I've noticed a lot of "newbies" floating around lately asking questions (mostly on Facebook) about doing Spellwork and thought I might address my views on ethical Spellcraft here.
Admittedly, I don't personally practice a lot of Spellcraft myself. You may be wondering why that is, since I've been a practicing Pagan for nearly 20 years, and the answer comes back to ethics.
Although I'm a long way from my Wiccan roots now, I still believe that the Wiccan Rede -- shortly summed up to "An it harm none" -- is a good rule to live by.
That's not to say that I don't believe in protecting myself when needed, but I've rarely found a situation where aggressive/invasive spellwork was actually necessary.
Let's take the popular topics of bindings and love spells as an example.
Bindings, as I understand it, are generally performed in an effort to protect yourself from the words or actions of someone trying to inflict harm. In extreme situations, such as physical abuse, I can see where the appeal lies to perform such a spell, but, a binding, done improperly, can --and often does-- backfire.
The backfire is often binding said person to you, instead of offering you the protection you seek.
So, what can you do if someone deserves to be bound, without performing a binding?
Different situations call for different measures, but as a general suggestion, I would first perform a self-protection (or home protection, depending on the situation) ritual and then look into reflective spells.
Reflective spells, basically, bounce a person's karma, actions, etc, back to them, causing them to suffer whatever negative intentions they had, on themselves. If you believe in the Law of Karma, this is usually their karma times three. This is just a starting point, and if this doesn't work, then you progress to more aggressive actions from there.
And? If you are in a situation involving physical abuse, never forget to take the necessary mundane steps as well. Call the cops, tell someone that can help you. In short, get help and get out.
Love spells. This topic makes me a little irritable in that a person looking to perform one has one of two problems. Either they like someone who doesn't like them back and they're wanting to change that, or they're in a relationship and feel that the person no longer feels the same way about them and they're trying to prevent said person from leaving.
Either of these situations throw up red flags for me because they interfere with the free will of another person. In my opinion, there's never a good reason to interfere with free will, unless it is for self-protection.
The only type of love spell I would personally consider is more of an "attractive" spell. There's nothing wrong with casting on yourself to make you feel more attractive or appealing. Again, don't forget the mundane. Get noticed. Flirt. Ask them out!
The basis of anything, including spellwork, is the mundane work.
Do you actively practice Spellcraft, and if so, where do you draw the ethical line?
Namaste,
Rayven
