Wiccan Ethics: You get what you Pay for

This Wiccan Ethics post is something that I personally had problems with for years.

If Divination/Healing/Cleansing/etc are gifts of the Divine...why do certain people/witches charge for them?

Picture from Divine Playground

I asked myself this when I was first taken under the wing of my Tarot mentor, June Wright.
June was charging for her tarot readings as part of a service she provided at her small shop on Main street. I had nevr received a reading that I had to pay for before and was a little uncomfortable with the idea at first. Wasn't divination, including Tarot readings, intuitively and divinely inspired? If we do not have to pay the Divine for the gift of reading, why charge others for also receiving the gift.

The same questions can be asked of Reiki, Sekhem, laying on of hands, and other forms of healing. Reiki and Sekhem are both divinely given to the original teachers and yet it costs a good bit of money to be trained in either form as well as charging for healing services.

Answers to these questions came gently and over time, just like they were needed.

My lessons in Reiki explained that originally Reiki lessons were not charged for in a sense. Instead, the teacher (Dr. Usui for example) stayed with the student and the student would provide such menial things as food, shelter, a bed, and so on. Today in our society, such a student/teacher relationship would be unlikely and probably unethical in many cases.

By paying for Reiki instruction, the student is doing the same as before. Instead of buying the food and providing the shelter, he or she is paying money to the teacher so that the teacher can provide those things for him or herself.

Goddess Leonie explains what she calls Sacred Pricing beautifully with a conversation she had with friends of hers in a goddess circle:

“You must charge for your art. In everything – everything – there needs to be an exchange of energy. An equal one. One that fills me up. One that fills you up. If I give you a massage that nourishes and sustains and relaxes you, I ask you for money to nourish and sustain my life too. We must both be involved in the exchange, otherwise it is one sided. We must both be invested, so we both receive value. If I do not allow you to pay money for my service, I do a disservice to myself, but also to you. You must contribute too, in order to be fulfilled. You will value the things you pay for more. And my life will be better because I have helped your life be better. And your life will be better, because you have helped my life be better too. Everything – everything - must be an equal exchange of energy. It is sacred. Money is the manifestation of energy. Money is sacred too.”


In the end, I learned that
1. Everything has a price - an exchange of energy. This doesn't have to be money. Energies can be bartered - reiki healing for a crystal, tarot reading for an evening out and dinner.
2. The exchange of energies needs to be fare. Pricing does not need to be too low or too high. By under-pricing, you undercut your own energies and their worth. By overpricing, you use others.

Wiccan Ethics: Is it a sin to Kill?

I was very hesitant to write about this subject because, well, it’s a hot button for almost anyone who follows any religion, whether its Wicca, Christianity or Buddhism.

Is it wrong or sinful to Kill?
This is a topic that came up in the Temple Illuminatus chat room the other night and I added my two cents there, so, if my readers are from that chat, I’m sorry if this seems redundant but my points here might be a bit more clear now that I’ve had time to think them through.
Many people when reading this question will say YES, killing is wrong. A Wiccan will call upon the rede of Do as you will an HARM NONE.

I want to point out the fallacies in this statement and why it is too simplistic.
First is that many people will say this until they are in a situation of Kill or be Killed. Maybe you would not kill another person to save your own life, perhaps your religious beliefs are so far ingrained that you feel as though that killing a person, even if they are going to kill you, is simply two wrongs not making a right. What if that person was going to kill someone else? What if that other person is your husband or girlfriend, son or daughter, mother or sister or brother or nephew? Could you hold onto the idea that killing is wrong even in that situation? Would you still kill the would-be killer?

What about in situations of death row? Is it wrong to kill a serial killer, a mass murderer, a serial rapist, a pedophile? Does your compassion go so far as saying it is wrong to kill these people?
Now, I want to point out that in Wicca and many Earth-based religious beliefs, all things have life. If it is wrong to kill, is it wrong to kill all living things? Do animals count? Are you a vegetarian or vegan who believes it is wrong to kill any living thing? What about plants? Scientists have proven that plants actually fear being harmed or killed even though we cannot hear their screams. Is it wrong to kill them? Should we simply stop eating or building homes from trees or even walking on the grass for fear of killing any living thing?
By the way, these are just things to think about…

Now take it in another direction.
Go back to those people on death row. I bring forth the idea of a man who is a pedophile who killed three children after abusing them. Does he deserve to die?
Now, for the many of you reading this who believe in reincarnation and that we all choose the life we live in or at least the lessons we are supposed to learn in this life before we are born, that our actions in our past lives effect the events of this one.

Those three children knew, before they were born, that they were making a choice in this life that would have an equal outcome. They had past-life relationships with the man who did this to them.
This concept comes from a book I read by Dick Sutphen. In this book he did a past life reading of a woman who wanted to know why she was in an abusive relationship with a man who, turns out, raped her daughter as well. Turns out the three of them had a past life in a similar situation in the middle east during a time when it was common for men to take on the daughters of his harem as wives even at a very young age. The man brought this idea over into this life, whether he meant to or not along with the idea that women are beneath him. The daughter, in this past life was abandoned by her mother so in this life she decided she would make the choices necessary to force her mother to stay with her and care for her – the rape and abuse she suffered ensured her mother’s nurturing care.

You may have an issue with this idea but, what if the three children made the choice to settle some sort of karma with the man who killed them? How can we know whether or not the children were not murderers in a past life? For all horrible people were children once – Hitler, Stalin, the Virginia Tech murderer, were all once children.

Another change in direction
What about soldiers? Are they committing a wrongful sin by killing people who could pose threats to their country, their freedom, and their families?
Are they evil for killing?

I once heard that soldiers carry with them the karma of their killing. Many soldiers were soldiers in their past lives and continuously live out this lifestyle in each lifetime. A soldier in the Roman legion dies at the hand of a Gaul. He is reborn in WWII as a Nazi soldier killed by an American bullet. He is then reborn as an Afghani fighter who is kills himself for his religion, country and family.
This is a cycle that can only be broken by the conscious choice to turn away from that path and find a new purpose.

I propose that killing is not wrong or evil in a sense. Killing is simply a decision. It is an action that has a reaction. Those that live by the sword or gun or noose die by the sword… Those that harm others will, in turn, be harmed by others. This is karma. It does not depend on whether or not others deem or judge it wrong or a sin, it simply is.

If you do not want to be involved in the karma of killing, do your best not to kill. It is up to you as to how far you go in this decision whether it simply means not joining the military, voting against a politician who is pro-death penalty, becoming vegetarian, or even wearing softer shoes so that when you walk on the grass it does as little damage as possible.
Life is full of these karmic choices and it is part of experiencing life to think about them, decide on them, live them.

I know this post is going to anger and upset a lot of people. I want to make it clear here that this is merely an argument that saying it is wrong to kill is far too simplistic a statement.

Wiccan Ethics: Why Degrees?

The Degree System in wicca and some other forms of paganism is something that varies from one tradition to the other and is also a system that I have found to be very little understood. 

I found a simple definition of degrees and the degree system on About.com

"A Degree shows that the student has spent time learning, studying and practicing...the initiate studies and typically follows a lesson plan designated by the coven's High Priestess or High Priest. Such a lesson plan might include books to read, written assignments to turn in, public activities, demonstration of skills or knowledge obtained, etc."

Usually, traditions will have 3 Degrees and my focus in this post will be on the First Degree. 

You might be wondering what degrees have to do with ethics. 

I have found that the First Degree in wiccan circles of conversation to be grossly misrepresented and misunderstood. 

The First Degree is not, or should not be in my humble opinion, merely given to someone because a coven or tradition wants that person to be a part of their group. It is not an honorary degree or one that should be taken lightly. 

I state this in ethics because to give someone a first degree status is to not only lessen the status in those that are working for it but to also fail to give that person with that honorary status no chance of truly learning or attaining the knowledge that they could have. 

I think this article taken from sacred-texts.com states it best even though they are not of the same tradition as myself:

What is a First Degree? 

           

          Many  persons feel that the first degree initiation is  something  

          that  a person receives simply because this group or that  wishes  

          to accept a person into their circle. 

           

          In the my tradition, as a first degree, you ARE a priest/ess, and  

          as  such  you carry responsibilities.  In  some  traditions,  the  

          knowledge  you have gained during your first degree studies  will  

          qualify you for a third degree in that tradition.  But let's look  

          at it a minute. 

           

          As I have stated, as a first degree, you ARE a priest/ess.   What  

          does this mean?  In other faiths, you must go to seminary or  its  

          equivalent for a period of at least 5 years to obtain this  goal.  

          When  you  leave  there, you are knowledgeable in  not  only  the  

          beliefs  of  your  faith,  but  also  it's  history,  sects,  and  

          doctrines.  You have been trained to be a counselor, helper,  and  

          friend  to your parishioners.  You have had training  in  dealing  

          with  problems  within  your church,  your  community,  and  "the  

          enemy".  Basically, you have been given the trust of your  church  

          to be knowledgeable, loving, caring, and trustworthy.   

           

          Should a Priest/ess in the craft be expected to be any less?   As  

          an Isian, the answer is a resounding NO!   

           

          During  your first degree studies, you are the equivalent  of  an  

          Associate  Pastor/Minister/Whatever.  You are now in training  to  

          eventually  have your own coven, or if you wish to  be  solitary,  

          you  are  in training to be able to defend your religion  to  the  

          outside world if the need arises. 

           

          What are the responsibilities of a First Degree in my tradition? 

           

          As always, in the this tradition, you are required to  constantly  

          be learning and growing.  This does not mean that you have to  be  

          constantly be learning about the craft, but about yourself,  your  

          community, Mother Earth, etc.  This responsibility does not cease  

          even   when   you  receive  your  third  degree.    This   is   a  

          responsibility to yourself. 

                         Last amended June 11, 1989  --  Page NEXTRECORD 

                                                                             351

           

          Some of your responsibilities to the coven are listed below: 

          1.) To grow within the craft.  

          2.)  Observe  and  participate in all circle  functions  of  your  

          degree or lower. 

          3.)  To  assist in preparation for all circle functions  of  your  

          degree or lower. 

          4.)  To assist any student of a lessor grade in  his/her  studies  

          when asked by this student for assistance. 

          5.)  To contribute at least one research paper of 10 pages (5  if  

          single spaced) or more on the craft subject of your choice. 

          6.) Contribute in some manner to each sabbat or public  gathering  

          either  by  time, monies for supplies, or bringing  something  to  

          share  either during or after event.  Time could be  by  arriving  

          early to help set up, staying a little later and helping to clean  

          up  after, preparing and sharing a workshop (if open workshop  is  

          scheduled),  making  phone calls to remind people of  the  event,  

          etc. 

          7.)  Contribute  to ideas for coven gatherings and  help  arrange  

          same. (Remember, all things do not happen at Covenstead!)  

          8.)  Be aware of any conflicts within Circle, and bring  this  to  

          the  attention of the HP/HPS (even if that's where  the  conflict  

          is!)   

          9.)  Be  prepared  to accept the responsibility of  a  circle  or  

          ritual should something happen to your HP/S. 

           

          To  some  people, this may seem like a lot of  expectations,  but  

          keep  in mind.  We are not are not training  "week-end  witches."  

          You are in training to be a Priest/ess of Wicca.   

           

          Your  first degree is something to be proud of.  You have  worked  

          hard  and long to receive it, and your HP/S has found you  worthy  

          of same.   

           

          May the Lord and Lady smile on your efforts. 

                         Last amended June 11, 1989

I am proud to be training hard to attain my First Degree in the Correllian Tradition of Wicca. 

Blessed Be,

HedgeWife

Wiccan Ethics: You be the Judge?

I've been reading some great articles that revolve around one concept of Wiccan ethics or another. Some are pretty basic and require knowledge of the Law of 3 or Karma. I will not be talking about these as there are whole books on the topic and you can read a little about that in my essay on the Good and Bad of Magic.

Instead, today I'd like to share with you 2 articles from the Aquarian Tabernacle that concern Wiccan Christian relations and the concept of judging.

I actually disdain Christian bashing among Pagans. I feel like putting people down because of their faith or beliefs is just as bad as persecution of witches. No, said witches are not burning the Christians per se, but the action is still wrong.
By bashing another's beliefs, we are not only creating conflict between two belief systems that already have a shaky history, but also making ourselves even more of the bad guys in the minds of many Christians. Why not uphold a higher concept of right living by being kind to another, regardless of their beliefs?

Another point I'd like to make is that Christians are not alone in killing others for their beliefs. History is filled with Christians being burned, hung, and nailed to crosses by Pagans for proclaiming their faith. How is this any different than the inquisition?

The 2 articles from the Aquarian Tabernacle are:

A Letter to Pope John Paul II after his apology on March 12, 2000 for the Inquisition and any harm it might have caused over the years. It is an acceptance of that apology and a request for forgiveness for any harm Pagans have caused toward the Catholic Church since. Its well written and I think it is a great step towards inter-faith relations.

The second is an article written by a Christian to other Christians and explaining, with biblical verse, how we all worship the same God and Wiccans and Christians alike are brothers and sisters of the same faith, no matter what we call our Deity. Being raised in the Christian Church and now a Pagan, I thought this was a very well documented article that really opened my heart.

I leave you with these articles and the hope that you will take the advice many Wiccans and Witches have given Christians over the years - Do Not Judge Others on What They Believe, Please. I know I'm not gonna get a lot of fans for this post and there will be many arguments against it. I only ask that you think about it.

Thank you,
HedgeWife