This is a FAQ that I have not yet added to the FAQ page at the website and it comes up all the time. When we talk about personal concerns what we are really talking about is how to create the best, most tangible link between yourself, the ritual work you are doing, and your target. I have seen spells work where there were NO personal concerns to go with, and I have seen spells fail where the worker had every piece of biological material you could possibly want--but those are the exceptions NOT the rules.
Generally speaking, the more of a connection you have to your target, the more likely your ritual work will be to succeed. And the strongest connections are provided by biological material--hair, nails, saliva, sexual fluid, skin, etc. Note: most professional workers will not work with clients' sexual fluids--I know that I don't--but I am always happy to provide magical coaching to clients who have obtained this excellent link to a target and wish to work with it. A common, common question is--what if I don't have any personal concerns? I always encourage folks in this situation to try to get personal concerns because there is no substitute for them. With that said, Hoodoo is a form of folk magic and as folk magicians we do work when and where it needs to happen. That means that if your boyfriend just walked out and you don't have any of his hair it shouldn't stop you from setting a reconciliation vigil light or doing a return to me type ritual. At the same time, you should be scrounging to see what personal concerns are around that you may be able to keep for future use. The most frustrating cases for workers and clients alike are those where the client has the expectation that all you need is magic and that even if you have no link to the target the magic can and should work--this stems from a fundamental lack of understanding about what magic really is and how it really works and also just plain, old fashioned impatience. If given a choice between a bunch of awesome conjure oils and a single strand of my target's hair, I am going to go with the hair each and every time. I cannot drive home hard enough how important this is, and I want client's to be educated about why some workers (like me) tend to harp on the subject. Afterall, if I am going to do ritual work for you I want you to get the biggest bang for your buck and while nothing can guarantee that, the right personal concerns can help a lot!
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