An Thou Harm None
I am attempting to grow things again. You may recall a few years ago when we planted some cucumbers late in the season, to the great delight of the neighborhood squirrels. This year, I thought that the kids would appreciate planting seeds and watching little sprouts poking up from the soil.
For phase one, I dug in the back yard and had the kids help me add garden soil in four little hills, then put a few pumpkin seeds in each spot. We got out the watering can and they helped me sprinkle the soil. The next day, there were pumpkin seed shells next to four small excavation sites. The squirrels struck again.
The next part of my plan was to have my two-and-a-half-year-old children drop just a few seeds into each square of the biodegradable planter, separating out neat rows of basil, carrots, cilantro, and rosemary. I bet you can guess how that turned out. I’m pretty sure I know where most of the cilantro is, but the basil and carrots got mixed together and planted in enthusiastic quantities. I’m not sure any of the rosemary seeds ended up in the soil. It was fun anyway.
I dug a little furrow in the yard and planted the leftover seeds. I considered them an offering to the squirrels and the birds. The spot was not especially sunny, and I didn’t bother with mixing much garden soil in with the sand and the clay. I kind of forgot about the offering seeds.
For the next ten days or so, the children helped me water the soil in the planter cups. Surprisingly enough, a bunch of seeds sprouted. Last weekend I transplanted some of the cups into a container outside. I tried to thin out the seedlings, choosing the strongest one in each group. That was heartbreaking. I wanted all of the little plants to thrive, but the directions on the seed packet said they needed room. The remaining seedlings in the container are doing OK, but not great. The basil seeds I planted as an offering to the birds and squirrels sprouted into a forest of beautiful, fat, and lush plants. It is possible that the universe is trying to tell me something about going with the flow, letting go of the illusion of control, and being mindful of where and to whom I dedicate my labor.
Since I’ve been getting my hands in the dirt more lately, I’ve been thinking about earth-based spirituality. As I have mentioned before, I have a Pagan personal practice, as well as other traditions that intersect to form my spiritual path. Paganism is a wide umbrella term that covers some earth-centered traditions. Within Paganism, a person might identify as a Wiccan, or they might focus on ancient Greek or Sumerian pantheons, or they might study Old Norse runes and legends by way of learning about the gods or goddesses to which they are dedicated. Those are just a few examples. There are also people who follow earth-centered traditions who don’t consider themselves Pagan. Earth-centered spirituality describes a complex, multi-faith category of religions.
Personally, I’m a non-denominational Pagan. I organize my meditations in terms of the elements of earth, water, fire, and air. I find meaning and comfort in the company of trees, or among ocean waves, or in mountains layered with the evidence of time. Myths about heroines, heroes, gods, and goddesses from around the world help me unpack my ideas about the holy. If I had a specific tradition and Pagan community to which I were accountable, that might help me make the most of my spiritual practice and ensure that I’m not mis-using sacred stories and images, but I haven’t been able to connect strongly with one tradition. I do the best I can by consulting with friends and being accountable to Unitarian Universalism.
One idea that has been helpful to me as I build my Pagan identity is the Wiccan Rede: “An it harm none, do what ye will.” That’s the version that was first published in the modern era by Doreen Valiente in 1964. There are variations in the wording. “Do what you will, as long as it harms none.” I like throwing the word “thou” in the phrase, because it reminds me of Martin Buber’s “I and Thou,” remembering the personhood of everyone I meet and the sacredness of relationships. “An thou harm none, do what ye will.” The grammar isn’t quite correct, but it works for me.
There’s plenty of debate about how far back the Wiccan Rede goes and where it comes from. The important thing for now is that this Wiccan version of the Golden Rule has been very influential among English-speaking Pagans over the last fifty years. The rede reminds us about gifts such as freedom and trust, yet also reminds us to be responsible for the consequences of our actions.
The Wiccan Rede is open to interpretation, almost by design. To use it as a guide, we have to figure out what “harm” is, and who or what counts as one not to be harmed. We also have to come to an understanding of will, or willpower, and how we develop the capacity to make conscious choices.
To me, this sounds very similar to our pattern as Unitarian Universalists. UU’s don’t have a creed, and we believe a variety of things about the sacred, yet we have a shared commitment to acting with justice and compassion. One of the skills we need to develop in order to grow into a mature UU faith is the power of discernment: matching our choices, our life goals, and our shared ministry to our deepest values. Exploring the Wiccan Rede can help us to understand how to apply UU principles. With the rede and with UU principles, we need to consider consequences beyond what is right in front of us. We need to develop a sense of ourselves as ethical decision-makers with goals. We need to consider how we, ourselves, fit into the picture of cause and effect in the moral universe. In other words, harm none who are hidden; harm none through lack of will; harm none including yourself.
Harm None Who Are Hidden
First, harm none who are hidden. Beings who are unseen, unheard, or beyond the borders of our awareness still matter. Like Unitarian Universalists, many Pagans find meaning in the image of an interdependent web of existence, a model for the universe that acknowledges the far-reaching consequences of our actions. The interdependent web is a way of approaching the world that encourages responsibility and emphasizes relationships. Sometimes the way we interact with soil, water, and air has obvious, concrete outcomes. Sometimes the results are more distant in time or place, and we have to consciously attend to the links between cause and effect. We can harm people and other beings without seeing them.
If I grow or buy organic produce, it will have consequences I’m not going to see right away for the local soil and water. If I support fair wages and safe working conditions for farm workers, the effect on me is not going to be as visible as the result of collective support on the lives of people who put food on our tables. If I plant a native tree, future generations of humans and animals will breathe easier in its shade. We don’t always have the reward of seeing the effect when we make positive choices. Sometimes we need the help of scientists and data-gatherers from all over the world to make sense of the cumulative effects of humanity’s actions.
Individual actions matter, mainly because they are symbolic of our aims as a society. Personal decisions keep me connected to the bigger picture. Be forgiving about doing what you have to do and letting other people do what they have to do to survive on an individual level, and let’s do the best we can to guide our civilization toward healing. If we’re preoccupied with judging our neighbors who don’t use Compact Florescent light bulbs, we’ll miss the opportunity to advocate for powerful change in the way oil corporations and energy companies privatize their profits and pass the costs of the environmental degradations they cause on to us.
Whether our choices are large or small, sticking to our values can be more difficult when the effects of our actions are obscured by time or distance. There are a couple of ways to stay mindful of what’s happening outside our immediate experience.
One option is to spend time contemplating the potential consequences for nearby non-humans, beings whose presence affects ours, even if they don’t walk or roll around like we do. What would it mean for the fox I see through the window if the city quit protecting the creek that runs through our neighborhood? How would the health of my favorite trees be affected if we didn’t have the Clean Air Act? Pagan spirituality values the lives of beings who swim, fly, and walk on more than two legs. Earth-centered traditions are rich with stories about the Divine manifesting in animal form. The sacred is present in the fox, the deer, and even in the squirrels who ate my pumpkin seeds. The health of the creek has an impact on these messengers of the holy. Again, the specific examples matter, and they also stand in for the larger picture. The fox doesn’t matter more than the whole watershed, he’s just the part I can see and relate to as I vote and otherwise try to influence my community.
There is a danger in confusing the part for the whole as we figure out the path of least harm. I killed little basil sprouts in order to thin them out and give the remaining plants the best chance at survival. I’m probably going to kill a bunch of competing plants that take root alongside the carrots. I hope that the end result will be an organic garden that will reduce my trips to the store and my reliance on non-local produce. There are ways to move with the flow of life and death as we practice stewardship. As my offering seeds proved to me, we can’t always predict the future. My tiny container garden is not going to save the world, but it might remind me of other ways I am connected to the planet.
Another option for maintaining awareness of hidden consequences is to regard the earth itself as a holy, living being. As the bumper sticker says, love your Mother. Maintaining environmental consciousness out of a sense of relationship with Gaia may give us motivation to compost or to reduce our reliance on oil. Our small steps to reduce harm become spiritual practices and offerings of love. Following eco-friendly guidelines out of a sense of duty and anticipating the needs of future generations is great, but there’s something about the Gaia hypothesis that feels personal and nurturing. Caring for the earth, and being more aware of how the earth sustains me, becomes a real-time relationship. Harm none, and regard the planet as a person not to be harmed.
Do What Ye Will
In addition to harming none, there is another half of the Wiccan Rede, “Do as thou will.” Some would argue that willpower, acting with intention, is the more important part of the guideline, and that “harm none” is just the boundary around a wide circle of possibilities.
I would suggest that the two halves balance each other: the freedom to act according to conscious discernment and values, and the responsibility of developing that willpower while causing the least harm. Perhaps this rings a bell from one of our UU principles, “the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” Deciding how to act, choosing our words and behaviors on purpose, is just as important as considering the possible consequences. For me, true will is related to a sense of calling. “Do what ye will” means taking action toward our deepest values, listening to the wisest voices within and planning accordingly.
This realization of willpower is one of the steps in the hero’s or heroine’s journey for a lot of the mythic stories that give shape to Pagan worldviews. Whether it’s someone like Thomas the Rhymer, leaving the human world to follow the Elf Queen into the realm of the Faeries, or it’s a story like the Twelve Wild Swans, where the heroine leaves the comfort of her castle in search of the twelve brothers she never knew, symbolic tales often hinge on the theme of making choices on purpose.
This morning’s Time For All Ages story follows the same pattern. [http://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/loveguide/session16/sessionplan/stories/169075.shtml] An ordinary girl named Maya is troubled by the seeming arbitrary chaos of multiple sets of rules. She departs from her usual routine and goes out of her way to ask questions in an attempt to bring meaning to her way of being in the world. She seeks wisdom from places she might have previously overlooked. The reward of discovery, of uncovering the spiritual framework to guide her path ahead, is due to Maya’s determination. Maya set out to reorganize her understanding of right action. Nobody asked her to do it. She could have continued to obey without knowing why, or she could have ignored the rules in a way that caused harm. She took the opportunity for a quest, to manifest her will power.
That’s how it would be according to the Wiccan Rede. If we choose not to take on the quest, if we choose not to manifest the will arising from our values, we’re responsible for that, too. But fear not! We will not miss the opportunity to follow our calling. When we ask questions about the systems of power and privilege that comprise the status quo, when we seek to dismantle oppressions that are so influential in our society that they are nearly invisible, we share Maya’s quest.
Taking responsibility for accidental harm is also part of the rede. It says “harm none,” not “harm none intentionally.” Even if we didn’t mean to cause an injury, we still have to do something to correct it. This is one of the advantages to basing an ethical system on values instead of on strict adherence to specific laws: If we’re not busy proving which rules did or didn’t get broken, we can focus on healing. Living in the world, we are going to cause some damage and we are going to experience some pain. Ideally, we find ways to minimize suffering and to maximize health.
It is possible to get so worried about making the wrong choice that we try to avoid making choices at all. I would invite us into an attitude of holy boldness, of confidence that we can work with the Spirit of Life to make amends when we make mistakes in our quest for healing. Let us be gentle with ourselves and each other. There is no shortage of opportunity to improve the world. We also have a moral and spiritual impulse to savor the beauty of the earth and the love we have for the people around us. Intentionally thriving by practicing gratitude and celebrating life is an act of will that harms none.
Harm None, Including Yourself
One of the things I find interesting about the Wiccan Rede is that it frames the limit as “harm none” rather than “don’t harm others.” We, as moral decision-makers, also have to consider ourselves in the circle of care. A person is part of the divine/earthly system rather than separate from it. We are one with the earth that we are called to honor and protect.
Personally (and I can’t speak for other Pagans on this or any other matter), I regard the universe itself as Divine. We are made of star-stuff, and so are the animals, vegetables, and minerals that we come into contact with every day. I may temporarily have my own personality and consciousness, but all that I am came from the ocean of being, and one day I will be released back into that ocean. As a Universalist, I believe that the birthright and the destiny of all beings are shared, and that love is the best response to our cosmic kinship.
In the context of reverence for the earth and other people, and with confidence in the interdependent web, it should follow that I would also have plenty of love and respect for myself. Perhaps you share my experience that self-care is easier said than done. When I feel like my obligations are overwhelming, things like exercising and eating satisfying food are some of the first things to go. I aim to follow my calling, as long as it harms none. Every once in awhile I need to recalibrate to bring myself back into the healing zone. Chances are, if I’m not taking care of myself, I’ve been snapping at other people and doing harm in other ways, but none of us needs an extra reason to practice self-care.
The holiday that’s coming up now, Beltane, is a good time to meditate on that. This is a season about the sacredness of the body in all of its aliveness and connection. The larger culture may hold up self-abnegation and sacrifice as high ideals, but a Beltane observance says that we can nurture growth and healing in the world without diminishing ourselves. With this holiday, we celebrate abundance, new life, and creativity. Arts of all kinds, from writing to baking to sculpture, add to the festivities.
When I think about the things that have been energizing me lately--the themes that have been helping me stay connected with my calling--abundance, embodiment, and creativity are right up there. The surprising liveliness of the carrot and basil seedlings is lifting my spirits. Days when I can find a moment to reach my arms toward the rising sun and stretch down to touch the earth are good days for my body and soul. Writing gives me a chance to spark conversations. When I remember to fully apply it, the Wiccan Rede reminds me that, as long as I consider the health of myself and others, the will to create is a spiritual practice.
Conclusion
The Wiccan Rede, “An it harm none, do what ye will,” is more difficult to follow than it might seem on first glance. It is not a moral computer, spitting out the right course of action if you feed in the available data. It is a guideline that invokes thoughtful discernment. We make conscious choices, based on our best estimation of potential consequences. May we take into account the health of beings beyond our immediate experience. May we find the will power to follow the callings of our values. May we have reverence for all people, including ourselves. So be it. Blessed be. Amen.
For phase one, I dug in the back yard and had the kids help me add garden soil in four little hills, then put a few pumpkin seeds in each spot. We got out the watering can and they helped me sprinkle the soil. The next day, there were pumpkin seed shells next to four small excavation sites. The squirrels struck again.
The next part of my plan was to have my two-and-a-half-year-old children drop just a few seeds into each square of the biodegradable planter, separating out neat rows of basil, carrots, cilantro, and rosemary. I bet you can guess how that turned out. I’m pretty sure I know where most of the cilantro is, but the basil and carrots got mixed together and planted in enthusiastic quantities. I’m not sure any of the rosemary seeds ended up in the soil. It was fun anyway.
I dug a little furrow in the yard and planted the leftover seeds. I considered them an offering to the squirrels and the birds. The spot was not especially sunny, and I didn’t bother with mixing much garden soil in with the sand and the clay. I kind of forgot about the offering seeds.
For the next ten days or so, the children helped me water the soil in the planter cups. Surprisingly enough, a bunch of seeds sprouted. Last weekend I transplanted some of the cups into a container outside. I tried to thin out the seedlings, choosing the strongest one in each group. That was heartbreaking. I wanted all of the little plants to thrive, but the directions on the seed packet said they needed room. The remaining seedlings in the container are doing OK, but not great. The basil seeds I planted as an offering to the birds and squirrels sprouted into a forest of beautiful, fat, and lush plants. It is possible that the universe is trying to tell me something about going with the flow, letting go of the illusion of control, and being mindful of where and to whom I dedicate my labor.
Since I’ve been getting my hands in the dirt more lately, I’ve been thinking about earth-based spirituality. As I have mentioned before, I have a Pagan personal practice, as well as other traditions that intersect to form my spiritual path. Paganism is a wide umbrella term that covers some earth-centered traditions. Within Paganism, a person might identify as a Wiccan, or they might focus on ancient Greek or Sumerian pantheons, or they might study Old Norse runes and legends by way of learning about the gods or goddesses to which they are dedicated. Those are just a few examples. There are also people who follow earth-centered traditions who don’t consider themselves Pagan. Earth-centered spirituality describes a complex, multi-faith category of religions.
Personally, I’m a non-denominational Pagan. I organize my meditations in terms of the elements of earth, water, fire, and air. I find meaning and comfort in the company of trees, or among ocean waves, or in mountains layered with the evidence of time. Myths about heroines, heroes, gods, and goddesses from around the world help me unpack my ideas about the holy. If I had a specific tradition and Pagan community to which I were accountable, that might help me make the most of my spiritual practice and ensure that I’m not mis-using sacred stories and images, but I haven’t been able to connect strongly with one tradition. I do the best I can by consulting with friends and being accountable to Unitarian Universalism.
One idea that has been helpful to me as I build my Pagan identity is the Wiccan Rede: “An it harm none, do what ye will.” That’s the version that was first published in the modern era by Doreen Valiente in 1964. There are variations in the wording. “Do what you will, as long as it harms none.” I like throwing the word “thou” in the phrase, because it reminds me of Martin Buber’s “I and Thou,” remembering the personhood of everyone I meet and the sacredness of relationships. “An thou harm none, do what ye will.” The grammar isn’t quite correct, but it works for me.
There’s plenty of debate about how far back the Wiccan Rede goes and where it comes from. The important thing for now is that this Wiccan version of the Golden Rule has been very influential among English-speaking Pagans over the last fifty years. The rede reminds us about gifts such as freedom and trust, yet also reminds us to be responsible for the consequences of our actions.
The Wiccan Rede is open to interpretation, almost by design. To use it as a guide, we have to figure out what “harm” is, and who or what counts as one not to be harmed. We also have to come to an understanding of will, or willpower, and how we develop the capacity to make conscious choices.
To me, this sounds very similar to our pattern as Unitarian Universalists. UU’s don’t have a creed, and we believe a variety of things about the sacred, yet we have a shared commitment to acting with justice and compassion. One of the skills we need to develop in order to grow into a mature UU faith is the power of discernment: matching our choices, our life goals, and our shared ministry to our deepest values. Exploring the Wiccan Rede can help us to understand how to apply UU principles. With the rede and with UU principles, we need to consider consequences beyond what is right in front of us. We need to develop a sense of ourselves as ethical decision-makers with goals. We need to consider how we, ourselves, fit into the picture of cause and effect in the moral universe. In other words, harm none who are hidden; harm none through lack of will; harm none including yourself.
Harm None Who Are Hidden
First, harm none who are hidden. Beings who are unseen, unheard, or beyond the borders of our awareness still matter. Like Unitarian Universalists, many Pagans find meaning in the image of an interdependent web of existence, a model for the universe that acknowledges the far-reaching consequences of our actions. The interdependent web is a way of approaching the world that encourages responsibility and emphasizes relationships. Sometimes the way we interact with soil, water, and air has obvious, concrete outcomes. Sometimes the results are more distant in time or place, and we have to consciously attend to the links between cause and effect. We can harm people and other beings without seeing them.
If I grow or buy organic produce, it will have consequences I’m not going to see right away for the local soil and water. If I support fair wages and safe working conditions for farm workers, the effect on me is not going to be as visible as the result of collective support on the lives of people who put food on our tables. If I plant a native tree, future generations of humans and animals will breathe easier in its shade. We don’t always have the reward of seeing the effect when we make positive choices. Sometimes we need the help of scientists and data-gatherers from all over the world to make sense of the cumulative effects of humanity’s actions.
Individual actions matter, mainly because they are symbolic of our aims as a society. Personal decisions keep me connected to the bigger picture. Be forgiving about doing what you have to do and letting other people do what they have to do to survive on an individual level, and let’s do the best we can to guide our civilization toward healing. If we’re preoccupied with judging our neighbors who don’t use Compact Florescent light bulbs, we’ll miss the opportunity to advocate for powerful change in the way oil corporations and energy companies privatize their profits and pass the costs of the environmental degradations they cause on to us.
Whether our choices are large or small, sticking to our values can be more difficult when the effects of our actions are obscured by time or distance. There are a couple of ways to stay mindful of what’s happening outside our immediate experience.
One option is to spend time contemplating the potential consequences for nearby non-humans, beings whose presence affects ours, even if they don’t walk or roll around like we do. What would it mean for the fox I see through the window if the city quit protecting the creek that runs through our neighborhood? How would the health of my favorite trees be affected if we didn’t have the Clean Air Act? Pagan spirituality values the lives of beings who swim, fly, and walk on more than two legs. Earth-centered traditions are rich with stories about the Divine manifesting in animal form. The sacred is present in the fox, the deer, and even in the squirrels who ate my pumpkin seeds. The health of the creek has an impact on these messengers of the holy. Again, the specific examples matter, and they also stand in for the larger picture. The fox doesn’t matter more than the whole watershed, he’s just the part I can see and relate to as I vote and otherwise try to influence my community.
There is a danger in confusing the part for the whole as we figure out the path of least harm. I killed little basil sprouts in order to thin them out and give the remaining plants the best chance at survival. I’m probably going to kill a bunch of competing plants that take root alongside the carrots. I hope that the end result will be an organic garden that will reduce my trips to the store and my reliance on non-local produce. There are ways to move with the flow of life and death as we practice stewardship. As my offering seeds proved to me, we can’t always predict the future. My tiny container garden is not going to save the world, but it might remind me of other ways I am connected to the planet.
Another option for maintaining awareness of hidden consequences is to regard the earth itself as a holy, living being. As the bumper sticker says, love your Mother. Maintaining environmental consciousness out of a sense of relationship with Gaia may give us motivation to compost or to reduce our reliance on oil. Our small steps to reduce harm become spiritual practices and offerings of love. Following eco-friendly guidelines out of a sense of duty and anticipating the needs of future generations is great, but there’s something about the Gaia hypothesis that feels personal and nurturing. Caring for the earth, and being more aware of how the earth sustains me, becomes a real-time relationship. Harm none, and regard the planet as a person not to be harmed.
Do What Ye Will
In addition to harming none, there is another half of the Wiccan Rede, “Do as thou will.” Some would argue that willpower, acting with intention, is the more important part of the guideline, and that “harm none” is just the boundary around a wide circle of possibilities.
I would suggest that the two halves balance each other: the freedom to act according to conscious discernment and values, and the responsibility of developing that willpower while causing the least harm. Perhaps this rings a bell from one of our UU principles, “the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” Deciding how to act, choosing our words and behaviors on purpose, is just as important as considering the possible consequences. For me, true will is related to a sense of calling. “Do what ye will” means taking action toward our deepest values, listening to the wisest voices within and planning accordingly.
This realization of willpower is one of the steps in the hero’s or heroine’s journey for a lot of the mythic stories that give shape to Pagan worldviews. Whether it’s someone like Thomas the Rhymer, leaving the human world to follow the Elf Queen into the realm of the Faeries, or it’s a story like the Twelve Wild Swans, where the heroine leaves the comfort of her castle in search of the twelve brothers she never knew, symbolic tales often hinge on the theme of making choices on purpose.
This morning’s Time For All Ages story follows the same pattern. [http://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/loveguide/session16/sessionplan/stories/169075.shtml] An ordinary girl named Maya is troubled by the seeming arbitrary chaos of multiple sets of rules. She departs from her usual routine and goes out of her way to ask questions in an attempt to bring meaning to her way of being in the world. She seeks wisdom from places she might have previously overlooked. The reward of discovery, of uncovering the spiritual framework to guide her path ahead, is due to Maya’s determination. Maya set out to reorganize her understanding of right action. Nobody asked her to do it. She could have continued to obey without knowing why, or she could have ignored the rules in a way that caused harm. She took the opportunity for a quest, to manifest her will power.
That’s how it would be according to the Wiccan Rede. If we choose not to take on the quest, if we choose not to manifest the will arising from our values, we’re responsible for that, too. But fear not! We will not miss the opportunity to follow our calling. When we ask questions about the systems of power and privilege that comprise the status quo, when we seek to dismantle oppressions that are so influential in our society that they are nearly invisible, we share Maya’s quest.
Taking responsibility for accidental harm is also part of the rede. It says “harm none,” not “harm none intentionally.” Even if we didn’t mean to cause an injury, we still have to do something to correct it. This is one of the advantages to basing an ethical system on values instead of on strict adherence to specific laws: If we’re not busy proving which rules did or didn’t get broken, we can focus on healing. Living in the world, we are going to cause some damage and we are going to experience some pain. Ideally, we find ways to minimize suffering and to maximize health.
It is possible to get so worried about making the wrong choice that we try to avoid making choices at all. I would invite us into an attitude of holy boldness, of confidence that we can work with the Spirit of Life to make amends when we make mistakes in our quest for healing. Let us be gentle with ourselves and each other. There is no shortage of opportunity to improve the world. We also have a moral and spiritual impulse to savor the beauty of the earth and the love we have for the people around us. Intentionally thriving by practicing gratitude and celebrating life is an act of will that harms none.
Harm None, Including Yourself
One of the things I find interesting about the Wiccan Rede is that it frames the limit as “harm none” rather than “don’t harm others.” We, as moral decision-makers, also have to consider ourselves in the circle of care. A person is part of the divine/earthly system rather than separate from it. We are one with the earth that we are called to honor and protect.
Personally (and I can’t speak for other Pagans on this or any other matter), I regard the universe itself as Divine. We are made of star-stuff, and so are the animals, vegetables, and minerals that we come into contact with every day. I may temporarily have my own personality and consciousness, but all that I am came from the ocean of being, and one day I will be released back into that ocean. As a Universalist, I believe that the birthright and the destiny of all beings are shared, and that love is the best response to our cosmic kinship.
In the context of reverence for the earth and other people, and with confidence in the interdependent web, it should follow that I would also have plenty of love and respect for myself. Perhaps you share my experience that self-care is easier said than done. When I feel like my obligations are overwhelming, things like exercising and eating satisfying food are some of the first things to go. I aim to follow my calling, as long as it harms none. Every once in awhile I need to recalibrate to bring myself back into the healing zone. Chances are, if I’m not taking care of myself, I’ve been snapping at other people and doing harm in other ways, but none of us needs an extra reason to practice self-care.
The holiday that’s coming up now, Beltane, is a good time to meditate on that. This is a season about the sacredness of the body in all of its aliveness and connection. The larger culture may hold up self-abnegation and sacrifice as high ideals, but a Beltane observance says that we can nurture growth and healing in the world without diminishing ourselves. With this holiday, we celebrate abundance, new life, and creativity. Arts of all kinds, from writing to baking to sculpture, add to the festivities.
When I think about the things that have been energizing me lately--the themes that have been helping me stay connected with my calling--abundance, embodiment, and creativity are right up there. The surprising liveliness of the carrot and basil seedlings is lifting my spirits. Days when I can find a moment to reach my arms toward the rising sun and stretch down to touch the earth are good days for my body and soul. Writing gives me a chance to spark conversations. When I remember to fully apply it, the Wiccan Rede reminds me that, as long as I consider the health of myself and others, the will to create is a spiritual practice.
Conclusion
The Wiccan Rede, “An it harm none, do what ye will,” is more difficult to follow than it might seem on first glance. It is not a moral computer, spitting out the right course of action if you feed in the available data. It is a guideline that invokes thoughtful discernment. We make conscious choices, based on our best estimation of potential consequences. May we take into account the health of beings beyond our immediate experience. May we find the will power to follow the callings of our values. May we have reverence for all people, including ourselves. So be it. Blessed be. Amen.