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Lesson Seven
The Three-Fold Law and Karma "Mind the Three-Fold Law you should
The Three-Fold Law basically says whatever you do will come back to you three times over. Karma times three. The last lesson included an exercise demonstrating action, reaction, consequences. The Farrar's use a similar analogy in their book A Witches' Bible when describing karma: "The simplest way to look at karma is as a kind of spiritual bank-balance of one's good and evil deeds, and of the results of one's wisdom and stupidity, over the totality of one's lives. But to get a clear picture of its meaning, one should not think so much of 'someone up there' totting up the balance and rewarding or punishing us accordingly, as of the root meaning [of karma] cause-and-effect. The concept is that everything we do sets up a chain reaction of effects, as inevitably as a pebble dropped in a pool causes ripples, and that we have to live with the results. A ripple (or tidal wave) which we cause may not bounce back at us till many lives later -- but bounce back it will, by the nature of the totally interconnected structure of our universe. This interconnection compels us, sooner or later, to restore equilibrium which we have disturbed, to harvest the crops we have sown (including the good ones), to pay debts we have incurred and to draw the interest on our wise investments. Creative activity or moral embezzlement alike come home to roost. To return to the bank-balance analogy -- the karmic bank's computer is foolproof, inexorable and equipped with infinite memory." Scott Cunningham in his book Living Wicca puts it this way: "What is done will be returned to the doer. Precisely how this energy is returned has been a matter of great speculation. Some Wiccans state that the Goddess performs this function; other that it's a law of the universe, like gravity, and that no one being is in charge of seeing that this occurs. It's an automatic response, like a ricochet." Magic: What It Is, What It Is Not Leo Martell, author of Witchcraft: The Old Religion, writes: "I make no claims as a witch to 'supernatural powers'; but I totally believe in the super powers that reside in the natural." (Excerpt taken from Drawing Down the Moon, by Margot Adler) Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner definition of magic is "the projection of natural energies to produce needed effects." He also divides the sources of energy into three categories: personal power, Earth power, and divine energy. Personal power comes from within you; it is the life force that powers the body. We absorb energy from food and water, the sun and moon. We release it during movement or exercise. When used in magic, personal power is aroused or gathered within, infused with a specific purpose, then released and directed towards its goal. When you charge a candle you infuse it with personal power or energy. Deciding to do an act of magic might even be considered as setting the personal power into motion (the thought starting the deed). In this sense, prayer could be considered an act of magic. You are directing energy to create needed change. Earth power, according to Cunningham, is that which comes from the earth and its natural products: stones, trees, rocks, sand, herbs, etc. If you've taken the time to admire a field of wildflowers, watched a river flowing, hugged or leaned against a tree, or stood in a cave, you may have felt something of the energy that exists with the Earth. Cunningham sees both personal power and Earth power as manifestations of divine power -- that which comes from the God/dess, the source of universal power. This is a very simplified look at what magic is. There is plenty of reading material out there if you'd like to delve into it further. The reading list on the Cyberwitch home page is a good place to start. The only description of what magic is not (as applied to Wicca) I can come up with is: Magic is not supernatural. I imagine a great many Wiccans/Pagans would find much to argue with in Webster's definition of magic. Perhaps magic is that which science hasn't proven.....yet. The Book of Shadows Making your own Book of Shadows is an easy but ongoing task as you move along your spiritual path. I use a 3-ring binder with tabs. Mine has grown quite big and this allows me to move things as needed. The tabs help me find things. Any notebook will do. How fancy or plain it is is up to you. You could, if you wanted, do it on the computer ... an electronic Book of Shadows. Some have even created Book of Shadows web sites. Be creative; do what suits you. |