tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post7465462948596695877..comments2024-03-28T02:44:22.875-04:00Comments on Hecate: A Witch Takes ResponsibilityHecatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09291488568404382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-67278912976209040822009-04-14T09:10:00.000-04:002009-04-14T09:10:00.000-04:00The most interesting read I have had in a very lon...The most interesting read I have had in a very long time...<br /><br />Thank you and brightest blessings Hecates!<br /><br />I am mindfull that we are also physical beings, in a physical world too and we shold make no apology for existing. <br /><br />Thought and carefull consideration in all things is indeed our duty and responsibility. But, we cannot be afraid to 'move' lest we kill an ant!<br /><br />'tis but a thread that I am exploring and I have gleaned much from your words... I will reflect deeply on them for a good while to come.<br /><br />Thank you for your eloquence!Funrunnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04717428890211575379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-71389263350200912002009-04-13T14:24:00.000-04:002009-04-13T14:24:00.000-04:00RIGHT ON BABY!RIGHT ON BABY!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-48792514945417186482009-04-13T02:08:00.000-04:002009-04-13T02:08:00.000-04:00Thank you for your very eloquent post! It really ...Thank you for your very eloquent post! <BR/><BR/>It really helps me to understand that I can be more pro-active by using magick in ways where I might also do it through mundane actions.<BR/><BR/>I can't think of a good example to site, but in general, through mundane actions, would I <B>force</B> someone (by action, injury, physical restraint, or threat of these) to change their mind/belief about something? No. Would I try to present fair arguments and present facts that might compel them to change their minds, sure! Would I do magic that would injure or harm a person to make them see things my way. No. Might I try to influence circumstance such that it might help them see things differently, sure!<BR/><BR/>"If you answered 'yes' to any of the above...", well, I'm thinking that if the situation is so dire that it's "yes" in the mundane world, then perhaps it should be "yes" in the use of magick.Susannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-52625321202650762472009-04-11T00:45:00.000-04:002009-04-11T00:45:00.000-04:00I found your site by linking from 2witches.com/blo...I found your site by linking from 2witches.com/blog and am very pleased that I did. This is an insightful post that actually does a great job of incorporating both sides of a similar topic discussed on '2witches' over the past few days. I think you sum it up very nicely with your first statement and do an admirable job of explaining your reasoning in the following paragraphs. Thank you for bridging the small gap that existed for me in this debate with a few simple words that will resonate in my mind for a long time to come: do not perform "magic in which you don't believe.".https://www.blogger.com/profile/12842376936975774417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-54467685438902626482009-04-09T15:41:00.000-04:002009-04-09T15:41:00.000-04:00Hecate,You rock.Hecate,<BR/>You rock.crowsfoxesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-8990563122463990382009-04-09T12:39:00.000-04:002009-04-09T12:39:00.000-04:00I really enjoyed reading this post, Hecate. Thank...I really enjoyed reading this post, Hecate. Thanks.<BR/><BR/>You made me think. <BR/><BR/>And I like that.Vickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17392320733221601875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-3963934492003579072009-04-08T21:05:00.000-04:002009-04-08T21:05:00.000-04:00Fantastic post, Hecate!!!Fantastic post, Hecate!!!deborahoakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08885597618292635710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-37361743772381472612009-04-08T15:47:00.000-04:002009-04-08T15:47:00.000-04:00As an avid player of table-top role-playing games,...As an avid player of table-top role-playing games, I noticed an odd correlation here. In our fictional forays into worlds where magic is very visible (such that you'd have to be an idiot not to notice it) players will use their characters' magical powers as simple utility. In a crude example, the sword-wielding warrior will kill an evil goblin with a mighty chop, while the nerdy wizard will zap him with lightning. In the end, it's the same effect.<BR/><BR/>The thing is, no matter how hard a game-master tries to insist on magic's mystery, the players will always treat magic as a tool. I suppose the analogy would be someone insisting that magic has a whole other moral force with its own ethical rules and those who see ethics as universal with magic having no special moral rules.<BR/><BR/>You can see the same thing with technology and ethics. Some insist that new technology changes ethics. I'm not so sure. I think that new technology can change the outcome of some ethical decision, since new options and/or information are available. However, the fundamental rules (the Golden Rule, Kant's maxims, Mill's utilitarianism, whatever) can remain unchanged. <BR/><BR/>Ultimately, it's only what I call conservative ethical systems that are bothered by our examples of real magic, fictional magic, and technology. I define conservative ethical systems as being an itemized list of duties, rewards, taboos, and punishments. Your fellow witches who insist on magic's own special moral rules have applied a conservative ethical system to the use of magic. You have taken a broader philosophical choice.<BR/><BR/>Conservative ethical systems are probably necessary in certain things (national laws, say) but they're not the best way to live a personal life. When something new enters in, they have to be amended, and if you think that a good moral system is eternal, which I do, then the conservative morality has a hard time remaining consistent. Laws are different in that respect, of course.nanoboynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-64650321476236301782009-04-08T14:44:00.000-04:002009-04-08T14:44:00.000-04:00MM HecateThis is an excellent exposition on magica...MM Hecate<BR/><BR/>This is an excellent exposition on magical responsibility and ethics. I've been enjoying a similar debate over at http://2witches.com/blog/wicca-paganism/they-who-cannot-hex-cannot-heal/ that you may find to be of interest. It pleases me to see this topic being addressed with so much civility and thoughtfulness within our community.<BR/><BR/>BB,<BR/><BR/>KatAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-90873096901155460712009-04-08T01:47:00.000-04:002009-04-08T01:47:00.000-04:00"Well-meant power over. . . ." A very felicitous t..."Well-meant power over. . . ." A very felicitous turn of phrase. A colleague of mine, a psychoanalyst, used to say of such situations, "The helping hand strikes again!"Makarioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08392249532355639518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-41244934973217507102009-04-08T00:50:00.000-04:002009-04-08T00:50:00.000-04:00I love this post. I only recently found and subsc...I love this post. I only recently found and subscribed to your blog, but this makes me so glad I did. <BR/><BR/>I'm not sure if I can flesh out everything I'm thinking after reading, but it's great. :)whatsernamehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15731411057968563416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-26286403252216620582009-04-07T23:51:00.000-04:002009-04-07T23:51:00.000-04:00Thank you for that, Hecate. Everything you do affe...Thank you for that, Hecate. Everything you do affects something else. Everything has consequences, to believe otherwise is foolishness and a road to failure.<BR/><BR/>Celestite, I agree. The more magic you do, there better you are. It's a muscle you have to exercise.Persephonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-34482328853616750232009-04-07T23:05:00.000-04:002009-04-07T23:05:00.000-04:00Excellent, excellent post. I don't understand the ...Excellent, excellent post. <BR/>I don't understand the idea that magick is something separate from everyday life. We are witches, it's what we do...isn't it? <BR/>Sometimes I think that people think that if they 'save' magick for something really special....like that basket of money from the goddess on the doorstep...it's more likely to happen. <BR/>I think that the more you do magick, study magick, work magick, the better you get. <BR/>Kinda like playing the piano...or riding a bike. <BR/>As for what kind of magick....look in the mirror...make sure you can keep looking in the mirror.Celestitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14786165729352851549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085926.post-34778889353228488272009-04-07T22:20:00.000-04:002009-04-07T22:20:00.000-04:00Discretion and responsibility-two words that I try...Discretion and responsibility-two words that I try very hard to live by. Thank you for putting it so clearly.Lavanahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295089071497942411noreply@blogger.com