About Charging for Pagan Services

This editorial piece was written in the context of Pagan Ritual Etiquette. I removed it from the original article because, although it was related to the article in question, it was off-topic.

As the author of this piece, I will state my own personal opinion on the practice of applying fees to spiritual practice. It is strictly my own opinion and while some may agree, many do not for their own reasons. I respect their right to choose not to charge, but this my take on the matter.
-- Hobbes, April 2016

The reason this is a controversial topic is that some specific Pagan traditions frown upon the charging of money for spiritual practice. This position has a long history and decades of debate and discussion behind it, but it stems from a fear of potential corruption and greed.

In regards to organizing Public Rituals specifically, there are costs that are involved. There are supplies that are purchased, there are venues and rooms that must be rented, and there are a myriad of other expenses involved. Often, the Ritual Organizers are not paid for their time and expertise and that is completely their choice.

That being said, I feel it is unethical to expect that the Ritual Organizer should also bear the risk of the expenses to offer this public service. Charging a nominal fee ($5/person/event) allows the participants to crowdfund the event, reducing the financial risk and stress to the Organizer, and help to cover the expenses. It is not ethical to expect the Ritual Organizer to pay for everything and the participants to sacrifice nothing for the experience in which they took part.

In my own experience, too often did I see barely $50 raised from a passed hat at a ritual that had 40 participants. When the venue costs $125 for a studio for 4 hours and the supplies cost $20, it's the Organizers that must cover the loss.

And even when they do so happily, they still get criticized and attacked for a myriad of reasons by their own community. When this happens too often, vital and essential Ritual Organizers start to question why they are putting themselves out for an ungrateful community. Eventually, they burn out and leave the community, which hurts everyone. This means that only communities that have rich Pagans can enjoy the benefit of Pagan services and events.

This fear of money leads to an entitled culture that believes that spiritual services should always be free and that community leaders owe their communities their time, knowledge, and support without having their own needs met or recognized in meaningful, practical ways.

I personally feel that this is unethical and unsustainable practice and requires us to culturally shift away from it if we want our communities to thrive.