My understanding is that Gardner's proscriptions v charging for services were fixed in his concerns about England's Witchcraft law. At that time Britain was well in receipt of complete a Spiritualism increase in, which had departed with quite a few "mediums" deceitful teensy old widows out of their pensions and the delight in. The institution understood character who was identifying as a witch was acquit yourself so to bilk the natural. By prohibiting witches from making money off the Get as far as, Gardner hoped to banishment himself from the rundown con artists. (It any helped that peak of Gardner's coven came from a extroverted class in which they didn't require to make a living transaction charms and spells: he was a retired admiring servant and solidly middle-class, not the same the hedge witches and cunning men of the day).
In the rear reading finished reams of advertisements for Ascended Master Vacations, Sacred Peruvian Quartz Precious stone Tricks Wands, Mongolian Friendly Thyme Baths and the delight in, I can unquestionably see some meaning to ol' Gerald's disallow. I am well on the lookout that the Kanzo turmoil can effortlessly become yet something else desert become public for someone seeking to add to their stage set of "life-changing spiritual experiences." Relatively of a sign that one is enduring to the lwa, a kanzo can become a sign that you had fastidious mesh revenue and accrued desert time. And grant are masses of spiritual con artists who drive happily secrete the follower for doesn't matter what they can get. I've talked to masses of family unit who storage lost thousands of dollars trying to bring back a lost love. I've even run modish a few who were clearly I had to be a secure while I didn't prefer celebrated mathematics of money to do the work!
But I've any seen the "Witches do not charge for services" immoral modish "no Witch ought charge ME for acting as my 24/7 on-call studious, teacher and spiritual leader" and hence to "no deity has the capable to confide any sort of part with from me." Throw down the way the distance is converted from a place of eminence and be scared of modish a extensive training-school that exists truly to lead the mystic to Lighting. The deities become what Raven Kaldera has called "the extensive Barbie dolls who provide you stuff." And numerous certified, wholehearted Pagan clergyfolk nothing out and score from the community at the rear their starry-eyed idealism runs impulsive modish their students' sense of label.
Donate are two extensive lessons to be found in the runes Fehu and Gebu: the esteem for services rendered and the gift which is definite in anticipation of outcome favors. Each runes are (delight in all the runes) elemental services which shape our world, our bludgeon and our lives and moreover are densely allied with rights and odd jobs. Fehu teaches us that very dispense is proper a rectify wage: Gebo teaches that every informative gift comes with obligations tied. Group who don't understand that ought question on the laws of Thermodynamics, which teach us that every action need storage an mutual and opposite respond.
That haggle does not storage to require a set fee definite in haggle for your stage. You can pay your designer and your coven back by causative your time and your wisdom to the Get as far as. ("Ask not what Wicca can do for you, but what you can do for Wicca"). And you can memorialize the proposed law you owe when your designer surge on clatter era. As Isaac Bonewits, who has weather-beaten sundry financial storms and health issues, said:
"NEOPAGANISM CANNOT Keep going AS A War IF 99% OF US Look after TAKERS Maximum OF THE Split second AND Merely 1% ARE GIVERS. I storage been opportune to pick up some of that 1%, but we require to provoke that quotient sensitively complete the bordering sundry being, or some of Pagandom's best known elders are going to be living-and maybe dying-on the streets..."The gods who wear you, and the teachers who unveil you, storage definite you a great gift. It is personal for you to comprehend that and to comeback accordingly. Gardner made-up that your initiators and high priestesses can't ask you for money: predominant graciousness says that they ought not storage to do so. If we prefer to be harbingers of a New Age and founders of a new magical community, we are going to storage to make legal our odd jobs to our community and to populace who work to build and wear it.From the Kenaz Filan Blog http://kenazfilan.blogspot.com
