The debate about whether or not it is right or ethical to
charge for workshops, classes and public rituals is a perennial one for sure.
Every so often someone loudly balks at having to pay for these services and
then the debate is on.
Very recently I witnessed such a debate on Facebook and
while I didn’t weigh in at the time as it was apparent that others had in well
in hand I thought I would weigh in with a different perspective than the one
most commonly offered. The usual retort for those who complain about paying is
explaining how Pagans stores need these funds to keep their doors open and how
the teachers of these classes also need these funds for expenses and while
these are true and valid reasons there is another that is equally if not more important
and that is the simple notion of value. If you are lucky enough to have a store
or a group in your area that does in fact offer these services for a fee then
you will have to decide if they are offering something that you want and what
it is worth to you.
There seems to be this rather fantasy idea that once upon a
time knowledge was freely given to all those who sought it. What is most true
about that statement is that it is a fantasy. If the knowledge is something of value
then it has always been the way that some exchange of value would be involved.
If you wanted to learn a craft or an art then you would either have had to have
been born into a lineage that taught it or you would have to apprentice with some
elder in that craft. Depending on the time and the culture that apprenticeship
would have to be paid for in some way. In some cultures an apprenticeship would
require a payment to the teacher but rather or not there was an exchange of
money or some other trade of goods the apprentice would be required to do a
great deal of work to pay for the knowledge often to a degree bordering on
slavery but in truth it was by the work that the knowledge was paid for. Even
if you were born into a family trade or craft you would have been required to
do much work for each little tidbit of knowledge. This served a two-fold
purpose; on one hand the work that the apprentice would do, which as often as
not would have had nothing to do with the actual craft being sought, would free
up the elder or teacher to practice the higher aspects of the art or craft and
it proved to the elder/teacher that the apprentice truly wanted to learn the
craft. In other words if you wanted the knowledge you had to be willing to work
for it.
While it may have been true that in ancient Pagan times that
the community rituals did not require a fee in the same way as they do today
you have to remember that the temples or the orders or the clergy of said
community were supported by the community. Again the way in which this support
would have been expressed would vary according to time and place and this has
not changed for the most part. Tithes and donations are the mainstay that
supports all of the religious organizations that exist even today. When I was a
little girl I was always very excited about being the one who got to put the
donation in the basket that passed down the long pews during Sunday mass. If a
Baptist or Catholic or Jew or a Buddhist wants to have a church or a temple to
go to they must pay for it; they must evaluate the value and pay accordingly
and many pay tithes that are set percentages of their incomes.
There are many old traditions often repeated in the Pagan
world such as never haggling over the price of a magickal tool, or if someone
gives you a knife as a present some token payment must be exchanged or the
knife will severe the relationship. As a practitioner of wort cunning I know
that when I harvest from the green realms I must pay in some way for what I
take; even land spirits require some exchange of value and I can tell you first
hand if what you offer is not enough then they will extract payment on their
own terms. Many of us even make offerings of value to our Gods when we ask for
their attention or help. If these traditions and practices are true then why
should we as Pagans not understand the need for an exchange of value?
In most cases when a store or group offers public rituals
for a fee then they usually add the caveat that no one it turned away for lack
of funds so if you feel that the ritual is something of value to you but you
can’t afford the asked for donation then why not just contact the facilitators
and ask them if there is something that you can do in lieu of monetary funds such
as help set up or clean up after. If you don’t feel that the ritual is worth
the fee or your work in lieu of the fee then don’t go and don’t complain. If
there is a class or a workshop that you feel would be of value to you but you
can’t afford the fee then contact the facilitators and see if you can work
something out; perhaps a reduced fee and trade for some service that you can
supply or goods that you can trade. Again if the knowledge being offered is of
value to you then you should have no problem offering something of value in
return.
If the opportunity to celebrate and worship with like-minded
people is of value to you or if the knowledge being offered at a class or
workshop is of value to you then you will not balk at having to exchange something
of value in return. What it all boils down to is this: it’s either something of
value to you or it’s not and if it’s not perhaps you should look elsewhere.
Blessings
Raven Womack
