Ethics
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
The ethics of witchcraft and magick-using people is an area of much agreement throughout the broad range of practitioners. A level of respect for living beings and the energetic networks relating a witch to these fosters a conscientious set of guidelines. The core value upon which magickal ethics is built is broad and simple enough to create a foundation for the structure so widely held.
One might ask why there is a need for additional consideration above and beyond the predominant cultural ethic for magick- using people. An answer is: because magick works. If witches were simply wasting their time mouthing empty phrases and miming powerless rituals, there would be no need to be responsible for what would be nothing more than fancy. Because co-creation is so successfully undertaken, the consequences of all who are affected both directly and collaterally must ethically be accounted for.
The basic credo of The Craft is simply stated as a modification of a work by Alistair Crowley. Crowley created his version, which states “Love is the law, love under Will, so let do what the thou Will, be the whole of the law.” This has been reworked into the modern Wiccan Reed which states “an’ it harm none, do what thou will.” This obviously echoes the Golden Rule principles of the world’s popular religions, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Brahmanism and others. It is the foundation for empathy, compassion, justice, community and the harmony humans so far have not yet been able to achieve.
The Reed applies specifically to witches and other magick-using people as the checking point for all work done on the co-creational level. It takes maturity and perspective to shoulder the responsibility to ensure one’s magick harms none. This is the general safety valve that prevents the chaos that is potentiated by numbers of magick-using people casting magick in a self-serving way.
Behind the Reed bolstering the “why” one should act in accordance with it is the belief in the Law of Universal Return, often called the Law of 3. This law also correlates with other global systems that state that essentially what you put out will come back to you. The Law of Threes expands the rebounding effect by three times. The simplicity of the Reed and the Law of Three frames the ethical boundaries of witchcraft consciously and with a minimum of dogma. The nature of self-preservation is tapped in an undeniably poignant fashion similar to the warning, “live by the sword, die by the sword.” The magick-user is free to explore the innumerable opportunities of life so long as those explorations are conducted with this “harm none” mentality.
Unfortunately the history of magick is not replete with stories of ethical people consciously creating harmony with the powers of co-creation. On the contrary. At this point of our evolution we have many myths and stories clearly demonstrating the misuse of magick. From Hawaiian Kahunas praying people to death to European warlords divining for the right time to attack their neighbors, and down to every conceivable act of selfish acquisition; the history of magick is, with few exceptions, distasteful. The Wiccan Reed is a modern distillation of an idea with at least 2500 years of existence, and many have hope that humanity is progressing to a point when we can all act in accord with our Golden Rules.
Further exploration into magickal ethics leaves one to other considerations for the practice of witchcraft. Non-ownership of energy is an important guideline; this idea can be explained as the wisdom that, though one can use Universal energy for personal reasons, the actual energy itself is only directed or redirected, it does not belong to anyone. It cannot be subdued or owned. A magick-user seeks to be a clear conduit for change. With our human ability to direct energy clearly understood, one must also understand that this does not signify that we are masters over it.
Another energetic consideration is that one does not do magick that affects the free will of another person. This is illustrated in the classic example of the love spell gone awry. If a magick-work uses force to overcome the decision-making of another in the area of life choices, it is not only unethical but will also fail eventually. The power of self-interest that all beings have will guide even the spellbound beyond the grasp of manipulations, sooner or later. The spell-caster has upset the harmony of life by setting oneself above others. He or she will find that what he or she thought was in the best interest was actually only a very small piece of the whole, which we are all equally endowed to participate in willfully.
Within the basic ethical considerations, a broad spectrum of guidelines exist. In witchcraft these are not scriptural dogma but wise counsel to be personalized through experience. An example of a technique that is useful in mitigating these responsibilities and ethical considerations is as follows: at the completion of any work of directed will, simply include a statement such as “and it be for the greatest good, may it be so.” This is a safety valve mechanism that works with the understanding that the Co-creative force of the Universe has wisdom beyond our human vision. Whether it be perceived as a deity, the Higher Self, or the Great Mystery, a magick person entrusts the non-personal portion of the Co-creative force to understand this entirety and act accordingly.
A personal ethic to follow in The Craft is to work magick only within healthful boundaries of your own energy level. Magickal skill grows with practice, and honest assessment of your own skill level is critical. Doing energy work that is beyond one’s ability to channel is harmful to the self (“an’ it harm none” includes the self!). There is actual physical energy circulating throughout the body and non-body during a magick working, larger works require larger movement and direction of this mana. The circuitry of magickal receptors and directors within the witch need to be built up over time with appropriate progress at appropriate intervals. This is why there are levels of initiation both naturally occurring and created within the magickal context. Attempting to do magick that is beyond the body’s ability to handle can lead to blown circuits on the magickal level. Psychosis is an unfortunate potential outcome of this unwise and unethical blunder. Further, those around the witch are affected, including humans and non-humans both.
Within
the realm of ethics also to be found is, as Dan Millman
writes about in Way Of The Peaceful Warrior (1980),
“Life requires more than knowledge, it requires intense feeling and
constant energy. Life demands right action if knowledge is to come alive"