Cat's Rants - Confessions of an Occult Mastermind

Cat Rants about Managing Expectations and Being a Good Client/Learner/Person

Hey there kids,

Ah multiple retrograde time...when all the people we don't want out of their homes come out to play. :P Yeah, I know you're running into them too. So today I'd like to discuss something... I do A LOT of work for free, and yet because my profession is greatly misunderstood, it often comes down to....people have not one freaking clue what they are asking sometimes or how obtuse or ridiculous they are being. 

Let's pretend I'm a lawyer and not a rootworker, and you come to me having been caught with a bloody knife in your hand standing over a person who's been stabbed several times, who points at you and says "He/She/They did it," directly before expiring with you still standing over them with a knife and 10 cops seeing this. You hire me because I have over 30 years lawyering experience and I'm the best attorney there is for criminal cases. "Cat," you say, "Can you get me acquitted?" Now, I know I can't get anyone to believe you didn't stab the victim to death...but is it self-defense? Are there other mitigating factors? It doesn't need to be first-degree murder, but perhaps a lesser count like second degree or manslaughter. As I discuss this with you, I form some ideas and say I surely could get you a better deal than you have now which is they are going to find you guilty and send you up for the death penalty as your victim is say, a well respected denizen of the area. You insist you must be acquitted. I ask did you kill the guy. You say you sure did. OK, says I, the fact that someone's dead and you did it and you admitted to it is going to be hard, but as I'm working this case for you I manage to get you out on bail (which under such circumstances would require an amazing lawyer)...so you go out, and you stab another person but they don't die. Now you have a living victim who says you just walked over and started stabbing them, and you're in jail again.

Now if you're certain people who try to get spell services, your "lawyer example counterpart" would say this to me "Ugh, you're like the worst lawyer, Cat. I only STABBED this second person in the FUCKING ARM. They are still QUITE ALIVE, thanks! Why am I back in jail? It's like your lawyer ability started out OK because I got bail but I bet you'll not even get me a not guilty on the first charge of murder, and you FAIL as a lawyer if I am not acquitted. Where did you get your degree? Did you write it on a piece of construction paper? You suck at your job!"

At this point, I sit you down and explain (for the probably 100th time) that you are paying me for my skill and expertise - NOT THE OUTCOME - and that you must work WITH ME to get you the best outcome possible, which, you're right, at this point may not be a full acquittal. I mean, the first victim you outright admitted to killing, and now a living witness says you just walked up to them and randomly stabbed them, which is at least assault with a deadly weapon, and the state wants attempted murder...but since it was only in the arm that they got stabbed, I MIGHT be able to do something...but not get you bail again. After being told how much I suck at my job because surely your stabbing this second person was entirely the product of being upset about the first murder charge and everyone including the state and all eyewitnesses would understand the stress you're under and can't think jail is reasonable when they are accusing you of murder on the first person when you merely just stabbed them to death which was completely understandable, blah blah blah...

Yes many people, were we to flip over to what they say to and about a spellcaster when they do not understand magic/spells instead of the law/attorneys really sound this bad. 

So we move forward with you in jail with charges of first degree murder and attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon and who knows what else!? While you're in jail, you make a shank out of something and you stab a corrections officer, who doesn't die. When I come to talk to you to ask WHY YOU KEEP STABBING PEOPLE!? you say "Look, you scam fucking lawyer, you have no idea what a sonofabitch Officer Peabody here is! He totally refused to let me eat my honeybun because he said I'd stolen it from this other inmate and when I told him tough shit and he went to grab it, I just reacted and stabbed him. Other witnesses instead report that this is not what happened. They say you just walked over and stabbed the guy. I point this out and ask you to PLEASE STOP STABBING PEOPLE, and you say "Well, look, if you were any sort of a good lawyer, my stabbing who I want to stab isn't going to affect my first case. That stabbing is in no way connected to these stabbings. I stabbed that original guy for totally different reasons, like I told you. Anyhow, I paid you for a not guilty verdict, so hurry it up because I'm feeling super stabby and ever since I was put into solitary confinement for stabbing that guard, I can't stab people like I like to."

At this point, probably wishing I was your next victim as it sure sounds preferable to trying to help you since you WILL NOT STOP COMMITTING CRIMES OF GREAT MAGNITUDE, I calmly explain to you that unless you stop stabbing people, I will not be able to help you further, and that, at this point, you are almost sure to do jail time because you won't stop stabbing people. I reason with you just enough for you to realize that you are going to do some sort of jail time probably, but you relent just enough because I've found some loopholes and some arguments which may amount to time-served when we get to the end of your trial, and you agree you'll stop stabbing people, so we can get you out of jail soon. And you do. For a whole month you stab no one. Then you stab another inmate. The inmate dies. "Cat," you say "I was totally good for a month! Who cares if I stab someone after a whole month of good behavior? Plus it was only an inmate in jail. They aren't people right?" (Not realizing the irony that you're an inmate too, I take it.) 

By the time you go to trial, I miraculously get you five years in jail. When you get out of jail you post all over the internet and anywhere you can go to tell everyone I'm a "fake" lawyer (and mind you, I worked pro bono for months!) because despite your proclivity for stabbing everyone (which you somehow omit in your public rants against me,) I am responsible for not getting you 100% acquitted since if you pay a lawyer it means not guilty or they're fake.

THE ABOVE IS EXACTLY HOW PEOPLE SOUND WHEN THEY PERSISTANTLY ENGAGE IN SPELL-KILLING BEHAVIORS AND BLAME THE SPELLCASTER. 

Example: You want me to bring your ex back. After I do a consultation, I agree, but I tell you "You need to let this go some and not fight with your ex, and not stalk them through social media or traditional means, and not ask about them through friends. Try to put it out of your mind, okay?" You agree. You say you understand completely. I do the spellwork and 2 days later I get "Well, I might have messed up...I called my ex and told them that they are the worst person imaginable and that I hope they die. That won't hurt the spell, right?" Um...yes it will. But we decide that hey, it's only 2 days since I did the work, let's wait and see. Now a few days after you say "I wrote my ex a long message via email telling him/her/them that they are an awful person for having left me and that they are selfish and a complete narcissist unless they come back, but I'm sure that's OK?" Yeah no. When you finally stop harassing this person you watch their social media daily (stalking!) and ask me frequently to discuss your many obsessive feelings on your ex (obsessing!) Finally I'm like "Look, (client,) I'm not going to lie, this is really bad and you're not working with me. This might not come together. You actively work against my work in the mundane or the etheric planes." Your reaction? I'm a fake who steals money then, otherwise I better bring your ex back because it doesn't matter what you do, paying me insures an outcome. I explain again that this is not the case, that without you working WITH ME and not AGAINST ME and AGAINST YOUR DESIRED OUTCOME, we won't have success. After some lengthy accusatory miserable conversation thrown at me, you insist I console you (you've just told me off) and reassure you (and said I suck and you hate me,) but sure, let's do it. Out of my own pocket I redo your work for you (because paying me again for everything you've ruined would never happen,) and this time you stalk less, you obsess less. I'm lulled into believing you might get it. Maybe this time we will succeed - you by not attacking your target or obsessing or stalking, me with my spellwork. One night I get an email and it says "(Ex) just contacted me!" in the title. Wow, I'm excited. I read the body of it and you're saying you are going to meet up! Yes! Then I get a text three hours later "Well, so you suck. I went out with the ex, and the moment I got in my ex's car I threw myself at them weeping and saying I need them and then brought up the past." Wait, so I've told you NOT to do that when it happens, and that you'll scare this person off, but you did it, and now I'm the fake? Right....

So the next time you "review" a spellcaster or say they are all fake, read the above and realize that, due to the ignorance of many people, we deal with the above on a daily basis, and some people actually BELIEVE that we are wrong and scamming them while they knowingly do all of the above.  

BUT LET'S SAY YOU WERE A PERFECT CLIENT ONCE, AND DID NOT ACT THAT WAY OR HAVE MISGUIDED BELIEFS AND SOMEONE DID YOU DIRTY ALL THE SAME. You ran into a charlatan and you're reasonably sure that you did. So now you want to cast your own spellwork, just to be sure. Alright, fair enough. 

You go to the internet....which while a great resource is also a big piece of crap at times where someone tells you if you chew a pepper and spit it at your enemy's picture, they will burn for it because someone said that once was a spell, so....okay... So you go to the internet and you start harassing people who have been well known occultists for some time with:

TELL ME HOW TO FIX MY COMPLICATED PROBLEMS (that you explain) BUT WITH ABSOLUTELY THE LEAST AMOUNT OF INGREDIENTS BECAUSE I HAVE NO MONEY TO BUY THEM, AND NO RITUAL TOOLS,  AND THEN ALSO KNOW I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE SPELLCASTING AND CANNOT EVEN LOCATE SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS CAYENNE PEPPER! ALSO I HAVE ROOMMATES AND I NEED TO BE DISCREET.

And if that isn't bad enough, you say:

TELL ME HOW TO DO ALL OF THIS FOR FREE AND MAKE SURE BY SPENDING HOURS CHATTING WITH ME FOR FREE THAT I CAN ACCOMPLISH A SPELL WHICH WOULD BE SO SIMPLE EVEN SOMEONE WHO NEVER HEARD OF MAGIC CAN CAST IT AND I WILL CALL YOU A FAKE IF I CAN'T DO IT RIGHT.

Okay, so you're asking someone something which would be right up there with "Tell me for free how to do open heart surgery with a butter knife and a roll of papertowels, do it immediately in some live way (phone or text) and I can't sterilize anything, have no anatomical knowledge so I will require you to intricately point out verbally every thing, I don't understand the heart or the many veins surrounding it, and if my patient dies it's your fault." 

Yeah, so how's your open-heart surgery with a butter knife and paper towels going to go? I mean IF you can get past that nasty ribcage with your implement as is? :P 

But it's TOTALLY FINE to do the same thing to a spellcaster because we are just some jerks that have all the free time in the world for you, right? Right. 

The reality is...

I LOVE TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO CAST SPELLS.

I LOVE CASTING SPELLS. 

But

I FUCKING HATE PEOPLE WHO ARE IRRESPONSIBLE ASSHOLES WHO, BY WILLFUL IGNORANCE, AS WELL AS BY REFUSAL TO TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS, TEAR EVERYONE DOWN AND DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT RESULTS ARE NOT GUARANTEED AND THAT EVEN THE BEST WORK WILL FALL FLAT OF EXPECTATIONS IF THE PETITIONER DOES NOT WORK WITH THE SPELLWORK. 

And you know what else? 

I ALSO HATE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THEY ARE OWED FREE SERVICES BECAUSE THEY FEEL EXPERT ADVICE TAILORED TO THEIR SITUATION IS NOT WORTH ANYTHING.  

And the thing is...I do a lot of free work, and help a lot of people for free, but just look at what my job is (free/paid):

So FREE THINGS WHICH I OFFER FOR YOUR PRIVATE USE:
All the information on this blog which contains several spells for almost any need - follow simple instructions, cast your own spells! You can't claim the work as your own, but if you want to use it to cast your own spells, please do! 
Clarification and explanations which require a brief (less than 10 minutes) amount of time for me to reply to.
Posts on other sites/forums (I might post in your group, I definitely post in subreddits and groups on my own, but I'll join many places if asked)
Advice/assistance (under 10 minutes to write) for tarot learners/people casting spells/personal issues

Things I offer for FREE for PUBLIC USE:
Interviews for articles

Services WHICH I SELL:
Spellcasting services (I cast customized spellwork for you)!
Readings
Help/Advice with you casting your own spells,
Customized instructions for casting a spell on your own situation 
Tarot/Spell/Personal advice of any other kind that takes longer than 10 minutes to write out
Live Consultation (without readings)
Consultation for Films, Books, Research Projects, Television, and other media

Things which I DO NOT OFFER FOR FREE (and will block you just for trying to get for free!) 
Endless personal advice
Cast free spells
Give free readings
Custom spellcasting instructions just for your situation

Now the reason I SELL services? Because I have been a spellcaster for 30 fucking years and my experience and knowledge would rival someone with a PhD in any other area of learning on the matter. A good lawyer here in Portland costs between $200-$325 and HOUR here, and I've studied and practiced longer than most of the ones charging that, but my hourly is lower. 

Rude, entitled people do not seem to GET THAT. 

And what's sad, - truly sad, - is that

I FUCKING LOVE CASTING SPELLS AND GETTING PEOPLE EVERYTHING THEY EVER WANTED! IT IS MY FAVORITE THING IN THE WHOLE WORLD TO CAST SPELLS AND HAVE HAPPY CUSTOMERS. I have a wall where I've printed out thank you's and when I get sad, I sit next to it, and read all the nice things people have said to me. 

That's right.

I LITERALLY SIT NEXT TO A WALL OF THANK YOU'S WHEN I HAVE A MOMENT WHERE I WONDER WHY LIFE SUCKS SO BAD BECAUSE THAT DRIVES ME BACK TO HAPPINESS NO MATTER WHAT. Everything - every nice thing, - someone said means so fucking much to me. But the one thing that will make me retire - and trust me, if it keeps up it's coming sooner than later is getting a lot of this:

WHY IS IT NOT WORKING EVEN THOUGH I STALKED MY EX AND TOLD THEM OFF SEVERAL TIMES

WILL YOU DO THIS FOR FREE?

ANYONE WHO CHARGES FOR SPELLS IS FAKE!

WHY CAN I NOT SPEAK TO YOU FOR THREE HOURS EVERY DAY FOR FREE!? I PAID YOU TO CAST A SPELL!

HOW DARE YOU NOT REPLY TO ME WHILE YOU WERE LITERALLY IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING A ROOT CANAL, YOU SELFISH BITCH! (this literally happened, and yep, finally something on my blog about you, person who said it.)

I TEXTED YOU AT 3am! YOU DID NOT IMMEDIATELY ANSWER, YOU CHARLATAN!

IF YOU WON'T WRITE OUT PERSONALIZED INSTRUCTIONS FOR ME TO DO THIS MYSELF, YOU ARE A FUCKING SELFISH CUNT!

And I could keep going. 

So let's just all be civil during this retrograde. Let's be responsible for ourselves. I am not a perfect person, and neither are any of you. If you treat me with respect, if we work together and do it with mutual respect - me helping you to not ruin your spellwork, you not ruining it, me giving you time you deserve to help you understand the process, you not abusing that time, - we will succeed.

Because I fucking LOVE CASTING SPELLS, and I LOVE HELPING PEOPLE but it's some epic asshattery lately, and I'm not going to back down.

I don't even care if that makes me unpopular. 

~Cat 

The Great Video Debate - A Rant

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

Avoiding Spell Failure - A Rant

Hey there Occulties,

I'm clearly a big believer in magic, - I've built my whole life around it, so of course I am. But it often impresses me how people who themselves enjoy casting a spell or two just can't understand a few basic things - for example:

The petitioner is at fault for 95% of all spell failure. How can this be? Well.... Are you obsessive? Do you stalk your target? Do you constantly think about the situation being worked on? Do you obsess over your issues? If the answer is yes, spellwork may be a very bad fit for you. And the cure is basically for you to take responsibility and stop letting the situation and people involved stop having so much space in your mind. Still, every single day, multiple times a day, I get texts and emails with "So I was thinking about this all night, and I wonder if (insert name) will just like show up when my bicycle gets a flat tire in the park. I'm not really sure why I think that will happen but I had thought about it and isn't it perfect? My bike is in perfect condition, but sometimes people will drink in the park at night and leave the bottles and they get broken. Can't you just imagine (insert name) being chivalrous, and fixing my tire? I can't wait!" Meanwhile I am on the opposite side of the screen wondering what in the hell reconciliation has to do with your bike tire getting popped and what 1 in a bazillion chance it would be that your ex just so happens to be there in the incredibly unlikely event you would drive over a huge shard of glass in the park. If it's not apparent to you that you're thinking the work to death, it should be. The how and the why they come back are not something you get to know until you get them back, and your behavior is just hurting the spell. While I can say with some authority that reconciliation work most often will take a pretty normal and standard course of action, - so nothing too theatric or incredible is apt to occur, - you are very unlikely to guess exactly how it will happen before it does. Trying to do so is actually draining the spell of it's energy. 

And if you can't let it go, stop wasting your time and energy on magic. That's all there is. It might sound cold but when you spend at least five hours a day every single day (probably much more,) like I do reading and listening to obsessive people ruining their spellwork and more or less guaranteeing themselves even more of a wait, it becomes clear that some people just aren't suited to cast spells or have them cast for them. 

And it's not just limited to petitioners who are obsessive -  sometimes what you believe you want isn't yours to have, nor would you want it if you had it. That might sound silly, but your unconscious mind keeps pushing you to be self-defeating in many of these cases, and it becomes apparent to the outsider somewhat quickly. Several years ago, I'd worked for a client who was in love with a close friend, and who had an on-again, off-again affair with him. During an "off" time, he'd dated some crazy girl who pretended to be my client and had sent crazy, hurtful texts, which of course caused a great deal of emotional damage to my client, especially when she was at one point, believed to be the actual source instead of the victim. It had been around that time I had been brought in. So, I would reconcile the fellow and almost immediately my client would scare him off by insisting he explain himself for dating this person who had hurt her, for not believing her, and to apologize and make it right. Her target would immediately become angry and defensive, and then I was expected to "fix" this. The solution here was for her not to call him out and insist he apologize for events that had happened in the past before they could move forward, but no amount of my asking and advising her of this would stop her from doing it over and over again. Her target missed her and wanted to be with her, but when he made the move to get back with her, this behavior scared him off. This happened not once or twice, but several times! Clearly, some part of her really just didn't want him back. The spellwork was working just fine, but if she refused to follow a few simple guidelines, then it wasn't the spell that wasn't working...it was her trying to tell herself she was better than this guy, and then acting in such a manner as to prevent him from coming back. When she moved on, the guy wouldn't stop trying to get her back, and she realized all that time she could have had him, even said as much, if she'd just listened to my advice, and being as she's a rather sensible woman, wondered why she didn't. I told her she probably realized he was Mr Wrong, but her conscious mind didn't want to hear it right away. 

And of course there are just people who expect instant results, and act out when they do not receive them. I'm not sure I'd categorize them as obsessive or self-defeating as they might be neither, but no matter how often you tell them that the result is not apt to be immediate, they will complain rather quickly that "nothing happened." While that is incredibly tedious, rude, and obnoxious for someone in my position to have to deal with (because I never said expect this to be fixed in 48 hours, and so now you are wasting my time complaining when you don't have a problem other than you're impatient,) it also means I might have a client who will shortly be engaging in very unhelpful behaviors which could ruin the spell. Furthermore I find these people easily collapse into obsessive behavior patterns. 

Let's not forget the "married to unhelpful ideas" petitioner. Some years ago, I was tasked with reconciling a client's lover. When he'd returned and they were back together, she told me I'd "failed" her as the client's reconciled lover did not dream about her as his reason for coming back. How did she know? She'd asked him if he'd dreamt about her, and he'd replied probably not, but even if he had, he really never remembered his dreams, so he couldn't say 100%. She wanted the guy back. I brought the guy back. But I'd "failed" because he probably (no one knows for sure) didn't dream about her. Let me be frank, "dream work" is not exactly this all-powerful useful tool people tell themselves it is. Even if you take away the enormous percentage of people who don't remember their dreams, now you move onto the percentage of people who assume dreams are ALWAYS the unconscious babbling to itself and not really worthy of note. That leaves a much smaller percentage of people who are going to even pay any dream that they may have any mind. And let's say your target is the kind of person who places a great deal of importance on all of their dreams. Well, out of the ones they are apt to remember, not all of them will be anything to do with what you want, and those dreams which are the unconscious babbling incoherently to them can interfere with the ones you are trying to send a message through. So, this is why you can probably HEAR my eyes rolling the moment you suggest dream work, although I will do it. Keep in mind, I don't feel there is NO MERIT to dream work, rather I think some people just think it to be more useful than it often would be. HOWEVER, if you task me with something - such as the above, to return a lover, - and that lover returns, then it's neither here nor there how it happened. That isn't failure. One's unhelpful ideas of how spellwork SHOULD work in their heads is not often the best course of reaction in reality. All that tells me is that the petitioner is very green/naive about spells and how they work, and also has some serious control issues. I mean, I'm not picking on my "dream people," I've had the same logic applied to the Intranquil spirit being used for everything, as well as many other specific kinds of magic. 

This isn't nearly an infinite list, and the reality is that spells do not require some amazing feats of mind control and patience and zen to work. Instead, they require something far more frightening and difficult - for the petitioner to be honest with themselves and for that person to actively work on their own behavior. It requires you to have FAITH in the process and not try to micromanage the outcome, those involved, or HOW the spell manifests. That might mean, for some people, that readings are not helpful, and can actually harm their active spellwork. 

Take for example those who want a reading to gauge how a spell will manifest - this is quite common, honestly, and for the most part, it's not going to be problematic, - but certain people will actively harm the manifestation by taking whatever the reading said as an infallible truth. So if I say to a client that I think she is wearing a particular green dress, she might go out of her way to frequently wear this dress to "attract" the outcome. As she so frequently wears it, the dress gets ruined before the spell manifests. Now she becomes despondent and morose and worries it can't happen. This leads to lust for results and spell harming behaviors. Another client is told he runs into his target at a Walmart. He thinks to himself that this must mean he is at the store closer to his target's home, and takes the extra time to drive there when he needs something from Walmart. What he doesn't realize is the target was supposed to run into him at the location closer to his home. 

Let me let you in on something... I've been psychic my whole life, and I would describe it as having a sense and foreknowledge of a larger event coming definitely, but then the "fine details" are in constant shifting flux. So what dress you wear or what store you shop at are likely not going to be the details to get hung up on. It is the major events that are the important part. If you want a job at a specific company, it's not really relevant in most cases what the tie the interviewer is wearing will look like, and yet I guarantee in just this month alone at least 10 of my reading clients will hold on to a little detail like that, and even try to use it to "draw" the outcome they want. People like these little details because they feel like you are more on point, and there's nothing wrong with that, but when it becomes unhelpful and starts to create a fixation in some people, it becomes a situation where I actually start telling the client I won't read for them because it is prolonging their manifestation phase. 

This baffles some people but I might get myself a reading once a year or so, if that often. I read for myself less than once per month. I do pick up on many things as it is an innate gift, but I do not focus myself on my own life to get the deeper finer points unless I have a sense of upcoming danger. I am a much less anxious and wound up person for it. People who live in the past are depressed, and those who live for the future anxious as they say, and it's not wrong. I don't dwell on my past, nor do I fixate on my future. If you're becoming too dependent on readings or dwelling too much on what has already happened, you need to come back here to the PRESENT, and keep your mind focused on that. 

Many many years ago, when I fell in love for the first time, the gentleman who I fell in love with and myself kept running into each other repeatedly well before we even struck up much of a friendship. I'd met him for the first time and had a conversation with with him, and thereafter for 6+ months, I would literally run into this man everywhere, and to be fair, there is absolutely no way it could have been on purpose for either of us. In fact, meeting up with him would even be incredibly unlikely in a few cases. While the story ends badly as most stories of the first time one falls in love generally do, there was a very strong sense of things having been "meant to be." I've seen similar cases of this happening with people in my life who are important in my life. HOWEVER, if I "planned" to run into anyone or had even had my mind set that I could be running into someone who would later become greatly important to me, I would likely not have had those relationships at all. If I realized how important these people would be to me, or the impact they would have on me, such knowledge would have completely altered their impact. Now, sure, some of them brought me some incredibly painful lessons, and had I been forewarned, I'd surely have avoided them entirely, but in retrospect, if I had avoided those people, I would not have come into contact with many of the absolutely awesome people in my life who had a very beneficial impact. 

So, I say the above in the hopes that I can help illustrate how you can become a person which spells manifest for...because it may surprise you but the person who has strong manifestations is not the one who has a very distinct plan on how they will react to some very specific scenario...it's the person who doesn't have to plan that, or does not require some exceedingly exact series of predetermined events. While magic tends to take the path of least resistance to manifestation, you more than likely are not really 100% clear on the clearest of days as to what path that is. If it's that you run into your target at the park, or that they text you out of the blue, you should be able to react to the situation presented without created anxiety. So if I was reconciling a guy, I'm going to know how to react when they reach out or I run into them. I'm not going to upset myself with events which have never occurred and then blunder through like a complete idiot because I've had an entirely different idea of what would happen than what is happening. That requires the petitioner to be able to problem solve a bit, and problem solving doesn't come from preparing for some specific social instance. I'd put it more like...say I learned survival skills so I can hike and hunt and I know which plants are dangerous and what terrain is unstable and so forth, so when the day comes that I'm injured on a trail, I wisely had packed so I can alert others to my location, and I can clean and dress my wound while I wait. I don't go out with the assumption I will become injured, but I know how to handle it if I do. Life is very much like that. If I encounter a situation which is unfamiliar to me, panic and fear are the worst response. I merely compare it to anything of some verisimilitude in my experience. I then TRUST MYSELF to handle the situation as best as possible. If you panic or seize up you neither trust yourself nor have faith in yourself....that's implicative of a person who will have a hard time with spell manifestation. Wisdom and faith are your greatest resources. Simplicity and practicality are also quite helpful. See, if you look back on the above paragraphs, there is the story of the young woman who wanted her ex back and then said I "failed" because he didn't dream of her. To me it was "Get the ex to reconcile with the client," but to her it was an overly specific and rather unhelpful series of events that had to happen PLUS her ex came back for her to consider me successful. I'm practical and straightforward. I know can control a situation to some degree, but I don't overdo that by MICROMANAGING, whereas she entirely lacks control as she wishes to master every single thing around her so that the situation becomes what she wants 100% how she envisioned it...which is not practical nor simple, nor from a human standpoint very likely. God/Goddess/The Universe may be capable of such control but for a human, we know what we want, we can put an order in for it, but if we have to dictate how and why it happens, we are not very smart in that regard and will not pick a course that will be 100% viable in every respect. That means we should educate ourselves and be confident in our own ability to react to many different situations, which would mean we admit....we don't have 100% control of how or why things happen, but that we do "plan" for unforeseen events by knowing how to handle them. Go back to where I compare this to having wilderness survival skills and therefore when I do find myself injured, I know how to get help and treat my own problem. This doesn't mean I worry every time I go out that I will be hurt. I assume, and am generally correct, that no harm will come to me. But in the event it does happen, I am not crying and fearful but know how to handle it. That is the same with spell manifestation. It's not really likely to be something you just can't handle. It isn't apt to be scary. You aren't likely to act like someone who can't find your own ass with 2 hands and a flashlight. BUT, if you become anxious, if you attempt to micromanage a situation using magic, or even you work yourself into anger, panic, or frenzy if and when that spell manifests, you may very well fumble it. 

Hopefully this long ramble has helped some of you, - I am expecting a big influx of requests because it's about to be Mercury retrograde, and that tends to draw some exes back in the picture for all of us.

~Cat

Failure to Pay, Abusing Generosity, and All Around Sh*t Behavior - A Rant

Hey everyone,

This is not just about me or my experiences, but if you're an asshole that thinks I should never complain about anything, you will want to sit this one out. *Puts on "I support small businesses" sticker, and gets on soap box*

Everyone else, look at the people in your life, and realize that many, many, many of them are hugely financially struggling right now. In a few months there will be so many homeless people (because they can't pay rent or bills and can't land a job and got fired because coronavirus,) that it will be frightening. I want you to think about this because SO MANY of my friends are small business owners, and they are getting fucked left and right by people who confuse the fact that a small business owner is more understanding than a large company, that you can also wait to pay them, not pay them, get free shit from them all of the time, or heckle their price down, and that's just totally OK. It isn't OK. You do realize that the electric company will not be shuttered if it doesn't get three large payments by Friday, but the girl who does those eyelash extensions down the street is facing months of not being able to open her business, financial aid that doesn't cover a tenth of her costs, and then clients who do this:

"OK, Maureen, if you take like 20% off, and like I can pay in 2 weeks, I will come in on Friday." 

Please note, the person above will often ghost you and then show up 2 weeks later and ask for the same thing with a 2 week pay window.

People, small businesses literally depend on their sales so, so, so much, that if they have 2 bad months, that might just be the end. At least in the USA, it's also nearly impossible to get financial help for much of much when you are self employed. And if you own the business? Everything and everyone who's working for you gets paid before you do. That hurts when sales are slow and spare and when people think it's OK to start haggling the price down. 

So, if you're the struggling owner of a small business, someone offering to pay you next week is tiresome in a good economy, but you can probably handle it. Yeah, you learn quickly to make sure you don't give them something before they pay if there is a probability they will never pay, but they rarely if ever heckle you for a lower price, and you can handle their scheduling BS. If you lose a few payments, it's just an average year. Right now? It's the difference between if you have it you're still struggling, and if you get screwed you're homeless and that's it, your business is dead. It's really getting to that point. 

And I keep seeing this price gouging. Like why are you asking Al's Fine Furniture for half off? Do you really think he's doing 500x the business he was before the pandemic? Did you really try to negotiate buy one get one free at your dentist in regard to fillings? I mean, if that's normal in your culture, it isn't in mine, and it's rude. It's also costing people their jobs.

Keep in mind, when I have a good year, I buy a lot more nice things, and generally unique things from smaller sellers (I support small businesses!), but I also support bigger chains as well (supermarkets and utilities, etc.) because I need basic widespread goods and services, like you. When I become poor, I can't afford many smaller businesses, and I need to economize, but I miss the little things. I want a new tattoo right now, for example, and three guys run my favorite tattoo parlor. I don't have a few spare Benjamins ($100 bills) to make an appointment. When I get my hair colored, I need to pinch pennies to afford it, but I love my salon, and it's a small business so I gladly keep my appointments and pay them for their expertise. But  what I do not do is this "HEY, I know it's a pandemic, and like can't you just cut me a break and like just accept $75 for this $120 tattoo - I mean it's small, right?" That's shitty. Shitty. I would never do that. I own a small business and I can't afford a good tip, but I'm giving one anyway so that person's lights stay on and kids get fed. That's what good people do. They do not price gouge a struggling business owner, or demand free goods and services from them. 

So why is it that so many of my friends who sell readings, sell spells, and also my therapist/psychiatrist/psychologist friends (weirdly enough) find themselves getting this "Hey, can I have this at half off? The pandemic made me poor." Well, us too, and we are paying to keep businesses open. Like this one I'll get "Why is this $325!?" Because it's seven days of work and 5 spells in a package deal that individually would cost you around $400 at the low end,  or more anywhere else when combined? How's that?" A therapist friend of mine was told that she was living like a king off of a $50 payment for an hour. She can't afford bread right now. She's super broke. And the client paid her ONE QUARTER of her usual rate (because the client has no insurance) and then told her she's a piece of shit. Another peer of mine? He's a well known psychic and usually gets $150/hr. Right now he only gets the same rate of business when charging SIXTY AN HOUR. This dude works for a few celebrities (who still pay old rates,) so he's known, but anyone who does readings will tell you that your well off clients are only a small percentage of your whole clientele. He was couch surfing a few months ago. He had to move because he broke up with his girlfriend (she kept the apartment,) and getting into a new place is too expensive on like $400 a week or so. (Newsflash - psychics and therapists often do not do paying work for every hour we work.)

Stop gouging people in small business for free and lesser costing services. We are struggling to make ends meet, too. I know you feel like you don't have enough (many of you,) but if you want good work/service, pay the listed price. Stop being shitty. Imagine you go into work tomorrow and your boss tells you that  you now make a third of your usual paycheck but still need to work as much, and if you dare complain, then you're fired because some desperate person will do your job. That's the equivalent of you gouging people for cheaper services. The new person would do a far inferior job than you would, but who cares, they will work for like $3 an hour, so you're fucked unless you take it. Well, you know what, no. We need to push back at people who think we are worth less than our value.

And while I can't say other businesses do this, I legitimately have helped many clients in bad financial situations who really want something, people I know who are the BEST FUCKING PEOPLE EVER, who have been horribly affected by this pandemic in financial (and sometimes in physical health or through loss of friends and family,) ways get something affordable for their need. These are people I've worked with for years, and they are good people. Loyal customers who patronize your business and generally pay without any problem are the cornerstone of a small business, and you do show them you value them by giving them something free or lesser cost from time to time...and unsurprisingly, they never ask it of you. Ever. Because they realize you need to get paid, too. 

Then there are people with steady work at the same (or a higher rate) of hours at their job and same wages for it, and they are more often the ones thinking they can price gouge. Or I wouldn't know them and never worked with them, and they think why not ask for freebies or a lesser cost. What? Who raised you people? What in the actual fuck.

In most cases if you want to try to squeeze as much free stuff out of me as possible, you want to undercut my prices, or etc.... Just don't take up my time. I'm working 16 hours a day for 1/4th or so of what my average weekly net pay was. My husband cannot work and earn a check. I have to pay his expensive bills also. The difference between you paying next week or this week might mean I get to live off Ramens this week and the wifi gets shut off. If my husband could work (and stopped incurring large bills) that would be a blessing, but I supported him when he didn't work with no problem at a few different points in the past (but not 2020 - this is just way, way, way too badly paying to not struggle). SO...NO, you can't have $325 of work for $200. No I will not sell you a reading for $35. No. No. No.

I think people forget how delicate of a position small business owners are in even in the best of times. So this is my reminder.

I hope it sinks in. If it doesn't, soon everything - and I mean everything - is going to be a poorly made, mass produced walmart piece of shit and you won't be able to find anything else, because you were not willing to pay for anything of a finer quality. 

I understand we all want a deal. I try to run a few sales with that in mind when I can. It's good for people who do need that price cut, who I don't know and wouldn't give it to (outside of a sale) but again...those people don't price gouge. They wait. They are respectful. If you are financially struggling, keep in mind, so are those small businesses. Of every dollar I earn, 80% is basically going back into the business to keep it running. I enjoy the wifi outside of my job, but my job needs it to run, for example. Rent means I have a place to do spells, but also to sleep. 

Don't haggle small business owners for freebies and cheap stuff. If you haggle me for it from here on out, I will fire you. :P Wait for a sale. :P Thank you for understanding.

Your cranky-ass rootworkin' friend,

~Cat

PS- If you get mad and think this is about you, it actually came from 2 friends calling today and complaining how people keep price gouging and abusing them, and me sympathizing, and not about any of my clients in particular...but if you did think it was about you, you probably need to take a hard look at your own behavior, to be fair. 

I Don't Pretend to Know the Secret of Life, But...

Hey Occulties,

A very upset reader asked me today "what's the point," when this person meant that they loved this other person so much, and because of compatibility reasons and the other person's (not the person speaking to me, but their beloved) issues, a romantic relationship just wasn't working. This was on the heels of two other of my readers having long-term friendships break up (over 20 years,) over seemingly nothing.

So I'll over this. Love isn't a guarantee that it will always work, but love is a very strong thing if it is true love.

I often quote Corinthians 13: 4-8: 

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, ⁵ it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, ⁶ it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth. ⁷ Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails.

This is true, and it doesn't mean you're never jealous, or hurt, or bitter. It means that when you truly love a person, those emotions - that jealousy, the anger, the grudge? It quickly falls away. Maybe a year, maybe five years SEEMS a long time - but it isn't, especially given the average human life span. Real love is unconditional, which doesn't mean you're a doormat, it means you love despite old hurts, or old jealousy.

When you truly love a person, you forgive them...but you also need to love yourself truly and forgive yourself. In fact, a lot of the time, the anger we bear towards another is from not forgiving ourselves. 

Furthermore, jealousy, anger, bitterness, frustration - these are cancers on your life. There is so much beauty in this world that we take for granted, and I don't just mean a beautiful sunset, or the birth of a child, or even the feeling of warm sheets out of the dryer. Now, like I said, I don't pretend to be some guru who knows all the great secrets of life, but if I were to guess, it would be that we need to stop being so pretentious, bitter, and self involved, and be thankful for the love we have and the blessings we have.  I know how hard that can be, as easy as it sounds. It's hard to be thankful for a roof over my head, or food on my plate when I have 35 people telling me I "abandoned" them because my cable company had a problem with internet service and I was without for 4 days, so more than one person told me off! It's hard to be grateful that I'm able bodied, that I have friends...when I have someone who embezzled money and is now reversing payments left and right to merchants months after the fact, and I get a hit. But I do have blessings, and so do you. 

I guess my point isn't, to paraphrase Buddha in the worst way, "Chill, homey, you need to let that shit go!" but that all of us find ourselves being selfish and needy and hurt and missing out on the blessings in life when things get tough, and what we forget is that life is a gift, and even when we lose out on a romantic pairing, finding true love with any other human (romantic, platonic, or even familial,) is a blessing that, even if it hurts right now, will be a gift to us all of our lives. The secret to life is that when it gets rough and craptastic (and it always will,) to remember that we have blessings, and that we are not bereft of any joys or gifts in our lives. The secret is to remember that even if that relationship (and I don't mean just romantic relationships) is on the outs right now, that if we have a true bond to that person, it's not apt to just fall to nothing. They will be part of our lives longer than we realize. And if they never come back? Well, I've been in love a few times, and the moment that I fell in love (fell truly in love) is still a beautiful moment in time to me.

So, what's the point? The point is that you're focusing on a splinter in your finger (figuratively) and complaining it's a death-level injury, when in reality, it's a speed bump on a very long road. If you love that person, patience and forgiveness may not make the relationship work, but it will show you its value. And if you're angry and feel life is just handing you lemons, go add them to some vodka or make lemonade, because you're surrounded by beauty and grace every day, and focusing on your anger will make you miss out.

Hope that wasn't just a lot of platitudes to all of you. Spells can fix things, but you need to love yourself, and forgive yourself and others, regardless of spells or not. That's the path to healing your life and making a better life - forgiveness (letting go,) and compassion (understanding.)

~Cat

 

 

Image that Made my Day

Hey there occulties,

Sometimes we all just need that one thing to make up for a crapity day at work to remind us why we continue on at our job. The below is mine for today. :D

From Constantine - The Hellblazer (2015) #4.

Magic is fucking amazing. *flips world the bird*

~Cat

On "Divine Retribution"

Hey Occulties,+

The other day, I was reading someone's fantasy about a man who, despite having been gifted financially and in the looks department, had been felled by an "unfortunate" (implied: mystical and magical curse) health problem in his prime which destroyed him because he'd been unkind to women. Apparently "the cancer" took him down, which if you know about cursing isn't the way a death curse is apt to take someone down in the prime of life (because a car accident, random violence, overdose or something similar is much more likely to kill someone in their prime.)

*sigh*

OK, how many nice people do you know who have been cut down in the prime of their days? I know a few. I know people who, despite being lovely people who would give you the shirt off of their back and they had no money to give you that shirt, died. They are dead. They were incredibly lovely, kind, beautiful souls - people who, in life, were the most amazing and wonderful people. They're dead. They died before they probably even saw one frigging grey hair.

Now, how many shitty fucking people do you know who lived (or are living) despite being miserable, awful, selfish, mean, churlish fuckfaces? I know a few. I know people who, despite never having taken care of themselves, never having been very loving or empathetic towards others, never doing many things which we consider good or wise, have continued to persist well into old age (or lived to their 80's.)

I know you wish that bad people had bad things happen, and good people had good things happen and that all things were equal before our eyes...from OUR perspective.

But you're being stupid (probably) because humans, while quite intelligent COMPARED TO OTHER INCARNATE BEINGS, are still really really stupid when compared to something infinitely intelligent like the Universe/God/dess/Creator/Spirit/etc. You - as a primate who's ancestors got smart enough to put some clothes on at some point, and learned to make fires and shit, - are not the one who says what happens to people. This is why nice people die, and mean people live, and nice people live on too, and then okay people get to live to like 90, but then not that OK person, they get to die at 25 in a fiery plane crash. The reason all of those people's fates are completely NOT RELATED TO DIVINE RETRIBUTION is you are not the divine. You don't get to say.

Now, I know, we all wanna scare the newbs into being good. Lord forbid they might get "power hungry," and try to hurt someone,* by using all of this unlimited power of now finding out that being a sack of crap to others doesn't mean a lightening bolt will strike at them out of the sky for it, but that's not how we teach people in our "modern" world. People are only that dumb for a limited time, and your tall tales of "this bad person rotted away from the inside for being bad," are only really going to appeal to the naive.

The reason, so far as I can tell, to be a "good person" in life is not a thing to do with worrying about the finger of God crushing you if you're not. If I go through my whole life being a selfish shit, when I need help from the other humans of this world, I won't find myself surrounded by friends but by enemies - it's because, when I come to the end of my days, I want to be remembered well, or at least remembered (and not in infamy and hated,) by a lot of people. I don't know what comes after this life, I do think we're here to learn lessons, and to evolve our souls, but being "mean to women" or "being selfish with money" isn't going to mark you for destruction...

I think we can all agree - kindness towards others is good. This is helpful to our species. When we are kind to others, when we help others, this is beneficial.

I think we can all agree - generosity is a good trait. When we share what we have with others, we help others which is beneficial to our species, and therefore good.

Loyalty is good. Friendship is good. Laughter is good. Helping is good. All of these are good. Being courageous, honest, merciful, and fair are all good.

Being a jerk, being selfish, lying, being unfair, being cruel - they all can be very bad. If in excess in someone's personality, they can be horribly bad...but they are a product of self-preservation instincts. They are not there in you because you are trying to get into hell or because you're the devil.

That fictitious dude the forum poster thought up? He probably "was cruel to women" because of some horrible stuff in his past. Maybe his mother sexually abused him, maybe another woman made a fool of him and robbed him blind as a young man. I'm not trying to make excuses to why it would be "right" for someone to be selfish and/or cruel (people rise above rough circumstances all of the time,) I'm saying that if this person was real (instead of an amusing caricature,) he was who he was for a reason. In that, if we do not have some sort of "mercy" or "compassion" for his state, we are no better than him. We do not get to choose that he die some awful slow death for being a meanie. There are reasons he's a meanie.

And as much as we want people to pay for their "crimes" in this life that aren't illegal (rejecting us, being cruel, being selfish, abandonment, not helping us, etc.,) the truth is most of us would be pretty upset if suddenly asked to pay for ours. The truth is we all know some wonderful person (or maybe even an innocent child,) who died (sometimes horribly) despite leading a good life, and we all know bad people who lived very long. Stop trying to add a mythology here to reassure yourself that good people get good things and bad people get bad things. The reality, from what I can tell, is that you get a set amount of time (you don't know how long) and you should evolve your soul and your spirit. If you waste it on being petty and selfish, I don't think you will be destroyed for this. I think you've wasted your time if you do that, I think you will be lonely and unloved and that is a miserable existence, but I don't believe your creator hates you for it. Religion is a lovely thing - I'm a spiritual person, and I believe that my religion and spiritual beliefs have evolved me so that I want to give and want to help more than I ever did. However, I don't think that in the end, if you're a godless miserable fuck, that you will be much worse off than me, other than you being really confused about being dead (whereas I learned enough about death and being dead from the dead to not be so confused.)

I do think kindness and compassion for all things is right. I do not believe refusal to be one or the other will bring the ultimate outcome of you withering into a husk in your prime. You might, you might not. You could be awesome and die bad. Do what you can WHILE ALIVE to be a good person and the rewards IN THIS LIFE will be friends and happiness. I can't tell you what happens when you die other than I do believe there is an afterlife.

I know this was a rant, but just avoid the people who tell you suspicious stories about how people who were awful in life found a just end (that sounds divine or magical.) My experience is that this is not so. Nice things happen to bad people. Bad things happen to good people. It has always been this way. Anyone trying to sell you on anything otherwise is not doing you any favors. There is a real this life reward in being kind and good - it's the love of your peers.

And that's coming from a very religious/spiritual person, so I obviously have some religion-beliefs I don't feel the need to slap you in the face with. Everyone can use my message. :P

Rant over.

~Cat

+Still adding my 2014 posts. Sorry. December was overwhelmingly busy – I was working 14+ hour days at the job, which wasn't leaving much time for writing. :(

*This idea that "power hungry newbs shall wreak destruction everywheres" is pretty hilarious. By the time most people are capable of spellcasting at a proficient level, they have spiritually and emotionally evolved past "I wanna curse someone for calling me a bitch." If they haven't, they will always be this much of an asshole, and just scaring them in their newb days won't put them off of misusing what they know. If I teach 1000 people how to shoot, it doesn't mean all 1000 of them will become murderers - in fact, the same amount of psychos will exist in that number regardless of whatever they are taught. "Scaring people straight" does not, in my experience, offset any bad behaviors very long.

On Failing

Hey there Occulties,+

I was recently inspired by a forum post in a facebook forum I belonged to, where a gentleman had posted a relatively nicely made tool he'd made "hadn't worked."

Now I put that in quotes not because I disbelieve the man (I believe it didn't work when he tried,) but more because I believe when it comes to magical tools, sometimes people do the same thing as clicking at a TV with a remote that doesn't contain batteries or an energy source, then complain the remote "doesn't work." ;) This is the same as those of you who light a candle or say what looks like an easy chant, then complain "it doesn't work" - it won't work if it has never had the energy to do so.

And, interestingly enough, one of the easiest ways to make something "magical" (albeit, you'll accuse me of pushing religion,) to work is to use something really really used. For example, the Pater Noster (Our Father) has been spoken so many times devoutly, that it does work for a blessing even if you don't believe - which honestly, I'd rather you say it with belief than none, it's just the words carry the weight of over a thousand years of faithful saying them with faith. ...Think of that like the battery that people all over the world keep charging. ;) It still works better if said with faith, but even the faithless can say it, and it may help...

That said, let's get away from prayer for a bit before all of my agnostic readers throw their hands in despair.

In Hoodoo, as I was taught and as I have learned, all things have an energy - living beings, parts of deceased beings, feathers, stones, roots, herbs, dirt, even every day items have an energy or a signature. Using the law of signatures as my base for my test (how does it grow? Where does it grow? What does it belong to? what is it near? what does it do? how does it effect humans? how does it effect others of it's kind? etc, etc,) I can often figure out what an unknown substance might do magically. For example, if we are trying to bring money to ourselves, we might use dirt from a bank for an ingredient. As all of these items have an innate or natural "charge" to them, we can use this power to bring forth that which we desire, when we combine items properly....but if we look at this like baking, just because I have all of the ingredients for a cake, this doesn't mean I know what amount to add to the cake, or what to set the oven to and for how long. ;) That knowledge comes with practice and effort. (See Why are practitioners such bags of dicks here.)

Oh, good Lord....I've suggested rewards aren't always immediate in spellcasting for yourself, and that some effort and practice is probably required. Everyone hold open the door to the Rant Room and let the "spellcast once for myself for a quick fix" people out of the room.

There, now that we're alone with serious students, back to my tangent. ;)

So, back to the gentleman who'd made a magical tool that "didn't work..." I'm of a mind that certain types of work - that is, certain paradigms, - are not necessarily good beginner work, and what he'd created would be a tool for that very type of not-the-best-for-beginners-type of work. In Hoodoo, I see this far less in the sense of "I went and bought this ancient tome, see, and then applied 14 hours of work to making this thing it told me to make, and jack shit happened." In Hoodoo, often if we apply focus of will, and a stillness of the mind, we're not so worried if we fasted for 14 days, didn't masturbate or have sex for another fortnight, and painted in the blood of 15 dead unicorns* to make some particular tool work. This means, while there is something to be learned, practiced, and wielded (that is, will,) we are also assisted by the natural energies within the ingredients we are using.** Rather than spending months or even years achieving some level of mastery just so as we can have a set of tools that works amazingly well (or a set of rituals that works amazingly well, see Frater Ashen Chassan's Ars Almadel experiments, here for example, and here,) it is my personal belief that Hoodoo employs what is, for the most part, easily accessible (except if you're an incredibly lazy or incredibly cheap asshole...and it even works for several cheap assholes,) Hoodoo can be successfully employed by beginners who focus their will and don't give into lust for results.

Once we use natural energies in each item as well as our own (remember all those times I said charge the candle, or envision x or y thing? This is what I mean when I say using your own will, or adding energy, etc,) in Hoodoo, we often achieve success.

Failure, however, is inevitable - not in all attempts at spellcasting, but in some. Even the most practiced master of the art will fail at times. I've mentioned before an incident where, in my younger days, I'd used Mars-based energy on a reconciliation (thinking that sexual passion would be a key element to bringing back the target,) only to discover I was involved in some fisticuffs action with the target instead (because Mars rules the grosser lusts which include wrath.) While this was not a failure in the sense of "nothing happened," and while this was not a failure in the sense that I never had the target come back to me (he did, in time,) it didn't really work as an effective reconciliation in the sense of "Wow, he's so sorry for his actions, and wants to be my baby right now." ;) I don't even view that as a failure, really. Something happened.

And maybe this is where you and I do not see eye to eye... To me, there is a sliding scale of success...or maybe it's a tree...or something. I mean there is the effect of "Nothing happened." Which is to say, after years of waiting (yep,) I can honestly still say at this moment in time that what I did resulted in no effect whatsoever. That's a definite fail.

YEARS!!!?!?!??!

Yes, years, because I've had incidents where I didn't learn of the effects til more than a few years later, and it ended up that I had a pretty resounding impact, actually, I just didn't get what I want in the way I wanted it. :P So, technically I was successful (I had one guy suicidally in love with me who never told me, and was "outed" by his friends years afterwards for example,) but whoever was impacted didn't make a move where I could see it. Sometimes it's that I didn't see my opportunities until the hindsight I had was 20/20, either. Like "Oh, if I had just done this or that thing when the opportunity presented itself, I'd be $35k richer right now. WTH, why didn't I grab that opportunity? Hrm..." I did go over this in another article to some degree (about trying to find opportunities) so we've actually touched on this subject before...

But let's go back to the proverbial success tree...success being the branches, fail being the roots..

So, as far as I can tell, results (so types of success) from spells fall under the following categories:***

1. TOTAL AND COMPLETE SUCCESS! Good job, you got everything you hoped for and basically in a relatively predictable way. No surprises here. You wanted x job, and got hired for x job. You wanted y person, and y person came to you like they'd loved you forever.

2. Somewhat unexpected success! Good job, you got everything you hoped for, but, as I often remind my readers, it came to you in some manner you didn't entirely expect it to. ;) Maybe you didn't get a promotion at your current job (like you suspected you would when spellcasting for a higher paying job,) but instead got a much better job at a different firm. Maybe the police didn't arrest your neighbor for being...well, a criminal (as you suspected they would when you cast a spell to get that person out of your building,) but instead your neighbor got evicted by the landlord for non-payment of rent. Maybe your ex didn't text you when you discovered they wanted you back but rather ran into you at the convenience store and blurted out that they love you.

3. Wholly unexpected outcomes that were eventually a success. While this is similar to #2 and #4 on this list, it is not entirely the same. For example, let's say you want to reconcile an old partner. Initially, after the spell is cast, this person argues with you a lot or acts distant. About 2 months after the work, the person tells you that they'd had so much animosity towards you that if it had never come out, they could not reconcile with you, and they DO reconcile with you. OR, let's say you spellcasted for a better and higher paying job (not specifying you remain at the same job.) About 2 weeks later, you're fired for some totally bullshit reason from your current job. When you apply to a few places thereafter, you are met with animosity or coldness from prospective employers. Just when you're about to give up, your old friend Zeke calls from the opposite coast that you live on (or maybe from the mid-west, wheresoever you have a friend named Zeke, heh,) and you dish that you've lost your job and everything seems bad. Zeke mentions he still has some connections where you live and makes a few calls. Voila! You are given a better job with better pay as opposed to the job you were fired from.

4. "Monkey's Paw" success. Among the occultists I know, a "Monkey's Paw" effect is getting what you want in an undesirable way, and is the meaning of "be careful for what you wished for, as you just might get it." It references a famous W. W. Jacobs story. Sometimes the outcome is that you never wanted what you asked for to begin with - you get the job you requested only to find out that you despise the job and everyone who works there. Maybe you ask for the love of a person only to discover that they are obsessive, possessive and abusive (and now quite ardently in love with you.) Or perhaps you ask for money, and your house burns down (but the insurance pays out nicely.)

5. Something definitely happened. This is the most common type of "failure" which is actually (in my mind) a success. You made an impact, but perhaps not to the level or of the kind that you desired. My "Mars for reconciliation" episode mentioned above could be filed under this (I got a reaction from the target, and he WAS sorry for his behavior later which led to some reconciliation, but admittedly I wasn't looking to get into a physical altercation with a man I wanted to reconcile.) More than one attempt at magic tends to find itself filed under this header - we use something we are sure will work, and, while it has a noticeable effect, it's as if it falls short of our goals - rarely (well, perhaps when you get out of the neophyte stage is it rare,) is it as silly as "Let's use the God of War for reconciliation" type of outcome (because as a beginner/intermediate I tried a lot of weird things experimentally without considering some things I now would see as obvious mistakes,) and more commonly, it's a matter of seeing a noticeable impact from what we've tried to achieve with spells without getting what we want.

6. Total and complete desirable impact with missed opportunity (success, but you didn't grab the opportunity.) Sometimes, because we are humans and believe ourselves far smarter than we really are, we just miss something. ;) For example, you spellcast for certain traits in a lover rather than a particular person only to realize you started chasing anything that showed interest and missed the best one for you. OR you spellcasted for a good new job, and once you turned in a bunch of applications you took the job that, even though you felt a better fit at a job that paid $2 less an hour, paid the most, only to realize the slightly-lower-paying job was your dream job. Sometimes you even work to reconcile someone only to be too proud to do so when the opportunity presents itself. :( This isn't a spell-failure, it's human failure. On the positive, your spell totally worked! On the negative, you're probably going to have to try again because it worked and you didn't grab opportunity by the nutsack when opportunity's nutsack was out.

7. Hidden success. I'd mentioned above that there have been times in my life where I only found out a great time later that I'd been entirely successful in my work. While I find this more often when cursing (because I don't poke around to hear about someone's misfortune, as it is my belief that this is counter productive to the curse working,) I've also had the experience where I'd made someone suicidally in love with me (according to mutual friends years later,) when all he ever showed me of that was that he tried to steal a kiss (he had reasons for holding back which were quite good, but if I'd realized how I'd tortured the young man at the time, I'd never have let it get that far.) Sometimes we are all far more successful in our workings than we realize, though some people might also categorize this as #5 above.

And failures are basically under the following categories:

1. Spell failure, no obvious reason. Sometimes you do everything right, and as far as you can tell, nothing happens...while this might fall under 6 or 7 on the success list later (sometimes even a 5 on that list,) there will always be those incidents which NOTHING HAPPENS, and for no real understandable reason, no matter who you ask...though, if it's not under the success list after a few years, it's probably because one of the reasons 2-4 below...

2. It's not yours to have. We can't have everything we want in life. Sorry. I can't sing a note, and even if I trained my voice for years, I'd still not have a great singing voice. It's just how God made me. I'm fine with that. Also, I really love Ryan Gosling's body...I don't think that's mine to have either (though, Mr Gosling, you're free to prove me wrong there at any time.) I will never be tall. I'm terrible with math, so I'll probably never be a five-star mathematician...but I think MOST of us can understand basic limitations like this.... HOWEVER, sometimes we just don't see that what LOOKS like it could be ours can't be ours. Maybe it's a job, maybe it's someone you know, maybe it's a lot of things, but for whatever reason, the Universe has decided that which you seek is not yours to have at this time.

3. You fucked up the spell. You didn't focus, you didn't let go of the spellwork, you thought it to death, you obsessed, you worked against the spell energy, you did something wrong while casting, you did something wrong after casting, you didn't do the right things before casting...honestly, this is one of the more common reasons for failure. The remedy? I guess, if you still want that thing, try again. ;)

4. You suck at spells. I'm just going to come out and say it - some people are just not at all capable of spellcasting, and will never be more than meh at doing it. That's a smallish percentile. The next group is a group of people who have to work really really really really hard, but after lots and lots of practice, they become somewhat competent at it (and never amazing or even good.) That's a reasonable sized percentile. The next group is a group of people who definitely have to put a good deal of work in, but the effort pays off, and they are quite good. That's also a reasonable sized percentile. Then comes the naturals...they are good to start with, but need to work to be amazing. That's a smallish percentile. Look, I have a bachelors degree in fine arts - do you know how many impressive artists there are who will never be masters at it? A large percentile. It's the same idea. Find any vocation which requires practice, study, and skill, and you will find only a small percentile become true masters at that skill, while some people - no matter how much study and practice they put in, - are never going to be good at it. Spellcasting is no different.

So, we've gone over successes and failures, and I can honestly say a good 75% or so of spells (aimed at a realistic end - not at turning oneself into a werewolf or winning lotteries,) will fall under the success part of the tree in some way or another...at least in my experience. With failure - I've said it a thousand times, the most common reason for failure is lust for results/thinking the spell to death, and it's entirely avoidable. :P

HOWEVER, I don't think failure is always (or even often) a bad thing. I've learned from every failure or every not-stunning success.

Remember, people give up because of SLOW PROGRESS, never realizing that slow progress IS STILL PROGRESS. Maybe that failure is part of you still making progress on the situation. Did you really want what you started spellcasting for? If you don't get it immediately, will you just NOT LEARN ANYTHING AND GIVE UP? If you will, then I highly suggest you go to some sort of place where they put a crash helmet on you and nice people help you get dressed. You aren't capable of achieving anything in life (because nothing worth having is effortless,) and might as well give up on trying to get anything or lead a life. :P Or you're a product of the internet age, and you should stop reading my blog because no one instilled beliefs in you like "hard work and effort pay off." I'm sorry you have bad/incapable parents/teachers (but very capable enablers, apparently,) then, but I take no responsibility for you being so stupid/inept/lazy. :(

For the rest of you...failure is not a shameful thing, it's a learning opportunity. Remember above where I said "grab opportunity by the nutsack?" Why aren't you? Even if you don't achieve what you set out to achieve (be that being with or being reunited with someone, or a desired better job, or more money, or revenge on an enemy, or even just to have more friends,) with spells, what did you learn by NOT getting what you wanted? OK, past that x spell didn't work. ;) WHY did it not work? Or why did it not work HOW YOU WANTED IT TO. Did you do everything right before? Did you stop thinking the work to death (or never start)? Did you cut corners with your spellwork? Can you direct your will? What were the planets doing when you spellcasted? Look at all the reasons FOR failure, and you will learn from failure.

And also those "successes that don't seem so successful," (for example "something happened, just not what I'd wanted,") are also some of the most amazing learning experiences out there. So, I didn't reconcile my ex to the point he wanted to reunite with me, but now he's not against being my friend...what did I do wrong there? Was I not using enough sexual element? Was it not enough romance? Why is he afraid to come back to me? What are the psychological and social elements which might hold him back? These are all valuable questions to ask when, if you find in a few months, there isn't the desired result.

Until you're willing to accept failure (or half-assed success, heh,) as part of the learning process in casting spells for yourself (and you will "fall down," and you must get up and try again, just like when you were learning to walk,) you will never become competent at spellcasting. The easily discouraged do not win any awards in life, and people forget that someone who is an expert at something has failed to do whatever they are doing now a number of times before they got to where they COULD DO that thing. This is no different. If you cast spell and see SOME impact, congratulate yourself for doing SOMETHING. Try again.

So there you go. That's my rant on failure. ;)

Best,

~Cat

+Still adding my 2014 posts. Sorry. December was a busy month and yet low-paying and discouraging. I have no excuse for myself other than working 14 hours a day every day for less than a dollar (gross not net) an hour makes me really not want to add 2 extra hours in unpaid. I need compensation for work that I do to stay motivated, just like most living things. :/

*I've never actually seen any suggest painting in the blood of a mythological animal, to be fair - this is merely me being sort of sarcastic. Sex and eating regulations are sometimes suggested in varying grimoiric texts, however.

**This is why I tell you not to buy that cheap, shitty, machine made crap that pretends to be traditional formulas. Mineral oil and/or baby powder are not substitutes for real ingredients.

***If I can be wholly honest here, I don't actually limit success or failure to those following 11 categories, but, because a broad view is usually the best for the sake of teaching, it's pretty helpful, and includes the more popular reasons.

COPYRIGHT ORIGINALNINJACAT, NO COPYING, PASTING, SHARING, USING, OR PLAGIARIZING. If you want to use my work in any way, get express written-permission.

All Hail Saleos!

Hey there, Occulties,

Since I've definitely signed myself up for more work than I ever should have with 13 more posts (well, 12 after this,) all having to go up on or before December 31 (all while working 14 hour days, because I just am a glutton for punishment,) I had a few days to think on it, and I figured I'd like to have a chat with you all about someone I think is absolutely awesome. No, Rufus Opus, this is not the review of your book which is also forthcoming, but you're awesome, too*

As some of you might know, Saleos (sometimes referred to as Sallos, or Zallos) is one of the 72 spirits in the Ars Goetia. Maybe you've met him. Maybe you haven't. But I have something to say about him, and I will address it directly to him, as it really IS long overdue that I give this fellow a PUBLIC and glowing review:

My dearest Duke Saleos,

You are amazing. You've helped me, you've helped my clients, you love vodka, and wine, and engineer infatuation between men and women like the true master engineer of love that you are. You're everything I ever wanted in a spirit (I also love vodka and helping people fall in love with each other.) It has been an honor and continues to be an honor to work with you.

You have helped me grow as a magician, you have been patient, you have been kind... You even have a great sense of humor, which I was a bit surprised to discover. :)

If anyone (who was seriously interested in conjuring,) asked me who to work with for love, I'd recommend you. I'm pretty sure that goes without saying. You get the job done right - which isn't always "two days later" (and I respect that most highly,) because fast isn't always lasting...and what you create is more often than not, quite lasting. I look forward to further adventures with you.

YOU
ARE
MY
FAVORITE
GOE
TO
WORK
WITH!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Duke Saleos!

I cannot praise you enough, and will continue to do so. May we work together for many years to come.

Yours truly,

~Cat

*RO would be even more awesome if he published a book which was bound in the hide of unicorn nipples, inked in the blood of his enemies, and smoked with demon farts, but he still hasn't published a book like that, so he's only 99.9% awesome, and I told him this very thing yesterday. :P

****Added 10/10/15 - I am glad to talk about SALEOS (I didn't misspell his name) with people practiced with evocation if you would like to know my experiences. I welcome discussion with those who have successfully practiced evocation. :) If you're a dabbler, if you refer to him as Sallos (when he's listed as Saleos, Zaleos, and Caleos in the varying sources that I am familiar with - not to mention, I've spoken to Saleos himself,) or if you tell me he is your only hope and you really really really want your ex back/someone to love you, but you've never cast a spell, then I do not teach evocation, and I am not interested in the discussion. Ask me a stupid question, and you will get a contemptuous answer. I teach ROOTWORK not spirit conjure. Sorry to be such an asshole, but this post has been an ASSHOLE MAGNET and after almost a year of fucktardedly stupid questions, the answer is, YES, I LOVE SALEOS AND HE IS AMAZING, but NO, I do not think he's your only hope if you never cast a spell before, and frankly, successful evocation takes a long time to learn. I don't teach it, either. ****

Text is copyright me - no copying, copy and pasting, etc., images in this article from the free domain. If you dispute they are from the free domain and they are yours, please contact me and I will take them down.

Stop Worrying So Much. :P

Hey Occulties,

This is probably a rant, but here goes...

I could never pick out one thing that annoys me most about working with clients, just like I can't say I can pick out the things I like best, either. Both are incredibly varied. ;)

However, the most current trend in my inbox at this writing seems to be the "I'm incapable of ever seeing anything in a positive light," trend, a.k.a. "I am worried over the most trivial of contrary events, so God forbid anything actually scary should happen during this manifestation phase" problem. Therefore, I give this offering unto my reading public in the hopes that someone, - anyone - will learn through me what I had to learn through experience. And that is the following:

ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES! You know that stupid phrase, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade?"( Yes, I know I usually say "If life doesn't also hand you sugar and water, your lemonade sure is going to taste like shit," but just stick with me here.) I'm sure you've all heard it, and if you haven't, well...it basically means if you get stuck with a situation you find to be less than optimal, use what you DO HAVE to make something good out of it.

Is your reconciliation target acting distant? Well, let them be distant. One thing I've learned in life is that smothering anyone you have romantic feelings for (or even just friend feelings for,) is the surest way to kill a flame of love, friendship, or desire. When you get punched with "feeling like the target is ignoring me," then why not roll back with "Go out and be seen having a fabulous time without the target"? I dunno about you, but when I see people having a fabulous time without me, I feel a little left out. I might want to join in. That might cause me to warm up to someone, so that I can get in on the fun next time. :P

And that's what I mean when I say, "roll with the punches." It's up to you to make the best of what you've got. Magic might be working for you, but if you don't work with it, and don't learn to work with what IS going on, don't expect it to manifest spectacularly every time. You need to be capable of working with your spellwork instead of freezing up every time something you don't expect happens.

USE YOUR MIND TACTICALLY RATHER THAN WASTING YOUR ENERGY ON USELESS WORRY. Remember that time I told you that worry is the most useless thing that ever existed (although Kanye West may actually be more useless, and also I'm pretty sure tits on a bull are AT LEAST equally as useless as worry,) and you were like "O, really, Cat? But if I don't worry, I will totes like not see a bad thing coming!" and then I told you that you were wrong? (Note: if you ever contacted me there is a 9 out of 10 chance we had this conversation.) So, if you don't remember that, or if it never happened that we did have that conversation, allow me to say it, briefly, here...

Worry is basically you plotting all the ways you can fail, and then getting excited about failing. I mean, you're actually getting a thrill on the idea of failure, which is why you keep engaging in worry. I'm not really sure how that's helpful. Imagine if you got in your car right now, put on your seat belt, and the moment you put on that seat belt, you thought of all the ways it might fail, or maybe how it could malfunction and slice you in half, and while you turn on the engine you think of how the car could explode, and then you think of how another car might hit the back of your car as you pull out into the street, and...

You don't do that, right? I mean, if you're thinking of every awful thing that could very well happen at any moment, you have a problem called an "anxiety disorder." Most of us, however, would put on our seat belt (not out of fear of dying or getting a ticket, but out of habit,) start the car, and would maneuver ourselves around in the vehicle while staying aware of the other drivers and traffic. So, if someone pulls out in front of you unexpectedly, you hit the breaks, or steer a bit to the right to avoid them - you do NOT fail to adjust what you're doing merely because something unexpected happened (so that's panic,) but you tactically adjust your own vehicle to avoid disaster.

How is life any different? What makes you think spellwork and your own actions and opportunities during the manifestation phase are any different? If you sit there, paralyzed by fear and panic and worry, imagining terrible outcomes for your spellwork, how are you going to be able to adjust your own actions tactically to be most beneficial to your situation, and how will you find the opportunities the spell is making for you?

SEEK OPPORTUNITIES. There's also an old joke that goes like this... A man is standing on the roof during a torrential downpour, watching the neighborhood flood. He prays "Lord, please help save me from this terrible flood. It has already reached past the first floor of my home, and is climbing closer to the roof." Just then his neighbor comes up with a boat, and says "Bob, get in the boat and I'll take you to higher ground!" The man says "No can do, I'm waiting for God to save me! I'll just keep praying." The neighbor shakes his head, and drives the boat off. About a half an hour later, with the water now climbing up the edges of the roof, another neighbor shows up with a life raft, paddling furiously. "Bob," he says to the praying man, "Get in, and we'll get out of here!" The praying man looks up and says "No, no, the Lord will save me, I just need to have faith in Him," and goes back to praying. About an hour later the water is almost up to the man's waist. He's standing on his tip toes when a helicopter soars overhead. "HEY, DOWN THERE!" an army man says to the praying man on the roof. "Grab this rope and I'll save you! You don't have much time!" The praying man looks up and says, "No, the Lord will save me! Thanks anyhow!" And waves the helicopter off. Anyhow, the praying man drowns, and when he gets to Heaven, he says "Lord, why did you not save me?" and God replies "Well, I did send a boat, a raft, and helicopter - what else did you want!?"

It's a given that people miss opportunities...of course some make opportunities that don't exist as well (I actually term those as "flopportunities" because, generally, you're not really going to succeed, you just are going out on a limb, and are about to flop right on your face, metaphorically.) ;) But let's focus on those who miss opportunities. Why is it that something HAS TO happen in the way you believe it should? Are you more invested in HOW it happens and WHY it happens, or are you more invested in the thing you want happening? In the above, Bob wants to be rescued from a flood, but he's too invested in HOW he gets rescued. He's not at all thinking about saving himself, he wants God to come down and lift him physically out of the water, therefore missing all of the opportunities God is sending to rescue him.

So, you want a job selling cars, and you do a spell to get a job selling cars. If you *think* you prefer Jimbo and Sons Ford and Mercury, and you apply there (despite that you cast a spell for THE BEST CAR SELLING JOB SUITED TO YOU, and not specifically for Jimbo and Sons' employment) does your spell "fail" if Jimbo rejects your application, but Benson's Hondas wants to employ you? I do know people who will literally tear their hair right out and scream "MY SPELL FAILED!" the moment Jimbo rejected their application. They will not seek another opportunity, they will not assume another one exists, and they will decide magic doesn't work.

FAILURE IS POSSIBLE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S PROBABLE. One of the things I see all too often is that someone is faced with what I like to term a "trivial contrary," OR what they see as a "huge red flag of danger," the person in question immediately panics, rather than seeking an opportunity or tactically maneuvering themselves so that the situation does not up-end their spellwork.

Now, what is a "trivial contrary?" This is most often just not getting the expected response (generally something small,) or encountering an event that seems contradictory to your desired end (but doesn't have to be,) which is not alarmingly contradictory, just..well, not in sync with what you expected.

If things don't visibly seem to be going your way, why is it that you need to immediately assume it's going to fail? Doesn't that kind of propel you towards failure? If I'm in love with a male friend of mine, for example, and he doesn't show me the affection I want him to, should I assume my spell isn't working? What if he's just not telling me because he's insecure? What if he's not telling me because I've rejected him in the past? What if he's not telling me because he worries we'd make a bad match? None of this means my spell isn't working, it means my target is holding back. If I just assume everything is a lack of results or isn't working, I'm blinding myself with lust for results. But let's throw a more "alarming" kind of "trivial contrary," into the mix... Let's say I've texted my target, asking him if he would like to go grab a beer. Historically, my target likes beer, and likes having beers with me, but he replies with "Not tonight, maybe another time." DID MY SPELL FAIL? OMIGOD OMIGOD NOTHING IS WORKING! CAT REASSURE ME! Oh, sorry, I was channeling one of my clients for a moment... Well, that's definitely not fun. We'd all like it if our target responded with "I like beer, and drinking beer, and the chance to get drunk with you," but it's not always going to pan out like that. So, if that happens and I wait a few days, maybe I find out that my target's mother had been in surgery that night, or he had to stay late at a meeting or a class, or he just had other plans which were of greater importance than getting a beer with me. Maybe the target will ask me out for a beer a few days later. :P

My point here is, why are you so frazzled over the little stuff? Too many of you are. It's not always going to work where you won't have trivial contrary incidents during your manifestation phase. Panicking never helps, and assuming the worst doesn't either. Even if your spell IS NOT WORKING or DOES NOT WORK, no one is dead or dying. You can cast another spell. So, roll with the punches, seek opportunities, and don't sweat the small stuff...you'll be successful more times than you're not if you take this advice.

THE MOST-LIKELY SOURCE TO DISCOVER IF YOU'LL BE SUCCESSFUL IS JUST LOOKING AT YOUR OWN BEHAVIOR. If you ball up in fear the moment anything happens, you'll probably fail. If you suspect the worst anything anything "contrary" happens, you'll probably fail. If you worry a lot, you'll probably fail. If you are prone to panic, you'll probably fail.

Pretty easy, huh?

I hope this has been educational, kids. :)

~Cat

PS- One of the best parts of writing this article was that in less than 4 hours after posting it, no less than seven people came in complaining about trivial events that were "worrisome" to them, and wanted me to reassure them. *facepalm*

ALL CONTENT EXCLUDING IMAGE COPYRIGHT 2014 ORIGINALNINJACAT/CAT ASTROPHIED - can not be used, copied, pasted without the author's express written permission. Image collected off of facebook - if that's your property and you want me to remove it, please just ask. I thought it was hilarious. :/