THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | RELIGION | NEO PAGANISM

MKuhner: Threefold Law

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.pagan,talk.religion.misc
From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva)
Subject: MKuhner: Threefold Law (Was Re: Please explain the threefold law)
Date: 20 Nov 1995 13:11:34 -0800

[from alt.religion.wicca: mkkuhner@phylo.genetics.washington.edu (Mary Kuhner)]

My take on the threefold law is that it represents three different ways
in which your actions affect you.  I don't see it as specific to magic,
but as a general reminder (not a law like a physical law) of the ways in
which consequences happen.

(a)  Effect on self:  everything you do affects you personally.  If you
do something you think you shouldn't have done, you weaken your own
will, you may experience guilt, you lessen your own self-esteem and
honor.  If you do something without thinking it through, you reinforce a
habit of sloppiness.

(b)  Effect on others:  most things you do affect someone else directly.
If you harm someone, you will have a hurt and hurting person around, and
that will have consequences--they may look for revenge, or just poison
the atmosphere with their distress.

(c)  Effect on society:  many things you do have a cumulative effect on
the community you live in.  If you harm someone, you will help convince
others that it's an unsafe place, that it may be better to strike first
rather than trusting.  Each theft leads to more locked doors, less
charity towards strangers.

So the "threefold" part of the law, as I see it, is a reminder of these
different levels of consequences.  It's all too easy to look at an
action just in terms of its effect on the "victim".  "He deserved it, so
it was okay for me to hit him."  This formulation of the law reminds me
that I had better consider other consequences--will this action hurt me?
Will it contribute to making my community a worse place?

Mary Kuhner mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu
-- 
I do not receive posts from the following systems because they tolerate
abuse of Usenet:  interramp.com psi.com scruz.net
If you wish me to see your message anyway please use email.

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races