Neptune's Dolphins

 

The formation of ethics for magic people is critical since they are involved with other worlds and otherworld entities. Since the belief systems of Paganism (Note 1), differ from Monotheistic religions, a different morality is usually applied. For example, in Wicca and Neo-Paganism, sex and pride are positive qualities. Roman Polytheists have their Public and Private Virtues to follow. (Note 2) Wiccans use the Wiccan Rede (Note 3) or the Rule of Three (Note 4).

 

Written in 1996, “When, Why…If” offers an excellent start in forming ethics for Pagans. Robin Wood (Note 5) wanted Wiccans to move beyond a “vague, fuzzy ‘harm none’” of the Wiccan Rede. To that end, she breaks down learning ethics into building blocks, with each building on the prior. At each chapter’s end, Wood includes questions to ponder and answer to develop your personal set of ethics. For Wood, “Morals are the principles you live by, and ethics are the system by which you put those principles into action.”

 

Wood starts with “Honesty” as the basis for forming an ethical code. By being honest with yourself, you can change yourself. She defines honesty as the clarity of vision, and the willingness to learn from mistakes. Wood writes “When you become aware and learn to correlate cause and effect, you can see where any path is likely to lead you. When you gain the courage to look honestly at the path ahead, and not try to fool yourself or others, then you will be able to choose wisely.” Ethics, therefore, is built on choices and the ability to discern what is wise.

 

The next chapters of the book have “Honesty,” as the foundation for their explorations. Starting with the “Self,” there needs to be a balance between “Mego” and “Anti-mego.” Wood defines these terms as “Mego” is the person’s universe only revolving around themselves. “Anti-mego” is the person’s universe only revolving around others.

 

Once the “Self” is honestly examined, then “Love” can be explored. “Love” is the basis for examining “Help” which in turn is the basis for studying “What is Harm?” According to Wood, “Love” is putting yourself in the other person’s place and then seeing them from their point of view. She counsels to let the person grow and bloom at their own pace. Stemming from “Love” is “Help” and “Harm.” Using the three ethics, Wood stresses, “You have to balance possible pain against possible pain, harm against harm, injury against injury, and take the one that will cause the least.”

 

Since Pagans view sex differently from Monotheists, “Sex” has its own chapter. Some differences are as follows. Wiccans celebrate the Great Rite (Union of Male of Female) as a sacrament. Also, many rituals are performed in the nude for various reasons. (Note 5) For Pagans, people must take responsibility for their sexual choices. Consent is the basis of moral actions that involve sex.

 

“Will” is the final building block to forming ethics. Since magical people can “make it so,” they need to understand what they are doing and why. Wood explains “you focus your desire and make a tool of it so that what you desire will, in fact, come to pass. This is an action. It takes conscious thought, movement of energy, direction.” Magic has cause and effect with ripples extending from the undertaking of the magical spell. Therefore, the basis for “Will” are the other ethics.

 

Once a person has completed the questions at the end of each chapter, they will have developed a personal set of ethics. They will have examined what their morals are. Since they see the cause of their actions, they know to take responsibility. Following that, their decision-making will become easier and clearer. In turn, a sense of true freedom will be achieved for each person.

 

Notes:

Note 1. This includes Wicca, New Age, and Polytheism.

 

Note 2. The Personal and Public Virtues are the qualities that every Roman should aspire to in their lives. Among the fifteen Personal Virtues are “Dignity,” “Tenacity,” “Prudence,” and “Truthfulness.” Among the twenty-six Public Virtues are “Concord,” “Confidence,” “Justice,” and “Piety.”

 

Note 3. Wiccan Rede:

“Eight words the Wiccan Red fulfill-

An it harm none, do what ye will.”

 

Note 4. Rule of Three:

“Whatever you put into the universe magically or otherwise, will return to you three-fold.”

 

Note 5. Author of the “Robin Wood Tarot,” one of the most popular of Tarot decks.

 

Note 6. Reasons for “skyclad” or no clothing are varied. They include clothes interfering with receiving the energy of the earth, celebrating freedom, and energy raising within a Circle.

 

Of the dragon books I have read, I recommend “Dragon Magic” by Rachel Patterson. It is filled with wise words about how to relate with dragons, who are ancient beings shrouded in myth. Following Patterson’s advice will aid the reader who wants to learn about dragons.

 

In the beginning chapter “Before You Start,” Patterson cautions, “Always treat them with the respect that you would a wise elder. It will take time and effort to build a relationship with dragons and a lot of practice to understand their magic. You cannot force a dragon to come to you, you cannot make one work for you.”

 

Patterson continues, “Then think about why you want to work with them, what are your reasons and whether you are prepared to put the work and effort in to follow this through properly. Dragon magic is not a quick fix….usually they are the ones that make the decision for you.” In other words, if you are not careful, you will be toast.

 

In my relations with Dragons, I have come to the conclusion that they do need to know a person for a long time before even speaking to them. I was meandering through an overgrown field, when I glimpsed a shy field dragon flitting among the devil’s paintbrushes and squirrel grass. As the dragon kept eying me, I continued walking. Later, I came back to the field with offerings. It took several months before the little dragon would bounce directly in front of me. I continued to bring small colorful stones to the field, building a relationship between us. Only a couple of years later, did the dragon squeak at me. Afterwards, I started seeing various dragons in odd places. I believe that the field dragon spoke to the other dragons about me.

 

In “Dragon Magic,” Patterson describes dragons in all their infinite variety. They are not simply limited to fire breathers, who live in caves, and guard their jeweled hoards. Dragons range from Tiamat of the Cosmos to the Lambton Worm, who lives in the deeps. They can be found flying among the clouds like the Chinese Lung. Dragons can have no limbs or multiple ones, one or more heads, and spit venom instead of fire. Cold drakes, who are the color blue, release ice from their mouths. Meanwhile, Guivres of France spout water but run away at the sight of a naked human.

 

In the section titled “How to Summon a Dragon,” Patterson writes, “Do not. Never summon a dragon, seriously don’t do it. Dragons will not respond well to being summoned. Dragons are ancient, they are wise, majestic and powerful. Summoning them will either annoy them greatly, for which you will be made to pay or they will completely ignore you because of your arrogance and insolence.”

 

What a person does instead is to treat dragons with the utmost respect. Be mindful of your manners. And, if a person finds themselves with a Guardian Dragon, they need to make an altar for the dragon. At the altar, leave gifts to affirm the relationship. To form a bond, have daily contact through mediation and listening. Moreover, heed the dragon’s guidance.

 

To make the altar welcoming for the dragon, place dragon pictures and shiny coins on it. Also, have a candle to honor their transformative powers. At the altar, leave milk. In dragon myths, milk is often given to keep dragons from eating livestock.

 

As I do, Patterson divides dragons by their elements. Each element enhances particular qualities of dragons. Earth dragons keep their hoards in mountains. Air dragons prefer to ride with the storms. Fire dragons live in volcanos, while water dragons are found in the depths of the oceans. Patterson does include “spirit” and “chaos” dragons in her categories. The former mediates between the physical and psychic planes, while the latter brings transformation.

 

One thing that I learned from Patterson is how dragons relate to the different seasons. (Note 1) She aligns dragons by the Neo-Pagan festivals. Some dragons are seen more at harvest time (Lammas), while others only appear during the heat of summer (Midsummer).

 

Notes:

Note 1. I will explore dragons and their seasons in a more detailed post later.

 

In the Preface, Butler writes “I believe that the concept of polytheism will prove crucial…,because it does not presuppose that all traditions worship the same God, which inherently privileges those religions which launched the long historical struggle to enforce the idea that there is only one God. Polytheism, rather, leaves questions of internal theological self-definition open while honoring the prima facie distinction of names and identities of the divinities that these traditions have maintained….”

 

Because he states that “all their Gods are real,” (emphasis his) Butler lays out the power imbalance in modernity between Monotheism and Polytheism. Mainstream studies of historical Polytheistic cultures will divorce the religion from the culture. For example, in Rome, the Senate (and later the Emperor) regularly consulted the Will of the Gods. The Roman Civil War was a result of dueling divinations between Caesar and Pompey. However, that aspect of Roman life is ignored by historians.

 

By its nature, Monotheism strives to eliminate Polytheism. For example, the Polytheisms of North America have been reduced to a monolithic “Great Spirit.” Since these Polytheisms are not regarded to be religions, “spiritual technologies” can be extracted from them. (Note 3). “Monocentrism denies plurality, it totalises structure,” according to Edward Said. (Note 4). Thus, Polytheistic traditions are pushed to the edges.

 

In contrast, Butler stresses that Polytheistic traditions have the ability to engage with their Gods on multiple levels. Polytheism has the self-correcting method of seeking multiple deities. The existence of other people’s Gods is not a problem, unlike Monotheism which strives to unify all Gods or eliminate Them.

 

Where Monotheism is the dominant culture, Polytheism is relegated to the corners of society. Moreover, a Monotheist need not engage fully in a Polytheistic tradition. Instead, they can simply extract “useful” spiritual technologies such as Astrology. Furthermore, Polytheisms can be regarded as “proto-Monotheisms.” Polytheists, who protest that their traditions cannot be translated into universal terms, are considered to be xenophobic.

 

To keep the existing paradigm of monotheism as the defacto religion of humans, many scholars use secularism to examine historical cultures. Butler writes “There is a deep investment in this divorce of the products of ancient polytheistic civilizations from the religions which gave birth to them. Starting from Christianity’s need for a kind of peace with the past which it had violently suppressed, it has become an entire project of conceiving a rigorously secularized sphere of the human, a project which in certain ways undoubtedly continues the work begun by Christian conversion.”

 

After demonstrating on how Monotheism disrupts each Polytheist tradition, Butler then presents what that tradition is or was. Radically different, the Polytheistic lens presents insights to cultures that people think they know such as the North American or Roman. For greater understanding, I believe that this lens needs to be cultivated more.

 

Butler concludes the book with the assertion that people cannot ethically study Polytheistic traditions with disinterest. A person needs to reflect on the power relations between Polytheisms and the dominant Monotheism. To protect and to cherish Polytheisms is a part of this engagement. According to him, Polytheism is “the living record of the relationship established between humans and Gods.” Therefore, a person needs to approach Polytheism on its terms.

 

Notes:

Note 1. This was originally a course given by Edward Butler under the auspices of the Center for Global Polytheism and Indigenous Traditions.

Note 2. Butler differentiates between Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, since their interactions with native Polytheisms differ.

Note 3. Technologies such as sweat lodges and vision quests.

Note 4. Edward Said (1933-2003, Palestine-U.S.) was a noted critic on how Westerners viewed the Middle East and other cultures. Said called their attitude “Orientalism,” to describe how it was imbued with European imperialism.