Ethics

For a religion based upon each individual establishing their own moral code within rough guidelines, there's one phrase which seems to be chanted, parrot fashion, more than any other in the craft...

Amusing in itself, as invariably those who chant this line aren't even able to put it in context with the rest of the piece of poetry it came from!  And, as enlightened and powerful as it may be, at the end of the day, a fine piece of poetry is all it is.  But not without an element of truth in it...  But Paganism is not about following, sheep like, the words of a stranger we've most of us never met; it's about individuality.  So let's get the rational mind involved for a moment in that line, and see where it takes us.

So harm none is the rule, then?  How far do we take this?  The person most prone to quoting this that I have met, also happens to be a chain smoker who indulges herself all too often in the bitter art of bitchcraft... so perhaps not a good living example of a craftworker who walks the talk!  But taking the phrase literally; not to harm a single thing, living or otherwise, would swiftly lead to insanity.  How does one go about walking in a field without harming anything?  Or finding enough food?  Even applied to people alone, by keeping everyone else happy, you will invariably be doing yourself harm.  If attacked in the street, do you defend yourself (thus harming your attacker) or stand still (thus harming yourself)?

It doesn't take a great deal of intelligence to swiftly shoot great holes in this philosophy if applied on it's own.  Thus, I'm afraid, I largely discount it as a fabulous piece of poetry with a great deal of truth in it, but by no means a law to live by.

Even when we think we're helping, more often than not we are at best disabling the recipient of our help, and sometimes even damaging them.  When a person falls ill, for example, our first thought is to make them better as swiftly as possible.  Those healers reading this will know even more the temptations of giving someone a helping hand, even though they've not asked for it.  By doing so, without allowing the person to figure out why they have the illness, or what good can come of correct response to it, we are actually disabling them terribly, and preventing what may be a crucial catalyst for an advancement in their progress in life.  Have we still done them a favour?

The same can be applied to all manner of situations in life.  Take, for example, the craftworker who's lover has left them for another.  Sure, the temptation is to curse the ex lover and their new partner throughout eternity... only years down the line may they realize the favour that had been done to them by removing the deadwood of that relationship from their lives.

So where does this leave us with regards to ethics?  Well, at the end of the day, it leaves us in much the same place as the rest of Paganism leads us... to our own individual philosophy, morals and beliefs.  At the end of the day, the best you can do is constantly question your actions and reactions to see whether you personally feel they are the best you can manage.  When all's said and done, the only person you can fully influence without a guilty conscience is yourself, and you will always be answerable to your own conscience.  "Harm none", we have established, is impossible... so perhaps "Harm as few people (including yourself) as possible, whilst caring as much as you can for the natural world in which we live" may be a lengthier, but more realistic, option?!

A dear friend of mine (prone to testing me at the most inopportune moments!) once asked me "What do you believe, and why do you believe it?".  I nearly launched into an essay on my beliefs and reasons, then suddenly realized I could answer the question with one simple word.  My answer remains the same now, and will till the day I die, although what is embodied by that one word will change with the wind.  And so it was that I learnt to question my values, beliefs, motives... everything in my life... on a regular basis.

And that, in all honesty, is the strongest advice I can give when it comes to the ethics of craftwork within Paganism.