Magick vs. Free Will Manipulation
Posted by: Tanoro
- January 05, 2007
Introduction
I have come to realize that many people fear learning
how to cast spells because they fear the concept of being able to influence
the free will of others and thus reaping the much feared karmic consequences
of it. They also seem to fear casting spells on people without their knowledge
because someone told them that this manipulates free will and is against
the Rede. This is often a fear when considering love magick or casting
any kind of spell on other people without their knowledge. Unfortunately,
amongst the professional spellcasting trade, it happens a lot. Spells are
cast for people in secret all the time. I grow tired of watching Craft
users misconceive the concept of magick vs. free will, so I will attempt
to explain my feelings on the subject as I am a professional spellcaster
as well.
As a collective world of Craft users, we have become
so afraid of being manipulated that we consider influencing others a karmic
sin even though it is not covered by the Rede or the Karmic Law unless
actual harm is involved. Some people like to twist things around by saying
that influencing another person's free will is a form of harm as well.
This is rediculous! We have forgotten that all life is connected and we
all influence each other directly and indirectly everyday of our lives.
There is nothing harmful about influence over others because good leadership,
for one, thrives on it and humanity cannot live the way we do without it.
It is obviously not harmful to lead others unless you lead them with bad
intention. Permission, however, is an inevitably irrelevant detail.
Casting in Secret
First of all, you may be asking yourself why it
is necessary to cast spells in secret. Simply speaking, it is necessary
because some really beneficial spells will not work unless done in secret.
Allow me to explain. Have you ever had a friend to ask you for a love spell
to get the attention of a potential love interest? If the given target
person needs the spell in the first place, then he or she may not cooperate
or may not understand the good intention your friend has in mind. If you
read my article on Love Magick, you will understand
why a person may not cooperate with a love spell. Secondly, some people
unconsciously influence the effectiveness of a spell when they are made
aware of it. This happens all the time. You cast a spell on someone for
love and then tell them about it. What would they likely do? The spell
probably would not work then because the target would begin to question
the authenticity of the true feelings of attraction he or she already has
instead of embracing them as he or she normally would.
A lot of Craft users stick to spellcasting only
for themselves or people who ask them to. This is not a bad thing, but
they often do not realize that you cannot stop your spirit from touching
and having influence on others. There is simply no way not to influence
the lives of others, by magick or by simply being there. For instance,
the Middle Pillar exercise is said to make you seem more pleasant and friendly
to others. The effect is to make yourself more pleasant, but it influences
others as well. The key is not to stop trying to influence others, but
to make your influence on others a fantastic one! Treat others with kindness,
generosity, and love on the physical and spiritual level! This is the essence
of the Pagan's Rede whether you are asked to cast a spell for someone or
you choose to do it in secret.
Many of your more seasoned Craft users have come
to realize that spells are a request made to the Universe (or higher being)
and the Universe decides if it is ethical and/or worth answering and how
to answer it. It is, quite frankly, no different than when a Christian
prays to God and asks for a circumstance or blessing to be bestowed on
someone. Do they need permission first? Of course not! Most people would
take that as a gift and a compliment. However, they do not concern themselves
with whether or not it effects free will because we just know that it does
not.
Ethical?
Is it considered ethical to cast spells on people
without their knowledge? Most of your less seasoned Craft users will say
that it is not ethical unless you have permission. However, I consider
it dependent on your intention just like any other interaction in life.
It is all in the Pagan's Rede. The Pagan's Rede gives us the freedom to
do what we will so long as we harm no one. Even the Karmic Law states whatever
you send out comes back 3-fold. If the result of a given interaction is
positive, positive karma results. If your intention is pure and you are
sure your spell will result in good fortune all around, then why not cast
your spirit out to help others, secretly or not?
A blessing of any kind cast upon someone is a gift.
It is the thought that counts and we do not need permission to give someone
a gift. When deciding on whether or not to cast a spell on someone, do
so as a gift to them and make sure it is with good intention just as with
a Christman present or birthday gift. The real karmic key is making sure
your intentions are pure and you do so responsibly so that your spell results
in something they would consider fortunate. If you feel that the given
person does not want the gift, then your better judgment should discourage
you from giving it to them, just like with a material gift.
When considering such things, I like to consider
it by asking myself two questions. First, how would I feel if someone did
it to me? If someone cast a spell on me without my knowledge, I would honestly
welcome it so long as it results in good fortune. I know that I cannot
escape the influence from others, so I choose to embrace it and accept
the potential benefit from others. Secondly, what would be the result if
everyone were doing it? If everyone were casting beneficial magick responsibly
on each other, even without permission, then I cannot imagine anything
but great fortune coming from it. The generosity and love would be in the
very air around us.
So long as the gift is appropriate, well-chosen,
and responsibly given, I cannot see any reason why casting a spell on others
without their knowledge is a karmic sin. If done right, it will result
in good fortune, thus conform to the Rede and Karmic Law. The only reason
not to cast in this manner is a hopelessly useless fear of inevitable influence
by others which does not actually occur in spellcasting anyway.
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