Spirit Conjuring Binding Keeping Shops - Be Informed

[Magnolia]

This is a continued follow up to our discussion on recent threads about the rise of AI in practices and Spirit Keeping shops.

The world gets bigger everyday and over time things evolve, grow, and change. In the light of recent rapid changes, take some time to review the shops and practitioners you are working with, and take time for some important considerations.

In working with spirits, entities, gods and goddesses, etc. there are many choices. Many different paths that extend back thousands of years, and many that run parallel to religious beliefs. Take the time to be informed.

If you are looking for a spirit or entity companion, know the ideology of the practitioner or shop? Why? Because you really need to know if you are getting a companion from someone who practices Spirit Conjuring vs Spirit Keeping. Why? Because there are some extremely important differences that need to be considered.

What do they practice?

Marketplaces vs Websites or local shops

Online marketplaces have no obligation to you at all. They do not vet, interview, or know what the shops are offering or if they are qualified at all. That's up to you and you alone. You can't even trust reviews with online marketplaces. Etsy allows a shop owner to permanently lock a review if they respond. If you see a shop where the owner has responded to 5-star reviews every time, they're locking the reviews. The buyers cannot come back at any time and update the review with what they really think - good or bad. So, it gives the false appearance that they are well-trusted 5-star shops. Some shops may have certainly earned tons of 5-star reviews and if that's the case then they don't feel the need to respond to each review to lock them in place. They may respond to one out of five from the same person from the same order, but they don't lock them all down. The simple law of averages says even the most amazing shop is going to have a bad review here and there.

Marketplaces also have full governance over who is on their platform. Even if the shop is wonderful and they have the best offerings and customer service, if the terms of service change for the platform, the shop is gone. Which is means your ability to contact them is gone, unless they have shared contact info you with you previously. However, from the history as reported on this Forum amongst members, if a shop goes away and they aren't also running their own website, social platform, or local shop where they can still be contacted, you have lost any aftercare and ongoing support.

Any website or shop can go out of business at any time for any reason, so it's not that you have to choose a shop that also has a website, social platform, or local shop, but generally you have a better chance of still being able to contact them and ask questions.

If a shop runs a website or social platform where they have engaged, posted, interacted, and generally shown they have a genuine interest in their work that's not just job-related, then you can feel pretty confident they actually care about what they do, because they love this path on their own and do it on their own. It's not a deal-breaker, but it's food for thought. Because, even if they close their shop or the marketplace shuts them down, you can still communicate with them.

Picking Shops and Practitioners

With shops popping up at an alarming rate with no roots in the community and they offer no background or definition of the work they are performing, you need to be diligent and be informed.

You can frequent as many shops as delight you, but you need to know what they are doing. It's okay to ask questions and get answers. It's no different than any other shop. If you went into a shop with a sign that said "Food", you'd want to know what kind of food they sell. Is it good food? About to expire? Fresh? Organic? You wouldn't want to consume something that may run afoul with your personal or spiritual beliefs. Likewise, you don't want to just blindly welcome any spirit or entity into your life when you don't now the beliefs and practices of the practitioner(s) associated with the shop.

Know what you practice first. That sounds silly, because you are you, but seriously know what you think about the different paths of spirit conjuring and interacting with spirits. It's important.

Are you old school? Do you just want a spirit and you don't really have any care one way or another?

Are you only into Spirit Keeping? If the shop or practitioner offers anything that runs against these covenants, then it's not Spirit Keeping. Regardless if they use that specific phrase, or they use terminology we use on here because they want their shop to seem "familiar" and safe, or if they appear to offer the same companions you see here or other reputable shops. If they are offering anything that violates any of the covenants of Spirit Keeping, then the shop/practitioner is not practicing Spirit Keeping. They are trading on established and familiar terms, phrases, and names of companions in order to garner your trust. In those instances, you need to be doubly-aware.

Most practitioners, even if they follow a specific path, have their own personal spin on various paths. You should know what their practices are. Be informed. Knowledge really is power - YOUR power. If you take the time to ask questions up front and be informed, then you feel confident. This is true in anything you do in your life.

Customer Service

Write them a message first. Are they considerate enough to answer your questions? Do they respond well and offer their time?

If you get informative and helpful responses, then you are more likely to get ongoing support. It's not a guarantee. Some sellers/shops are great about answering questions upfront to make a sale, but ghost you after. That does happen. However, it's usually a pretty good sign if they are informative and polite then they'll be so ongoing.

If there are crickets after you write to them, then maybe hit a pause button. I don't mean they have to answer a 10-page survey, but if they can't even answer simple questions, if they are rude or disrespectful, or just outright ignore you - those are all things you should consider, because once you buy from them it's a guess whether or not they'll provide any ongoing support or aftercare.

Are they simply just conjuring and they don't really have any care for your ongoing knowledge or for the spirit or entity companion's ongoing support? That's a vital consideration. Some shops openly tell you that they aren't going to provide you any aftercare, any support for you or the companion, and not to even message them. You're own your own. That's a pretty serious consideration. You would need to come here or find a community like this to lean on for answers and support from other members and Spirit Keepers. However, there are issues and questions that only a conjurer can answer. If that conjurer isn't available then that's a problem.

That includes unbinding. I know there are shops that claim they can unbind any spirit or entity from any practitioner. That's not only an extremely bold and egotistical claim, it's ignorant of the facts. As I said before, there are a lot of different spirit conjuring and spirit binding practices. If you don't know how a spirit, entity, or even spell is bound in a proper binding, then it's not getting unbound. So, that said, if the conjurer isn't around, and you didn't get information from the conjurer or shop about what happens if you change your mind, then you can pay twenty different practitioners to do an "unbinding", but you won't really know. This branches into a more complicated topic of bindings.

You need to ask any seller/practitioner/shop:

- What kind of binding is this?
- What if I change my mind?
- What if I find out me and the companion aren't compatible?
- How can I get this unbound if I change my mind?
- Would standard banishing techniques work to break your binding?
- Can another seller/practitioner unbind your binding if you aren't available?

You need to ask these questions. There are uncomfortable and inconvenient truths which exist in every aspect of life, not just the supernatural. If you make a decision and take an action, you may or may not be able to undo it later. This is why asking questions and knowing who you are working with is important.

The bottom line - ask the shop/conjurer/practitioner before you buy from them. Ask them what you would need to do if you change your mind later and decide you don't want to continue this path? Get the information from them before you buy, it's essential.

Resources and Content

If they offer resources, are they genuine? Or, are they just repackaging and regurgitating what has already been posted and existed in the community for a long time? If it's all the same old stuff you've already seen on tenured and established websites, social platforms, or in published works, then maybe ask them how their resources differ from what's already available? For obvious reasons. Are they just repackaging from trusted and reputable sources to appear like they are knowledgeable?

If they are in the path themselves, then they should have a lot of content that is unique to them. Anyone in any path is going to have their own experiences, their own knowledge, their own techniques, etc. They are going to share their work, their experiences, and how they have learned, grown, and evolved through time. That's evident whether someone is following a path as a hobby or if they are a practitioner.

Tenure and Background

The online communities of the supernatural, spirits, magick, paranormal, etc. have been online now for at least a good 20 years. If someone is putting up a profile saying they've been doing this 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, then they likely have a footprint somewhere online with any of the many reputable communities. Ask them where they've participated previously? If it's anything related to Spirit Keeping, then they should have at least popped up on here once in the last 20 years. If it's magick and witchcraft, or spirit conjuring, then there are many long-established communities where they would have participated. Ask them where they've participated before, or perhaps they have published works.

If they're genuinely new to this and they are just starting out, great! Find that out, though. There's no harm in that. Everyone was new once. No one was born fully-grown, fully-educated, and fully-experienced. Just know their level of experience so you know what to expect.

Just remember, this is your life and your path, and you don't have to be shy about advocating for your path and your journey.

[Alaric]

Important to know...

[Dream08]

Thanks, Magnolia! Excellent information!

[aannbb]

It'll be worst and worst, how do you want to believe in new (marketplace) sellers nowadays.

People are asking on CH board if we know that particular etsy seller and nobody know him or hear about him. I've checked, his listing (photos/texts) are AI generated... another one.

When you propose services like this, you should take the time to do it with your heart, else, it's just business to make easy money.

So when I see some new sellers promoting their shops freely on CH, it should be granted only to old members, people we really know. Because, some sellers I've seen on CH have stolen money to people and they closed their shops without warnings.

Else, do not hesitate to ask questions, it's like a weapon, the best way to test people you don't know.

[Magnolia]

This is the sticky-wicket we've had from the beginning. We've always been supportive of the community as a whole and openly allowed other sellers/shops to advertise here. We get absolutely nothing out of it. There is no advertising fee, payments, or any other compensation in any way.

The issue becomes we (Ash & myself) cannot be judge and jury on who gets to advertise here and who does not. Because that is going to look like we are playing favorites and picking and choosing on unknown factors. Or, we are being paid to allow certain sellers. That has never happened. We've always allowed other shops to advertise here out of good will and encouraging the community to support each other. The only time a shop becomes persona non grata here is when they are openly taking the generosity of the Forum with one hand and violating the rules or community with the other hand. In those instances, they are permanently banned and their name can't even be mentioned here.

All of that said, the only fair way to operate the advertising section is to let shops post their introductions and announcements and the members decide - full democracy.

If you have other ideas, we're always open to hearing them.

[Keriix Lunaria]

How about opening a poll and letting the community vote to decide? There has already been a poll where members voted that they did not like seeing AI in bios. How about another poll whereby members can vote if they would like to see if sellers who use AI in bios can advertise themselves here?

Alternatively, change the seller introduction template to include what kind of AI usage is being used in their shop. This allows members to fully understand the shop’s AI policy at a glance.

[WiseRavenRunes]

I agree with Keriix's suggestion. I believe it ought to be common knowledge which shops are using AI and how so that we can make our own informed decisions. I have bought from shops that use AI which are legitimate, but still been a bit frustrated to only learn that they used AI after I purchased from them. I think it would be in CH's interests to agree on and uphold an official stance on AI in the seller posting rules, whatever that may be.

[Adair]

How about opening a poll and letting the community vote to decide? There has already been a poll where members voted that they did not like seeing AI in bios. How about another poll whereby members can vote if they would like to see if sellers who use AI in bios can advertise themselves here?

Alternatively, change the seller introduction template to include what kind of AI usage is being used in their shop. This allows members to fully understand the shop’s AI policy at a glance.

This is a great suggestion!

I personally think it should be part of the Seller shop introduction format/Seller posting rules, to be a necessity to state whether they use AI or not so that potential customers can decide for themselves with that knowledge.

[Magnolia]

How about opening a poll and letting the community vote to decide? There has already been a poll where members voted that they did not like seeing AI in bios. How about another poll whereby members can vote if they would like to see if sellers who use AI in bios can advertise themselves here?

Would you guys be voting on which sellers can advertise here? Or, voting on the criteria they must meet?

If AI is part of it the decision, then you would have to clearly define how much AI can be used, when/where/how, etc.

Alternatively, change the seller introduction template to include what kind of AI usage is being used in their shop. This allows members to fully understand the shop’s AI policy at a glance.

This I do think is a good idea, because the use of AI should be disclosed either way. That was overwhelming from the poll, the majority of participants wanted to know if AI is used beyond images. If it's beyond images then in what way it's used, clearly and openly.

[WiseRavenRunes]

I'm not keriix of course, but my personal opinion is it would be more than reasonable to start with a mandatory disclosure of AI usage in write-ups of any sort. That's the part that really concerns some people. Whether the community wants to actually restrict sellers who use AI from advertising here at all can be a bridge we cross only if we have to, but I think starting off with requiring open disclosure is a fair compromise at this time. It's a move that other major sites like Facebook, Youtube, Etsy, and Steam have already implemented and content creators on those platforms have adjusted to that without complaint. Just chipping in my two cents.