~The Ethics of Wicca~

Wicca, or Witchcraft, is a religion of personal responsibility, making it a difficult path to follow. The Old Path is not an easy one. As you learn, you will be forced to think about your actions at all times. You must weigh all possible out comes against each other in order to make the best decision you can. This means you must be honest at all times; honest with yourself, and honest with others. It is only when we can look at a situation honestly that we can truly weigh all of our options. If we lie to ourselves, then our out comes are based on our own self-delusions. I always recommend that new Wiccans meditate on their own level of honesty before they begin to learn the Path, as the ultimate goal of Wicca is to know your true self, or your true will or nature, whatever you want to call it. You can not begin to find out who you really are until you can be totally honest.

The two most common Wiccan ethical codes are:

The Wiccan Rede: simply states, "An it harm none, do what thou will". Sounds simple, right? In truth, it is, but getting to the point where it is "simple" is not so simple. Ask yourself this, "What does 'harm none' really mean?" Does this mean you have to be a doormat, and let people take advantage of you? Absolutly not! You must remember that "harm none" includes you, and you are just as important as anyone else, and anyone else is just as important as you. So, on the surface, The Wiccan Rede simply means "Do not intentionally hurt someone."
However, there is also an esoteric, or hidden, meaning to the Wiccan Rede. In his book, The Book of the Law, Aleister Crowley wrote: Do what Thou will shall be the whole of the law; Love is the law, love under will. In Greek, the word for "love" [agape] and the word for "will" [thelema] are numerologically the same: 93. Our true will is love, and when we reach the point of living by our true will, then we will not have to worry about "harming none", it will simply be our nature not to. If everyone lived by their true will, we would have a near Utopia, as no one's true will is in conflict with someone else's. As I stated above, the ultimate goal of Wicca is to know your true will, and live accordingly. It makes living by the Rede a whole lot easier. :-)
The Threefold Law: Wicca is a Karmic faith, and as such, we have a Karmic law of threefold return. Whatever you put out into the universe comes back to you three times, for good or for ill. If you do something that is honestly good, you will get good in return. The key word here is "honestly". If you do good deeds just to get the Karmic reward, forget about it! Acting selfishly is against your will, and acting against your will does not bring you Karmic reward, but rather Karmic debt. That's why it is always important to weigh all of the odds before making a decision.

I hope this has helped you understand the ethics of the Craft. For more information on the subject, I recommend "When, Why...If" by Robin Wood. It is an excellent book, and a must read for all Wiccans!

{~Ocean Star's Wicca Resource Center~}{~The Ethics of Wicca~}{~Sacred Space~}{~Sacred Tools~}{~Frequently Asked Questions~}{~The Wheel of the Year~}{~Trinity Coven~}{~Ocean Star's Online Journal~}{~Recommended Reading~}{~Wiccan Links~}

{~Welcome!~}{~Ocean Star's Faire~}{~Ocean Star's Biography~}{~Mocha Latte~}{~Ocean Star's Wicca Resource Center~}{~Dear David~}{~The Guardians of Enigmaland~}{~The Bubbling Cauldron~}