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I got what I asked for magickally....

  
 
fuckbaked
01:06 / 06.09.05
Well, I'm extremely new to studying magick, although I'm not all that new to practicing it. When I was a little kid, I figured out a way to make things happen the way I wanted them to. That method has a lot in common with sigils, with some, well, major differences. But that's beside the point. I hardly ever used that method, despite the fact that it has always worked pretty well. I started actually studying magick a few weeks ago, and i really don't know much yet. I'm reading some books that have been recommended on barbelith, and I'm quite interested in what I'm learning (well, some of it. some of it seems pretty bunk). Anyway, I know I should learn a lot and not dive in and try to do things when I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but since I've been practicing magick, in some form, for years, well, I'm rather impatient. Ok, so last year I used my magick to ask for money. I asked for a lot, and I asked in a really confusing and bad way. And I got what I asked for, rather than what I wanted. Or maybe it was the other way around. Anyway, I never got the money, but instead i got extremely bad luck for a few weeks. When I finally understood what was going on, and how much message had been interpreted, I thanked whoever or whatever was doing it, because I realized what they were doing, and told them that I'd learned the lesson they were teaching me (which was to appreciate what I have), and my luck returned to normal. It didn't just return to normal, but some of the bad things that had happened, which seemed irreversible, reversed themselves.

Anyway (why am I going on about this? get to the point, fb), I have money problems. I know it's because I don't budget well, and I tend to spend more than I should on stuff that I shouldn't be buying, but still it's a problem, and sometimes a rather desperate problem. Well, I'd been reading some stuff about magick, and then one day I was in an occult bookstore and I noticed a book that says it has emergency spells in it that help with getting money, avoiding eviciton, and that sort of thing. I bought the book, and I tried one of the spells. Before I did that, I figured out a way to reduce my expenses so that I'll have more money, without magick, but it's going to take me time and money to set up my life so that I can reduce expenses in such a way (sorry to be so vague). So I decided to use one of the spells in the book to ask for a specific amount of money that I calculated would be enough to allow me to set up my life so that I could reduce my expenses, and live more comfortably in the meantime. I did the spell wrong. I couldn't afford some of the stuff that the book said I needed, and I didn't exactly follow the book exactly. I don't know why really, but I did things in the way that felt right to me. Anyway, it worked really well. I don't actually have the money yet, but it's coming soon, from very reliable sources (I know I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch, but I would be very, very surprised if the people who've promised me this money didn't come forth with it). I didn't ask for the money to come to me in the way that it's going to, and actually the way that this turned out just couldn't have been better. Everyone involved is happy with the situation, including the people who're providing the money.

Ok, so the thing is, well, I sort of made a couple of promises about what I'd do with the money. One of them was definitely a promise, and it was that I would reduce my expenses in a particular way. Well, now that the money's coming, I feel immoral about doing what I said I would. It would have been ok, in the previous circumstances, but now I feel like I would be taking advantage of someone who's helping me tremendously if I reduced my expenses in such a way and didn't allow them to benefit from it. Also, it's something I don't actually want to do, and that they're not going to want me to do, but that I figured I had to do. Well......do I have to do it? I mean, I actually asked for a few thousand dollars, in addition to what I normally get paid, to help me get through the next year. That money's going to be comming to me in a few installments, throughout the year. I only have an estimate of how much money it will be, but my estimate is that it will be either what I've asked for, or as much as a thousand dollars more (I know you're all thinking that I'm never getting this money....I know I will, and if I could explain where it's coming from, you'd agree that it's coming. I'll post in a few weeks when I've gotten some of it to let you all know that yes, indeed it is coming through.) Anyway, while I'm getting what I asked for over the course of the next year, I'm going to get what I asked for for the year after that, too, supposedly. I didn't ask for that. I didn't think I could permanantly change my financial situation (which is something that had sort of bugged me. It seemed that if, for example, I got my work to give me a raise, or if i worked more hours, my other source of money would be diminished accordingly, under the assumption that I'm making more money elsewhere and thus need less money provided to me from that sourse, so that, no matter how hard I worked, I couldn't get more money.) But my situation has changed, and not only will I feel guilty if I do what I was planning (due to the way that the money's coming. if it had come from elsewhere, i wouldn't have felt guilty), but I don't need to reduce my expenses, because this increase in my money is going to last beyond a year. I'm wondering if I still need to do what I promised. I might do it anyway, if it's beneficial to someone else, but if it's just beneficial to me, well, I'd feel like an asshole.....

Ok, the other thing that i promised, well, I maybe sort of promised. I don't think I actually promised it. It was like....do you remember in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (if you read it) when Harry was on his way to his hearing, and he passed by a fountain, the money in which was going to a charity, and said inside his head that if his hearing turned out well, he'd put 10 galleons in the fountain. Well, I sort of htought something like that, except it wasn't a fountain. It was people who came to my door. I really need to get better at saying no to such people. I told them I didn't have any money to give to their charity, and I was trying to get them to leave. They said I could write a post-dated check, and that they would call me a week before the date on the check to see if it was ok to put it through. I thought it was pretty unlikely that i would be able to give them the large amount of money they were asking for, even in a month, but then it occured to me that if the spell I'd been doing actually worked, I would be able to afford it (but not really.....I mean, I actually did only ask for an amount that would make me comfortable and allow me to do what I need to do to have more money in the future. I wasn't asking for money so that I could give it to a charity). Well, so I wrote the check, assuming that when they called in a month I'd have to tell them, reluctantly, not to cash it. And now the money's on it's way, and by the time they call, I should have the first installment of the money in my bank account. So what will I tell them? I mean, I don't think I really promised anyone or anything that I'd give that money to the charity, but maybe I did. I need to look for information on the organization that i gave the money to, do find out just what they're doing and where the money would be going. If I were to decide, uncoerced by people standing on my porch, trying their best to convince gullible little me, to give money to a charity, I don't think that the one that came to my door would be my first choice. *sigh* I guess that doesn't really matter. I'll look into the organization, and if they're actually doing what they told me they're doing, and all that, I guess I'll just let the money go through. It's just such an awful lot of money ($120). (did I mention that I'm easy to coerce?) Ok, so the charity thing isn't really a big deal. It's the other thing. The reduction in my expenses in a certain way was something that I definitely promised to do if I got this money. Um....anyone have any thoughts on this? I've never made promises like these before, and I guess I know better now than to make them in the future. I guess I ought to just do both of them. *sigh*. I don't want to be an asshole though. I mean, giving money to a charity doesn't make me an asshole, but the other thing that I have to do....well, it sort of does, at least in my own, warped mind.
 
 
Katherine
09:25 / 06.09.05
Not wanting to be harsh, but if you made a promise relating to the spell working then you should keep it.
Depending on the spell or if there are deities involved if you don't then you are breaking your side of the bargain.
 
 
Less searchable M0rd4nt
09:35 / 06.09.05
You might want to check up on that charity, at least. It doesn't sound reputable: someone tells you they have no money and you grind them down till they give you a check for $120? Also, unless I misunderstand, the charity donation wasn't part of the actual spell.
 
 
A0S
14:08 / 06.09.05
Toatally agree there, I work for a charity and that does not sound like aceptable charity behaviour at least here in the UK. I'm guessing American charities have similar rules. If I were you I would cancel the cheque and if you feel you should make a donation as part of the spell then make one to a charity who you know well or one of the big reputable charites like the Red Cross or similar.
 
 
Quantum
14:39 / 06.09.05
I'm a professional charity fundraiser, and they sound dodge to me. Cancel the cheque, check out the charity and if it's OK send them another cheque for the same amount (the door to door person was probably getting commission thus the pressure). They won't mind as long as they get the donation, the fundraiser already got the credit, everyone's happy.

If the charity seems bogus, donate ther same amount to a similar cause. That's what you promised, don't welsh on a magical deal dude. Don't look for excuses not to do it, you just came into a load of money, it's only fair to honour your side of the bargain.
 
 
Quantum
14:45 / 06.09.05
The reduction in my expenses in a certain way was something that I definitely promised to do if I got this money.
Then you have to do it. Where's the confusion?
 
 
fuckbaked
18:03 / 06.09.05
Ok, I'm going to give $120 to a charity. It probably won't be the one that came to my door, but I will give the money to a charity.

As for the reduction in my expenses, I suppose I should clarify that I still totally plan on doing what I said I would do, I just don't want to benefit from it, if that makes any sense. The people who're giving me the money would want to reduce it if they knew I were reducing my expenses in such a way, and the plan involved not telling them so that I could keep the money. Now I want to either tell them so that they can keep the extra money, or I want to do what I was planning on doing, but instead of doing it to get money out of it, do it to help someone else, and not get any money from it. I just feel like an asshole if I keep the money that I would get by reducing my expenses in such a way, and that was part of what I promised.

I'm feeling sort of guilty about this whole thing. I don't deserve this money.
 
 
Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero
18:36 / 06.09.05
My little story:

The first contact I had with Hermes (my first invocation...aww. The memories) I promised to set up shrines to him at every rest stop on the way from Detroit to Nashville (in exchange for safe travel and no persecution from police, as I was carrying enough pot to send me to jail). I was twenty minutes outside of Nashville, very excited about seeing my friends, and decided to skip the last rest stop thinking "hell, He'll understand".

Later that night I'm driving to a friend's university, smoking a blunt, when I get pulled over by a state trooper. Worst timing ever. I rolled down the window and smoke literally billowed out of my car into the cop's face. I was scared shitless.

The cop told me to slow down and let me go. I interpreted this as a warning both from the state of Tennessee and Hermes himself. My advice: do what you promised to do.
 
 
gale
15:54 / 07.09.05
Keep your promises--all of them. You will feel MUCH better.

You could give money to the hurricane survivors, if you're looking for a charity.

And next time you need money, why not get yourself a lodestone and let it train money for you (luckymojo.com has all the info you need). Then, use the instructions for Pietro (from the "a spirit for money" thread), and get the money into circulation. It's easy and it works.
 
 
daynah
20:15 / 07.09.05
In the future, set yourself up for success. Try making smaller promises, but then it's a sure thing you can keep them. I give five dollars to a charity every week. In Buddhism, we have uposatha days but until the day of, you never really say, "I'm going to take all the eight precepts." because who knows what may happen. Set yourself up to give small amounts and when you find you have some extra money lying around that you don't really need, then give a little boost off. Buuut if you do the same amount on a regular basis, it creates a pattern for you, will give you a constant flow of merit.

The "reduce your spending" goal, I think, is much more difficult to accomplish, though. Why? Because it's so arbitrary. There's no finish line to cross. There's no, "Yay! Good job!" at the end to make you feel good about yourself. My suggestion? For the first month, just write down everything you spend, even with cash. Try keeping a yellow sticky note in your wallet each day. At the end of the month, you'll know exactly what you spent money on and you'll be starting the habit of tracking your money. Now figure out what is an easy amount to cut out of your budget.

The key for the second month month is to cut out enough so that you don't even feel it. Really. Make it even an amount of money that you probably wouldn't have spent in the first place. The point is to give yourself a goal that you can accomplish easy so that you can feel good about yourself and have the drive to continue, instead of wanting to give up, or stilll worse, only doing this because of a promise. I'm going to use a geeky example... if someone gave you one of those middle school promise rings and kept to it but only because it was a promise, you really wouldn't like that would you?

Stick to your promises because you want to and because they're good things to do. Not because you have to. Then you'll just be miserable, or give up.

After the second month, give yourself enough to make you skip going out to eat maybe twice. And then I'd stay there for a while until you're used to it. At this point, I think, you'll be keeping your promise. But that's a personal choice for you. Only you know where that promise line is, and if you're anything close to a perfectionist like me, you'll want to write down a strict goalline for yourself now so that later you don't continuously move the goal in front of you so you'll never reach it.

Think of it as streching. You lean over and give your muscles just enough resistance to feel it, but not enough to hurt. Then stay at that level, where you just feel it, until it gets easy, before you move on to the next level.
 
 
eye landed
05:20 / 08.09.05
it seems the primary vector of magickal power that youve evoked is the generous entity who is giving you money. their action is the root of both the gift and the problem. thus your agreement with that entity should take precedence-- which should be pretty straightforward whether its an individual human or something else. (but i think an individuals feelings are more important than the god they might be representing.) if the money is meant to be cover the expenses you budgeted for them in the past, then you should tell them about the reduced budget. if its a no-strings-attached gift, then accept it graciously, and give excess to charity until you dont feel guilty anymore.
 
  
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