Beliefs and Philosophy

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The Wiccan Rede is most widely know " An it harm none, do what ye will". This means doing no harm to others, yourself or nature. It promotes acting with intention, integrity and mindfulness around actions. Harm doesn't always have immediate effect on people, something you do one day could  have repercussions further down the line. This is why it's important to think through your actions rather than acting on impulse. This is what the Wiccan Rede tries to teach us. It isn't law or a set of rules to follow but more of a guidance. 

The Rede ask Wiccans to pause and reflect on their actions, consider who or what might be affected and how and to act responsibly. 

The Three Fold Law in summary means what you put out into the earth comes back to you three times over. It encourages mindfulness and responsibility, positive intentions will come back to you with positive experiences and similarly negative intentions will come back to you with negative experiences. This isn't designed to make people afraid or doing bad things but more of a way of encouraging accountability and understanding cause and effect on a spiritual level. 

Similar to how there is no right way to practice Wicca there is different understanding around the Three Fold Law. Some take a more literal approach and think that energy that is put out will come back three times stronger. Others see it as more symbolic with energy coming back in a more enhanced way, similar to karma. There is also a more ethical interpretation of the Three Fold Law that this rule sets your mindset and your life circumstances, creating a ripple affect of energy coming back to you, similar to the mindset of you get from the world what you put into it. 

The Three Fold Law works alongside the Wiccan Rede to encourage intention and consider consequences. 

Personal responsibility in Wicca is of great importance. There is no higher authority deciding what right or wring which means that you have to act with accountability and integrity, taking responsibility for your choices.  

Magic is intentional and you must take responsibility for all actions and outcomes. If you accidentally cause harm to someone or something it doesn't remove responsibility and by showing accountability for all your actions it links in with the Wiccan Rede and the Three Fold Law. 

Consent is also an important part of practicing Wicca. The people around you may not wan to be involved with your practices, however small they might be, and its important to respect the boundaries set by others. Essentially  consent in magic means not directing intention toward another person’s life, emotions, or choices without their permission. 

Some examples of consent with magic: 

Love spells - These would be considered unethical if focused on someone else, rather than this try self love or confidence boosting spells. 

Protection magic - These spells generally focus around yourself, your own boundaries and your own energy rather than focusing on others, therefore these would be considered ethical spells as they are not focused on others and  aim to create safety and stability without imposing harm or manipulation. 

Healing spells - While these have good intentions it is still a good idea to get  consent before practicing. If consent cant be gained for whatever reason in may be better to focus on general well wishes and blessings and mediating for comfort and strength. 

Rather than trying to control external circumstances the most powerful magic can be focused around working on yourself such as breaking harmful patterns and working on personal growth and healing. Wicca is not a quick fix, its a lifestyle choice and patience is required to start feeling the changes you are working towards. 

Wicca is about respecting the natural cycles of the world, not every situation can or should be altered by magic. It's important to mention here that there are bad things that happen in the world either at a distance or more personally. There are things out there that we can't control but we can control how we react to and frame them. One of my favorite sayings is without darkness there is no light, there are several sources attributed to this saying and similarly Dr Martin Luther King Jr said only in darkness can you see the stars. These sayings are around trying to find hope in hard times.