HearthBeats; Notes from a Kitchen Witch
Karma and our lives
We as witches are very aware of Karma. Many of us follow the Rede which states” An it harm none, do as thy will”. But it says much more than that. It is a guideline for life, but it (or something like it) is essential as Karma does not care about what path you walk, what religion you follow or anything else. It only believes in the cosmic law… for every action there is an equal or greater reaction. Whatever you choose to put out into the world , in thought, word and deed, WILL COME BACK. Some believe that it may come back threefold. Seriously.. if that does not make you stop and think carefully about what you do I don’t know what will. No amount of forgiving or asking deity for help will change this. It is the way of energy… proven even in science through quantum physics.
So look more closely at the Wiccan Rede.. and take from it what may help. Much can be used in the everyday.. I WILL NOT BE USING EVERY PASSAGE OF THE REDE AS MUCH COVERS RITUAL AND SPIRITUAL AREAS, I will only be touching on what can be used in our everyday in respect to Karma. I may write the complete break down of the rede at a later date as it really does help to break it down and examine each aspect to better understand it.
Bide within the law you must, in perfect love and perfect trust
Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give
This easily translates, you need follow the laws of the land you live in. trusting that the laws are just and that other will follow them as well.
Do what you need to, to live your life and allow others to do the same. Be fair and honest and give help and care and expect to be treated as you treat others.
Light of eye and soft of touch, speak you little, and listen much.
Honor the old ones in deed and name, let love and light be our guides again
This could translate to how you look at people and how you see them as well as how you connect with them, gently with care and concern, not anger and harm. Keep your opinions to yourself so that when you do speak you will be known to have thought through your word and they will be well meant.
I take this as honoring our ancestors, both dead and living, with our words and action, showing that we were taught well and mean well. Letting love of all people, family and Deity guide our action as well as our reactions.
Mind the three-fold law you should, three times bad three times good
When misfortune is here how, wear the star upon your brow
This can be translated into remember that what you put out WILL come back to you, whether it is good or bad ends up being up to you.
When things go badly, remember your spirituality, with a pentacle on your head. This could be something as simple as a dash of water, draw a pentacle to an oil anointing.
These Eight words the Rede fulfill
“An it harm none, do what you will”
These words are a guideline, they can be translate to mean: if you are sure that your action will harm no one (very difficult to do) and this includes yourself or your environment. Then you can do what you wish. This as I said is way more difficult then you may think.. Since you in no way can be 100 % sure that your actions will not harm another. So what do you do??
Well at this point your intention plays a MAJOR part in your Karmic return. If you truly intended that your action harms no one. One way I deal with this is asking Goddess and God to please guide my action so that it harm no one but help me to the greatest advantage
Basically this guideline is telling you that if you want good Karma then you should put good out ahead of harm or bad. I do not use the term Evil as I feel that not only is that a concept that does is more secular than spiritual. But it also labels actions as unredeemable. If you can be truly evil you may never be anything else. But if you are bad then you have the ability to be good.
Our religion , path or spirituality does not allow for instant redemption. That is wholly a Judeo-Christian concept. That if you pay enough or say enough “ I’m sorries” that all your sins will be forgiven. Well the reality is that is load of GARBAGE. We a humans are completely responsible for our actions and somewhere down the line we will have to pay in kind for those actions; good , bad or indifferent. You decide what you want to deal with, in this life or the next. And what you are willing to do now to pay for later. I know that with those odds.. well I really want good, helpful and productive energy coming down the pike at me. So I limit the amout of negative, harmful and selfish things I do.
Now I am in no way saying that you cannot work towards prosperity, wealth and happiness. The whole “person gain” issue is completely a television show concept. And though it works for the Charmed Ones.. real life is different and if you need a job, well working towards it with magickal intention is not a bad thing. Just make sure your intention does not take away someone’s will, or give you something that you don’t deserve or have not earned.
With that said, good luck finding that balance that makes life work. Work within YOUR Rede, your code of conduct.. and your Karma.
Until next time
Blessed Home and Hearth
The Hearthkeeper