I was wondering if anyone had an idea of the safe "cut off point" for spells - or maybe Ash/Magnolia could answer -
For example if I have a bound windstorm spell and I activate it, but forget to actually deactivate it, how long would it actually stay active?

First, worry about making something real happen. The hard part is turning things on and making them keep going. If you get it to last more than an instant, you are doing really good. Even with sensing things with psychic ability, you will be lucky to get it to stay past the first distraction. It just isn't that easy and you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

I've been a practicing witch for over 15 years myself. What I class as making something 'real' happen and what you would class making something 'real' happen maybe two very different things. I'm not only able to maintain a constant flow of energy or spell work for as long as necessary but I'm able to do it with multiple distractions at a time, sometimes even pushing energy work into the background do it can continue to work and have an effect while I'm not concentrating on it.
However, your reply doesn't actually answer my original question.

15 years is a good start. Being able to keep energy effects going is a good thing. Okay, so you activate a spell and do not turn it off. Your meridians rotate through a cycle of 12 pairs, where each pair is active for 2 hours at a time. Your alertness peaks and declines at 90 to 120 minute cycles. Things are constantly going on in the background and demanding your attention and energy. If you aren't consciously maintaining an effort to keep a spell going, it will keep going at a reduced effectiveness. Conscious participation makes everything work better. It all depends on how complicated the effort is and how quickly the energy to sustain it moves on to other things. Maybe you are in a quiet environment and you aren't doing anything active; maybe you read a good book. Or maybe your neighbors are loud and you decide to eat a heavy meal. And what I meant by creating an effect that is real is that you shouldn't be the only one to experience it. We all go to bed and have dreams that are convincing while they are happening, but you can't tell someone you can fly just because you had a dream where you did it. And it is the same way with what you see, feel, and sense during other altered states of consciousness like meditation. Experiencing something doesn't make it real. Before you have to worry about doing something dangerous, you should worry about doing something objectively verifiable. Until then, everything you do is safe and you will be lucky to keep anything going from one day to the next.

You're referring to a spell that has to be maintained in order to have a constant effect. When you get experienced enough you will be able to cast enchantments or wards that do not diminish in power over time.
I'm not going to get into a debate or be baiting into justifying how powerful my abilities are, or how verifiable. Just know that when I enact something, it's seen by everyone not just myself.
I think you've missed the point of this post however.
Some spells when bound to an amulet, will constantly draw energy from the environment and caster to maintain its effect, which can lead to a huge drop in energy levels not just in the surrounds but in the user ad well. Some people when creating an amulet will ensure there is a safe cut off point, where the amulet stops fueling the spell either after a period of time or when surrounding energies drop to a point that might be considered usage if they are still going.
And the way each person creates one of these is different from the next, hence I asked in the forum what experiences people may have had on items they have received from creepy Hollows or whether ash / Magnolia themselves could shed some light on the matter without giving anything away.

My experience is it turns on when you need it and fades away when you don't. The words just focuses the intent because we often want two different things at the same time. Like "I want money, but money is evil, and I don't want to be evil." Or
"I want it to rain, but it's cold and I don't want to ruin my hair."

If you say it, it means you've decide this is what you want. Sometimes you don't have to say it because your thoughts and feelings are congruent.

Inedible wrote:15 years is a good start.

15 years? "Good start"? You make me laugh Inedible. That's a lot of time and experience, IMO, and you say "good start"? Rofl. Idk what your point is, but I would say 15 years is way more than a "good start".
Also, you didn't even answer any questions with the rest of your reply, really, just made more statements that hedges around it.
No clue what you're getting at bud, but the tone can be taken by some as rather "put-down" like you're talking to a child, just saying.

Thank you Samsara, that's a useful response to give an idea of what to expect with them. The amulets I've used in the past didn't have a safe cut off so could be rather difficult to use as they would literally drain you until you feel exhausted.
Vey Nightshard, you are kind of stating out loud what I was thinking. I'm just not into getting into debates on my abilities and what I can do and whether someone thinks I'm an amateur. The way they speak makes me wonder if they themselves have much experience but again, not here to be putting people down. Just here for info

Perhaps the "time limit" can be built into the spell? Like this spell will continue to be effective until "xxx time/date/year" or "xxx event happens" or even "till my death"?

The amulets I've used in the past didn't have a safe cut off so could be rather difficult to use as they would literally drain you until you feel exhausted.

That's interesting. Where did you get those amulets? I can't say if I ever noticed any piece draining me other than that one time I had a master vampire. I had dark circles real fast.