Lodestone & Lady's Mantle - Ethics in Practice

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Ethics in Practice
By Carmin

I come from a place where ethics are largely the concern of those magical practitioners belonging to a higher tax bracket. I've met quite a few nice old voodoo ladies that wouldn't hesitate to throw a curse if you crossed them or their kin, and allow such information to be known. I've also met a lot of white light New Agers that are completely horrified by the above statement; until someone flames them on a message board; and then they don't hesitate to start lighting black candles over a printout of the flamer's avatar, all the while convincing themselves that "it's for the greater good". Sometimes they just want to try out a new spell, ( "ooo, I've always wanted to try Goofer dust!") and their rage at some trifling act may be an outlet for this desire, resulting in (if you are familiar with the affects of Goofer Dust) overkill. Performing such an act rarely makes them rethink their ethical boundaries, it just becomes one more skeleton in the closet to put away. And it gets easier to do each time.

Ethics are a funny thing. We say "An It Harm None, Do What Ye Will", and it seems like pretty good advice, but applying it to life is a little sticky. I'm not here to tell you what to do when someone cuts you off in traffic, or a backstabbing co-worker usurps the promotion you've been expecting for six months. These aren't stereo instructions!
I want to get you asking questions. What would it take for you to violate your perception of the Rede? What defines " Harm"? Allowing yourself to be harmed is just as much a part of this as harming another; perhaps worse. You have a unique responsibility to your own survival. Many of us come from a Judeo-Christian background, inherent in which are the beliefs that human desires and needs (that have perpetuated our species for fifty million years ) separate you from God. I don't think this has been entirely weeded out from the Wiccan community, as evidenced by the prevalence of the turn-the-other-cheek, spiritual doormat attitude of so many practitioners. Nothing irritates me more than a Witch who won't stand up for herself!
When is it okay (according to your personal ethics) to bind or curse someone?
When the neighbor slashes your tires repeatedly, lets his dog crap on your lawn, vandalizes your property? Do you have to be physically endangered before you will work a binding spell, or mentally and emotionally as well?
How much can you take before you snap and how much can you laugh off?

"White magic is poetry; black magic is anything that works"- Victor Anderson

All change is potentially harmful. You are changing a situation by the power of your Will. There's no telling who that will affect, or how. Hell, you could be walking through a crowded street and your perfume catches the attention of a passerby and reminds him of his first love. He may leave his wife to find her. Your fault?
That prosperity spell lands you a new job that requires your family to move. The kids have to find a new school, and leave their friends, but with the better salary you can send them to college. Emotional scars or a stable future for them?
Divination is of course helpful, but cannot show you every ripple of change, only the ones most pertinent to the question. Despite this, I strongly recommend you do a reading before any spell work. Not only will it help you to think more clearly about the situation( or allow you time to cool off) but it can also give helpful hints that will make your working more effective.

My own

I've gotten a lot of questions about my personal ethical structure. Since inquiring minds want to know, here goes:
People generally perceive me as a very NICE person. This isn't always so. Though I adhere very strongly to my beliefs, they are my own, and do not necessarily fit into a clear cut model that others are accustomed to. I do not violate them but they are open to change if need be, and only after long consideration.
I know words to be true things; that there is a power in them and in names. By lying, I lessen the power my words have to affect things. I will not sacrifice my power for such a trivial thing. To save a life, I will lie, but not much else.
I will bind, I will curse, but only if all other means to resolve the situation have been exhausted, and I do mean EXHAUSTED. If the person endangers myself or loved ones and will not stop, I have no qualms about protecting what is mine.
My sense of ethics has evolved out of interacting with the world, not pulling it from a book and using it by rote; I think they are stronger because of this. I suggest you do the same. May you be well guided.

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