Prncez commented...
10/21/2008 - 16:55
Oh my goodness. You are good when you get into your "sleuth mode"! The picture on her website has changed from the one you have above. I'm suprised she used her real picture.
Prncez commented...
10/21/2008 - 18:17
Oh my goodness..I just looked at http://www.subliminalblackbook.org/ and it is s
Prncez commented...
10/21/2008 - 18:18
sorry about that..got carried away.
anyway, I looked at http://www.subliminalblackbook.org/ and it is EXACTLY the same as her website. Ummm...could they be more obvious??
Traegorn commented...
10/21/2008 - 18:57
I'm going to eventually find the information on every single spellcaster out there, just you wait. :P

Just... one at a time.
Prncez commented...
10/21/2008 - 20:24
I can't wait to hear news on the next victim....hopefully its Aisha Haadi. Guess, I'll have to be patient....bummer.
meep commented...
10/22/2008 - 8:29
Tasha has the same article posted all over the place with actually relatively fair-minded information about Wicca. However, in all cases it makes the same claims about her supposed temple. She has a few sites out there of her own, mostly with the same garbage story spouted over and over. The only thing that really (and I mean REALLY) bugs me about it is that she has a link up on the Wicca supplies page on religioustolerance.org. I have a lot of respect for that site and am disappointed that such a site, as well as a few other spellcaster sites, is posted as a resource on RT. I'm taking it upon myself to ask them to remove it and others.

I should mention that she actually uses her full real name in multiple places throughout the site including her legal section.

Meep
Traegorn commented...
10/22/2008 - 8:51
Yeah -- I found her legal name on her site afterward and felt kind of silly for having to dig for it.

The Article is in a "Free Article Database." Those are designed for SEO purposes, where sites can use them for free, but any links in them need to remain intact. That way, the website gets free promotion and moves up the search engine rankings for cheap.
SultrySkeptic commented...
10/22/2008 - 23:24
She also seems to be an amateur filmmaker of sorts...

http://www.tokenpictures.com/

I do sort of like the fact she uses her real name, though. I will give her that.

I may be going to the UK very soon...perhaps I can case out the Mailboxes Etc. in Bedford. Heh heh heh
Prncez commented...
10/23/2008 - 8:59
I have to give her credit for not immediately bailing out like fastspells did. Has anyone else noticed that the chick that she has claimed as her niece has a facial piercing that the picture on her website does not have?
Traegorn commented...
10/23/2008 - 9:43
Piercings are easily removed, and the hole isn't readily visible... I've known enough people with facial piercings, so I don't take much stock in that.

I will say she is right -- she changed the photo prior to my publishing this article. I just had the screenshots prepped ahead of time and she made the change in the interim.
Prncez commented...
10/23/2008 - 13:26
That is a true statement. Piercings can indeed be easily removed. I'm still shocked that she actually used her real name instead of a stage name. With the use of the world wide web it is too easy now a days to find people's information. Tsk.Tsk.Tsk.
meep commented...
10/23/2008 - 14:13
I gotta say, I'm inclined to believe her. Most of the postings around the net from the spellcaster Tasha are very consistant. The site itself, aside from the two spells on the love spells section involving free will (binding, etc) don't really appear to violate any standard Wiccan beliefs or practices. There are the witch laws involving charging for services or that Gardner drafted, but I know very few Wiccans, Gardnerians included, that follow those to the word, especially since some of them are rather bizarre.

Honestly I felt her site gave a rather fair view of Wicca considering how many truly attrocious claims are made in the name of Wicca even on Witchvox (on almost a daily basis, I might add).

The niece she speaks of also seems rather consistant throughout all of her sites, with only a slight variation in claimed age, probably due to the various levels of updating on the sites more than anything.

I really gotta say, I think she's at least legitimate to the degree that I don't feel she's out to intentionally scam anyone.

I'm still opposed to the spellcasting site concept in general on principle as well as on grounds of effectiveness. Again as I said in one of the RoR reports, it's all about will, and I'm not sure how much will you're going to get from a spellcaster who, empathy aside, has no dog in the race as far as the subject of the spell goes. She at least addresses this through some excersizes whe has her clients do. I'm just a bit of a doubter on this one.

I do feel very strongly opposed to the love spells section because binding an unwilling or unknowing target in my book is a black and white example of a Rede violation or at least an extremely strong risk of a violation thereof. I don't think it's a fundamentalist view of things. Indeed, the idea of directly targeted love spells being very risky business in regards to the 'harm ye none' clause is pretty widespread in the community at large. Often the best way to tell a 'fluffy bunny' from someone who's going to make it a lifetime commitment is the willingness to budge when it comes to love spells.

I'm willing to grant her a pass on the basis of it being an earnest and honest attempt at a business, but the ethics question still looms large for me on those grounds. I emailed her on it and am awaiting a reply.

The one and only piece I can't quite settle myself on is the temple she is supposedly running. It may very well be real, but even the informal 'temples' in peoples' living rooms around here in Madison have some sort of trace on the net. Aside from her articles, I can't seem to scrape up anything on her temple anywhere on the web. Perhaps I'm just not looking in the right places or perhaps it's a sign that there are still some questions.

None of my reservations are true game-killers and I've been a little hesitant to jump on this one as I did with the Reynolds case or with Frater.

Meep

PS I considered submitting this as a potential article, but it really is a direct comment to the page.
Prncez commented...
10/23/2008 - 16:11
How ironic...I feel that same way Meep does (I just emailed you on this one Trae) I'm not so gung ho to jump on the bandwagon on this one. However, I will keep my eyes and ears open.
Prncez commented...
10/23/2008 - 16:25
I just have to make another point that I may or may not have addressed before; This woman has been on the interent for almost 2 years and no one has ever complained on her until Mr. Dantalion started 'actin a fool'and accusing everyone with a heartbeat of being Trae. I serioulsy believe that HE is the one who initially submitted the false report on Tasha and HE has been the one posting all the negative reports on her. It is highly unlikely that everyone has decided to jump on the "tasha's a scam" bandwagon all in a matter of like 2 weeks? It just doesnt make any sense. I'm inclined to say that she is a big scammer. I do think there are some ethical or moral issues in question..but a bonafide scammer like Dantalion or Brittney Reynolds..I don't know if I can honestly say that at this point.
Prncez commented...
10/23/2008 - 16:28
I just wanted to clarify that the negative reports I think Dantalion started on Tasha was on the Rip Off Reports.
meep commented...
10/23/2008 - 16:44
Princez,
The only note I'll make is there is a possibility of a floodgates effect here. Just like the priest abuse scandals with Catholicism there could be a rush of folks coming out of the woodwork now that someone has filed a complaint. I don't think that's the case, but it's certainly a possibility. People can be very sheep-like under the right circumstances and if they feel cheated, they may not want to come out and say it. There's a similar psychological function in effect with the low reporting rate on rape cases.
Prncez commented...
10/23/2008 - 17:06
I can agree with that statement. Some are too ashamed to come out and admit to buying a spell and being scammed as a result. There are also those who don't know where actually go to file a complaint for these types of services.
Prncez commented...
10/23/2008 - 17:10
I don't know if this is a big deal or not, but I found this website and to me it has a lot of the same wording and offers some of the same spells as Tasha.
http://www.liveperson.com/expert/spirituality-religion/occult/spiritualpsychicadviser/
Prncez commented...
10/23/2008 - 18:05
This is the last comment I'm gonna post for the day...I promise. Ok. It is quite believable that most of the things she says maybetrue. But there are a few things that are nagging me. 1. Why is it that all these online spell casters have 20-25 years of experience. Seriously, when is the last time you saw one of these web sites claiming only 5 years of spell casting experience. 2. On Tasha's response page she wrote, "Steven handles all the payments for the website, hence, why the PayPal account is under his email.He takes care of the payments and any updates to the site." Which makes me wonder why Steven has been given this much power. I mean I understand that he is supposed to be computer saavy, but, that is still no excuse for him to have the PayPal account under his email and to allow him to handle payments. Sounds like a partnership to me. Most folks only allow someone they are in business with handle payments. I personally have a website with PayPal attached. All you really need is a valid bank account and SSN. And, I'm not going to lie, someone helped me set the website up and link PayPal to it because I sure as heck ain't computer saavy, BUT, I am the only one in control of payments and all emails come to me. Yes, I tend to over analzye so please forgive me. But something about Steve handling payments is not sitting well with me. Some may take that as him being in on the scam. Again, it may be nothing.
Traegorn commented...
10/23/2008 - 22:37
Meep: It just seems too convenient that the boyfriend of one Tasha Palladino is running the website of ANOTHER Tasha Palladino, don't you think? Why would he be so tied into this. Not to mention, the resemblance would have to be absolutely uncanny -- I don't look that much like any of my relatives, that's for sure.

If Tasha can somehow prove her story to me, then I'll redact my story (as in, a short video of two Tashas, holding up drivers licenses, both talking, proving they are separate people)... but until then I stand by my assessment. I firmly believe they are one and the same person.
meep commented...
10/24/2008 - 9:03
Yeah, there are definitely some things that are cause for questioning, and I really have no proof, per se. My only real point is that, unlike pretty much all the other sites out there, she really does present a decent face for Wicca aside from the concept of the site itself.

I got a reply back from her on the love spell thing. She stated it's really more of an attraction thing, though it's not worded all that well on the site. My only remaining ethical beef with the spells themselves then is the binding portion in that same section. She actually send me a very sane and sober reply. It was no 'I can help you get anything you want, just give me $800 and your bank routing number' and certainly nothing like Frater, who I am at a loss to even emulate.

I guess my caution is as a reult of one of the communities I post on out there on teh interwebs. A bunch of folks on there do readings, reiki, herbal cures, etc, and a few charge a minimal fee beyond materials. None of them are running anything close to a formal business, but they are 100% legit as far as I can tell. I'm odd as a pagan in that I'm still skeptical of how well it would work, but at least I know enough about them that so long as they haven't concocted a complete BS persona (not out of the question, for sure), they are the real deal. It just leads me to wonder if there are some folks out there running real businesses with no intention of scamming.

I don't know, the jury's definitely still out, but her site is far less absurd or offensive than the vast majority of those I see.

Meep
Prncez commented...
10/24/2008 - 9:32
Here is my final verdict on Ms. Tasha Palladino:

She has keen knowledge of the Wiccan Religion and probably really practices it. However, I have sincere doubts that she actually casts spells for clients that purchases her services. She does NOT have 20 years of experience. She is NOT married. Here are some more statements that she wrote on her response to Trae's articles that caused me to come to my final guilty verdict. "My husband oversaw and guided some of the design to the website." My response to that is, well, why did you need your niece's boyfriend to help you design. Why not just use your husband for all of it? Here's another one, "Palladino is my maiden name. I am not going to reveal my name by marriage" My response, Ok, why even reveal your last name period? Why be so "secretive" with your last name by marriage but tell the world your maiden name..especially if it may cause confusion in another family member's life (her supposed niece) And last but not least this statement, "My account (Pay Pal) has been in good standing for over 8 years." My response to that is, ummmm, your website has not been up for 8 years so how is your account in good standing? I did find myself with mixed emotions in regards to Tasha. I went from thinking she was a scam to thinking Trae may be wrong, to finally now KNOWING that something is not right with her story which to me is indicitive of a scam artist.
meep commented...
10/24/2008 - 13:35
I don't think it unusual at all that she would look like her niece. There was a picture on the wall inthe house I grew up in of my grandfather. I looked so much like the picture people regularly asked where my mom got such a great old-fashioned portrait of me. The same has been said of pictures of my father. And here's the kicker, I'm adopted. I'm not actually blood related to either of them. My adoptive sister also very closely resembles my half sister to the point that I've confused them in pictures. Again, no blood relation whatsoever. I'll agree it's not common, but it really is well within the realm of possibility.

As for the paypal reservations, you don't need to have a business to have a paypal account. In fact I'd venture to say the vast majority of paypal accounts are not attached to businesses. So there's nothing to say she hasn't had an account in good standing for eight years up to and including the two years her business has been in operation. This is not only possible but extremely likely if it is indeed her niece's boyfriend's account. Furthermore, at one point the convention mentioned elsewhere on this site was run off of my paypal account. Granted, at that point I was a co-chair of the convention, but I didn't start a business account for the con itself until two years into it's operation. And note, I was a co-chair, not an owner or a partner. I wasn't even the treasurer. The wisdom of leaving her finances to a third party could certainly be questioned, but again, not a game killer.

I also will take a few notes from her playbook and mention that her fees are abnormally low for such a site, very much in line with her claims that it largely covers the cost of running the site/business. Additionally, the spells she claims to cast are very reasonable and not impossible for someone to undertake. They are certainly not the '8 hour ritual to cure cancer' that fastspells claimed to do. (I just noticed the irony of the fastspells name considering the length of the rituals they claimed to perform as a side note.

As for the liveperson site with similar wording, it's clearly a cut and paste job of the worst kind. It seems illogical to me that they would have one site that was well-designed and structured, and then another that is a complete hack job with terrible formatting, no sections, and not even so much as a paragraph break. The fact that it is mixed in with various absurdly overblown claims not contained on the witchraft spells now site, and the fact that the hack site is supposed to be a psychic and not a spellcaster leads me to believe it was, indeed copied and pasted from the witchraftspellsnow site, and likely by someone else. And the subliminalblackbook site looks like hers asthetically, but has absolutely zero similar content as far as I can see. That's very easily the result of templating. That goes on in every corner of the internet. Almost no one other than medium to large corporations creates their designs from scratch unless they, like Trae, have the actual skill set required.

And finally, she said her husband oversaw the design process. Nowhere did she say he actually designed it or that he had any hand in the coding or layout other than an advisory role. This is hardly splitting hairs. I can code, but my designs stink, which is why I don't maintain my own site. And a lot of people have a great design aesthetic but little if any knowledge of coding or even graphical layout methods.

Again, I have no way to prove any of this, but I think I've demonstrated here that there is no proof to the contrary either. The statements for and against have been entirely circumstatial. And while this is certainly not a court of law, I do still feel a guilty verdict has been rendered too hastily. And also to restate, I am not supporting her site one way or another. In my email to her I expressed my opposition to spellcaster for hire sites as well as my reservations with some of her practices in the love spells section. But I just can't shake the fact that she seems genuine at least in so far as her intentions aren't as off-base as fastspells or FD.

meep commented...
10/24/2008 - 13:43
And a final note. The response on her site seemed very reasoned and calm. She made no accusations against Trae and even offered a relatively even-handed treatment of FD that he really didn't deserve. She didn't make her response any kind of dramatic indictment of her competitors, nor did she make it a marketing ploy to say 'see this is why I'm genuine and they aren't'. She hasn't made erratic changes to her site or pulled down sections, and really hasn't displayed any of the typical behavior attributed to the owners of sites like this. It really just seems like a small business owner trying to do some damage control to me.

Perhaps I'm being duped here. Perhaps the sane and sober thing is just a show. But she just doesn't fit the profile so far as I have seen.
Traegorn commented...
10/24/2008 - 14:01
Well, I'm still of the strong belief that there's only one Tasha right now.

Funny note: Dantalion is trying to say on Rip off Report that my posting the link to Tasha's response somehow means that she and I are the same person. Could someone explain to me how that makes sense on any level?
Prncez commented...
10/24/2008 - 14:22
Meep you'd make a great Attorney.
Prncez commented...
10/24/2008 - 14:35
Trae, I did see the message from "Scam Guard" on ROR. It's so obvious that's Dantalion. He gave it away by the "mutley, he, he, he" line. What's funny is when you go on her website now, you can't find the link. I know it was there before.

Meep, the comment I made about you being an Attorney was a compliment by the way. I completely understand where you are coming from. My guilty verdict still stands until the defendant can prove otherwise. *bangs gavel*
meep commented...
10/24/2008 - 15:35
The Dantalion thing is just too ridiculous for words. I really am in stiches over it. I'm not even bothering to refute any of it anymore.

Thanks, Princez. Trae can vouch for me on this one. The people we used to associate with almost forced you to be overly detailed in order to cover your bases. It's pretty evident in the admirable amount of detail Trae goes into with his research as well, though I think he's got other reasons for his meticulous work as well.
Traegorn commented...
10/24/2008 - 16:21
Mostly it's because I'm anal retentive when it comes to detail in research.

It helped me get that Political Science degree at least...
SultrySkeptic commented...
10/24/2008 - 18:06
Could be same person, but if she is indeed the 24-year-old niece, the writing appears to be that of someone a bit older? Who knows. But I don't get a huge overwhelming vibe of "evil con artist" off of her. Plus, her prices are cheap. It's obvious people are willing to pay top dollar for this shite. Hell, Dantalion charges over $1000 for some of his crap.

She also seemed to address the accusations in a pretty fair and rational manner. I'll give her that.
Traegorn commented...
10/24/2008 - 19:23
I wouldn't judge writing style as an indicator of age. I've known 16 year olds who can write brilliant phrases and 52 year olds who couldn't string two sentences together.
Traegorn commented...
10/24/2008 - 20:33
Honestly, her story just doesn't sit right in my gut, which is why I need some sort of proof before I get close to buying it.

The only scenario that's believable to me until then is the one I spell out.

That said, as she's been at least rational and polite, I have to give her at least some credit -- and I maintain that I'm willing to hear out anything she has to say.
SultrySkeptic commented...
10/24/2008 - 22:21
What I think was good is that she said you were entitled to your beliefs and pointed them out. None of the "Trae Dorn is so full of shit" crap done to an insane degree by the eloquent Dantalion.
Prncez commented...
10/25/2008 - 18:14
The following article claims that the Ill-Alli Temple has been up and running since 2001;

http://www.spirit-alembic.com/community.html

The next article states that Tasha was 35 when she purchased the temple:

http://www.wonderfulwicca.com/witchcraft__wicca.htm

That would make her around 42 or 43 (maybe even older) right? The woman in the photo does not look like someone in their 40’s. This may not mean anything seeing as though my own mother is in her mid 50’s and she still gets carded when she buys alcohol. Nonetheless, I found the information quite interesting. Although I think she is still guilty. I can't get over the fact that she lied about having a husband and children. I mean, I can understand Brittney Reynold's (of the former fastspells website) crazy lie about having a book out called "A Walk" or even Frater Dantalion's lie about offering witchcraft courses to make their business's sound more legit. But, I just don't understand how having a faked up family add's to anyone's legitamacy.
schizbabe commented...
10/25/2008 - 19:49
I am not convinced in the least bit, I am sorry. There is still something off about this story. though it is possible for aunt and neice to share the same name, the explanation is just too convient. She does cover every base. I have to give her that a great explanation for if the website closes down. Looking closely at the picture even this Tasha is to young to have that kind of experience. If her husband knows how to work the computer, why is he not taking care of the payments, your telling me that a 35 or 40 year old man is comfortable allowing a kid to be in charge of his personal family finances? I am not buying this people. Don't you think that there may be some one more qualified? So if the website closes it is because steven got scared, apparently steven has a reason to be scared. Sometimes the best response to lies is no response, of course not all the time. but sometimes. Something is just not right. Another thing she says is that she is not trying to get rich, this may not be true but lets say she gets an order for 5 spells a day and of course that is a 150 a day. Not to mention the real desperate people that think maybe we need to go stronger or maybe we need to just do it again for extra strength. And not to mention all the ones that don't really care about loosing 30 dollars or even 100 dollars, it is easy to slip through the cracks for a undeclosed amount of time, until someone finds out where they are from and decides to expose them. even 150.00 a day is about a thousand dollars a week. No you might not get rich but it is a good living. So of course we are not talking about skrimps and cavier, but they are not missing any meals. Just because someone has slipped through the cracks for a while it does give them a small voice, but the facts are still facts.
SultrySkeptic commented...
10/26/2008 - 22:58
Do you think these people make that much cash a day? With all the spell casters running around the internet, just seems odd...and how many people are running around getting spells cast, anyway?

I just said think this site isn't as bad as most of them out there. It amazes me that some people are charging hundreds of dollars for such nonsense. I am not a wiccan, but I have some friends who are and I know that while many subscribe to not doing spells for others or performing controlling spells, there are some in the community who do? Obviously, Trae and others on here know more about this than I do.

Once a week or so, I read through ROR because some of the stuff posted on there is too damn hilarious. Look up "Keen" and "Chip Coffey" to find this thread with a supposed psychic named Beatrice. She posts and posts and posts, things about John Belushi and Elvis talking to her, and her good friend Billy Zane...it's so insane. Yet I get a chuckle. It can be some pretty random entertainment, that ROR.
Prncez commented...
10/27/2008 - 9:18
I know what you mean Sultry Skeptic. I find myself reading the ROR's for daily entertainment. It's like reading the comics section of the Saturday Newspaper to me. I get a kick out of it
meep commented...
10/27/2008 - 13:26
The only thing that doesn't jive with my earlier portrayal of the situation is the number of times the same text appears throughout the internet. If yuo follow the wonderful-wicca link above, you'll see it. That text appears verbatim in several other locations. I've seen it at least 4 or 5 times and I wasn't actually searching for the text, but for Tasha Palladino.

Now, it may be that it's cheap plugging for her site. But it was the rpeamble to a site selling packages of materials (including books) on wicca at absurdly low prices. The wonderful wicca site has a 24-hour number listed on it for someone that is not even mentioned in the text or anywhere else on Tasha's apparent main site.

Again, if Tasha's marketing is good, there's nothing saying other sites might not copy her text wholesale. But I'd be curious to see if they are all owned by her or if at least a lot of them are. I don't have the time, personally, to do much looking into it, but it may be a line of evidence that casts even more doubt on the possible scenario I portrayed.

Again, in that situation I was playing devil's advocate. I'm wavering somewhere between good-intentioned but unethical, and more ethical/accurate but still a scam.
schizbabe commented...
10/27/2008 - 16:46
Hey all, I am so sorry for not introducing myself earlier i am new and I look forward to many long talks with my new paranormal busters buddies...LOL

Now if you want ethical or non ethical here is a question for all. Put on your slueth mode shoes Trae...

Which website is real...AncientBlackMagic.com or Forbiddenblackmagic.com

I found this whole thing incredibly funny yet odd.
Traegorn commented...
10/27/2008 - 16:56
@Schizbabe - My money is on neither.
schizbabe commented...
10/27/2008 - 18:53
I know RIGHT!
SultrySkeptic commented...
10/27/2008 - 18:56
Stock photography makes me giggle.
Tasha commented...
2/18/2012 - 2:26
ok um.. i would like someone to please contact me about this please. I am the real Tasha and what I am seeing here does not make me happy at all. Please contact me privately if u can.
Tasha commented...
2/18/2012 - 12:51
Thankyou so very much for reposting the email I sent you Trae. Hi everyone and yes I am the real Tasha Palladino. I am so happy now that finally the truth has been revealed and now everyone can know that Steven Hanna was taking full responsibility of creating that site and doing whatever else he did on there. I had no take in any of it, nor was I taking part in any of the money that was being made on that site. Once again Trae, thankyou so very much for this. All I am saying is people watch out for those witchcraft spell sites, they just might all be scams. I wouldn't even think to want to buy any spell of some sort on the internet. You have no proof as to how it will work. :D