Sometimes called “Law of Three” or “Three-Fold Law,” the Wiccan Law of Return is probably a familiar ethical principle to you.  You might be more familiar with its other names, like the Hindu concept of Karma or Newton’s third law of motion.  There are several phrasings, but they all basically say the same thing:

• “What you do will return to you (in the power of three)”
• “Whatever you send out into the Universe comes back to you”
• “For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction”

Oh, the last one is from my physics class :)  Even science agrees with the concept!

The only concept I disagree with is the three-fold part.  I personally don’t understand how there can be some cosmic multiplier that can accomplish this three-fold task.  I also don’t think it’s necessary.  Just getting back equal share of the energy one puts out can be brutal enough for most folks who send out negativity.  Conversely, an equal share of energy is often abundant enough for those who work to send out positive energy.

I also believe this Law of Return works whether you believe in it or not, just like Newton’s third law of motion in physics.  For this reason, be nice to other people!  Oh, and never, ever try to use Wiccan spells or ritual for harm (that will be covered more with the Wiccan Rede).

Posted on April 11th, 2008 by Darwin
Filed under: ethics | 14 Comments »

Synchronizing with the moon’s energy can give your workings and spells a nice boost if you have the time to be patient!  I’ll try to cover the various moon phases in spell working over this next moon cycle.

I was a tad slow getting this written, since it is now 3 days after new moon.  New Moon lasts from the exact new moment to approximately 3.5 days after it.  The moon rises around dawn and sets around sunset, following the sun across the sky and often outshined by it, but the energy is still there.

New Moon magickal workings that compliment the new moon energy are for:

• beginnings
• growth (especially for something small or new)
• abundance to come (but not necessarily immediately)

Working in harmony with moon energies and phase can be extremely rewarding, in addition to the idea it compells you to look up at the sky when the moon is out!  As my own personal compliment for moon magick, I put a neat moon phase widget in the sidebar.  Here’s to its energy giving a nice boost to my new blog!

Posted on April 9th, 2008 by Darwin
Filed under: Spell casting | 4 Comments »

I am still searching for the Pagan and Wiccan blogging communities, and in the process have discovered CovenSpace.  I think it is supposed to function like MySpace, which I never figured out much to my son’s amusement. 

I have managed to set up my own page there at CovenSpace, but I am still trying to figure out how it works.  I have found a few other Warrior souls over there this morning and last night.

As for blog carnivals for Wiccans and Pagans: a search on blogcarnival.com revealed only old, abandoned, or discontinued ones :(  This is a tad discouraging.  Google search was not any help either this morning.  The search will continue, but if I don’t find anything I may have to start up a Wiccan/Pagan blog network on my own initiative.

Posted on April 9th, 2008 by Darwin
Filed under: Wiccan links | 8 Comments »

I felt I should kick off my official Wiccan book review category with Kerr Cuhulain’s Wiccan Warrior (an obvious inspiration for my site name).  This book has been in my collection since about a week of its publication date, and remains one of my favorites years later.

This was the first full length book to take a serious look at the idea of a warrior path within Wicca (the previous bar was Cuhulain’s booklet Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca).  As a witch serving in the US Army, I was immediately drawn to this book, and not the least bit disappointed as he examines the idea of using “Right Action” while drawing heavily on his martial arts training.

Even better, Kerr Cuhulain looks at the warrior archtype from several different angles, not just the obvious military one: creative, balanced, energized, dreaming, rational, ritual, magickal, and initiated.  I particularly loved that he spent the first five chapters defining what a Wiccan warrior truly is (it’s not all about military or law enforcement) before moving into how to become a warrior in the second part of the book.

For anyone who feels drawn to the warrior path or is simply wishing to learn more about it, I give this book a big thumbs-up.

Posted on April 8th, 2008 by Darwin
Filed under: wiccan books | No Comments »

I am a huge advocate of everyone writing their own spells.  I guess not everyone shares this opinion, since I see all kinds of spells listed all over the web.

The biggest reason I write all my own spells is because that makes them MINE.  Individual, unique, and personalized spells are what work the best for me.  The spells I see posted around the internet probably worked absolutely wonderfully for the witch who wrote them … but I am not her (or him).

The most common reason I give for writing my own spells or heavily editing spells I find is differences in symbolism.  Most of the trappings and tools we use in spellcasting are symbolic triggers, even down to the colors chosen and incense used.  These symbolic triggers should tap into deep emotion, and the emotion black triggers for you might be different than the emotion it triggers for me.

Symbolism is just the primary reason I don’t use pre-written spells.  I’ll be digging even deeper into more reasons as this blog progresses.

Posted on April 7th, 2008 by Darwin
Filed under: Spellcraft | No Comments »