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Ethics, Wyrd and Magick, Part Two: On Others

In the first part of my look at magickal ethics in a Vanic Witchcraft practice, I discussed when cursing others might be ethical, and why it must always be done with extreme caution.  In the second part we now look at working any kind of "good magick" on behalf of others -- when it's appropriate, when it's not.

When I identified as Wiccan, it was a common belief in my circle of Pagan acquaintances that magick done for "personal gain" was wrong and it should only ever be used to assist others.  It should not be surprising that my viewpoint is dissenting if not completely opposed.

I believe that magick should primarily be done for self, as you know yourself best -- or you should -- and therefore have a good idea of your needs and desires, as well as what would happen if said needs and desires were met.  If you view magick as change, whether temporary or permanent, that always alters the course of Wyrd -- your lot in life, a "web" of people, places, things, and situations that can shift due to influence of deeds, but will always get you where the Gods want you to be -- then you realize that it's perhaps "safest" to only work on your own Wyrd and not mess with that of others.

That being said, if you care about anyone besides yourself, you, The Magick Practitioner, will find it hard to resist the urge to "help" others in your sphere of caring.  Indeed, if they know you are magickal, they may ask for your assistance.  So, we have the conundrum: is it more wrong to perhaps "tweak" someone's Wyrd with good intentions, or tell them you can't help them because it would, in fact, be altering their Wyrd perhaps for the worst?

I won't lie: I have done magick on behalf of others; I do it on a fairly consistent basis.  Generally I don't do magick for people unless they ask me to.  I don't offer to burn a candle or send them an amulet or something along those lines, either.  Until a person comes to me and explicitly asks me to do a spell, I stay away from that, although I may pray for them, even petitioning my Gods in Their name in a formal ritual if the need is great.

If a person asks, before going right ahead and doing the spell, I want to make sure it's worth my time.  You cannot cast a spell for money and then never follow up on job interviews, and wonder why you suck at magick as you order the next $50 "guaranteed success" prosperity candle that you can't afford.  Likewise, if you work magick on behalf of others, it should be expected that they are in a position where they can augument the magick with self-work.  Sending Reiki to someone for healing isn't going to work if they are habitually abusing their body with drugs and alcohol, or don't want to take the initiative to eat well and exercise.  Working magick on behalf of someone with self-defeating behavior will result in it "not taking" and the person most likely griping at you about it later.

Often magick will also act as a catalyst, speeding up the Wyrd of the recipient.  For example, I cannot tell you how many times people have cast "love spells" with the intent of forcing their partner to love them, only to find the partner become obsessive and even abusive; or "healing spells" on someone who has cancer, only to find that person passes on rather quickly, Death being the ultimate healer.

But, formal spellcraft is not the only way to work magick for others.  I work magick into the food I prepare, into the atmosphere of my home, and the wards surrounding it.  I work magick through my touch as I give hugs or massages.  I work magick into letters I send, words I speak, gifts I give to people I care about.  These are all ways of enhancing the quality of life of others, without deciding what course their lives should take.  I also pray for people.  When I pray on behalf of others, I only ask for Frey's light to be with them, that way, the choice is off me, and is more about the blessings that come from Frey's gentle caring.

Not everyone has the ability to deeply alter their state of consciousness and look at the threads of Wyrd, so to speak, branching out from someone's etheric field across the world and to different Beings and back, rather like a map.  But anyone who works magick from a Northern Tradition context should at least be aware that to unknot one thread in one area, may make it unravel in another, and to place one thread in a different location -- even a small thread -- may permanently cause damage as far as missed opportunities, and newfound obstacles.

When you are working magick on behalf of others, and doing so with explicit intent, rather than general benevolence, you are potentially playing God.  I didn't say "you must not do it", only that you need to be very, very careful.  Since the Gods are Beyond the Veil, we are Their representatives here on Midgard and often the agents of Their will.  So, sometimes spellcraft is part of how They work through us, and something They want us to do.  And sometimes, it is our decision rather than Theirs, and while the Gods can still undo damage or render our Work completely ineffective, They would rather we ask Them what They want as opposed to assuming.  Ergo, if you're going to work magick for others, you need to learn how to divine.  I don't care if you use Tarot, runes, ogham, tea leaves, or whatever, but discernment is a MUST if you are going to tweak people's Wyrd with any kind of regularity.  Beyond that, you should have some kind of magickal aptitude; this is not for newbies.

The school of thought that says it's OK to do "positive magick" on someone against their will/consent but it's never OK to curse an evildoer, is something that needs to be done away with when dealing with the Vanir.  It is a common misconception that the Vanir are pacifists.  Indeed, They may be non-aggressors.  However, Freyja is said to work seidhr, which has connotations of both positive and negative magick, and in Ynglinga Saga it is noted that Freyja's seidhr was also in common practice with the rest of the Vanir.  Frey did not stop being a warrior for lack of His sword -- indeed were Ragnarok to come to pass (which it may not), He will fight with an antler because His fighting skills are good enough to use that as a weapon.  We can assume Frey also knows how to use magick as a weapon.  Gullveig seems to embody the worst traits of the Vanir, including skill at "evil" magick, which lets Her survive three burnings by the Aesir.  I believe that all the Vanir know magick, and while the Vanic current of magick is most obviously worked for seed, and the growth and health of land, plants, and animals, and the fertility and life quality of the people, we see sinister elements: Nerthus' slaves being drowned, Frey's sacrifice at Lammas.  The Vanir are bound up in the blood of the broken maidenhead and the blood of the womb, but also the blood of death.  Death is a necessary part of the life cycle, as it feeds the living and goes back to the soil, to make it more fertile.  Without death there would be too many mouths to feed, and too many unnatural events in old age. 

To the Vanir, magick used to enhance life is as natural as breathing air, drinking water, or having a sex drive.  But to forsake the safety of the community to spare an evildoer on some foreign notion of "compassion", while deciding you know best for somebody's health and welfare even beyond what the Gods have decreed, are equally reprehensible, in their eyes.  Both stand in the way of the cycles of life and death, and are an abuse of Their gift: magick as protection, prosperity, healing, and love.  The four arms of the equal-armed cross, representing the Four Directions, and the brother-sister pairs of Njord/Nerthus, Frey/Freyja.  This is the essence of Vanic magick, and as a votary of the Vanir, I have to have Their integrity in my own magickal practice, and it is my obligation to educate others.

Let magick be used, but used wisely.  For that is what it means to work the Craft of the Wise.

(C) 2008 Sigrun Freyskona.