I dont necessarily endorse or not-endorse the following, I'm merely sharing this article, feeling that it gives a good background to pagan ethics, and as always, I sumbit this as a springboard for discussion, if desired.
Pagan Ethics and Etiquette
When we speak of ethics and etiquette in relation to paganism, what are we referring to? Are we speaking of outdated rules and actions that no longer have meaning and we only give lip service to? I don't believe so. Ethics and etiquette are living, breathing codes of life, shaping our actions in relation to each other, and ourselves. They are a guiding force in the way we live our lives.
Let us first look at ethics. Ethics are defined as - a set of principles, moral philosophy, rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession, human duty, a particular system of principles and rules concerning duty - whether true or false, rules of practice in respect to a single class of human actions, motivation based on ideas of right and wrong, the philosophical study of moral values and rules.
When we begin to speak of ethics, we need to realize that this can be a very touchy subject. We are human after all, and we want to think our ethics are the correct ones. While there are generally accepted community ethics, it is personal ethics that make up who we are, and these are not the same for each person.
Before we begin to discuss in depth community and personal ethics, let us first look at the Rede, the most common code of conduct among Wiccans.
Bide the Wiccan law ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust; Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill; "An ye harm none, do as ye will"; Lest in self-defense it be, ever mind the rule of three; Follow this with mind and heart; And merry ye meet and merry ye part.
Every Wiccan knows the Rede. Our passwords into the sacred circle are in here. Our major rule of ethic is here, along with the reason for breaking this ethic, as well as the consequences of breaking it foolishly. When we extract the line most popular - "An ye harm none, do as ye will" and begin to dissect it, we have to wonder "Is this an ethic we can ever achieve?"
I believe the Rede is a standard of living, like all ethics, and one that is an impossibility to achieve. The goal is to live as closely to the Rede as possible. In the attempt to do this, we begin to analyze our actions. We follow the path of LEAST harm. Thus, we begin to live conscious of our actions, and how they effect the world around us. Here comes the REAL lesson of the Rede: It forces us to have personal responsibility. Once you have acknowledged that the Rede is a goal to work for and not a given situation and have taken of the blinders that let you go around smug and happy that your religion is so sweet it makes your teeth itch, you can get down to the work of making your life an ethical one. What this involves is considering each decision in the light of the Rede before you decide upon a course of action. You do this by looking at all the possible consequences of that action and whether that will cause harm to any, choosing the path that causes the least harm and, (THIS IS THE KEY) accepting the responsibility for the consequences of your actions whether intentional or unintentional. -Lark, HPS of Tangled Moon Coven.
Wicca, as well as most Pagansim, is a religion and spiritual path of personal responsibility. We strive to live in an aware state. When we do this, we recognize our free will and the free will of others. If we ignore the lesson of personal responsibility, we fail to realize our true spiritual potential and our true spiritual will.
As we begin our path, we must develop a set of personal ethics, while maintaining a respect for the ethics of the community we are becoming a part of. Some community ethics are very well defined. -Don't practice black magick, or follow the left-hand path. -Don't attempt to harm another or interfere with their free will. -Always act in a way that will reflect well upon your path. Never do anything that will bring harm to the Craft.
Since Wicca and pagansim are very open paths and for the most part do not seek to make anyone follow "ONE RIGHT WAY," most of the ethics defined by community are concerning harm to others and harm to the Craft.
To begin a spiritual path and to follow it every day of your life, you must develop your own set of personal ethics that define the way you live. No one can tell you what your personal ethics should be. Your teachers, mentors, HPS, HP can all recommend both in word and deed, ethics that work for them. You may be given a 'Book of the Law' that governs your group or tradition. If you are a solitary, you may read on the net or in a book, acceptable codes of conduct or ideals. You cannot take someone else's ethics and make them your own. You must do some soul searching, and decide how you feel about things. Now I am NOT suggesting that you ignore your HPS or HP or your teachers and mentors. I am suggesting that you should always temper wisdom with personal experience. You must come to a point that you are willing to question what you are taught, to grow in your own self. Through this, your own sense of ethics and morals will come.
Now, here comes the biggie. What do you do when your personal ethics are in direct conflict with accepted community ethics? For example - it has become a phenomenon in the pagan community to love everything white and full of light, and shun everything dark and full of shadow. It has become unacceptable to speak of negative emotions like anger and envy. It has become unacceptable to feel hate towards another person, wish that a murderer would get the death penalty, which that rapist would get castrated by a bunch of angry women. Some of us fondly refer to this a fluffy, bunny Wicca, no offense to anything fluffy, or bunnies. We are taught to love unconditionally because we are all brothers and sisters, connected to each other and every living thing. We are taught that if we experience these emotions, maybe we aren't all that spiritual, and especially not as much as Miss crystal love and light. We are often looked down upon if we say something like "I am so damn mad at my ex husband I could smack him." The response I myself have heard to such comment is "My my, now THAT wasn't very positive." Well, guess what. It WASN'T. Now I am not saying that you should indulge in these emotions. They can be deterrents to developing a sound spiritual identity because they are 'negative' in the sense that they are base emotions that do not vibrate on the spiritual plane, but they also teach us lessons that can lead to spiritual epiphanies.
Life is a balance between light and dark. Nature is both beautifully creative and frighteningly destructive. Inside of a single human there is light and shadow, and to be totally balanced we must learn to face both, experience both and therefore learn from both. So back to the original question. Let's say you don't feel that you are evil if you feel anger at another person or what have you. What do you do when community ethics conflict with your personal ethics? In my opinion, as long as what you are doing does not come into direct conflict with the good of the general community, or does not manipulate or purposefully harm another person, then your personal ethics should come first. You should not do something maliciously to another person. When you do this, you are not only harming yourself, but you are harming that person, AND the whole of the community. It is very important that our community not be sullied, and the reasons are obvious; but beyond this, your personal ethics should prevail.
Do ethics change over time? Do you think that the ethics of our ancestors of 100, 200 or even 1000 or more years ago are the same as what they are now? I believe that ethics are a revolving and ever changing system. Some become outdated, and some we should always keep. For instance, it has only been in the recent resurgence of Pagansim in the last 50-60 years or so that the belief of "An ye harm none, do as ye will" came about. In times past, a witch who could not curse, could not heal. Societies have not always believed that you should not harm another person, or that interfering with someone's life was a bad thing. The old wise woman of a village was sought out for every reason from fertility, to love, to revenge. It has been in our time only, with the resurgence of beliefs and the discrimination that we face that we have adopted some of the common ethics we now have. I am NOT saying this is wrong, or that we should go back to the 'Old Ways.' In a society that we now live in and the information that is available for spiritual purposes, there is no longer a need to seek out the crone of the village and ask her to grant you revenge on your enemy, but this is the perfect example of how ethics change with time. At one time it was ethical for old men to mate with young girls. In our culture, it is no longer ethical. So ethics change and so they should. Change is the only constant in the universe, and without it, we grow stagnate and our lives become filled with rot and decay. Change blows in new life to help recreate our lives, our beliefs and yes, even out ethics.
