Wednesday 8 February 2012

The Ethics of Love Spells


Love spells are the kind of magic witches are often asked about. So, with Valentine’s Day approaching, I thought it might be a good time to write about the ethics of love magic.

Many Wiccans believe that you should never cast a love spell to try to win the affections of a specific person. The theory is that to do so is to try to influence their free will and that is a bad thing – effectively black magic.

If you believe that – or you genuinely don’t fancy anyone in particular - then the answer is to cast a spell to attract love, but without any individual person in mind. By sending a general invitation for romance into the ether, the right person will soon arrive in your life – hopefully bearing a big bunch of red roses and an invitation to dinner. There are very many spells of that kind that you can try, including this one that I published on my blog a couple of years ago.

I must admit that, back then, I also believed one should always play safe with magic and avoid drawing the wrath of the universe by casting any potentially naughty spells. The theory of the Law of Threefold Return, which states that if you curse someone or do any type of black magic then bad things will rebound on you three times over, was enough to make me want to play safe in my spellcasting.

Since then, I have rather changed my mind when it comes to love magic. I really can’t see that helping to bring a little love and romance into the world is in any way like a curse and, if a friend comes to me saying they have a huge crush on someone who hardly seems to notice them, then I would like to try to help them have at least a chance at happiness. I've posted a love spell for Valentine's Day on A Bad Witch's Blog here.

If that rebounds on me and I suddenly get three would-be Romeos serenading me under my window, what a hardship...

The photo at the top shows the altar to Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, at Jane Meredith's Aphrodite Workshop in London last summer.

Links and previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/books-of-love.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/divining-love-with-eros-oracle.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/spell-to-attract-love.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/02/lovespells-authentic-collection-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/02/tarot-lovers-card.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/09/day-with-aphrodite.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/11/review-medidating-for-fearless-romance.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/05/pagan-eye-red-rose.html

2 comments:

H.A. Blackthorn said...

It's been my experience that many so-called "Wiccans" (I do not believe "self initiation" is the real deal) have made up so many rules and laws that they end up never actually doing any magic. Their prejudice against love spells, to me, seems the silliest. Not only is love magic (yes, even on specific people) one of the oldest kinds of magical work (along with cursing!)but it can also be the most rewarding. I also don't think a lot of the "read a book" Witches understand that the so-called "threefold law" is a modern invention of Gerald Gardner, and is not a tenet of any actual, traditional magical system. Even Doreen Valiente didn't think much of the idea, and in a speech I read of her's, she disapproved of the fact that so many "eclectics" in America seized in the "rule of three" as though it were some kind of immutable, written in stone law.

There seems to be an odd double-standard at work among certain people; while they wouldn't think twice about dressing a certain way, wearing special fragrances, acting in certain ways, etc in order to attract a person they fancied, they act like doing similar using magic is somehow "evil." This is simply not true, however. Nor is it possible to go through life and never manipulate anybody, because we more or less manipulate people through our every day interactions.

I think the hallmark of an effective Witch is not a knee-jerk reaction of "It's evil!" to every form of magic, but rather the ability to understand WHEN such kinds of magic are indicated, and how to use it in a responsible manner.

Badwitch said...

Raven, I quite agree with you. Thanks for the comment!