I can always tell when someone is just parroting what they've learned online/in books/from some silly "hoodoo course". They might know some of the magic, but they have no history, no point of reference. People are being taught by "workers" who were themselves self-taught, and those "workers" focus only on the "magic". They might know a few "superstitions", but they write them off, thinking they're not important. They are wrong wrong wrong.
Our "superstitions" are absolutely a part of conjure. They are part of its heart and soul. They help one to understand why we do certain things the way we do. One can learn the use of every root, memorize all the Psalms... but if you don't understand why my dad won't take the boat out on a day with a red sunrise, or why my mom blesses herself every time she passes a cemetery or funeral procession, or why I never scratch my right palm when it itches, then you don't truly understand conjure.
It's the difference between someone who went to school for 4 years to become a French chef and a French person who has been raised on the cuisine. The person raised on it knows it inside and out intuitively. They also know things not taught in school, like food etiquette and taboos. That's not to say the one with the degree can't become a great chef, but it takes years of immersion to truly get it.
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