The Audacity of Subscribing to the Unfashionable Idea of “Harm None”
Mickie Mueller
F irst off, I’m no fluffy bunny who believes the universe is all white light and rainbows. But I do strive to harm none in my magical practice as well as in my mundane life, much to the chagrin of many of the magical practitioners I know.
I’ve noticed a trend in the Pagan community over the last several years where some people are starting to think that if you’re a serious, hardcore Witch, no rules are necessary.
Some people are of the belief that the practice of “harm none” magically ties your hands and keeps you from being able to work magic for your own success or to shield yourself from baneful magic and negativity. I’ve seen eye-rolling and the all too familiar scoff at the very mention of the Rede, which includes ideals that only ten to fifteen years ago were considered commonplace among magical practitioners. I’ve noticed a trend in the Pagan community over the last several years where some people are starting to think that if you’re a serious, hardcore Witch, no rules are necessary.
I’ve discovered through my personal magical path, however, that following the tenet of harm none simply means that you become more mindful of how to achieve your goals, but you do not become limited in how to achieve them. I have discovered both challenges and rewards in navigating the complexities of the deceptively simple concept of harm none while living a magical life.
What Does “Harm None” Mean to You?
First of all, “harm none” is a concept that many people want to simplify, but it was never meant to be simple. It was meant to make you think, consider your actions, and work toward the best solutions for all involved. In order to have some understanding of this, we need only look to the founders of modern Wicca, who were the first to tout the concept of harm none. Many of these Witches of England were also credited with working magic against the Nazi invasion shortly before the Battle of Britain. That doesn’t sound like the work of a bunch of shrinking violets who can’t hold their own, so why do many Witches today look at the concept as being wishy-washy or limiting? The answer probably lies in a misunderstanding of the complexities of “harm none.”
Harm can come from both action and inaction. Those of us who try our best to live the concept of harm none weigh our choices all the time. Does that mean we always manage to do the right thing? Nope. But when discussing spirituality, we must remember that the journey is often more valuable than the destination, and it’s the mindfulness, the attempt to follow a path, that’s important. If we stumble or trip, then we learn, and we will do better next time.
Dealing with Challenging Situations
So, if you harm none, does that mean you can’t kill bugs in your house? Protect yourself from a stalker? Pull weeds from your garden? Again, it’s important to remember that you can cause harm through inaction as well as action. If I have one spider in the bathtub, I catch it under a glass and release it into the garden. But an invasion of many spiders means my family’s safety is in danger, so it would cause more harm in the long run not to exterminate the intruders. I can’t allow my family to come to harm, first and foremost. We have to pull weeds to protect the plants we’re trying to cultivate. If you were in a dark alley and were attacked, would you just allow it to happen? That kind of inaction is not why the concept of harm none exists. We should never allow ourselves or our loved ones to come to harm if we can prevent it, and believe me, if I had to, I would fight back, because I would be preventing harm from coming to myself.
How Harming None Helps Your Magic Grow
In order to better explain how we can meet the challenge of acting through magic while still maintaining the commitment to harming none, I’ll share a couple of examples.
I once received a frantic phone call from a Witch friend of mine who was about to graduate and had learned about a job opportunity at a gallery that was only available for a short time. He explained that he needed to get some paperwork from his college right away in order even to be considered for the position. He was in his car on the way to the office at the time, with no way to whip up some magic on his own.
He said, “I know you do all that ‘harm none’ stuff, but I really need your help! The only one in the office is Sally Jones, and she never gives me what I want! Can you put the magic mojo on her for me so she’ll give me the paperwork? I really need this job!”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” I told him in a reassuring tone.
I had no intention of putting the magic mojo on Sally Jones. I knew I could manage it without coercing anyone to act against their will. I had permission from my friend to do magic for him, so I worked a quick spell while visualizing him walking out of the office with a big beaming grin on his face, his paperwork in hand. I got a call half an hour later.
“Hey, it turns out I didn’t need that spell after all! Remember the dean of the college who bought a painting from my student art show? He was in the office and Sally Jones was out to lunch! He got me my paperwork personally and gave me a letter of recommendation, too! I never see him in the office. I guess I was just lucky!”
By making the decision not to zap ol’ Sally and visualizing the outcome that my friend wanted, I was able to help him get more than he had hoped for. Since magic takes the path of least resistance, the best person to help him was there, and he got an outcome that might not have been available with a short-sighted spell that disregarded another person’s free will. It’s not that hard if you just think it through.
Here’s another example. While living in a small neighborhood, I left my car unlocked and my GPS was stolen right in my driveway. I called the police, who told me there had been a rash of break-ins in the area. I was sure I would never see my GPS again. My knee-jerk reaction was to send out the flying monkeys to find whoever did it and give them a nasty pentagram-shaped rash. Instead, I took a day to calm down. I did my magic with a cool head, and the entire purpose of the spell was to recover my GPS. One week later I got a call from the police. They had busted the thief and found my GPS undamaged, along with the property of several other people as well. Had I not resisted the urge to lash out at the perpetrator, something bad might have happened to the thief that might have prevented the recovery of my wayward tech device. In this instance, the universe followed the path of least resistance once again, and the simplest way to get my GPS back was for the bad guy to get busted.
Never underestimate Witches who follow “harm none.” They find power in their practices and can be magical powerhouses as they walk the path of their spiritual calling.
Mickie Mueller is an award-winning and critically acclaimed artist of fantasy, fairy, and myth. She enjoys creating magical art full of fairies, goddesses, and beings of folklore. She works primarily in a mix of colored pencil and watercolor infused with magical herbs corresponding to her subject matter. Mickie is the illustrator of The Well Worn Path and The Hidden Path decks, the writer/illustrator of Voice of the Trees: A Celtic Divination Oracle, and the illustrator of the Mystical Cats Tarot. Mickie is a regular contributor to several of the Llewellyn annuals. Visit her online at www.mickiemuellerart.com.
Illustrator: Jennifer Hewitson
