Witchvox Article

Author: Kyriea
Posted: November 11th. 2001
Times Viewed: 4,225

White magick, black magick, good witch, bad witch, the side of light, the side of dark, the good side of "the force", the dark side of "the force", "holy", "satanic", good, evil, white, black, heads, tails, right, wrong. Is the pattern noticeable? There always seems to be 2 sides to every story (I know there can be more but for this simple exercise we will just go with 2). What has plagued man for centuries is defining what those sides are. For one person what is white may be black to another person. A good example right out of our current headlines: To many the United States of America is the great land of freedom and possibilities; to some people in the middle east the good ole USA is nothing more than Satan's lair. To them we are the dungeon that Satan holds court in and we are all his demons who need to be exterminated from the face of the planet according to their "God". Most in the US would say they are wrong and we are right.

The question arises; what is right or wrong? Is there really any way to accurately define those terms and make everyone happy? The answer to that last question is no. It is all in perception, and you CAN NOT make a perception apply to everyone.

How does this all relate to the essay topic at hand? My point is there is NO white magick, black magick, good witch, bad witch, the side of light, the side of dark, the good side of "the force", the dark side of "the force", "holy", "satanic", good, evil, white, black, heads, tails, right, or wrong. It is all in the person's perception to define those terms and what works for one person does not always work for another.

I know this is a hard thing to grasp. It was very difficult for me to "get it" at first and it's still hard for me to put it into my own words so please bear with me here.

In this incarnation on this planet we have always needed to define our existence and the existence of the things around us. We put labels and titles on everything. We needed to do this to keep things straight when talking to others and expressing our opinion. Language is a good example. We named things so we could communicate with another person our thoughts and feelings on said thing. If we talk to someone who does not understand our language then what they say means nothing to us and what we say means nothing to them, so a common language was formed. But with it came limitations.

This formula also applies to concepts. Many centuries ago man killed animal to eat. It was an existence that worked for both. Mother Nature kept everything in balance. Man only killed what he needed to eat and survive and man in turn controlled that animal's population. It was neither wrong nor right. It just was. And it worked. No one said "this is a good thing, we can now eat". No one said "we shouldn't kill the helpless animal, this is a bad thing". It just happened.

Today we have people who chose not to eat meat. That is fine, and it is their right to choose that, where the issue comes into play is when these same people say others should also not eat meat. That it is "wrong" to kill helpless animals just for consumption. They assume that what is "good" for them must be "good" for all and that if people don't believe and act as they do that all the others are "wrong". The choice to eat meat or not to eat meat is just that, a choice. It is neither "right" or "wrong". It just IS. To put a disclaimer of "right" or "wrong" is to place your PERCEPTION on the matter. And as I have said before you CAN NOT make a perception fit everyone.

There are Pagans who follow the Wiccan Rede to a tee (what they perceive as following it to a tee I mean). They do not harm anyone when doing magick. They do not cast for anyone without permission. They only do things that can benefit everyone. Wait. They wouldn't be doing anything then. How can they be sure that the magick they do will not harm anyone? How are they sure that everyone benefits from their spells? They can't be SURE so I guess they don't do magick. Now I realize that this is a bit much and I have exaggerated the point a little. But I hope you see where I am going here. What one Pagan perceives as harming none another can find hole in and show that harm may come from said magick. So who is right here?

I have said before (in other essays) that if someone were to attack a family member or friend of mine I would do everything in my mundane and magickal power to stop him/her. I have been told that to use my magick to bind, control, or harm another is "bad" and "wrong". That "we" don't do that kind of magick. That would be using "black" magick and it is "wrong". Says who? The Gods? Do we not have Gods of war and vengeance? Do we not have Gods of death and destruction? Does not war, vengeance, death and destruction have a place in our society and planet? Does not Mother Nature herself use death and destruction all the time to make way for rebirth and life? Is it "wrong"? Is it "right"? Who is the ONE designated to make the rules we all must follow? I know I am not willing to take on that role.

To me, if I were to do something magickal that might not fit with the way you practice your craft, and you were to chastise me for it, I would be offended. What I do I do with the best of intentions as I see it. If I know what I am doing is going to restrain someone from doing something then I will take responsibility for my actions per the laws of my Gods and the governing body of the land. But I will not let someone tell me what I did was "wrong" or "evil". That is their perception. And I might not agree with it.

This does not mean that no one should ever follow a law or rule. That would be chaos and anarchy. What I am saying is that we should not judge whether someone is "good", "bad", "right", or "wrong". We may see things differently than they do. Just like when some Muslims were celebrating in the street when we were attacked. People here were saying how "wrong" they were to do that when thousands of people here died. I personally do NOT condone the mass killing of anyone or thing in order to make a point ( and I think that anyone who uses the excuse of "GOD" when killing is also delusional regardless of what their "good book" may tell them) but we can not say that they are "wrong" for celebrating. They think what happened was a "good" thing and that their "God" was pleased.

You can see why this is a difficult concept to grasp. It doesn't always make people happy to think that they might not be "right" all the time and that others aren't always "wrong".

I realize that there are going to be quite a few people who do not agree with me. That is fine. I am not asking you to agree with me. Just take a step back and open your mind to the possibility.

There is no dark side of the craft. There is no light side to the craft. There is just the craft and what you do with the magick and energy. Some things may be perceived as "dark" or "light" but it really isn't. Energy just is. Magick just is. It's how you use it and how that use is perceived that makes it "right" or "wrong", "dark" or "light", etc. (I think you get the point). Just remember that regardless of what your perception might be you are still held accountable for all your actions.

If you cause a car accident you will probably be perceived as in the "wrong" and get a ticket, but I doubt that anyone will perceive you as a "bad" person. You are being held accountable. And paying the ticket and reporting it to your insurance company is your responsibility. But I would never say you were a "bad" person for causing an accident. But you will be held accountable for your actions.

That is how I see magick and the craft working. We labeled different aspects and concepts per our perceptions. But since perceptions do not work the same for everyone we came up with a set of guidelines. That does not mean that what you do is "wrong" or "right". Just that you will be held accountable to your Gods and your conscience.

I don't know if I made myself clear here or not (I did try) but a great book that delves more deeply into this concept and subject is the set of three books called "A Conversation With God" books 1, 2 and 3. they explain what I am trying to say much better than I ever could. At first I didn't understand them. But the more I read the more I did understand. Don't let the title fool you. There are more Pagan concepts in these books than most Christians would be comfortable with. I recommend them to everyone I talk to about these types of things.

Thanks for listening.

Blessings, love and peace to all.

Kyriea

ABOUT...

Kyriea

Location: Ramsey, Minnesota

Author's Profile: To learn more about Kyriea - Click HERE

Bio: Kyriea is a solitary Pagan who follows a Celtic path. She has been actively living and practicing her Pagan religious path since 1998 but has had many years of off and on again interest and study. Other interests include: sewing Renaissance costumes and clothes for friends and family, writing and publishing poetry related and unrelated to the Craft, writing essays for The Witches' Voice, spending time with her daughter, boyfriend, family and friends, and soon to be addition of either a daughter or son sometime late November and playing with her 2 cats, Bonnie and Clyde.

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