Wiccans & Witches, please answer this...?

Hello Ketasia,

I was going to bed but your questioned jumped up I just had to read it :)

Before I go on to your quesiton I hate the series known as charmed. Not only is it oozing with lameness but it is because of that show that people walk around like they have witches figured out. They think that knowing what one witch does automatically means they know what we all do. What they don't know is that we all express ourselves differently and are not robots.

Only in some books I believe I have seen the rule about personal gain but if I cannot recall which one it must mean I do not own the book for the same reason. Some people write up a storm of BS sometimes. In hte other half they explain what they mean by it. They mean to say that personal gain to help you is good but to do so in ways that harm others isn't.

My family has never seen that as a rule, it has never been brought up to me and to be honest I do a lot of work for personal gain. It's like that joke "what is the difference between a tarot reader and a pizza? Well that a pizza can feed a family of four". Sad but true that in my line of work business isn't always there and it is in those instances that I may perhaps light a candle and pray that my families needs are met.

It is the very pupose of magick, so that things can go OUR way. It is OUR will. Many of us have been taught not watch what we say but withces taken it upon themselves to watch what they say and think because we know words and thoughts have power to them. So we never say such things like "God willing" when we actually plan on taking control over the matter. So I think in the issue of personal gain, anyone who believes this to be true will surely call me an abuser and greedy. As a matter of fact last yule we did an abundance spell. After so much spending some of us are left with very little in our pockets and so we decided that some money come to us so that we may have all our needs met, bills paid, etc...

About personal gain (again) well ...Using the craft in such a manner is okay in my eyes and this is not just because of PERSONAL GAIN lol. it is not convinient for me to say it in any way because I will still do it. My only belief behind this is that any money received by magick is to be cleansed and blessed. You do this by donating to a non profit organization, a non greedy organization. I do this because magick works hand in hand with the law of attraction and the law of attraction is basically god answering our calls. If we all know how the law of attraction works we know that if you open yourself up to abundance you will receive just that. But if you are a pack rat and your money is tainted then the universe will close itself up to you. Magick is opening up those doors for you, bringing you what the universe shut it self off to do. So we must thank Deity, we must be thankful of the abundance by sharing it with those in need. Otherwise you further taint your money with greed. Lowering it's vibrations causing it to go from your hands faster. Not to mention that the universe works on a like attracts like basis which means that your greed will then be reflected on the universe and the doors to abundance will be closed.

Blessings and such a great question,

Shadow the Witch

Witches do spells Wicca is a polytheistic religion (belief in 2 or more deities). Not all Wiccan members do spell work. You don't need religion, deities nor the Christian Satan/Devils/Demons to do spells either, that is why Witches can pick and choose what religion they wish to follow. They both are every day people, they live regular lives and many have regular jobs, it is just that one does spell work on the side and the other is a set of Pagan beliefs with different deities and paths one can follow. I happen to bake pastries and quick breads, and sell loose organic teas. I make bath salts and do crafts. I have a garden, a son and husband. I don't have cats, I do have a dog. I honor my deities in private. I wear normal clothes (jeans/t-shirt, shirt/blouse etc) I am not a fat teen and have been a wiccan all my life (as were other members of my family.) I hope this helps.

I agree with you, that this is something that came up in fiction rather than reality.

The whole idea is silly-- people who believe in magic believe it is not a "power bestowed from above" but the subtle and natural way that nature works that anyone can learn to use.

Not doing spells to help yourself would be like refusing an herbal cough drop when you have a cold because it is "unethical" to do things for personal gain.

Magical people have always been practical people. You use the tools and skills and knowledge you have at your disposal.

That's not saying you should abuse power or exploit things out of greed. There's just nothing wrong with helping yourself. In fact, the more you can do for yourself, the better a position you are in to help others.

None. The only thing I was taught was to be very careful and precise in spell work. For instance. I might perform a spell and simply ask for money. Later a tree is hit by lightning and falls on my car, totaling it. I receive an insurance check for X amount of dollars. Got what I wanted although not as planned. What I've picked up along the way is to always finish a spell with the words "May it be for the highest good". If it's best that I recieve what I want, So Mote It Be. And if not, then maybe I should take another course of action

I think "personal gain" is a question of semantics. Everything we do has some type of gain, or we wouldn't do it at all. We help people and it makes us feel good, so it a way we are gaining something from it, regardless of whether anything is given in return.

I've never even seen more than 5 minutes of Charmed, so I don't know about what the show says. But I will say I believe that something you do for someone else has more power than something you do for yourself. Giving something of yourself to aid another is good karma (traces back to personal gain) and the more energy put toward a cause the better.

I hope I'm answering your question properly, in summation I feel that you can cast for personal gain (aid in dealing with stress, protection, etc.)--of course the line is drawn when dealing with another's free will.

But I think that giving of yourself to help someone else is always a good thing. :)

I've only ever heard that "rule" on the TV show Charmed.

Of course workings we do are for personal gain. If I do a healing spell for a loved one, it is not just because that person wants to feel better - I also want them to feel better. If I do a working for the Earth - it is because I want the world to be a better place for all of us. My workings may benefit others specifically, but they also benefit me in one way or another.

I think some people use this "no spells for personal gain" thing to answer the idiots who ask questions like, "If magic (and/or divination) really work, why aren't witches winning all the lotteries?" Instead of explaining how magic works and how it doesn't work - but perhaps many of the people who would use such an answer don't really understand the mechanics of magic themselves?

To my knowledge there is nothing. Don't confuse fact with TV series. The Wiccan's believe: Harm none but do as ye will. So you can try to do something for personal gain, like money to pay a bill. Personal gain spells are done by the Wiccan's all the time, doesn't mean it will come threw.

No I have never read that to cast a spell or prayer for personal gain was in its self bad. However if you use your craft at the expense of others for purely personal gain there is a karmic back lash. I think that it was ingrained upon me by my family who always wanted whatever I had. be it talent or worldly things. My younger sister even stole my identity at one time because I have never been in any trouble. And my older sister used my ID to get into collage as she had never graduated from high school or taken the S.A.T.'s. I do devotionals every day for others and only when I have done this do I feel worthy to ask for power, protection or personal gain for myself. I suppose the way in which I was brought up has something to do with it. Peace&Love be with you...~M~

I think nearly everything anyone does is for personal gain. However, I am careful that the spells I cast are for higher purposes than just money grubbing. What can be accomplished through hard work and dedication via mundane methods, I won't cast a spell for. I will cast spells (for personal gain, of course) to help me focus, to let me see clealy, and to keep me healthy, for example, so that I may achieve my goals through hard work. Communing with my Gods is certainly for personal gain as well. Even volunteering my time as a tutor at a homeless shelter or serving at a soup kitchen is, ultimately, something I do for myself. That it helps others is terrific, too.

BTW, I've never watched that silly television show. It's rather insulting, as a matter of fact.

I've never read or been taught that "spells cannot be cast for personal gain". What's the point in spellwork then? What's the point in not bettering ones self if you have the means? Are we supposed to go seek out other witches to do the spell for us? I'm sorry but that seems "fluffy" to me and a good waste of time and knowledge.

I don't often do spells for other people - if they want it bad enough to do a spell for it, then they need to do it themselves - but if I did there would be an exchange, maybe not money, but an exchange of energies of somesort; after all i'm expending the energy on behalf of that person.

I haven't ever read anything about not doing spells for personal gain. Most of the books I read encouraged me to cast spells to better myself.

I really think that this is more an issue of human nature. A lot of spiritual people have a hard time receiving good. To straight out manifest it for oneself is bravely declaring to the God, the Goddess, the Universe etc., that you are worthy of having good in your life.

The whole concept of not casting spells for personal gain really means: Receiving good for oneself is bad.

It's an outdated, guilt issue.

The first spells that I did were for myself and they were to help me move out and find a nice place, to find a good job, to help heal my acne...that one didn't work but anyways :) I didn't get any karmic backlash and back then I had never heard of personal gain being a bad thing.

I don't remember Scott Cunningham ever saying anything like that and he is who I started with.

I trust the Divine to assist in delivering things to me and I cast my spells with the intent that it harms none and that it is for the greater good of all concerned.

It does me no good to be poor. It does me no good to be sick. That doesn't help anyone and actually, if you look at it, harm none includes yourself. Everyone has a Divine purpose and we also all have Divinely given gifts. Everything that we are is to assist us on our path. Not using what you have and keeping yourself in a place of lack is counterproductive to the greater good of all concerned.