Q: A client on a budget has a few separate issues going on, some of which are big, messy, or long-standing; she wants to have a light set and writes to ask whether she should choose a taper light instead of a vigil light setting.
A: Maybe – while you would probably want to do some sort of spiritual work aimed at these other goals, since they are all going to require different approaches/specifics, and while taper light settings cost less to have set than vigil light settings do, I’m not sure if light settings are the best route for all your goals or not. While they rarely hurt, it sounds like money is a concern for you right now. So I would encourage you to try to get the most “bang” for your buck. Honestly, a taper light setting is inexpensive, but it’s also not a lot of “bang” when you are talking about big, complex, and/or longstanding situations. A vigil light setting would probably be better for two reasons:
First, it works for a week instead of a couple of hours. That’s a lot more “pressure” or “juice” being put towards your goals spiritually, and is a better deal in terms of how much altar time your goals get per dollar spent. (Taper light settings are usually set before or during a crucial time, while other, longer-term work is ongoing. For instance, if you have a Crown of Success mojo bag and had some Crown of Success altar work done towards getting a new job, and you had an interview on Friday, you might have a taper light set the night before the interview. Or you might have a taper light set to give a quick, focused “boost” to some type of work you’re doing at home. But a single taper light, by itself, would generally not be what most workers would recommend for anything with deep roots or complex situations.) Second, a vigil light setting with report will give you more information about whatever goal it was set for. While it will not go into the same amount of detail as a consultation, it will give you a lot more detail than a taper light usually will.
However, when you are talking about “bang for your buck,” the best value probably comes in with coaching sessions. These are good *if* you already know what the best route to take is, and *if* you are comfortable doing work on your own behalf. You could have a coaching session or consultation for advice/guidance that focused on Road Opener work you could undertake at home towards removing [x] obstacle, and the session would outline how to get or make the stuff you need and how to perform whatever kind of rite you decided on (such as a spiritual bath combined with light setting, or creation of a spell bottle combined with “fixing” your office with spiritual powders, for instance).
If you are not positive of the best route, and/or you are not already comfortable doing your own work, and/or you do want some type of feedback/advice but don’t want to wait on a consultation before having some spiritual work started, *then* my suggestion would be a vigil light setting first.
Big Lucky Hoodoo 