Magic, Sorcery, Effort, Success and Starcraft

There is always a joker that says that magic doesn't work, and that if it did we wouldn't need to make any effort.
We could have money without a job/business.
We would get laid everyday because the most gorgeous girls/guys/groups of people would appear on your front door naked and with a bottle of Scotch/Beer/Champagne.

So, if this doesn't happen it is because magic and sorcery don't exist and we are just a bunch of deluded idiots.
When I was young I did my best to explain magic and it´s  strengths and limitations,  but that kind of joker doesn't pay attention. Nowadays I just laugh and say that magical workings are like Starcraft Cheat Codes.
You start playing and you don't progress fast enough, or the game is too difficult, or you're just too lazy...
You use the cheat codes.
Operation CWAL - your upgrades are faster, and your buildings get done in a fraction of the time. That can be a spell to open paths and to get the best help to you.
Black Sheep Wall - You get to see all the game. That is divination, allowing you to know what your enemies and adversaries are doing, but also the oportunities that lay ahead and that one could miss otherwise.
Show Me The Money - you get a lot of minerals and gas. The magical equivalent are workings to bring money and resources to you. You get bank credit where your competition is left wanting, your clients pay in full instead of leaving you waiting for the money, you discover new business/clients or your boss gives you a bonus when everybody else doesn't get anything.
But with cheat codes or spells you have to play the game to win, you have to make an effort.
It is then that the most obstinated idiots say that there is a cheat code on Starcraft that allows one to go instantly to the next level without any effort.
My reply is that it gets the person to the next level, but it isn't fun. And enjoying what one acomplishes is every bit as important as getting it.

Sorcery... and diapers

Powerfull and full of oneself as only a sorcerer can be, the truth is that sometimes we also live unpleasant situations.
There are workings that required prolonged fasts. By prolonged I mean any fast over 4 days and by fast I mean having nothing but water. Water. No fruit juice, no lemon juice, no soup. Water.

After the 4th day your bowel already got ride of everything solid, and you evacuate liquid goo. My advice is that when you reach that point you start using diapers. That way if you fart and some liquid escapes, it will be contained by the diaper and not stain your clothes.
And believe me, those stains are impossible to remove, it doesn't matter how hard you try.

Responsibility

I am fond of big words, and I try to live up to them.
Today's big word is responsibility. What are the limits to the responsibility of the sorcerer ?
Let me give an example and we can discuss it from there.

 I was hired by a lady to help with her job and financial problems. After a reading I found out that she was being targeted magically. Somebody she knew had hired someone like me to f*ck her life, hard.
Life sucks sometime.
I decided to help her. I would clean up the magical mess, and she would deal with the non magical aspects of the problem. Things started to improve fast on her life (obviously). And then... on one of my readings I found out that the person that had tried to hurt her was targeting her husband and daughter (and their health was already suffering).
I considered that a desperate and despicable act, and extended my help to them, free of charge. The reason why I did it was because it was partly my responsibility, if I hadn't stepped in in the first place my client would keep being the one targeted.
What would you do ?

Professionalism, Reputation, Organization and Magic

When most people start dreaming about becoming professionals of magic (witches, witch doctors, sorcerers, you name it...) they only look at the advantages.
No boss, their one schedule, their one prices, it seems that the world is smiling at them.
Unfortunately for those people that image is completely, totally and absolutely false.
No boss, unless you're hired by another sorcerer/magician to handle some of it's work load. And please beware, if that is the case he/she will be checking on you  in ways that no other boss can.
Their one schedule, true, but one has to bend to the schedule of the clients. The professional-to-be has to be  prepared to work on weekends, and at late hours. And that is just to receive the clients. The life of a professional sorcerer has the oddest schedules possible, doing workings at times that others are sound asleep, or resting.
Their one prices... right...   It is necessary to check the prices of other magical providers, if they are well known and if they can deliver what they promise. If they do, and their prices are below those of the future professional, he/she should think again.

I can hear the roar of indignation and the heat of the flames of rage that this may have caused.
A lot of idiots may think that I want to discourage people from becoming professionals. Nothing could be further away from the truth.
Let's continue.

A Bad/Good thing that can happen to the new professional, specially if he/she is any good is to get a lot of clients fast. Why is this a Bad/Good thing, and not just a Good thing?
Because there is the tendency to focus on those cases that are more difficult or more lucrative, delaying to work on the others, and in some cases even forgetting it.
A simple case can become a royal screw up, harming your reputation and the client, and making you loose other clients and respect.
Don't laugh/sneer. IT HAPPENS.
However there is a way to avoid it, requiring only average organizational skills. Make a file for every client, and record who they are, their problem, and what have you done to solve it. Write EVERYTHING. Other things, like expenses and invoices for supplies (candles, oils, powders, other stuff that may be required), should be attached to it. Twice a week go through your files and and check if you are forgetting someone.

In the end, once the problem is solved, give your file or a copy of it to the client. He/she/they will like it and probably show it to the people that he/she/they may advise to consult you

Clients

There are two types of client.

The one that expects us to fail, and the one that expects a miracle, and sometimes they are embodied on the same person or group.

Looking back at the example I gave yesterday, that client expected a miracle. With help from Ganesha that problem was solved, BUT, it was just a symptom of much bigger problems, going for much longer. Chances are that he will loose his livelihood. He should have attacked that problem when it was still an annoyance before it grew like a cancer poisoning his life.

Now ? Now that he is absolutely desperate he decided to ask for help. And with magic I can and will help him, but life won't be as it was. It  can be be better, but he will have to change. Change his job, his relationship, start a lot of things from scratch.

Obviously he is scared shitless. But that can't be avoided. It would take a fornicating miracle to turn his life like it was 7 years ago, and I am a sorcerer, not a miracle worker

Look alive !

One of the most common mistakes of beginners is that magic doesn't need a significant effort. Most believe that to make things work they only have to jerk off over a sigil and "presto!" all will be arranged as they wish.

Not true.

Most people don't have the ability to focus and concentrate hard enough to fuel up the jerk off technique. And jerking off over a drawing or symbol while focusing on it is one of the driest things one can do. That is not a beginners technique although most believe it is.

For the professional sorcerer things become even harder. Although there are a lot of things that we can do for the clients, there are times when we need their active cooperation, specially if there is an emergency. Two days ago a client and friend come to me with a desperate case. I made a reading and decided that he needed Ganesha's help to overcome that difficulty. Therefore I gave him a mala, taught him the Ganesha mantra and told him to do it while I did my part. After a while he stopped. I looked at him and asked what had happened. Nothing had happened, he simply thought that it was enough.

Enough... a serious emergency... requiring the use of a sorcerer and the help of a God that didn't knew him, and had no reason whatsoever to do anything for him... Enough ?!?

I scolded him and made him repeat the mantra for hours, which he did. The problem (that problem) was solved in less than 24 hours. Usually it requires more time, but Ganesha is a Good and Generous God.

My point ? When requesting the help of a God or other entity, look alive, do everything in your power to draw it's attention and to convince it that it is worth the time and effort to help you.

Half assed efforts won't give results.

If you believe otherwise, go home and forget about magic.