By Rachel Raymon; Refrence: Llewellyn's Witches Calender
The Wiccan rede, "Do what thou will, an it harm none" has become for many Wiccans (Witches) an oath to live by. Yet no two Wiccans are likely to agree on what living by the rede entails.
Some feel that to live by the Rede is akin to taking a Buddhist vow of harmlessness. Others feel that the Rede only applies to magical workings. In other words, it's okay to wear furs, eat veal, and litter the wilderness with aliminum cans as long as you don't inflict a love spell on an unwilling recipient. I have also heard a more philosophical interpretation that as long as you you are doing what "Thou wills" (as in that divine-Thou-that-resides-within), then you are aligned with the Universal Will and are incapable of causing harm.
Ethics is the study of the definition of harm. This article adresses the following questions: How is the use of magic affected by ethical considerations? How do you go about defining a set of ethics for yourself? Finally, I provide a small list of deities in times of ethical quandry.
Defining a set of ethics and living by them can have far-reaching consequences in all phases of your life. Ideally, a set of ethics should fit like a good pair of shoes. It is a creed thast supports and protects you while you walk around; one that is not so tight that your toes get pinched, but not so loose that you keep getting tripped up.
