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As far as "payment," money works well too. A few coins thoughtfully left there will do the trick, and speak a thank you, of course. I leave gifts for plants when I harvest from them, like I did with some sage I picked recently to make some smudge bundles, for example. Really, it's just a symbolic gesture saying to Nature (or God/Goddess, or the Universe, whatever) that you respect life and realize one must give as well as receive, that you "pay" for what you take, shows Spiritual integrity.
Same with going home a different way --it's symbolic. There are lots of cultures where when you walk in a straight line, it's believed that you open yourself up to spiritual darks and arrows. So, you break up how you walk, like take a different return route, or take a turn you don't really need to take then get back on the path, etc. In this case, I think DM's suggestion was symbolic of not letting anything unwanted "latch onto you" when you leave the cemetery, what firebirdflys calls "hitchhikers." If you don't have an alternate route home, just clean yourself when you get home, same as you would do before an important ritual or something (sage smudge, a shower, or whatever your chosen method is). It's symbolic to let the spirit world know you are not a patsy and any spiritual leeches are not welcomed in your life. Sometimes negative things hang out at cemeteries.
As far as graveyard dirt, yes, it's a common practice to use it in hoodoo spells. It carries the vibrations of life, of souls once living in this density. It's more personalized when you incorporate ancestor dirt in your spells. It's a way to connect to them, to have them work with you as allies. If you can't use ancestor dirt, you could personalize general grave yard dirt in a number of ways. Sit in meditation and ask your ancestor how you might do that. They will give you suggestions. After all,
they are the ones you are trying to connect with. So, if a person is not close to the cemetery of his ancestors, yet he wanted to employ graveyard dirt in a spell, he would just "purchase' it from a nearby cemetery, then "dress" it (add things to it to energetically alter it) accordingly.
Cat Yronwode suggested personalizing graveyard dirt this way: hold the container with the dirt and think real hard about something highly emotional to you until it makes you cry. Allow your tears to drop onto the dirt in the container. Do this daily for 30 days straight. Your ancestors will be moved by this emotion, and the dirt will be charged with their presence. There was a hoodoo healing spell I saw once where it was suggested to take a picture of a family member that's having a health or other major problem, put it on your altar, and sprinkle a line of ancestor graveyard dirt around it. Symbolically, it was a way of asking the ancestors to "wrap their arms around" this person and help them heal.
OK, one last thing...to the
Earth Employment Spell you posted yesterday, I would suggest using dirt from the intended place of employment if it is close enough to get to. I think that would really amp up the spell. If there is no dirt on the location, I would try to break off a small piece of brick if possible. When you get home, pulverize the brick a little (wrap it in a bandana and hit it with a hammer), then put the pieces in a mortar and pestle and grind it to a fine grit. Again, if you can't get to the location (it's out of state, say), then get some "generic" dirt from a building that has a similar purpose (for example, use the dirt from a nearby post office to "stand in" for the out-of-state post office). To energetically personalize it, go on the company website and print an image of the building (and/or the company logo, etc.). Burn this paper with these images in your cauldron. Then, add these ashes to the dirt.
Whenever you go to gather dirt, remember to take a jar with you! Once I didn't have one with me, and had to shove a hand full of sand into my pocket, lol. Also, let the dirt dry first before working with it, otherwise it gets pretty stinky.
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