Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Witchcraft 101: Ethics

Welcome everyone! Today I want to talk about a slightly controversial topic, witchy ethics. This is a topic that has been debated forever, but I wanted to add a lesson about ethics before I go into other aspects, because I feel it is something that should be touched on. So here we go.
Unlike Christianity, witchcraft doesn't have a list of commandments that must be followed to avoid going to hell. Wicca on the other hand does have a set of guidelines, which you are expected to live by. Those guidelines are called The Wiccan Rede. I won't share the full version of the rede because it is rather long, but please click here and read it in it's entirety. The Rede is normally shortened to "An' it harm none, do what you will." So, today I want to focus on what that means. 
That short little saying packs a lot of meaning into just eight words. "An' it harm none." What exactly does that mean? To me it means do not harm others purposely, do not harm animals, do not harm the planet, and most especially do not harm yourself. So the first part of that is pretty easy right? Don't cast spells to purposely harm people, although that's just a basic thing right now, I'll discuss more about that in depth later. But I take that to mean, don't mess with someone's free will. Such as, if you see a woman's husband and decide you want him for your own, don't cast spells to take him away from her and make him yours. There are more reasons behind that than me just following the "An' it harm none," rule. 
Knight and I actually had this discussion a while back. His sister has a friend that lives in New Orleans (or NOLA, whatever you feel like calling that beautiful and mysterious crescent city) who does controlling spells on her significant other. She has his undies buried in the yard, and she makes him a special steak each month enhanced with her menstrual blood. These are all things she does to keep him faithful and keep him with her. Knight heard about that, and knew that I worked spells and magick, and he looked at me and was like please don't ever do that to me. So, while I'm not judging the person for doing that, because she is of different beliefs to me, I'm saying I personally wouldn't do that, and here's why. Knight was terrified at the thought of not having his own free will. 
Our relationship works because we both know that either one of us has the right to call it quits if we want to, we have the free will to walk out the door whenever we feel like it. But also, because a man needs to know that they are in control of their own life. The biggest reason I have never done anything like that, even when we were separated? I need to know, in my soul, that he is here and invested in this relationship because he wants to be, not because I controlled the situation with magick. I need to know that he really does love me because of his own reasons, not because of magick that can be reversed. Plus, who actually wants to work a spell for the rest of their lives, just to keep someone around? Especially when there's a chance someone else could break that spell and you would end up having to do it all over again, plus fight the person breaking the spell, Gods it sounds so exhausting just typing it out. It would be a never ending struggle. That is the biggest reason you shouldn't cast spells to control a person, whether for love or whatever. 
Of course there are certain exceptions to that rule. If someone in your life is dragging you down, say someone who is trying to get you to do drugs (and you're a recovering addict) there is nothing wrong with doing a spell to banish that person from your life. Unfortunately, there are people out in the world that either inadvertently, or purposely, want to cause you harm. Protecting yourself and getting those people out of your life is not bad. This is where the part of do not harm yourself comes into play. You must protect yourself, and your family, and your home. By keeping those kinds of people in your life, knowingly, you are causing harm to yourself. So, by banishing those people, especially if done in a way that doesn't cause them harm, it just makes them go away and leave you alone, then you are still within the harm none rule. Not harming yourself covers all kinds of things. Purposely cutting yourself, doing harmful drugs and knowing what they do to your body, surrounding yourself with negativity, these are all things that harm you. They should be avoided according to this rule. And you shouldn't do these things just because of the harm none rule. You should want for your soul to be it's happiest and brightest. You should want to have great things in your life. Surrounding yourself with negative people, or allowing others to control you or bring you down, will not get you to those places. 
Not harming animals is also covered in this rule. I've had questions in the past about this, so let me clarify things a bit. You are going against this rule if you purposely abuse your animals or animals around you. In my mind ritual animal sacrifice is a no no, although I'm probably going to contradict myself when I say this next part. Hunting to survive, having cows slaughtered for their beef, and things like that are not wrong to me, if they are done in a humane way. Hunting is an age old tradition, and I feel if it is done in an honorable way, it can be an amazing way to honor the God and Goddess, and to honor that animal. That animal, as your brother or sister, is sacrificing itself so that you may survive. Offer it the respect it deserves, and that sacrifice is not wrong. Making sure it's death is swift, and as painless as possible, is a wonderful way to honor that animal's sacrifice. I'm still working out how I feel about certain other forms of animal sacrifice. I could never bring myself to sacrifice a cat or a dog, because they are beloved pets, but chickens? Maybe. Depending on what's going on, and as long as it follows my guidelines of hunting. This part is something you will have to work out for yourself. Inside of you, you know what is right and what is wrong. Which leads me to the next part of this.
Even with guidelines in place, there will be people who don't seem to follow those guidelines the way you see them. This is where the line gets drawn. Each person is born with a moral compass. You know when your soul tells you something is wrong. You know when your soul tells you something is right. Listen to it. Follow it. Your soul is an extension of the divine, and as long as you follow it and it's advice, you don't have to worry about what others think. Each path is unique. We are put here for different reasons, and each person will have their own lessons to learn in this lifetime. Because we are equipped with souls, we have been given a guide book to help us along. As humans, our mind can sometimes over cloud our soul, and so we get confused and lost. But if you learn to quiet  your mind, and listen to your soul, you will find your path. 


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2 comments :

  1. Very good points in this, like the unique paths and listening to your moral compass, I think problems arise most when you're not exactly listening to your moral compass. There's a reason one gets that little niggling so to speak. I kept picturing the husband's face if I were to let him read the part of the steak, lol... I don't think he'd ever look at me the same again.

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    1. I totally agree on the niggling, as you put it :D

      Knight was horrified when he found out about his sister's friend doing that, and now every time I light a candle, he's like "What are you doing, what's that for, what's it gonna do."

      Those are things best kept away from the men folk, even if you personally would never do that, because they get dumb ideas in their heads and then they'll constantly be asking what in the world is going on.

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