Wicca, at it's core, is the development of a deep, personal love relationship between the Wiccan and the God of light, the Goddess of love, and all their creations. It teaches growth and fulfillment through living in harmony with all the forces of nature and all aspects of the self. The Wiccan Rede, "...if it harms none, do as you will.", means that if an action cannot be shown to harm others, then we should not make or accept criticism or judgments regardless of differences in beliefs, tastes, or preferences. This Rede (basic rule) permits us to do whatever we wish when it harms none to do so. The basic form of the "rede" does not specifically state what can or cannot be done when harm becomes unavoidable. This emphasis on harming none implies that if we must take an action which harms or offends others, we had best have a very good reason for doing so. This applies to animals and things as well as people. Harm is sometimes necessary. Even telling the truth can be a painful necessity at times, and our culture tells us to have the courage to defend the innocent and the helpless regardless of the consequences. This does not mean that we do not seek to avoid violence as much as possible, but we must do what honor requires while tempering it with wisdom and mercy. Revenge and black magic are tools only of the ignorant or the insane! Our ancestors may have considered them appropriate tools for extreme cases, but we have grown much in wisdom since then. Inherent in our culture are ideals which forbid the harming of any living thing by action or lack of action unnecessarily, and neither pride, nor anger, nor lust, nor power, nor profit, nor revenge can ever justify need. Wicca teaches that if any method, teaching, or lifestyle "harms none" that we are forbidden to judge and should accept no judgments upon us. Those of our craft who cannot accept this should consider redefining themselves as something other than "Wiccan". Wiccans believe that all of nature and all that lives is sacred! All the natural feelings and desires which our creators put into us are sacred as well including sensuality and sexuality. We believe that sex and pleasure are good and holy things as long as they are given as a gift of love in a manner which does not neglect responsibilities (such as preventing disease and caring for possible offspring) or harm any others in the process. Wicca teaches we are here to "learn and to grow" through as many human lifetimes as are required. Karma is the Hindu/Buddhist word for consequences which are inherent in all action and inescapable. We believe that all willful actions create energy patterns of the same type and magnitude as that which produced the action. These energy patterns move through space and time gathering force and power until they are finally drawn back to their source. The Wiccan "rule of three" teaches that karma usually returns three times as strong as the force which created it. Since we truly believe this teaching, it is usually enough to deter Wiccans from dabbling in "black" (manipulative or abusive) magick. While people can delay karma or speed up its return, not even death can help us escape it. This is a comfort rather than a fear to us, because we rest soundly in the knowledge that all things balance in time, and we believe that all karmic return of constructive and destructive energies our actions produce are priceless opportunities to learn rather than a reward or punishment. Wicca encourages the development of all our apparent and hidden talents in whatever way can be used most effectively to help and heal. When "psychic " abilities make themselves obvious (often at puberty) a person often faces the choice of either hiding them away and denying their new abilities or being rejected by society as weird or crazy. They may even be terrified by these new experiences and/or abilities and thinking themselves to be crazy when they experience what everyone says is "impossible". We must always try to be there for such young ones to help them through those times. By these standards, many religions could be labeled as a "Wiccan Religion", because the word simply translates as the way of wisdom. Wiccans are attempting to develop a non-contradictory set of traditions which teach these ideas of love, compassion, courage, and tolerance effectively and define it as "Wicca", because the Human Race's need for the availability of such alternatives is apparent! The exact rites, rituals, and mythology taught are important only in how well it serves these purposes and teaches these values which we hold so dear. We are trying educate the public that we are not "devil worshipers", we don't promote harmful or illegal activities, and that the only religions, philosophies, or spiritual paths we can not respect are those which advocate or practice the abuse of others. Freedom of religion is still only a pretty phrase, but if we can all put aside our egos long enough to work together for our mutual benefit, we have the power to change our world!