avoid a great deal of issues and will make the interaction smooth and pleasant for all.

If you take nothing away from this post, take away one thing: treat your spiritual worker as the spiritual person that they are; treat them with respect and honesty and you'll find the relationship with them more fulfilling.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Evocation for the Purpose of Evocation

The concept of evoking a spirit into manfestation in all its varied forms is one that has sparked the fantasy of many a young mage. The idea of standing around with magical regalia, intoning exotic words from a mystical language, and having a disincarnate entity repond by showing up in your living room, is as close as some mages think they can get to Hollywood magic.

I know that with the evocations that I have performed that there have been some amazing effects. I've had spirits manifest to appearance beyond doubt in my mind, I've had the entirety of my garage (where I do evocation work) shake as if hit by a truck, I've had multi-color flashes spin around the room, and other wonderous things happen. Yet, I've also had evocations where such phenomenon did not take place and was forced to rely on more subtle senses.

Both of these evocation types were successes. Why? Because I did not measure their success according to fantastic, albeit cool, occurrances that took place during the ritual, but rather the result that manifested after the ritual--the result that I was seeking when I did the evocation.

People who attempt evocation seem entirely focused on what happens during the ritual; as if they were doing evocations solely for the purpose of doing them and seeing magical effects, not for a specific goal. In my opinion that is not the goal of magic, nor evocations.

When we call upon spirits it is to form partnerships for a specific goal. Would you contact a lawyer, or a doctor just to see if you can? Would you call a doctor's office and see if someone picks up? Or do you get in contact with such individuals so they can help you with a court case or to set up consultations about your health? Do you measure your success according to whether a mechanic responds to your telephone call, or according to your car being fixed?

The same logic should be applied to evocation. People have created this silly division between evocation and practical magick that is entirely at odds with the purpose of evocational magics in the first place. Look through the characteristics of the spirits in the grimoires and you'll see that each has a purpose. They can teach you things, help you accomplish objectives, and otherwise help you along towards your goals--tangible goals at that. In fact, it is oft-remarked that there are more spirits whose purpose is to find treasure, or to bring you the love a young lady than any other single goal. This is because the impetus for working with these spirits is one that is tied specifically to acheiving what the magus wants.

Now, I am not saying that all magical work should be about gettting money or find love. I am saying that magical practice, like evocation, should not be pursued as an end to itself, but rather it should be done with a goal in mind.

There is currently a group of mages in the blogsophere who have joined together to perform experiments and work with Jupiteran spirits. Why? For a specific goal of elevation career-wise, financial growth, and other benefits related to Jupiter. In my opinion, this exemplifies the natural impetus of how these spirits are meant to be worked with: a collaborative effort of spirit and man, experimental and experiential, aimed towards acheiving success, both materially, and spiritually.

It is time for evocation magics to take its place as a means of practical magic as it was always was meant to be.