Hello, I have recently bought an object that is very precious to me and I want to protect it in some way. The object is a guitar. I don't know much about magic at all but I came here to ask a few questions about how I can protect the guitar and prevent it from being stolen.
1. Is it acceptable to pay someone for this kind of process? Are there any negative consequences that may fall upon myself or my guitar by incorporating some kind of transaction rather than the act being committed purely from generosity?
2. How are the spells applied? I would not mind if the guitar had to be engraved in some way - spell related items could even be stored in the guitar pickup compartments if they were small enough.
3. What kind of spells/enchantments are available? As far as I know there are kinds of protection spells but how do they work? Are there other spells/enchantments to will the object to return if it is displaced?
4. Are there risks with cursing an object? Ideally, I would like the guitar to only be played by those who receive my blessing (before or after being played, as long as it is received) and initially I assumed that some kind of curse could be placed on it, however the consequences of such an act are unknown to me. If the object is stolen and the thief is cursed do I then have to pay in someway for the effects they are exposed to?
First and foremost I'd like to address the backlash comments. Spellwork, whether it has good intentions or not, will always run the risk of backfiring on either the target or the caster. There is no one way to have complete and 100% guaranteed protection from anything. Witht that being said, if you're going to seek someone to do this for you (whether for financial compensation or not), please make sure you're researching that person and look at their work, reviews, and any comments made about them. Especially the bad ones.
After you've found your person, the rest of your questions should be able to be answered by them. Every practitioner does things differently, there is no one true way, so the answer to several of these questions varies person-to-person. However, to give you some ideas:
1) It is absolutely acceptable to pay someone to do this. Again, as I said earlier, make sure to give them a good look over to make sure they will be able to meet your specific needs. You run no more of a risk of things backfiring than you would if you did this yourself or someone else for free.
2) Again, if you're going to pay someone, this answer depends entirely on them and how they practice.
3) There are a ton of options available. There are actual spells that can be cast on the guitar, there are charms/talismans that can be placed anywhere on the object, or inside as you mentioned. Sigils or symbols either engraved into it as you also mentioned or placed inside, or somewhere on the object. Those are just a few examples.
4) Again, there is always the risk of backfire with anything cast whether its a protection spell or a hex/curse.
All of these can be asnwered more thoroughly between yourself and the person who does the work for you, if that is what you choose to do. Hope this helped.
The single best method of preventing theft is removing opportunity. Invest in a locking hard-case and use it. They protect the guitar from bumps and drops, and some have additional storage for replacement parts, picks, music sheets, etc. Some have built-in locks, others have ports in them for padlocks of your choosing. Both have their own benefits.
When not in use, secure the guitar and maybe store it in your closet or some other place that makes it generally out of sight. It doesn't need to be elaborate, just out of immediate view.
Never, ever leave it unattended inside your car. People will smash open a window for things as petty as the change in an ash-tray. This is especially important if you are travelling with it. Foreign plates or rental car logos are a siren song to people looking for a smash-and-grab.
Having a case also opens up options magically. It's already oriented towards protection, so it would be easier to use it as the seat of a spell to that same purpose. This way you could also avoid devaluing the guitar by laying any engravings, etc. on that instead. (That is unless you want to be metal, and make the sigil a part of some epic customized design. That would be neat too)
