#pathandpreformative

Let's start with a really easy one. Read it over and ask yourself: Is this an advertisement?

[Link to the original]

Is this an advertisement? ... Yes! It is! This is an advertisement for limited-slot free tarot readings. The purpose is to provide the freebies because it's fun, but also because I offer tarot readings as paid services!

Offering free readings is an excellent and enjoyable way to expose my work to more people. It displays my skills and my personality while giving me the opportunity to link to my paid services a whole bunch.

You can tell it's an ad, because:

A particular service is being offered within the post

Links to extended services (in this case, paid services or tipping) are provided

It contains instructions for how to receive the thing being offered

Even if there were no links for exchanging money on here, it would still technically be an advertisement. Advertising is specifically "the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service" (Wikipedia, accessed Jun 18, 2026). Though the service in question is free, it's still an ad.

Not only that, but every ask I answered with tarot readings is, in a way, also an advertisement. Again, the purpose is to display my skills and link to where people can receive paid services from me.

Personally, I wouldn't do the free tarot if it wasn't fun and if I didn't have the energy for it (which is why you might notice a lack of free tarot sessions lately!). But I don't think there's anything wrong with using this as an advertising strategy, specifically because it's the most honest method I can think of. If the skills aren't there, the free readings will be garbage, and the paid ones won't take off.

How about a tougher one next -- is this an advertisement?

(For context, I start offering year ahead tarot readings every year around late November into January.)

[Original post]

Is this an advertisement? ... Nope! It isn't! Although this post references the year ahead readings I was offering at the time, it isn't an advertisement.

There aren't any products or services actually being touted here. Again, the post references the year ahead readings, but there aren't any links to the listings or even to the page where they were being offered. They're being mentioned as context for the question I wanted to ask, which was whether other people were doing year aheads and seeing the same patterns.

This post isn't an ad; it's a conversation starter about year ahead readings in general. While it might expose someone to my services, it isn't a call for them to buy. However, I could see the argument that this is an advertisement, simply because it has the potential to inspire someone to click through my blog for links to the services. But if that's the case, then every post I make is an ad -- because every post has potential to inspire curiosity, and that might lead to a sale.

It's an uncharitable take, one that I would hesitate to make even against someone I really, really dislike or distrust.

Let's do another easy one. Is this an advertisement?

[Original post]

Is this an advertisement? ... Of course not! It's a silly post joking about a set of spells I was working on as a favor for someone I know. Note the "#my practice" tag and a lack of links to anything.

Not only that, but I don't offer spell services! This could only be construed as an advertisement in an extremely bad-faith interpretation if I sold spells.

Another easy one... Is this an advertisement?

[Original post]

Is this an advertisement? ... Yes! Yes, it is! This is very clearly an advertisement for the webring I created. Check out all the tags I put on this for visibility, too!

This post is advertising a service to a particular demographic, with links for people to join. The webring is free, but this is still an ad meant to inform people about its existence and entice them to join.

Alright, what about this one? Is this an advertisement?

(This post is partly cut off, but the contents are just recipe ingredients and instructions.)

[Original post]

Is this an advertisement? ... Sorta! Mostly, it isn't, but part of it is.

For transparency, on a post like this, I would typically link to my Ko-fi so that if folks like my work, they can click through to tip me. Why? Because I work for myself, and this is my gig. My partner is our breadwinner, but I bring in a little bit with the work I do to help pay our bills and pad out our savings. I didn't link to it on this post, but I usually do.

That's why it's sort of an advertisement. The post itself isn't necessarily an ad. It's just a set of recipes I wrote. It does also mention commissions, because that was the origin of the base recipe, which could be construed as an advertisement for those. I also link to a better-formatted version of the post my website, so this could be considered an ad for that, too.

My intention wasn't to have this be an ad... mostly because the lead-up was an ad. There's a version of this post that links to the article on Ko-fi, because it was up in early access for supporters. Again, I do this as a perk for folks who decide they like my work enough to throw money at me about it. It's a "thanks" for dollars. That post was 100% an advertisement. This one, not so much, but it could be interpreted that way, and I would say that's pretty fair either way.

One more screenshot, because the context of the original quote was bitching about people posting photos of spellwork/altars "performatively." Is this an advertisement?

[Original post]

Is this post an advertisement? ... Fuck no! This is an aesthetically-pleasing photo I took of an altar arranged specifically to be aesthetically pleasing. It was featured in a live stream vigil for Trans Day of Remembrance, which is why I took extra care to make it look very pretty. It was a public space, and I wanted people to feel drawn to it and welcome. A pleasing appearance is crucial for that sort of thing.

The posts leading up to this one might be considered ads, specifically for the livestream event itself. If this post is advertising anything, it's advertising my staunch solidarity with my fellow trans people, our collective grief, and blazing, furious hope for the future.

"But that's not the kind of thing the original person meant!" What did they mean, then? People sharing pictures of candles they poured by hand for personal rituals? Diviners posting photos of their daily tarot draw with their musings on the meanings? Witches making pretty collages or artsy edits of spells on pleasing-looking altars?

The environment is different on other apps/websites, but the core principle remains the same: Not everything is an advertisement, even when someone has something for sale.

Bonus Points: Is this post an advertisement??

That's right -- the post you're reading right now! Is this an ad? After all, I've:

Linked to a bunch of my own posts

Shared screenshots of my own posts

Talked about services I offer

Talked about that webring I run

Linked to posts that contain links to places where you can pay me

Linked to Ko-fi right here (GASP!), because it's my post and I can and if you like my work you can chuck dollars at me (semi-joking -- I prefer commissions over tips, because then you Receive Something Tangible in return)

Well? Is it an ad? ... No, not really! Well, not until I added that link to Ko-fi. C'est la vie.

The screenshots and links provided here are shown for the sake of discussion. Without them, this post would become a series of vague hand-waves complaining about absolutely nothing in particular, with nothing to show and no proof to give. Examples are crucial in these kinds of conversations, in my opinion, and I'd rather use myself as target than someone else.

To be perfectly clear: There is nothing wrong with advertising your work, your services, your products, or your business. You are allowed to make posts designed to attract eyes to your work, whether or not you're making money off it. That's, like, the whole fucking point of social media -- to gain attention and meet others in the digital space. It's social. Get with it.