I was just wondering about curses. I believe in karma and all, but what if someone harmed you or any of your family or friends. Would you still be punished if you cursed them? I'm an eclectic Wiccan, I was just wondering if I would be violating the Wiccan rede?
Since you are a Wiccan, yes, it would be violating the Rede. The Rede has many other parts to it than simply the the"an ye harm none, do what ye will". The Threefold law is actually from the Rede of the Wiccae, which was published after the Wiccan Rede showed up (albeit not in the current form it is known as). The Old Laws are what Gardner actually published as the moral/ethical code for Wiccans.Below are some links that may help you out.
In the end, you choose what you follow. You don't have to be Wiccan, but you can follow similar practices that Wicca has, and follow and make your own path. You can research the old ways of how curses were made and what makes them work and work it out on your own what is best for you. Not all practitioners are Wiccan, nor are all Wiccans practitioners.
Wiccan Rede:http://wicca.cnbeyer.com/rede.shtml
Rede of the Wiccae:http://wicca.cnbeyer.com/laws/credo.shtml
The Witches' Creed:http://wicca.cnbeyer.com/laws/creed.shtml
Not at all Self defense isnt a Bad Thing Its like some one Attacking you in the Street you React
same thing with a Curse its there so why cant you Use it???
when you need to against a Enemy or Bad Person
What I believe is that we, humans, don't have the right to punish....We don't know all the aspects of what happened(why did he done thast, why he hates us and more) and we should let karma judge that person.
There is a tremendous amount of misinformation out there about what the Wiccan Rede actually says.
Firstly, the Rede is not an unbreakable law. Rede means "advice" and that is what the Wiccan Rede truly is. It's advice on how to live one's life.
Secondly, the Rede does not say that you cannot do harm...that is a misinterpretation of the last two lines. The Rede says "An if it do no harm, do as you will." In this case "An" should be interpreted as "And". So what the Rede is saying is that those actions which do not cause harm you are free to do as you see fit. The Rede is absolutely silent on actions that do cause harm, leaving those up to the situation and the ethics of the individual Wiccan to determine which actions are right and justified.
Of course this does not free you from the consequences of your own choices of action. Wicca is all about taking personal responsibility for both our choices and for our actions...and for the consequences of what we choose to do.
So the Rede will not tell you not to use a curse if you feel it is necessary, but the Law of Three tells us that if you choose to go that route there may be consequences down the road for that choice. So the question is...are you willing to pay the consequences? If the answer is yes..then go ahead. But there is no free ticket given for our actions. Everything we choose to do will have consequences.
And I always tell my own students that they should not look at doing anything magically that they are not willing to do mundanely. If someone has caused harm to your family or friends the first thing to be thinking of is how to prevent it from happening again, and the second thing should be what legal actions might one take to resolve the issue. Hexes and curses should be the last resort only when no other options are open.
"So what the Rede is saying is that those actions which do not cause harm you are free to do as you see fit. The Rede is absolutely silent on actions that do cause harm, leaving those up to the situation and the ethics of the individual Wiccan to determine which actions are right and justified."
I think because we're so used to religions full of laws and rules and punishments, the fact that the Rede is a proclamation of your freedom, not a moral restriction, just sails right over the heads of a lot of new practitioners (totally sailed over mine!).
I know we're specifically talking about Wicca, but I'd like to take a quick field trip to its cousin, Thelema. In Liber AL (our main holy book) we're told that "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law," and that "love is the law, love under will," and Crowley briefly explains how to live with Love as the law without becoming spineless;
"This is to be taken as meaning that while Will is the Law, the nature of that Will is Love. But this Love is as it were a by-product of that Will; it does not contradict or supersede that Will; and if apparent contradiction should arise in any crisis, it is the Will that will guide us aright. Lo, while in The Book of the Law is much of Love, there is no word of Sentimentality."
http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0002.html
What Crowley is essentially saying here is that even in a world where the very law that governs it is love, that is not a call for you to sit on your hands and do nothing while your family is harassed or harmed or whatever else. If you truly believe in pacifism, more power to you (pacifists are way braver than anyone gives them credit), but you in either case have every right to defend yourself and those around you. After all, letting their disruptive act of hate go unstopped and unchallenged isn't particularly loving either, now is it?
The choice to use magick for something like a curse is very personal and totally up to you, but remember that Wiccans can and do join the armed forces of the world, and even in perfect love and perfect trust they kill the enemies of peace and freedom.
