There has been a constant wave of "new sellers" or "buyers turned seller" since 2006. What was once a small, insular community has evolved in so many ways over the last 11 years and that is a beautiful thing.

I think one really important point that sometimes people lose sight of when they are new & they want to do and try everything related to Spirit Keeping or Living Entity Keeping is that when you are new to this the time to open your own shop is not within a month of you finding this path and realistically not even within a year of your finding this path. You can, of course, do anything you desire but it really needs to be a decision not taken lightly. We always welcome new sellers with open arms here & we're glad to have the community grow, but be mindful of the decisions you are making.

We have all watched probably over a hundred sellers come and go over the last 11 years and a great deal of what doesn't work is because some people get so excited to be in this lifestyle they get more focused on wanting to do it for others than taking the time to respect the craft of conjuring and respect the wisdom found in experience. Learn to be a wonderful Spirit Keeper first and then become a wonderful conjurer! You can't conjure for other people when you haven't learned to be a proper Spirit Keeper and haven't gained enough experience with that first.

If you think you want to become a seller who provides spirits to the public there is a great deal of responsibility that comes with that decision. You should take the time to learn what it means to be a practitioner and what it means to have the responsibility of working with spirits & people to find those perfect unions.

I think we can all appreciate the excitement you feel when you first discover this path but it should be excitement about learning first and learning everything you can and then baby-stepping your way into offering paid, public conjurations. I would strongly advise anyone who wants to work with public conjurations to first work with people on the Forum/Facebook/etc and offer them free conjurations so you can get feedback. Realistically you need to be practicing your conjurations for over a year, and preferably several years before you openly charge the public for them.

Conjuring is an art and something learned over time with devotion, patience and experience. Ash & I both have decades of experience and work in conjuration and it's something we treated with a great deal of respect, time and energy. For you it needs to be the same; a devotion to a craft & skill, and not a quick decision.

Conjuration that you learn to do for yourself is dramatically different than conjuring for a stranger. Even conjuring for a loved one who lives with you is different than conjuring for a stranger because at least in conjuring for a loved one bonds already exist.

Proper conjurations for the public are done by trained practitioners who have the experience and training that brings the right results. They aren't done using tools bought from other sellers, they are done through other means outside of actual conjuration steps, methods and techniques derived from conjuration training & experience.

Respect the craft because it's special, because it means something to those who are serious Spirit Keepers, and the public you serve deserves the devotion & thoughtfulness of your skill.

The "Learn to be a wonderful Spirit Keeper first" reminds me of this thread:
http://www.creepyhollows.com/phpBB3/topic46392.html
: )

Great thread. I think it would be pretty useful for people, who really, really want to conjure for others first take a job, where you work with people (cashier;call-center agent; support) and THAN think again if you still want to do this. I think most shops don't go down, because of the responsibility, but because of the different kinds of people they have to work with. People aren't always friendly and sunshine. People can be toxic, impatient, mean. Not to forget, if someone has a page dedicated to the spiritual/paranomal, there will be always these "keyboard heros", who will write hate- mails to this person and you have to be 100% sure you can handle this over a longer time.
Just in the last year, I saw many shops closing their doors for a short time, or disappear completly. Even shops, who I got my first bought companions from~
Our hobby is for 99% of the other people on this planet "weird" and people tend to hate things or laugh about things they don't understand or don't want to understand.

Great post Magnolia; over the years, it's been amazing seeing all of the fly by night magickal shops pop up. While I'm sure some are truly called to the craft, and like you and Ash, are willing to take the time and effort to honed their knowledge and skills, it seems that many want the short track, which as you mentioned, if they are only doing work for themselves is one thing. But it takes much responsibility I believe, to offer services, spirits and entities to others.

I love this reminder. Although I am a buyer, I am not sure I would even venture into trying to conjure, even for myself. I am not sure I would be able to do that.

As always, make sure you know what you are getting yourself into when you decide to do this kind of work. Anything worth doing is worth taking the time to learn thoroughly and doing well.

Conjuring isn't really difficult or dangerous. What comes afterwards is the part that holds me back to conjure for others (even for friends). The whole "checking, if you're talking to, who you think you talking to"(everyone makes mistakes sometimes, but in this case you're nit allowed to do any mistake), making sure an entity or spirit won't snap suddenly, or what I fear the most... if they're noticeable by others and not just "air in the glas".
It's a very high risk business. :/

Isn't the bag of ultimate tricks OK for newbies? Do they still need to do some protective ritual beforehand, or not, because the BOAT only summons the precise spirits you call from it?

heypanda wrote:Isn't the bag of ultimate tricks OK for newbies? Do they still need to do some protective ritual beforehand, or not, because the BOAT only summons the precise spirits you call from it?

I am continually forgetting that the BOAT includes the ability to conjure, lol. Every time someone references it, I think, "Oh, yeah, that's right. It conjures." :lol:

I would think that the BOAT (for those unfamiliar with the acronym, it's the Ultra Complex Bag of All the Tricks) has its own protections on it. However, casting your own protections on top of that is never a bad idea. For those who are beginners, every time they cast protection, they get a bit more practice doing so. Practice is good.

Exactly. I've been wanting to open up a store for years now, but I've held off on it because I knew I needed more time to hone my skills. My best friend is constantly pestering me about opening my shop, and I keep telling him that I'm not going to do so until I feel entirely prepared. The store I plan to open will be offering spelled items, divination readings, and possibly servitors and spirit art somewhere down the line. I'm not sure if I want to offer spirit bindings at some point, but if I do, it won't be for several years at least.

Great topic again!^^
Well , the spiritual part of it is incredibly difficult, but there is also the practical side:

If the new seller coming have not a great client support, don't take care or answer 20 days later, they can be a excellent conjurer, they will still rotten their still not credible reputation to the best!

I think the spiritual power is the base, but if you don't have a "seller soul" you are not going to be very far way from the entrance door!
Most reputable sellers works well not only because they are powerful, but because they are incredibly well organized, and quick problem solvers!

And for other sellers who make stuff a little bit late, just remember they had they reputation well established long ago, and that why we are patient and understand when they ask the customer to wait a little bit more!

So in my point of view, it is not just about conjuring spirits, but all of a "whole" that encompasses what a meta seller truly is. It is even true for common people selling anything out there, but it is a extreme necessity if the young one wants to construct a good reputation in the meta community.

it is worse then selling material stuff, the seller is working with the hopes and beliefs of their "para-customer" what can bring many pleasant and unpleasant outcomes, and if the newbie seller can't take with it, he/she will be already done before even really started!
just food for thought and just my 2 cents!^^