Being Responsible for What You Learn from an Oracle

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Silenciumetaurum
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Being Responsible for What You Learn from an Oracle

Post#1 » Tue Nov 21, 2017 7:25 am

Greetings,

Recently, a person contacted me by email regarding an issue she wanted solved and though I cannot discuss the identity of the person or the exact nature of the issue, I will say that it is difficult and causing a lot of psychological distress on her part. This is not uncommon when people start reaching out to magic / magical workers as part of a solution. And I believe that if you're in a position to give spiritual advice, you should do so with the utmost discretion and honesty. Sadly, there are as many dishonest sharks in the magical demimonde as there are in any other part of human life.

I always do a divination first. I usually charge $10 USD for it (because my time, skill, and effort should be worth something) and I take it very seriously. Most good spiritual workers will engage in some kind of divination before undertaking work for a client. Why? Because jumping into the work blind is possibly the worst thing you could do. It often leads to the client feeling even more emotional distress (i.e. when the work goes wrong or simply nothing happens).

But here's where it gets difficult. Many people who come to a sorcerer-for-hire don't want to face the unpleasant truth. And I think there is a strong motivation for them to avoid feeling so bad by paying someone else to take responsibility for the issue, as if they were saying, "Just make it better and call me when you're done." Sometimes, that is possible. But most of the time, "making it better" involves active, affirmative effort on the part of the person seeking the changes (side issue: so why go to a spiritual worker at all? I talk about that here if you're interested: "Blood from a Stone: if you can do magic, how come you're not rich?" and "How to Be a Sorcerer: an Overview"). It's similar to having good health meaning more than just complaining to the doctor and taking a pill. The doctor can guide you and do things to make health more likely, but you are still responsible for your body.

I know it's sometimes heartbreaking to have your last resort tell you that nothing can be done. But not to do a divination is a horrible mistake, in my opinion. And to disregard what the oracle tells you might be even worse. You don't have to act on what the cards or spirits or geomancy or whatever tells you, but you are responsible once you know, even if you don't have perfect insight (which rarely happens anyway).

I guess I write this because we all want to help people and ourselves. But sometimes the best thing you can do for someone (magically or otherwise) is to tell them the difficult truth. And not all things can be altered (quickly or at all) with practical spiritual work. Instead, I always recommend people work on themselves, their physical / mental / spiritual health, and their understanding of the bigger picture. Such recommendations aren't flashy or exciting, but often they are the best remedy. Other times, it can be magic. But magic is like any other tool: misuse it and it will misuse you.

S+A
Aradia: Letters from the Dark Moon

If something is hard, do it more. Don't run away.

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