The Contemporary New England Witch

The Contemporary New England Witch
Author Ms.Faith

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Two popular opinions in the witch world -An' it harm none vs. I don't care who I harm

 Good Evening,




Well, tonight I plan on discussing a concept that has been growing on social network forums and in the world of witches and magick for a while.  The concept of 'An it harm none vs. I plan on harming another by design and I don't care if its right or wrong.

Firstly,  let me state that all opinions in my discussions are my own. Where do I come by my opinions? From over 30 years of practice and observation of the magickal world around me. There are many wonderful authors and teachers out there in our world who have a lot to offer new and advanced practitioners alike, but I have put aside the majority of learning from books and others experiences long ago. NOT that I still don't learn from others, and when I have time I do read and enjoy others work.  Actually I find my students to be the greatest teachers I have ever had on this path. To put it simply I learn everyday from my magick and the manifestation it takes AND by being aware and observing what happens without judgment as to why things happen.

You see, my magickal reader, and this is perhaps the most important lesson I can ever teach you. Magick does not pass judgment. Magick is neither right or wrong, black or white but merely shades of gray. Magick does not choose for whom it will work, it works for all.  How it works depends entirely on the practitioner.

Let me give you an example I've used many times in the past, but it's a good one, so here it is again.  Take a pencil. Is the pencil evil or good?  Well, if it writes a love letter, that's good.  If it is used to stab a person and harm them, that could be seen as bad. Again I ask you. Is the pencil evil or good?  It is neither, but the wielder of said pencil .  .  .  ah .  .  .  that's where evil and good come into the picture.  Magick is a tool and the practitioner decides how to use that tool.  And now we come to the crux of this discussion.

I have seen several times, magickal practitioners write on social networks like facebook and other sites comments like these:

  • "I'm not a Wiccan, so I can send harm back to another. They deserve it after all" 
  • "I'm not a White-Lighter, so I can do as I please.
  • "I am not bound by the Wiccan Rede which states "An' it harm none, do what ye will"
  • "I'm a witch not a Wiccan damn it, so others better watch out, because I'm gonna send their crap back to them."
  • "When people piss off this witch, you'd better believe I'm sending it back to them" 

These just touch on a few sentiments often found in this magickal world. I find it quite interesting actually, because each statement leaves one with the impression that they, the magickal practitioner, by not being Wiccan or following the Wiccan Rede, that they somehow escape Karma.  That, by their deliberate magickal actions in sending back to another harmful intent, that somehow they are exempt from magickal harsh karmic feedback.

Let me be quite clear here. They are not exempt!  Again, magick passes no judgment, but it will work as it has always worked. What you send out, in a magickal manner, will and does return to the sender three-fold. At times I've seen this magnified even greater than that.  Oh .  .  .  but you won't hear these people admitting that. Or do they? I watch some of these individuals posts on a weekly basis and it seems crap keeps happening to them!! People lie, steal, back stab and treat them harshly. They get 'screwed over' by this one and that one, this institution and that group.  Something always bad and always another to blame. And, soon afterwards they are again espousing "delivering retribution and magickal payback'. Yep. That'll teach em. Or does it? 

The problem with this concept of sending harm back to another, is it does not follow any of the magickal scientific principles that all magick follows.  Magick does not care if a person has wronged you. I've been a spell caster for over 30 years.  I've seen some of my spells work in amazing ways and some, not so amazingly. But, each and every time, I take careful note and revise my workings and come out the other side with more knowledge on how magick works.  Trust me, no matter how right you are and how wrong the other person is, ( in your opinion) , what you send out returns only to you!  If this works with all the 'good' spells, why would it then work differently with the spells you use to harm someone.  It simply shows a lack of understanding and acceptance of the magickal principles and how they work.

This attitude of payback and retribution, in my personal magickal opinion also speaks loudly to the .  .  .   dare I say it? Yes I will!! It speaks to the immaturity of the practitioner. I say immature in the sense that when we are hurt as a child we wish to lash out and strike back. The mature, experienced person or witch in this case, may not like what has happened, we may not seek to forgive but we accept what has occurred and we strive to not allow that to happen again in our lives.  It's an accepting,  that life and people do not always do and behave as we wish, but instead of lashing out as a child would, we learn from the experience and make the needed changes to ourselves, within ourselves, that allow us to grow and become better, more wise individuals because of it.


Also .  .  .  how many times have you run into someone who has done harm to you, or another in someway,  and they honestly believe what they are doing is wrong? Even thieves or murderers, at the time of the crime, seem to feel some justification for what they do.  So, by taking over the role and responsibility of the  Goddess of Karma, and that's what we do when we choose to seek magickal retribution, it quite frankly pisses her off, and you do not want to piss off that Goddess!   Let me tell you a personal story or two.

I had a person working at Enchantments once a long time ago. This person was caught red-handed stealing from the store. Candles, prayer flags and such. She said she was doing her Yule shopping and was going to pay the store back at some other time. When she was confronted with video taped evidence,  well .  .  .  let me tell you,  she was pretty upset. At me! 'How dare I accuse her of stealing??'  'She had every intention of paying me back!!'  Interestingly though,  over a week had passed since the incident where she was seen stealing on tape before I confronted her and still she had not 'paid me back'.

I fired her on the spot.  She was a teenager and her mother immediately contacted me and wanted to make good and pay me back for what her daughter had stolen. I said no.  By allowing that, I felt that I would be stepping in front of the Goddess of Karma and I didn't want to mess with that energy!! I simply said I don't want her in my store ever again, have a nice life. Goodbye.  I also chose not to have her arrested, as she was young and simply stupid, and had just turned 18 where it would have been on her record for ever.  I have hopes she will learn from her mistakes as she grows older.

Approximately two months later, her house burned down.  As soon as I heard of this, I knew Karma had balanced the scales.  Now, I shudder to think of what would have happened to me if I had stepped in and decided I could do Karma's job better than she. Fortunately, no one was injured, but I found it curious that the major theft concerned candles and fire was visited upon this girl's home.  I absolutely believe this was Karma's doing. The girl sent out energy, stealing candles, and received it back in kind. I have always said when you steal something, something else more important and precious will be taken from  you. I truly believe this to be how Karma works.

Another example is about a girl who came into the shop years ago, claiming she was not a 'white-lighter' and she needed supplies to take care of someone who had 'done her wrong'. Over the next two years she stopped by the shop several times, always to 'get back at another'. When I first met her, she had a good job, a nice apartment and seemingly a pretty good life. This is what discussions with her as she shopped led me to believe. Well over the next two years, as she continued to stop in and purchase supplies for her 'revenge  agenda', she lost her job time and again, each time getting a more difficult and less lucrative job, she lost her house and at least one time suffered a fire that displaced her. She lost significant others and close friends who wanted nothing to do with her and towards the end was living on the edge of being homeless, jobless and friendless.  I saw a direct correlation to her malicious agenda, and her life's circumstances. But, never could she see how she had created the mess that was now her life.  She would never accept responsibility for all that had happened to her, it was always someone else that was to blame.

My dear witchling, I could go on and on about people I've met, the black magick people have told me they practiced and oh yes .  .  .  let me be quite clear .  .  .   if you practice magick that is designed to harm another, even to bring their karma back to them you are practicing black magick.  Then I would ask you to look around your life. How is it working for you? Are you surrounded by loving people, is your life filled with rewarding experiences and happiness, joy and contentment?  Now, that may not be the case for everyone even practicing positive magick, but those of us who do follow the light, at least from their own words on social forums, they seem happier, more fulfilled and more spiritually at peace. 

Simply said, you can practice ANY magick you choose to, it really matters not to me.  But know, you and your world will be the only victim from your negative energy .  .  .  and to wish another harm is negative dearie, no matter how much cotton candy and righteous entitlement you wrap it in.

An end note, for all the people I have run into who profess an ability to harm others, sending their 'stuff' back at them, delivering payback etc. etc., I have never met any intended victim whose had that happen to them to any degree worth noting.  Yes, bad stuff does happen to everyone, but its our karma we are dealing with, not another's magick.  But, be aware when people tell you they have done this, just why are they telling you this? Even if you asked for proof  they won't be able to give it to you. So you are left to wonder why they told you about it in the first place .  .  .  and the next discussion we could have would be about " 'Power Tripping' in the Magickal World'!!   Why I just ran into someone who took credit for turning on the power in her neighborhood after a recent power outage .  .  .  really? .  .  .  and she wasn't a utility worker!  Now that my magickal friend is 'power tripping' and bragging about magickal ability which is just bad magickal etiquette and simply should not be done!

So the lesson I hope to impart is simple. Accept what has happened to you in your life .  .  .  learn from it .  .  .  do something different if a different outcome is desired next time.  .  .  and send out no harm unless you truly wish it to visit you.  


Peace and Happiness




© 2010-2011 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. 

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