I have read the first few chapters of Christopher Penczak's "Inner Temple" and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. It's well written and quite informative. There are a few things he says that I completely disagree with such as his assumption that Witch and Wiccan are synonymous. I do not subscribe to that particular theory at all. However, just because I disagree doesn't mean that I don't think the book is good. I have not gotten to the chapters where he actually has the lessons so I'm not ready to say that this is definitely going to be the right direction for me to take my path. It has held my interest long enough for me to at least give this system a chance before I say it's not for me. If nothing else I will have a nice reference book for the basics of Witchcraft regardless of my disagreement with the author's opinions.

As I said before, right now I am just reading through the books without actually doing any of the exercises or "homework" in them. Once I get started with that I will probably be able to write more entries on how I'm doing with this particular path and how I feel about it. Once again anyone who is interested is most welcome to join my discussion group at Yahoo if you wish to join me in studying these books. The link for the group is on my profile page.

I've seen a poem on a few sites and while it's pretty I don't think the author of it understands the difference between a Witch and a Modern Wiccan. I've come to this conclusion due to the fact that part of this poem states "To be a Witch is to harm none". That statement does not take into account the non-Wiccan Traditions who do not follow the Wiccan Rede.

Witchcraft is not by itself a religion in my personal opnion and I've seen others who say that as well. The many Pagan paths such as Wicca, Asatru and Druidry are religions that use Witchcraft in their practices. But that doesn't make Witchcraft itself a religion even Christian Witches are still Witches but thier religion is Christianity. I am a Witch but when asked what my religion is the answer I give is Pagan not Witchcraft. In all honesty honoring deities and celebrating the Sabats are more important to me than doing spells. Spell work is always a last resort for me and I think long and hard about any consequences that may arise from doing any spell. My thoughts on that are for another entry though :D.

The point to this post is that while I think you have the right to believe whatever you wish to believe...It's misguided to assume there is one set of rules that ALL Witches follow (You know what they say about the word assume?) and that expecting us all to adhere to the standards of one Pagan path as the "right" way to be a Wich is very narrow minded.

It's funny how over the years my ideas about what a Witch is have changed. I think the first time I ever called myself a Witch was when I was around nine or ten years old and I threatened to make "very bad" things happen to a boy who was picking on my sister and me. Obviously my notions of what a Witch was then came from television and movies lol. The kid believed me and we never had any more trouble out of him as a matter of fact we actually became friends for a while before his family moved away. When I was fourteen I found a book in my school library by Sybil Leek called "Diary of a Witch" (I'd love to have a copy of this book but I'm sure it's out of print and hard to find now) and it was then that I learned there were people who really were Witches in the world. I think I've mentioned that in another entry but this one is going to be a bit more detailed on the past so I'm going to have to repeat some of it.

After that book I had a curiosity about Witchcraft and wanted to learn more but at fourteen with no job and no idea where to find any more books I was stuck. Kids today have it a lot easier when it comes to finding information on Paganism and Witchcraft (Although not all of it is accurate). It wasn't until I was about eighteen or so when I found that there were a few books in the "New Age" sections of local book stores. I don't remember specific titles of the books I bought when I could (don't ask me how I can remember the first but none of the others) but so many of them had conflicting information that I was still fairly clueless about what Paganism, Witchcraft and Wicca were all about. Finding a "Correspondence School" through an ad in a magazine didn't help me either because the Frosts charge outrageous prices which I could not afford to pay and now that I know better I would not pay for.

I was very much the "fluffy" Neo-Wiccan who thought that I had all the answers about Paganism. I would get very angry when people had an opposing opinion about "harm none" and "threefold" and I was very vocal about it. Contrary to the opinion of some people here I am not against those who follow these practices now I just know that they are not for me. I once had the opinion that anyone who would use spells to call for "divine justice" or any type of self-defense was wrong. After getting to know people who had been on their own Pagan paths for longer than I had I began to see the logic in what they had to say on the subject. I began to form my own opinions on it from what I learned from those people and I slowly drifted away from the Neo-Wiccan path to get to where I am today.

Now the question is where I go from here? It's quite difficult to find many books on other kinds of Paganism other than the rather "fluffy" Neo-Wiccan books as far as I can tell. Honestly I don't know which authors are good and which aren't other than the few I know of from years ago. I know that what I truly want to do is forge my own path or even my own Tradition (even if the only member of it ever is me) but I feel the need to go back to basics before I do that. And that is an entry for another day since I really don't want to write a novel.

This is a quote from Wikipedia on the definition of Karma. (I am well aware that Wikipedia is not completely accurate but from what I know of Buddhism this is an accurate description).

"Karma is not about retribution, vengeance, punishment or reward, karma simply deals with what is."

So many times I've seen modern Wiccans confuse the law of return with the law of Karma. I do believe that we do build up Karma both positive and negative in our lives but we don't see the effects of said Karma until Reincarnation. If you build up an excessive amount of negative Karma in this life then you will have to repeat lessons you have already learned in this one IMHO.

Now does this mean that I think that I will build up negative Karma by doing a binding on someone who is threatening to flag all of my posts for no reason? Nope not at all...In my opinion when done in self defense a binding or other defensive spell to protect yourself is just that "self-defense". Just the same as if you broke into my home and threatened my life ( I would shoot you and then call the police rather than waiting on the police to get there and perhaps losing my own life). I will defend myself by using a binding or other spell of that nature when I feel it is necessary. That does not mean that I will do that without question and it's not the first thing I will do. I do not take spellcrafting lightly and it is only when mundane acts do not work that I will even consider a binding.

So, now on to Threefold Return...I'll start by saying I do believe that in certain cases you do get some sort of return on what you send out. However, the thought that it is always three times what you send out is silly. One reason that Paganism has always resonated with me far more than Christianity is because a Deity that expects us to take responsibility for our own actions makes far more sense than one who punishes with "Hell". In my opinion to tell me that I'm going to get back three times the "Bad Karma" for binding someone who is attacking me is the same as that threat of "You're a sinner and going to hell".  Expecting "Threefold Return" on every action you take good or bad is not taking responsibility for your own actions. When I send out healing energy to someone who has requested it I honestly don't expect anything back just the same as I would not expect a return on buying a meal for a homeless person who needed it.  I do not associate the good things in my life with good things that I have done for others nor do I associate the bad with any negative actions I may have taken. And I do not consider magic in self-defense to be a negative action. I'm not a turn the other cheek and let people walk all over me kind of person.

Do I think those who do follow the "Wiccan Rede" and beleive in "Threefold Return" are wrong? Nope I have never said that I did despite some people's opinion to the contrary. I simply believe that they are wrong for me which is why I do not practice Modern Wicca. To assume that all Pagans belive exactly as Wiccans do is misguided and to attempt to force those who don't to belive it or suffer "Karmic Justice" is very much like the Christian philosophy of "Covert or go to hell" that you claim to hate. Oh and just for the record I was in my younger days very much a "fluffy bunny" who bought the whole Neo-Wiccan philosophy hook line and sinker. I learned for myself what did and did not work for me and that is why at this point I no longer consider myself to be Wiccan and I'm quite happy about that decision.

I do not have any problem with people who are Wiccan or any other Pagan who says they follow the "Wiccan Rede". However, I do have issues with the whole concept of "harm none" it just doesn't work for me. While I think it's a noble and well meaning concept I do not believe it's possible to "harm none". We're all human and we make mistakes that can cause harm to other people. It's not always something that we are aware of either.

For example: I am a very upfront, bluntly honest person I am not always tactful. My lack of tact in my honesty can hurt some people's feelings whether I do it intentionally or not. That is causing harm to those people. Granted it's mild compared to some types of harm but it's still harm regardless. I fully accept any consequences that this might bring my way. I'll get into more detail on that when I discuss "threefold return" and "karma" in the next post.

I really find it kind of amusing when people remind me that "We are supposed to harm none" because I am not Wiccan. I am studying a course on Wicca right now which I find quite interesting and I would probably call myself Wiccan if it were not for my issues with "harm none".  Once again I'm inclined to think about how people who don't like Christianity "rammed down" their throats think it's perfectly OK to ram "harm none" down the throats of those who don't follow the Rede. Are you not doing us harm by forcing us to follow your own moral code?

Another example: Let's say person A writes an entry in her blog that upsets person B. Person B then proceeds to write several entries in which she is rude and calls person A names she also leaves comments on other people's blogs about how argumentative and rude person A is. Doesn't that cause harm to person A when person B is slandering her? Not to mention the outright lies and misquotes that person B uses to make herself look good.

This is why "harm none" makes no sense to me. We're all human beings who make mistakes none of us are perfect. "Harm none" is a nice concept but nearly impossible to follow IMHO because there are many different levels/forms of harm. I'm not a Thelemite but Crowley's "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" makes a lot more sense to me than "An it harm none do what you will".  That's not to say that I would do mean spirited things to people with no thought for their feelings as "Do what you will" seems to imply.  I know very little about Thelema to be honest so I really do not know how that should be interpreted. 

One other thing I have read Gerald Gardner's (The Founder of Wicca) books and I cannot remember him ever using the words "Harm none" in regards to Wicca. My copies of those books are gone thanks to my ex-husband and I have yet to replace them. If anyone who has read them recently can give me a quote and page number on this information so I can look it up when I replace my copies of his books I would appreciate it. It is my understanding that "harm none" is not a part of Gardner's Wicca and is a more modern concept added in the 70's.

In closing: Twenty years ago when I began actively seeking knowledge on Pagan religions I did embrace the "harm none" philosophy. I've learned in that time that for me it's just not possible to live my life that way. I don't consider it the wrong way for everyone only for myself..Hopefully this entry will explain why I feel that way. I do have my own code of morals and ethics that I live by and I do not intentionally cause harm to anyone for petty reasons. However, I can and will use any means necessary to defend myself when threatened. By threatened I do not mean if you make me angry with petty childishness I'm going to toss a hex or binding at you. But if you threaten me magically or physically I will do what is necessary to defend myself and if there are consequences that I have to face for that then I will accept them. I am not one who will be anyone's victim and if I truly beleived that the Gods of Pagaism demanded that I would seek another religion or have none at all.