This is really a method that I always had mentally with myself as I navigated through the metaphysical community. I believe one should have a healthy dose of skepticism when navigating the spiritual world. One should also have a healthy does of skepticism with the community itself.
I’ve been not only spiritually involved for not only 16 years, I have navigated that 16 years with the internet and being in spiritual communities for around 10 of those years. I joke with myself sometimes that I am the first example of a millennial spiritualist with old school mentors.
The beautiful thing about watching not only the internet become what it is today, I also have been able to observe how the metaphysical community developed right alongside that. We live at a time where there are more millionaires than ever, this is because marketing has and continues to expand rapidly because it is so intertwined with the internet. This isn’t to say the big names in the metaphysical community are all millionaires, but because the metaphysical community has grown with the internet, spirituality in of itself has become part of the mainstream. Or the “taboo no one really talks about it but they dabble” underground mainstream. And when you are mainstream, that means it is going to be effected by the marketing developments as well.
I developed this way of thinking before not necessarily for…sales at all. But because there was a point in my life that I am fairly open about is that at one point I was in a cult. And through navigating being in a cult (unknowingly at the time) I learned very quickly of how to develop the ability to spot bullshit. There would be a new person every week having these intense experiences, offering these wonderful oddities..the whole bit. I had to develop this because I needed to filter through the mud to find the hidden gems that were in the cult at the time. The ones that made sense to me and resonated with me.
So I developed this three step mental breakdown that I go through when I am a consumer in the metaphysical world and maneuvering through all it comes with.
The how, the receipts and the character
The How:
No matter what it is that someone is offering, what someone says they can do either for you, or in general. Ask the how. Now, you should never expect anyone to give you an entire breakdown of their process because that is very personal. But there should still be some logic to what it is that they are doing. And there are still details that you can share that doesn’t give it all away. (You don’t truly think the metaphysical books that are out, share all their secrets and processes do you?) Are you really able to increase a mans size or change their eye color through a spell? How? What does the process look like? How many rituals? What tools do you use? These are questions that can be very easily answered whether you just ask them or you just listen to the small details of when they talk about the subject or in the listing itself. If you find someone is not willing to walk through the process or even refer to a process they write about then…
Let’s be really real here. If you are purchasing something from then, chances are you are spending hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars for these workings, rituals, magickals and what have you.
YOU are in control of where that money goes. Part of what inspired me to put myself out there in the spiritual community is because I was so turned off by all the ‘holier than thou’ glass pedestals so many people would have. It was like watching people use the mysteriousness of the ‘taboo’ that the spiritual world is viewed as to their advantage so they could create a facade that is so dry, so… full of ones self that they make it seem like they don’t go to grocery store and live a very real, very average life like the rest of us. Like who are YOU to inquire any details of their work? How DARE you want any information of the process on a casting that you are spending your hard earned money to have casted on you. It was such a trip witnessing it in the cult LOL.
There are some people I know that ask more questions to their butcher about a piece of meat that they spent $60 on than they do on someones work. Figure out the how’s. Because no matter what, there are always going to be patterns to the work regardless of what it is. There’s going to be a rhyme or reason for certain things, and if there isn’t…I would question why this isn’t being treated as the ads you see that promise you to have a 6 pack, body builder body by taking this magic pill for 6 weeks.
But most importantly, BESIDES all of that. Arguably the most important question that ties into the second step…
How did you come to discover this?
The Receipts:
Receipts. Show. Me. The. Receipts.
You should be able to reference your work. If you are offering the eye-color changing casting… where are before and afters for your clients that you have reviews from. There has to be some evidence one would presume before you offer this kind of listing. You have to know that you can get the results assuringly before you offer it to people for hundreds of dollars. Which is also why reviews are not everything depending on what the product is when you see it on their website because you have full control of what is and isn’t being shown on your own website.
Cue the scene where you go to the sampler at Costco over and over again with a different hat one time and a different wig the next. If the person is just starting out, that is more than wonderful! Just because they started selling a few years ago and offering their services doesn’t mean that is when their spiritual journey began. But there is a level of “Why are you charging me $600 for something that you have nothing to backup your claims or work with?” As with anyone that has started their own hustle, when you start…you could be offering a very valuable service but you have to get a proper reputation under your belt before you can increase the price and still expect traffic. Thats just simply how it is, the more you develop, the higher demand, the higher you and your wares have value and it organically goes up. (Remember how I brought up the internet and marketing?)
There is this thing people do that I kind of refer to it as “College Paper” speak. When you have to write a 2 thousand word-count paper on something that you don’t really know a lot about because you didn’t do the work or read the book but the paper has to be at least 2 thousand words what do you do? You open up the Thesaurus and add as much fluff as possible. I don’t even think it’s intentional for the most part when people do this verbally because I knew someone like this years ago and she genuinely spoke in this way. Let me give an example.
If I were going to give you a reading and you asked my process I would say:
“I prepare my space and connect to your energies and see what is presented to me.” (Obviously I would put more effort into this question but I am not going to do an entire essay as an example LOL)
It’s a simplified version of what it is that I am doing as I leave out a lot of personal preparation details but you understand what it is I am doing. And my friend of the time (yes she was also from the cult funnily enough LOL) would legitimately speak in this way;
“I sit down and allow the essence of your being in my space. Through this cosmic fantastical experience of weaving through this effervescent, wispy divine energy that is your being, the shapes, silhouettes of your story begin to unfold before me.”
Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with what is said. It sounds a lot more intense and interesting. And it is intentional on some people because… you guessed it, marketing. Which again, is fine, that should not be looked down upon at all. But these fantastical displays of writing really can make someone who doesn’t really know what is they are talking about or doing seem a lot more important and that they know what is going on. It distracts from the fact of all the missing details that justify the giant price tag that is usually attached.
It was this behavior here that made me have to develop this way of thinking in the first place to really cut through all the fluff and see someone and their abilities for what they were in the cult LOL.
Along with this awareness of observing what someone is saying or offering, goes to my 3rd and final step.
The Character:
This one is short, sweet and to the point. If someone is offering a “get rich, become a millionaire” spell. What is their situation like? Because if they can offering this “get rich” spell, one would presumably think they came to this realization by doing this spell on themselves (or someone else at the very least on someone they know). And if they haven’t W H Y ? How are you going to promise someone millionaire status from a $200 spell? It simply isn’t logical when you take a step back and think about it.
No matter what it is that someone is casting, their energy influence is part of that. Even if they can’t cast it on themselves (which I just won’t bother listing the many other illogical parts to this as you get the point.) If they are promising you a love spell, yet their love life is a disaster? Do you really want that kind of energy invited in your space? Because at the end of the day, that is exactly what it is that you are doing. You are allowing another person into your energy, granting that access. If we are treating spirituality as the very real thing that it is, are you going to trust the plastic surgeon with no qualifications that are confirmed or has no before and afters of their patients?
No, you’re going to go to the plastic surgeon that can provide those things, that can walk you through what it is that they are doing with YOUR BODY. YOUR ENERGY. YOU. They can provide that to you because they know what it is they are doing. They put in the actual work and can back it up, because there is always a trail you can follow. With S. Conolly’s work you see it in the documented receipts. Same with V.K, Noctua, Creepy Hollows, S&S, and so on. (These are just the first that come to mind of those I know of their work and respect, not to say there aren’t others as there are plenty.) Even with me there is documented evidence that goes back to the early 2000s.
Those that you are purchasing a service or product from are absolutely no better than you are. You deserve the right to know what it is they are doing because its officially YOUR product. YOUR ritual. (After payment of course.) Not that you OWN the rights to the ritual but you are purchasing the magickal time slot and energy that is being casted on you. That is what you are buying. You deserve to be in the know. And by being in the know, it is then you can decide if that kind of work resonates with you personally. Some people’s practices don’t vibe with me at all so I don’t purchase from them. Does that mean I think they are illegitimate? Absolutely not.
I don’t think the hidden gems I found in the mud while I was in the cult were these amazing gurus, nor do I think they were the only ones that had a good head on their shoulders. It was just a matter of paying attention to the details and by doing that, allowed me to figure out what it is I feel from seeing those details and feeling out the situation more. You should always ask questions before you invest a large amount of money, time, or feelings on anything.
I know I probably stepped on some toes with this, but I feel like this post will really assist a lot of people maneuvering through the metaphysical world as it is now. It has changed rapidly and it is actually so awesome to see how the metaphysical is becoming so intertwined with mainstream. This also I feel gives a voice to those that have been around for some time. There is so much noise being added to the metaphysical space everyday that it can be easy to lose sight and track of those who have had their roots growing for a long time now. In not only the services they offer but just their spiritual knowledge as well. Those that care and put effort in their work can sometimes be drowned out in all the noise. (I say noise but I don’t mean it in a negative way at all. We are ALL noise.)
Along side that, I feel this helps those who are genuine in their work, who aren’t just in it for a quick dollar. Who put so much to their craft but may not be able to keep up with the mainstream involvement that has come to the Metaphysical of recent years and have “Thesaurus marketing”.
I would love to hear your guy’s ways of maneuvering through this new phase of Metaphysical in the 21st century on the internet. Has this been something anyone else has observed? Have you noticed any developments from recent years to those who have been around for a moment? I feel like this is the kind of advice that just is just so helpful overall. Because these processes, even with mine as well, it’s all a process of discovering what is resonating with you. To force you to take a step back, put things in perspective and be like “ok am I REALLY feeling this listing? Does this person’s work truly resonate with me? Does it make sense to me?” Because if it doesn’t make sense to you, why would you ever put any dollar amount on something you don’t understand or get? The more you understand the work being done, the more effective it can be.
