The Firefly Chronicles

Wicca is a religion that recognizes the laws of nature and the universe as an integral part of life. Besides these natural laws, there are few written tenants that transcend the divide between tradition-defined and eclectic Wicca. Most use the Wiccan Rede, for guidance, and interpret these writings with their personal understanding and experience. Others may belong to a tradition or coven that defines a certain ethical or moral code.

At The Firefly Academy, we teach for eclectic practitioners that may either desire to be solitary or to work with a group. With this considered, each person defines their own exact ethical code by which to live, however guided by the understanding of the Wiccan Rede and other writings. I must mention that I was taught by a coven, yet I do not follow or teach the ways of any specific tradition. You may find that this lecture is tainted with my own beliefs and practices. On that note, this lecture will be written from my own interpretation, and I ask that you keep this in mind.

Aleister Crowley was an infamous mystic, who lived in the early 20th century. We should note methods were questionable, but his writings had an impact upon Gerald Gardner and his group. Personally, I feel that Crowley was a mixture of crazy and brilliance, and that comes out in almost everything that he did. In LIBER AL vel LEGIS, Crowley scribed, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” These words heavily influenced:

The Wiccan Rede: “And ye harm none, do what thou wilt.”

When we discuss the Wiccan Rede, we enter a discussion of morals, ethics, and values. Though very short and seemingly simple, it has left for many interpretations of what exactly it means. Harm none, do what you will. There are many questions we can ask. Our human existence makes it complicated. What is considered harming? What is included when we say “none”? What if we did not intend to harm? Does that mean we can do ANYTHING as long as we are not harming anything? What happens if we do harm something? Who keeps track of all of this?

Not specifically written, this guideline indicates that Wicca is a self-policing religion. It is maintained that we must be aware of what we do, think, and feel, as well as take responsibility for our positive and negative actions. The most effective way of understanding and putting this law into effect in our lives is awareness. We need to become aware of how we effect the world around us, as well as think through the effects of our actions before we carry them out.

Harm is anything that has a negative effect on someone or something. This includes physical injury, as well as moral injury (i.e. manipulation, domination, emotional harm, etc.). Harm occurs in many degrees, and is closely coupled with intent. In the scheme of this, most would agree that a “little white lie” holds less weight than murder. Also, Intending and planning to murder is much worse moral offense than killing in defense.

Harm can be caused directly to something as well as indirectly to something. In Bee Movie, the main character sues humans to get back all of the honey that humans stole from bees. The bees ended up with so much honey that they became lazy, and no longer worked with the flowers. The result was that the flowers did not get pollinated and all died. Indirectly, this one little bee caused the flowers to die. In the end, he took responsibility for his actions, and set everything right. That is definitely a big lesson in thinking our actions through first.

Though “none” indicates zero, nothing, nobody, it includes most everything. As a result of our lectures sessions, we have discussed that an existence without harm is not possible. With that in mind, we can begin to divide harm into several categories. There are harms that are intentional, unintentional, and part of the natural process of survival and balance. Obviously, this means not to harm other people. Something unspoken, yet recognized, is to not harm yourself. Do not abuse yourself, allow yourself to be healthy and happy. Do not harm the planet. Do not harm the universe. Care for the things in which life energy resonates, such as animals, rocks, and trees.

Of course, this creates some form of contradiction just by typing it. Somehow, the energy that powers my home and internet, the plastic and electronics that make up my computer, as well as the cement from the building that I live in, and the waste that I produce all have some form of indirect harm on the planet. By driving my car, I cause small harm to the earth. Though we are from many different countries and cities, I will assume that your society is somewhat like mine. We are apart of these societies, because it would be nearly impossible for us to function otherwise. It is possible for some people to live a life that does not harm the earth, but not for all of us. It is important to be aware of how the way we live impacts the earth, and strive to make a small imprint. I am afraid that none of us can escape the harm we cause as a society and global community, no matter what kind of life we live. We can only seek to lessen the degree to which it occurs, or to take with reverence, and give back to the earth.

In The Spiral Dance, Starhawk wrote, “While the Craft recognizes that life feeds on life and that we must kill in order to survive, life is never taken needlessly, never squandered or wasted. Serving the life forces means working to preserve the diversity of natural life, to prevent the poisoning of the environment and the destruction of the species.”

When it comes to the self, we can overlook a lot of harm that we cause. Our spiritual experience is affected by our physical state. The amount of physical activity that we participate in, the state of our nutrition, the amounts that we take in various substances (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and other drugs) can all have a negative effect on our lives. However, by figuring out what we need more of, what we need less of, and what we should rule out all together, we can better take care of ourselves, and be more effective in the spiritual realm. In Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, Scott Cunningham stated, “It also ensures that you’ll be in good condition to take on the tasks of preserving and bettering our world, for concern and love for our planet play major roles in Wicca.”

Yes, “harm none, do what you will” says that we can do ANYTHING as long as we are aware of our actions, think them through, and be willing and ready to accept the consequences or give back if necessary.

When harm is done, a common tenant couple with the Wiccan Rede is the Threefold Law. Similar to the eastern philosophy of karma, this concept is based on cause and effect. To sum it up, that which you put out into the universe comes back you to times three. This applies to positive, negative, and everything that falls in between. We live in a place were death often brings new life, where the tides come and go, and where we all experience ups and downs. What we put out comes back. A popular phrase says, “Do unto other others as you would have others do unto you.”

There are times when NOT acting is harming, even with the best intentions. A commonly-cited scenario, which just popped up in one of our Mystical Forest discussions, is a shooter coming into an establishment, and a person who could have stopped the shooter fails to act. This one person did not stop the shooter, because he or she felt it wrong to harm someone else, even under the circumstances. But, the shooter went on to kill 10 people, even though it could have been prevented. In that situation, not harming caused a greater harm. The tenants and writings that we look at are merely guidelines. They cannot apply in all situations. You are responsible for being aware of when to act and when not to act, as well as what the outcome will be. Just as if you get pulled over for speeding, ignorance of the situation is not a defense, and will not get you out of a ticket.

“Every man and every woman is a star.” In my copy of The Book of the Law, the introduction says that each person is, “an aggregate of…experiences, constantly changing with every fresh event, which affects him or her subconsciously or consciously.” And that the object that you see is never the same one that I see. This indicates that we all have unique experiences, and events impress upon us differently, creating us each our own universe. The way we look out upon the physical world is through these experiences, or a window of events, and our morals and ethics will be affected by this.

I feel that “The Book of the Law” is worth reading: http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/engccxx.htm

The Ardanes, “Old Laws”, or the 161 Laws, were introduced by Gerald Gardner, and the original document was suspected to have been created by Gardner himself. Some of these laws are controversial, and others unnecessary. I had not encountered them until doing further research on the Wiccan Law. A discussion has developed on this topic in the forum: http://firefly.mrooms.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=137

More information on the 161 Laws: http://wicca.timerift.net/laws/161.shtml

Some further reading for later:
http://www.waningmoon.com/ethics/rede1.shtml
http://realmagick.com/articles/12/12.html

*NOTE: This lecture was originally written as the Wiccan Law. Throughout my years of training and study, I was taught that the Wiccan Law is “And ye harm none, do what thou wilt” and that the Wiccan Rede was the longer prose version. I never gave it a second thought. However, through our discussion on this lecture, it was brought to my attention that a law is a law, which provides for little exceptions, and that a rede is a guide. I agree with this statement, so I have adapted this lecture to reflect.

Questions:
1. What are your thoughts?
2. How do you interpret the Rede? Similar or different from my point of view?
3. Do you disagree or agree with any of the above parts? Why or why not?I

The Labyrinth is an ancient symbol that combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a winding but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and mind working tools. A labyrinth is a means with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it, whether in the physical or with our minds. It symbolizes life’s journey and creates a sacred space and place. Walking a labyrinth takes us on a trip to that which is within.

Labyrinths and mazes have often been confused. A labyrinth is not a maze, because it has only one path. It is unicursal. The way in is the way out. There are no dead ends. The path leads you on a spiraling circle path to the center and out again.

A labyrinth involves intuition, creativity, and imagery. With a maze many choices must be made and an active mind is needed to find the center. The only choice with a labyrinth is whether or not to enter, therefore a more passive, receptive frame of mind is needed. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path, for once we take the first step, we cannot go back. Once we know, we cannot go back to not knowing.

I have added a picture of a labyrinth to our website. Please visit it, you can print it out, or leave in on the screen. Take your finger, start at the beginning, and trace the labyrinth to the center, and if you’d like…trace it back out again.

Currently, the only law in Wicca is that should you harm none, do what you will. This law makes us self-accountable. But not all of those who use magick hold themselves responsible for what they put out into the universe. Much of our actions rely on our moral values, our definitions of right and wrong, and their awareness of themselves and the world around them.

I was reading a pagan work of fiction the other day, and I began to think about magickal accountability. I asked myself what the world would be like if there was an institution of magickal accountability. Currently, our accountability in the everyday sense is put in the hands of the state, local, and federal governments. What would there be laws restricting if we let another body govern that which is magickal? How would our lives change?

Laws not only protect us, but they reflect the moral guidelines of a society. In the United States, it is illegal to possess or use marijuana or any other so called “hard-core” drugs. This reflects the tendency of our society to be more conservative. However, in Amsterdam, it is legal to go down to the local coffeeshop and smoke it in public. But, in both societies, there is a mix of moral views. Some people think it is okay to do drugs, and others think that smoking cigarettes should be outlawed.

Corresponding with someone over the past few weeks, I was enlightened as to the differences between east coast witches and west coast witches. On the west coast, witchy life is more intense, spells are big businesses…and if someone had a problem with you, they just might hex you and not think twice about it. However, on the east coast, it was observed that kind of outlook on magick wasn’t common, and that the Law is the Law – period.

If we modeled magickal law against the current laws of society, there would be many practices outlawed. Of course, harming or attempting to harm someone using magick would be illegal. Now, we could look at this at many levels. Using magick to kill someone is already against the law. Not only is it bad kharma, but murder is immoral and illegal no matter if you use magick or not. Hexes can be used to torment people…which is harassment…so that would become illegal as well. But what about projecting negative energy towards another person? Is this like hitting them in the face? Is it assault? Or is it like giving someone a dirty look or flipping them the bird?…which is completely on the legal side of the line. What if you got a ticket for expelling to much negative energy…even if you didn’t realize you were doing it?

There are always some out-of-date or silly laws hanging around. For example, in one city, it is against the law for pigeons to eat pebbles from a composite roof. In another city, it is illegal to water your lawn when it is raining. It would be interesting…as well as annoying…to see what kind of ridiculous laws got put into place regarding the practice of magick. For example, what if it was illegal to consecrate your tools under the new moon? Or what if you could be thrown in jail for sealing a circle with table salts?

Even though there are many laws that govern right and wrong, there are still people who would do things that are against these laws. Take drug dealers, money launderers, and people who travel at excessive speeds over the limit. Though a speeder and a drug dealer cannot be ethically compared, they are both still breaking the law. Just the same, there would be people who break magickal law. Some would still do things that the laws tell us we shouldn’t do. Some laws we can bend a little…like speeding…or the occasional hexing. But other laws would just be smashed to bits.

Let us say that there is some kind of Magickal Law Enforcement Agency. What could they really do? I mean, magick is an internal process. They cannot lock you up for wanting something bad to happen, but in reality, that’s magick. If a witch harms someone else, unless there is a confession, it would be really hard to get physical evidence that person is up to no good. Unless, their house is raided and the Magickal Enforcement Agents find enough evidence. I suppose that someone in your coven could turn you in for using table salts to seal a circle. REALISTICALLY, they could police magickal frauds and uncover fake spells. They could preside over the regulation of metaphysical services, such as divinatory readings, energy healings, and other holistic services. When you pay someone $20 – $100 to read something for you, the only guarantee that they are not a fake, and actually know what they are doing is how you feel about it at the end of the session. Granted, there are associations and certifications that people can obtain to give clients a sense of ease when it comes to some services.

However, laws and those who enforce these laws DO act as a deterrent to those who think twice about being bad. Now, I am not saying that we should have magickal law enforcement. I am just thinking out loud.

When we enter sacred space, we perform some kind of task to cleanse our spirits…such as smudging with sage. Fasting is a practice that works to cleanse the bodies of the bad stuff we tend to put into it…this by elevating any blockage we might be inadvertently causing ourselves and our energy. From one to seven days prior to a ritual, be mindful of what you eat. Wicca does not require one to abstain from eating for a prolonged period of time. That is unhealthy and possibly dangerous.

The longer you fast, the more foods you will have to allow yourself. Fasting for three to seven days, you may choose to eat fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Drink lots of water. It is important to keep yourself hydrated. 8 – 8 ounce glasses of water a day at least. Fruit juices are good for nutrients and calories…but don’t let it take the place of water. However, no milk, no soda, no meat, no fried foods, nix the candy, no coffee, no nicotine, no alcohol. Soy or vegetable meat substitutes are acceptable…depending on how they are cooked. I would even say that soy milk is okay.

If I fast the day of a ritual, I will eat nothing until after the ritual. If I fast the day before, or even two days…I usually stick with fruits, vegetables, maybe some whole bread, and juice.

If you are fasting and you start to feel dizzy. Drink juice.

However, fasting is not a requirement of Wicca.

An “element” in pagan philosophy is the various manifestations of a specific type of energies. Just as we broke the deity down into the God and the Goddess… we can further break these divine cosmic energies down into four parts. Almost everything can be associated with one or more of the four elements: Earth… Air… Fire… and Water.

The spirits… energies… or guardians of these four different elementals may be called forth during ritual to protect us and aid us in magick. The elements are representations of parts of our world… as well as parts of ourselves. Without the elements and what they represent… we would cease to feel emotions… to think… and to even exist.

Understanding what the elements are… remembering what they mean… and how they relate to us may be difficult at first. Studying and practicing ritual on a regular basis is the most effective way to master these relationships.

Earth is the element of stability… protection… fertility… soil… rocks… crystals… fruits… flowers… and the harvest. We look to the earth to ground us and to feed us. It is element of our bodies and everything that we do… make… and use. With the negative aspects of this energy is materialism… or placing an extreme focus on physical things. Materialism leads to the loss of focus in other areas of life… hindering advancement spiritually. It is associated with the direction of North… he colors green and brown… and the symbol of the pentacle.

Fire is the element of passion… human energy… the Sun… strength… health… enthusiasm. It represents candles… summer… noon… the lion… and the dragon. It is the driving force that moves the earth. It is the sexual energy that creates life. Fire is also in many ways associated with spirit and the breath of life. Negative aspects include anger… hate… selfishness… and the need of power. It is associated with the direction south… the colors red… orange… and gold… and the symbol of the wand.

Air is the breath of the goddess. It is communication… knowledge… understanding… and invisibility. Air embodies with the parts of ourselves that we cannot see: the mind… vision… dreams… and thoughts. It is the direction of dawn… the sunrise… and the element of Spring… birds… dragonflies… butterflies… incense… feathers… and the athame. Negative aspects of this element include bigotry… and too much of the self (such as being overly self-assured… self-pity… etc.). It is associated with the direction of east… the colors yellow… pink… and sky blue. A symbol of air is the sword.

Water is the symbol of our emotions and feelings… as well as our dreams and intuitions. It is linked with the moon… autumn… oceans… rivers… clouds… rain… storms… the gray twilight… water animals… seashells… and water-smoothed stones. Negative aspects of water are depression and infatuation. It is associated with the direction of west… the colors blue… sea green… and grey. It’s symbol is the chalice…the womb of the Goddess.

Spirit is considered to be the fifth element… though is it different in many respects. It is the glue that holds all of the other elements together. It is that divine cosmic energy… that flowing force within everything. Without spirit… the elements themselves would not be connected and there would be chaos. It is that which is in between. It is associated with the colors purple… white… and grey.