Reading through Forums, I Just Thought to Myself...

[loreleyjacob]

So, erm, what's the difference between "prayer and energy requests" and "spell-begging"? We forumists gladly give one, but become all self-righteous about the other. We don't give out spells. We don't do spells for other people. Not even spells for "good" purposes like finding a job

Comments

[inhumandecency]

warning: this is all relative to the way I see the terms used. YMMV

[labrys6]

I can't speak for others, just for myself. I will occasionally perform a spell in someone else's behalf. But I will not give out a prepared spell.
Why? Pretty simple, actually. Spells are work to create---I dont' like spoonfeeding someone; when I do a spell its because I know the person in question is too down/messed/stressed etc to focus and do it. And if I give a spell...assuming the recipient does it right, I do not know what use it may actually be put to, do I? So that is why I am circumspect...tho' not particularly self-righteous. Maybe I am self-leftous?

[elfwreck]

1) Because it doesn't have the word "spell" in the title. (Never underestimate the power of loaded buzzwords. If people asked for a "magical correspondence-based meditation directed towards a goal," there'd be no bitching.)

2) There's a more personal edge to energy requests--the result isn't stored in the archives for anyone to grab later. (Of course, if you sent spell instructions by private email, it wouldn't be either. But then it's also not part of the group interaction.)

3) From husband: Spells are designed from within a trad framework, for the most part. Without knowing their magickal training, I can't give them an effective spell (except for VERY simple designs, which they tend to not like 'cos of the energy-raising methods involved). So I have to spend time, reveal my own secrets (correspondences and whatnot as used in the spell), and hand over something that probably won't work anyway, because they're not working with the same patterns. Energy requests, however, don't require any similarity between our paths.

[catsnstuff]

My understanding of this is that the difference is due to how they both fit within the general understanding of how Neo-Pagan Witchcraft works

[catsnstuff]

Gods, again, that was so convoluted. Apologies. This is why we don't try to write while eating lunch, folks. :/

[chemalfait]

great question