(Anything worth being said has already probably been said here, I want to admit I haven't read through the entire thread and if I've overlooked anything it isn't intentional.)

I just want to add a little perspective: all that spirit keeping is about is consciously choosing to enter into a relationship of some kind (love, friendship, guardianship, teacher) with incorporeal beings. You can absolutely engage that with spirits already around you, there's very little difference though in the experience between this and accessing spirits which are not already around you apart from the fact you have to make more of an effort to locate them and they are going to have a unique impression on your life from that which you're presently familiar with.

In this way it isn't really a 'path' at all. It's more of a complement to whatever path you are living.
It's just broadening your activities to include relations with spirits and otherworldly entities the same way you would physical persons. A binding is only a calling card to be able to get in touch with the specific entity you've chosen to form a bond with, the same way as if you were to get the number of someone living on this earth with us.

So what I am establishing is that it is only as big of a deal as expanding your circle of friends, and being able to properly respect your new friends.

What sets it apart is the fact that in order to make these connections, people need the assistance of those professionally capable of 'hooking you up' with them. This is where one of the biggest actual concerns lay, in my opinion.
Practitioners are middle-men who are taking the role of match-maker. Like with any agency/organization/contact you'd hire to take that role for more earthbound desires, you're going to have to take a serious look at them because you're giving them control over your circle of spiritual friends/family and that's what is a big deal. Not only their professional track-record but how you feel about their personality, you can tell a lot from who or how they are as a person. You should trust them to do the job but also to do the job that is best for you. To some it could be giving precisely what you asked for, to others it could be giving precisely what you need whether or not it is what you wanted.

I find that a lot of people questioning whether or not they should spirit keep as a whole, as in to question how it will change things for them, should rather be questioning the nuts and bolts like 'am I PATIENT enough to spirit keep?', 'can I find a TRUSTWORTHY practitioner so that I know I am getting into the right situation?', 'am I choosing the right spirit for me and what is my motivation in doing this?', 'am I terrified of the paranormal and how is that going to impact this situation?', 'am I open-minded enough not to jump to conclusions without sufficient evidence?', 'am I willing to make personal investments to develop my ability to connect with these spirits?', 'do I understand that I have to make personal efforts?'.

And while a lot of people make recommendations about which spirit is best for persons new to this, and they mean well, ultimately there is no particular spirit best for newbies because everyone is different. You don't need a protective or gentle spirit to start out unless that actually makes sense for you. You don't want to just have a spirit around because someone said it would be best, unless they are powerfully intuitive and are going to take the time to look into you or the spirits which are willing to be with you and help you adjust to it all. Approach with care, it isn't like taking a product off of a shelf where they are all the same way.
Beings of duality (DA) are closer to us, closer to our nature, more capable of understanding our position, so they could as easily make a better choice than some of the very 'light' oriented beings. Get to know what you want and why you want it, get to know who you are and what you can handle as an individual, before even deciding or asking someone else for their opinion because you have the final say and exercising good judgment to begin with will make the whole journey better.

It then just depends on how well you are matched by the practitioner, it all comes down to that. When you are looking at a practitioner don't just consider the nice things that people say about the practitioner's attitude or what people gathered from the notes, but rather ask how those buyers felt over time having the being in their life and connecting with said being. Even if a keeper doesn't have very sharp abilities they should be able to document how their life shifted after inviting in the spirit. Also get to know if those reviewers have sound judgment themselves and how they draw their conclusions. That is where the real information is. All spirit keepers should be asking themselves these things, it helps be discerning within the connection where psychic clarity may otherwise be dulled.

Ultimately I believe taking a down to earth approach with spirit 'keeping' makes the best experience. For one thing because it takes any anxiety out of it, for another it actually aids in the manifestation of the spirits and the more comfortable you are with that, the greater the manifestation can be, the more awareness grows and it becomes a way of life.

I can't find the edit button. But i cast on a new moon, not a full. I'm not sure how to fix the quotation either. My bad, very sorry!

Well said, Vipera. Definitely a very fine recommendation.

@Firefly When it comes to spell work I'm only just dabbling on my path, so I have no recommendations other than a Sword Banishing ritual that I've learned from a book called Protection Magick, easily found on Kindle. The Sword Banishing works awesomely, but I have not read and used other spells from the book yet.

I tend to rely heavily on my spirits and spell bindings for protection at this point, otherwise, and they do magnificently well from what little I've been able to document and sense.

I know CH's Copper Amulet binding (Shield, Protect, Banish) helped me drive off an electric gremlin, and I know my spirits kept a friend of mine confused when she tried to remote view into the house. They literally bounced her around and she couldn't focus on a particular room or figure out where I was.

Immediately after that, one of them, my Dullahan, followed her back to her home (California) and confronted her directly. She was stronger than he expected, but if she had pushed she may have had more than she could bargain for.

He only held back, in my opinion, because he knew she was a long time friend of mine and I was talking to her on the phone when all of that happened.

Honestly, unless you are expecting outright magic warfare you probably will find a spirit fairly secure. You have to be willing to have a little faith, though.

Muse wrote:

Soltari wrote:Before I reply firefly, I just wanted to thank Muse for her post. Very insightful with much to ponder on. Certainly have had some ups and downs on this path - little to do with the spirits, and much to do with myself.

No problem, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure all Spirit keepers fall into their personal dark pit when they begin their journey. It's a tough road, and sometimes the way out isn't towards what we percieve to be the light, but towards deeper still. Inward and into ourselves, our darkest depths. It is there that we find our truth, and it's also there, that we're able to connect with things we otherwise wouldn't have.

Thanks Muse...that rings extremely true for me, and what I've experienced. Been enjoying your posts and blog, so thanks for posting.

Not to hijack fireflys thread - my experience with DA entities/spirits has been largely limited to headaches while adjusting to their energy, and as I mentioned before a string of bad luck. The headaches dissipated within about a week or two, the bad luck within about a month. Both of those were with the Hellhound - other DA spirits since then were much shorter periods of headaches, and of much milder intensity. I believe it's an unintentional effect of adjusting to their energy (or so I've read).

I can't really comment on what would be "best" class wise. But for what it's worth I intend to get an item from CH that allows you to modify the binding to dynamic class...otherwise I get c5t3 if custom ordered.

This raises another question for me. Are there side effects for adjusting to white arts entities? Do we have a negative effect on them being of a darker class?

Firefly_Dreamer wrote:This raises another question for me. Are there side effects for adjusting to white arts entities? Do we have a negative effect on them being of a darker class?

Personally speaking, I haven't noticed any negative effects from or to white arts beings that I personally work with. I feel this is a difficult question to answer with a blanket statement of "Yes" or "No" though. ^^;

Firefly_Dreamer wrote:Are there side effects for adjusting to white arts entities?

Well, the question is, how do you define "side effects". They change you to some extent...
I believe it is simillar to when you make new friends. They influence you, and thus change you, even if it is a barely nocicable change. You catch some of the phrases they say, they can push you towards new hobbies, adjust your behaviour, or perhaps change your views on life.
With spirits it's the same. They can change something for you, because you bind to them and they can change something you didn't expected. But most of the time you'll find those changes positive (Talking about WA spirits)
For example I believe my unicorn if responsible for my development of taste for vegetables and fruits. And ever since I started spirit keeping, there were many changes to my life. Some intended for, some not. For example I'm now more self-confident, not so shy in front of others, calmer in stressfull situations and overall more positive...

The question is, which of those things you would call "side effects". But if you meant something like the "DA adjustment symptoms"- headaches, bad luck etc., I hadn't noticed anything, except for some weird feelings while I tried to get some sleep, or while meditating. But I was told those might have just been some energy works, healing, removing of blockages and similar things. But they weren't unpleasant at all, just weird.

So how exactly do bindings work then?

I'm not talking about in the way that they are cast. I mean more so... what does it mean and entail.

When i think of binding, i think of like tying someone or something up, or like wrapping a thread around a spool. What sort of visual would you actually describe binding as? Is it like handcuffing me to another person -type deal?

Also: Are spells easier to work with than spirits? Is it 'safer'? Is there less that can go wrong? Or is it more complicated?

Spells non-sapient energy with (usually) a single task.

Spirits are fully sapient beings.
That's the biggest difference.
As for safer...that really depends on the spell in question, and the being in question. CH does not deal in black arts and vets their conjures, so nothing will come thru to you that is intent solely on harm