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Wiccan Ethics tend to fall philosophically under the same framework as situational ethics in that Wiccans have guiding principles and beliefs in certain natural laws (such as the law of return), but believe that the particular specifics of every situation must be weighed carefully with respect to results and possible karmic impact to determine right action. Since Wiccans also believe in the concept that every person is ultimately completely responsible for his/her own actions and that we are all connected, the Wiccan considers it wrong to attempt to impose his/her own will on another and must also take this into consideration in evaluating the right action in any situation. Unlike revealed religions who often have a code of specific do or do nots, such as the 10 commandments, the Wiccan must rely on his/her own training and understand to make the right decisions and understands that s/he therefore reaps what s/he sows ethically. Wiccans understand that "right" and "wrong" are not defined ends of an unmoving spectrum but are instead shades of gray which vary depending upon circumstance.
The term "Thou Art God" / "Thou Art Goddess" used by many NeoPagans and Wiccans is often misunderstood as hubristic arrogance by those unfamiliar with those religions.. It is, instead, an acknowledgment of the Divine Within or the concept of Imminent Divinity. The logical extension of this concept of the Divine Within is the concept of Ultimate Personal Responsibility. Within Wicca we are left with no one else to blame our errors, faults and flaws on, neither angel, devil, god, demon or "other" can carry the responsibility for our Will.
Wiccans also acknowledge that the Divine Within and the Divine Without are one and the same, it is only our communication with them which is imperfect. So Wiccans seek to connect with the Divine Within (the Imminent Divine) as well as with the Divine Without (the Transcendent Divine) and to bring them into harmony. We believe that when we do so, we hear the Divine Will clearly and thus are better able to understand right action. So when a Wiccan says "Do what Thou Will", if s/he understands the deeper meaning of that phrase s/he is not just stating that s/he can ignore repercussions and, like an unschooled child may give in to any desire without thought. S/he is instead stating that s/he may do as she wishes but is also acknowledging that in doing so s/he is ultimately responsible, as his/her actions are an expression of an aspect of the Divine Will. Thus, to understand right and ethical action s/he must learn to seek the Divine Will Within his/herself. In Wicca this is often known as seeking or learning your "True Will".
The Wiccan Rede is quite often quoted as the defining principle in Wiccan ethics. The short version of the Wiccan Rede is "An it harm none, do as Thou Will." The word "an" in this sentence is an archaic word meaning "if". The origin of the short version of the Wiccan Rede is often traced back to Aleister Crowley, whose Law of Thelema states "Do as Thou Will shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the Law, Love under Will." Some believe that Gardner adapted the Law of Thelema and rewrote it into the Wiccan Rede to be a more benign version of the Law of Thelema. Whether this is true or not is a matter of controversy. What is true, however, is that an understanding of Thelema and the deeper meaning of the Law of Thelema as stated above makes both versions pretty equally benign, since when Aleister Crowley says "Do as Thou Will" he is again speaking of the Divine Will and the Law of Thelema assumes that if one is in harmony with the Divine Will (i.e., if one is acting in accord with their True Will) then their actions would naturally not seek to harm, as "Love is the Law, Love under Will".
The longer version of the Wiccan Rede, which can also be found in some traditions as the Witches' Creed (or Wiccan Crede (and one might wonder if the word "Rede" is simply a bastardization of "Crede")) contains guidelines for casting circles, doing magick/casting spells, witches' meetings and other behavior and is less of an ethical guide than it is a guide for Wiccan practice. I have included it here because it does have poetry, mystery and meaning.
The Threefold Law is not actually an ethical code, it is (or is believed to be) a natural law of magick. The Law of Return states that any energy which you put out into the Universe ultimately returns to you. Expressed as the :Law of Three, it states that anything that you do comes back to you threefold and is interpreted to mean that whatever you do returns to you on the astral (spiritual), physical and mental/emotional planes (i.e. returns to you body, mind and spirit)
The Threefold Law or Law of Return is similar philosophically to the concept of Karma or the Christian amorphism "what ye sow, so shall ye reap." It does not express an ethic. Nor, does it express an ideology of reward and punishment, as some often find when they interpret the law of Karma or the Christian admonition. Instead, the Law of Return warns us that all actions have consequences, or stated in the language of Physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The Law of Return acknowledges that all actions create consequences which return to the person who initiated the action.
Within the framework of Wiccan Ethics, the Law of Return cautions the Wiccan that their situational ethics must recognize that every action, indeed, every thoughtform, creates consequences. Wiccans therefore must make their decisions not only based upon their other philosophies and ethical principles, but with the firm knowledge that their actions will have consequences and that they are fully responsible for those consequences. Wiccans who are acting within their faith therefore think very carefully about their actions and the consequences that they will create.
Again, not exactly an ethical principal, but a philosophical viewpoint that profoundly affects the ethics of the Wiccan is the belief that all things are interconnected. You will hear Wiccans speak of the "web of life" or of all of nature being a web. Where the Christian may consider us all the "Children of God", Wiccans consider us all to be a *part* of God/dess, all connected to each other through the web of life. The science fiction movie, Star Wars expressed this interconnectedness in terms of "The Force" and the concept of the Divine residing in all beings in the Universe is also seen in Buddhism and other Eastern religions. Within Wicca, (or more specifically within the Church of All Worlds) we say "All that Groks is God", meaning that all that has consciousness carries the essence of the Divine and that it is all connected through that Divine essence. It's important to clarify also that the Wiccan does not assume that a rock does not have consciousness simply because s/he cannot communicate with the rock. Many Wiccans believe in the Gaian Hypothesis, that the earth is a conscious organic entity and expanding upon that, that the Universe is as well.
This belief impacts Wiccan ethics, because if you are me, then in hurting you I actually hurt myself. Examined fully one can see why Wiccans say "Harm None". As an ethical basis it is simply logical when you believe that harming anyone/anything will cause ripples in the pond of which you are an intregal part.
Most Wiccans believe in reincarnation and some form of Karmic Law. While the Wiccan interpretation of Karmic Law is often diverse and sometimes bears little resemblance to the Hindu concepts, this belief probably finds its way into Wicca from Hinduism. Within the teachings of the PhoenixSpirit Clan, we define Karmic Law as more of a system of lessons, or of cause and effect rather than as most Westerners interpret it (i.e., as a punishment/reward system).
An issue which must be addressed because of the vast amount of misinformation and stereotyping out there.
An examination of the above philosophies, beliefs in how the physical laws of magick work and guiding principles should make it self evident that cursing someone or hexing someone is not generally in line with Wiccan ethics. By far the largest segment of Wiccans will tell you that "Ethical Wiccans do not perform curses or hexes."
This is in general true, but is not an absolute. As with most cases where people use situational ethics, there will always be those who do not agree with the majority evaluation and who will believe that at times the ends justify the means. So, while in almost all cases ethical Wiccans do not perform hexes or curses, there is always the possibility of an ethical Wiccan deciding that a hex or curse is justified or necessary, usually in cases where self defense or defense of another is involved. In almost all cases where this is true, it is because their ethics lead them to believe that this is the just thing to do.
In most cases, however, even when a Wiccan believes that it is ethical to try to act magickally against another, belief in the Law of Three, the sanctity of the individual will as an expression of the Divine Will and knowledge of the interconnectedness of All will usually compel the Wiccan to choose a less violent course, such as casting a reflection or "mirror" spell (which reflects back the negative energy or ill will of the person attacking the Wiccan or other person), an "instant Karma" spell (i.e., invoking the natural laws of the universe and simply asking that the consequences of an action be immediate and easily apparent) or, in really extreme situations, a "binding" (a spell which prevents the person from doing harm to others and restricts their action..)
Again, review of the ethical principles on which Wicca is built make it quite evident that even these types of spells are rarely considered ethical and a good number of Wiccans would consider them to never be ethical, while some might do a reflection (or "mirror") spell but would never do a binding and others might reserve judgment on the basis that they would have to know the complete situation to judge.
So, saying "An ethical Wiccan does not cast curses or hexes." is roughly equivalent to saying "An ethical Christian does not kill." Ethically, the beliefs of the religion do not generally support such actions and some members of the faith might interpret it to be a never situation (i.e., "conscientious objectors") while others might feel that there might be justifications for violating this particular ethical principle for a "greater good" (i.e., self defense, protection of an innocent, defense of the state, etc.)
It is a more absolute truth that no ethical Wiccan casts curses or hexes without realizing that they will reap the consequences of having made this ethical decision. Within the PhoenixSpirit Clan we believe that there are almost always less extreme and more constructive resolutions to any situation than a hex or a curse and, while we acknowledge the responsibility of our members to make their own ethical decisions, we admonish our members to think very, very seriously before approaching the ethical nightmare and accepting the severe repercussions that are inherent in deciding to resolve any situation with a hex or a curse.
