Hey Kids,
There seems to be a zeitgeist of stupidity on the internets so I am here today to cleanse you of that notion.
I keep seeing this foul turd: "A real spellcaster will give you video of the service."
Alright, no, and go back to TikTok, and see who has a good video set and can go through some believable motions for you because you're such a novice you don't know better if that's your proof of "real," which hilariously, I have been sent some of these videos and they are clearly not real spellcasting (but that may be why they floated into my inbox, to be fair, because someone wanted to know if that was "real.") I know SEVERAL REAL SPELLCASTERS who all do the work and not with a film crew present or with their phone filming them or anything equally stupid. Hell, most of them need a special request to even take pictures for you, but then....most of the professional spellcasters I know are going to be over 35, and many of them closer to 50 than they are to 40. It isn't a generation raised to think that everyone has to be videoing themselves every 10 seconds, but more one that was raised with ROTARY PHONES - that's right, not even a landline like you know it, but a ROTARY PHONE. With age often comes experience, too, so keep in mind....the most experienced spellcasters for hire are likely not to be into filming themselves. :P
However, that doesn't mean the older generation doesn't understand and possess smart phones so let's get into some problems with "must take a video of the service," shall we?
Let me start with the obvious - when casting a spell, it is imperative your full attention is focused on what you're doing. As I'm sure you can imagine, feeling self conscious about your appearance or being worried about your chant being inaudible to an audience is not exactly a helpful manner of focusing yourself. Additionally, most practitioners are solitary practitioners these days, so this would also imply that we do not have "helpers" to video for us. This means most of us are going to have to set a camera somewhere that you are more than likely going to see our backside more than anything else so you can see the altar. Heaven forbid the camera slips, because I can't speak for anyone else, but adjusting a fucking phone while working for you is going to be bad for the spell I'm casting. But hey, you want theatrics over results, so let's keep up here... Now there is the next problem that while I can't speak for other workers, I also work on TIERED TABLES for altars, so basically there is a high probability that now I will have to remove any information that could identify other clients who's active work is currently on the same altar on another tier, which could negatively impact their work. Again, whoever "needs a video" prefers theatrics over results, so for arguments sake, let's say I set you up with a special set of altars just for you, and since this is going to take up a fair amount of my already limited space and will require me to set it so my birds can't get into it, I'm gonna be charging more for that, you can bet. So, now you have a video of my back which is probably blocking most of your view of the altar. Hmmm, meanwhile I am distracted by the fact that I'm having a bad hair day, that I'm not sure if I'm being audible in all spots, and thinking of the camera when I should be fully focused on your work.
"But if they won't do it, they aren't real!"
I recently paid a lawyer who costs $300/hr to help me, and I do not recall EVER asking this person to turn on a video camera to prove to me that they were actually lawyering on my behalf during all billable hours. This person makes in an hour far more than I do, and yet, I trusted them with my money to do their fucking job. Shall I contact her and let her know that if she does not video herself then, I'm not going to believe she worked that hour?
I mean, if I can't see it how do I know?
I know because I'm a fucking adult, and furthermore not everyone grew up with a smartphone and an unnatural addiction to video, therefore many of us still find video to be...distracting. AND this is why you may very well end up with a FAKE VIDEO. Wait, what? See, if someone insists they need a thing but it will be a detriment to the service itself, would it not reason that there are workers who would make a super spooky exciting video for that person...then perform the real service? I mean, if you're recording something for posterity, the last thing you need is someone having a video clip of you looking sweaty and mumbling to a figural candle or acting in such a manner that may turn into an unfortunate gif if you're unlucky. In fact, that way you could actually charge extra, have a few friends come by, splice up a fancy video with you going through motions the client thinks is the spell, then go ACTUALLY DO THE SPELL!
Because imma let you in on something...Spellcasting really doesn't look all that cool a lot of the time. Certainly if you're just looking at my butt and my hair in a messy bun whilst I cast the spell, the most exciting thing about that is getting to look at my butt - and I'd be clothed the whole time. Meanwhile as you have caused me great inconvenience, I'll be charging you extra for the video, and since I honestly don't know anyone except future Mr NinjaCat who can help me with said video, it will legit be an iPhone 8 propped up some place where I hope it doesn't slip and a lot of intelligible mumbling with exclamations throughout. Since that would really be me, I'd have to charge double for video service as not only will I be required to set you up a special altar, I'll most certainly have to do the work at least twice, seeing as the first time I will be very distracted by the video. Soooooo, you're paying that much extra not for results but for a shitty video because some inexperienced neophyte told you that it's all on video now.
There is nothing wrong with being insecure about if someone is or isn't working for you, and wanting to feel comfortable with your worker prior to hiring them - this is why I love a pre-spell consultation, because we can discuss the problem and the client's concerns. However, you're just as naive to trust a video of a service as you are to not trust a lack of one. Neither will tell you if someone is "legitimate." If a person can't speak to you with any sense of understanding or depth on the type of services they provide, and doesn't show an extensive amount of knowledge regarding their craft, this is the sign that they are clueless, and are probably not the worker you want. I'm not saying that there are not legitimate workers who video themselves, but to demand it as part of a "normal deal" is....short sighted, naive, and ridiculous. I cringe when I see people post active spellwork videos and images because that's actually hurtful to the spell itself when the spell is active and not manifested yet.
Furthermore, clients who do not understand spellcraft at even a beginner level are going to get very hung up on details of little importance so this is going to actually INCREASE the amount of work even more on the spellcaster. Trust me when I say I post on a fair amount of beginner groups, and many of these people are reporting phenomena which is not magical or arising from spellwork or even of importance and then being "blown away" by a sign that they wholly created in their own fantasies. These are people trying to learn spellcasting, too, not just a client who probably knows even less about the process itself. If you think I want to explain my cockatiels flock calling at minute 9 in the video and how that's just something annoying that they do for 3 weeks while an overly anxious client waits for manifestation, you're wrong.
So, why is a "video" not a necessary item when purchasing work for hire:
It is a possible distraction for the spellcaster
The person could just be making something up even then, or going through the motions
It creates a situation where a client can become more anxious or have lust for results which could be harmful for the spellwork
Assuming the spellcaster works for multiple clients, other client's confidentiality may become problematic depending on the set up
Again, if this is something you want, discuss it with the spellcaster. However in the meanwhile, stop telling naive people that if someone does not offer this, they must be fake, as all you do when you do that is encourage the fakes to send video and make more money. You won't change the people really doing the work into taking on a large and tedious task of adding video services because you come from a generation that thinks everything is on film normally now. If it's a make-or-break thing with you and no video is a deal killer, I'm sure you will find someone who will send you a video, albeit if it's real or something they took time out to make and charge you lots of money for but isn't real is not something I can tell you.
Since I know someone will ask, would I ever post a video of a spell I've done. The answer is yes. I would have Future Mr NinjaCat video for me, and then on top of this, I would be sure it was a relatively visually interesting spell to watch. We could also go over the stages of prep. However in this instance, while I'm fine with it being a spell for a client if the client is agreeable there, I'd much prefer to do this for educational purposes because then I don't have to wait to post the video so that the manifestation is not impacted. I value the educational aspects of doing work on film, but in practice, I would worry about limiting myself and harming my own focus, as well as exposing personal details of my clients if filming spellwork for hire. Asking me to half-ass my work for a client because you want to be entertained with a video about it is actually a very awful request of me. I don't like video, either, so you're dealing with that part of me wherein I'd much rather read and see pictures to learn, and looking at a YouTube video is going to be avoided by someone like myself, which is a large part of why I have never posted video of me casting spells. I find online videos annoying. I used to be cool, then I got old.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that you are free to choose a worker that sends video, but you might be limiting yourself and avoiding very experienced workers who have practiced spellcraft for the public for decades merely because you make such a demand of your worker. Ultimately, the choice is yours.
~Cat
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