I think it was in the works of Scott Cunningham that I first read that it was considered bad luck to haggle over the price of an essential tool for a magickal working. I think this probably extends to information, as well. People who give classes and workshops of good repute generally have to charge for them. But, this is a concern of the formal education in a group setting. I think the comments warning about getting taken for a lot of cash to be led down a road of personal development came from people like Dion Fortune, who saw a lot of wealthy wives and widows being taken advantage of by the kind of people Houdini was out to debunk.
Only the student can assess if (s)he is getting a quality course of instruction for the asking price. Anyway, I have always observed Lady Mimi to exhibit an exemplary level of logic and structure in her explanations. Everything I have ever heard or read from her has made really good sense.
But, sometimes in a group with a vested status system, there can be clashes in personal chemistry and consensus of priorities. Whey one joins a Christian church, one often finds a few good friends, yet encounters others who are not so friendly. If one did sign on with a church or coven and somehow find oneself in a nest of vampires, werewolves, or zombies, might as well put the money where it will do some good: with an independent practitioner who could supply some powerful formulas of protection and extrication.
If one did sign on for classes with a larger group, it wouldn't take too long to figure out who the poseurs and the real pundits were. Sometimes, they exist side by side, as in just about any university.
But, to help navigate when things become more complex, it is always a good idea to continue to read the books one finds suited to his/her own personal quest, so that one does not expect too much of others, whose interests are invariably less than identical with ones own. I notice that even the finest minds seem incapable of grasping the things most dear to the curious student, sometimes. Perhaps for the sake of the Mysteries, this is as it should be.
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