nature of payment

[belun]

how do you pay, preferably in advance, or choose what to pay(if that is even possible, but i would suspect it is)/know what you are going to pay for a magic ritual/for a cast to happen/for what you asked for to happen?

something has to happen, in the real work, for your magick to happen. how can you tell the price?

and if you can point me to some literature that mentions this, that would be awesome.

[Desecrated]

Well, different traditions have different ideas about this.

But it's mostly about cause and effect. If I want to divert a river, I don't have to "pay" for that. BUT, I might get wet. Working with water has the consequence that sometimes you get wet.
When working with fire, you don't always get burned, but you do get warm.

If you cast a love spell, you don't have to pay for it. But you might sprinkle some love into your own life at the same time. Same thing with curses, If you curse someone else, it doesn't have to be coming back 3 times over, or destroy your entire life, but it usually sips over to you a little bit anyway.
Every action has a counter reaction.

For others who work with entities there might be more of a price to pay. It seems like gods and spirits can be a bit greedy. OR as somebody said, if you ask a friend to help move your furniture, at least pay his gas.
If you are going to include somebody else then yourself in your spells, make sure that person(entity/deity is compensated fairly. It increases the chance of success.

[cyberdemon]

well.. when doing spells, you don't really get to choose how, what, nor when, to pay. just know that something will be taken in exchange and be prepared to deal with whatever that loss is.

[the_spiral]

You don't negotiate payment when casting spells, the Universe decides that. But if you are working with a spirit, why not ask what they want as payment? And make sure to pay on time. Word gets around.

[Calicifer]

Well if a law of thrice were true then I would be dead already.

As far as I know, everything was free to me and my friends who are dealing with it. Well, relatevely free, staking at most your own honor for making demons to work for you. I agree with others, just be humble and ask that they want. Often it is nothing at all.

[ghawke2]

Well, different traditions have different ideas about this.

But it's mostly about cause and effect. If I want to divert a river, I don't have to "pay" for that. BUT, I might get wet. Working with water has the consequence that sometimes you get wet.
When working with fire, you don't always get burned, but you do get warm.

If you cast a love spell, you don't have to pay for it. But you might sprinkle some love into your own life at the same time. Same thing with curses, If you curse someone else, it doesn't have to be coming back 3 times over, or destroy your entire life, but it usually sips over to you a little bit anyway.
Every action has a counter reaction.

For others who work with entities there might be more of a price to pay. It seems like gods and spirits can be a bit greedy. OR as somebody said, if you ask a friend to help move your furniture, at least pay his gas.
If you are going to include somebody else then yourself in your spells, make sure that person(entity/deity is compensated fairly. It increases the chance of success.

Interesting. I ended up doing a banishment ritual, 30 days of no sex or gratifcation, and on Summer solstice eve I went down to my city gardens with a homemade poem to three different love goddesses from different European pantheons, asking for them to attract a certain woman to me, (I was going through MASSIVE heartache at the time) and since that special release, the ritual reading, the meditation at the park at sunset on the longest night of the year, I've met two women who come closer and closer to meeting that description. Thing is, now that I now more, I'm not sure what payment would be if what I seek actually occurs by this solstice. H mm...