Eye Harvester's #W101

Witchcraft 101 Episode #9

Causality and Consequences:

Responsibility and the Great Magick Lie

Claudia Watrin suggested I discuss this in my W101 class, and I agree, it is of utmost
importance, especially to those who strive to "harm none."

So we are going to talk about morality, serious contemplation, and the "Wiccan Rede."

Trust me, it's about to get really, insanely complicated. Paralyzingly, agonizingly complicated.

In the previous class on Pathworking, we discussed different categories of witches, Dianic,

Green, etc. Well, some use three other descriptions for witchcraft, and many others find these
descriptions offensive, based in ignorance.

These descriptions are as such: White, Grey, and Black. Let's just pretend these descriptions are
accurate, and for the sake of discussion, I'll define them. The primary difference is in the
application of the Wiccan Rede, so you can see right off, it is a religiously motivated prejudice.

White

While not all white wizards are Wiccan, they all follow some version of the Rede, "And it harm
none, do what thou will." They avoid magick which would hurt anyone. They abhor sacrafices,
and are usually very kind people.

White magick never hurts anything. If it did, it wouldn't be white.

Grey

A grey witch would ignore the "harm none" clause, like a Thelemic, "Do what thou will shall be
the whole of the law." They may use magick to punish those deserving it, or to heal others, or
anything they want.

Grey magick just is what it is.

Black

A black magician would only harm others. He would cast no healing or helping magick at all.

Black Magick never helps anyone but the magician. It is inherently selfish.

The Great Magick Lie

Let's talk about consequences, responsibility, and whether or not you have god-like omniscience.

Imagine you are a powerful White Witch. Someone is dying in the hospital, they need blood
bad. So whip up your best magick, she gets the blood she needs, and lives happily ever after.

Two doors down, a man who came in a few minutes later, crushed, maimed and bleeding out,
does not get that bag of blood. He dies in agony. YOU killed him. YOU took his blood for the
other patient, and HE DIED because of YOUR MAGICK. Is this still white Magick?
No, not at all. If you never find out about the man you killed, you just go on your way, feeling
great about the woman you saved, certain that your magick is purest White. In fact it is now red,
blood red with the murder you used to heal that woman.

Did you see this future? Could you have known this would happen? Of course, you're a freaking
witch. You could have done a divination, or asked you spirits or gods. Did you deeply, truly
contemplate every possible consequence? No. You are now a murderer. Congrats.

But what if you are some Voodoo practitioner, steeped in mystic lore. You are you going to use
a poppet, or Voodoo doll, to drive away a co worker whom you hate.

So you make your evillest doll, full of Dark Power, and you make this guy's life miserable, until
he is driven out of town, or even dies. Problem solved, right?

But you didn't know that he beats on his baby's mother all the time. You didn't know he was
going to get drunk, go a little to far, and murder them both in a fit of rage. Ha ha ha, you just
saved the lives of a woman and her child. Yes, your a killer, and probably a great magician.

But your magick is not black, it's grayish, at best. You're now a savior, a protector of the
innocent. So much for you're Dark Power.

So what's the difference between white and black?

Perspective. From which direction do we see our results? From the view of the woman you
saved, or the man you killed? To one it is white, to another it is black.

It is possible to be pure white in one way only: never use magick. Ever. Until you can see every
branching, fractal course of the future, until you are actually an all knowing God, just don't cast
any spells. Worship, pray by all means. But until you can be 100% sure of the harmlessness of
your magick, there is a 100% chance your "white" magick hurts someone else.
I know this for a fact. I used to strive for pure white magick, which, because I am intelligent, I
realized that meant no magick at all. I was afraid to hurt anyone.

It is impossible to be pure black. Every time you harm another, someone takes advantage,
someone else gains from it. That is the nature of humans, we take advantage.

My point? Get off your Holier than Thou, or Unholier than Thou, high horse. You are lying to
yourself. Your magick is colorless. All magick is. It's a tool, a force.

Wrenches and hammers are not good or evil. I can fix your front door (good), or I can bust you
in the face (Not necessarily evil). Gravity is not good or evil. It holds you on the ground, but you
can also fall to your death, which is evil for you, super good for coyotes and flies.

Now Some Truth About Magick

I know the following to be true. Many witches will disagree, but they have probably not been
where I have been, or seen what I have seen.

There are many worlds, worlds within, overlapping worlds, worlds that surround us. From these
worlds, including this one, comes the energy for magick.

The most important worlds, and energies, are three fold. This middle world, from whence
derives the energy of matter and practical matter, is where we usually stay, but we draw power
from the unseen other worlds.

The Upper Realms, or higher planes, are the realms of intellect, force of will, and the higher
mind, logic and rationality. From these realms derive light, bright, rarified energies. While most
witches consider this place "good," this is wildly inaccurate. Many only reach into these planes
for their energy, and this is truth, they are missing half of the universe. This is the weakness
found in ignorance.

The Lower Realms, or Underworld, are the planes of emotion, the body, and the lower mind,
instinct, passion and and our physical needs. From these realms derives dark, dense, primal
energies. Most witches consider the dark realms to be evil, but this is a Christian belief that
lower means Hell, and as such, it has no place in paganism. Many never touch these planes, they
lose half of the universe. Once again, the weakness of ignorance.

Our religions are all about balance, and cycles of nature. What do you imagine drives the cycles,
what balances the scale? Light and dark, life and death, upper and lower. These are the forces
that drive the cosmic circle. All things flow from the overworld, the sun and light and life,
through us in the middle worlds, and into the lower world, the earth and darkness and death,
where they take root and grow, back up through the middle worlds, and back up into the
overworld.

They are not good and evil, they are opposites on the Great Wheel, the balance of reality, and
they are the forces we should use to provide balance in our lives, and in our magick.

If you question the existence of these worlds, or their nature and the energies they contain, come
visit me. I'll take you there, introduce you to some folks I know there.

Brightest Blessings

Eye Harvester