One of the primary ethical teachings of Witchcraft is “harm none.” It’s a fairly modern addition to the Witch’s lore in its current form, but it speaks to the deeper wisdom of the Witch. I wasn’t taught the “harm none” rule by my teachers in the Witches of Kent, but I was taught that if you properly
protected yourself, you didn’t have to do harm to another. I only heard the phrase “harm none” when I started practicing openly as a Witch, meeting other Witches and reading about other traditions,
particularly from the teachings of Gerald Gardner. Even though it was not a part of the original
teachings I received, I like the phrase “harming none” because it fits so well with what my teachers of Kent taught me. You can waste a lot of time worrying about others, but if you protect yourself
properly, you don’t have to worry about it.
Witches believe in the Three-fold Law. Everything you do comes back to you three-fold, or so they say. Sometimes I think it comes back to you twenty-fold, or even a thousand-fold. But it returns to you energetically. It’s not a moral law, like a dogmatic commandment, but more akin to a scientific
principle, like gravity. Other cultures call this return by many other names. Sometimes it is called karma, or other times wyrd, but it is the consequences of your actions. Cabot Witches believe it is ruled by the Hermetic Principle of Cause and Effect: “Every effect has its cause. Every cause has its effect.” We might judge something “good” or “bad” based on how pleasant or unpleasant its effects are, but it is simply returning to its source.
Neutralization
A key teaching to true protection majick is understanding the need to neutralize harm. You do not have to harm someone else to protect yourself. If you do, you are simply doing the same thing,
perpetuating harm. There is an old saying, “If you wish to murder someone, you should dig your own grave because you will also die from the wish.” Harming another will ultimately harm yourself. Everyone and everything is connected. While in other religions, this teaching is emphasized by a spiritual sense of threat and reward, in Witchcraft, our threat and reward is our own. There is no God or Goddess who threatens us. No one is hanging the threat of hell over us. You will create your own version of hell on Earth when you cause harm, but it is not the making of any deity.
Witches choose not to harm based upon our understanding of the universe and our own psychic power. Power is neutral, and can be used to heal or harm. The misuse of power can harm ourselves, so we seek to avoid harm for the good of all involved. If all people could learn this basic principle, the world would truly change.
When some majickal practitioners work protection spells, they send the harm directed at them back to its source. If you know the techniques of neutralization, you do not have to do that. Neutralization, rather than reflection, allows you stop the harm at the edge of your protection shield. It will dissolve or dissipate harmlessly, rather than redirecting the harm. Think of harm as a bullet shot towards you. Reflection is simply sending the deadly bullet back. Not only will it harm the sender, but it could also harm anyone unfortunate enough to step in front of it while it’s on the return journey. Neutralization is like snatching the bullet out of the air and putting it on the ground. You take all the majickal
momentum out of it. Neutralization is based upon the science of the Craft and an understanding of light energy. Because many do not approach their majick as both a science and art, sometimes these
principles are overlooked.
A basic first step in neutralization is learning to take responsibility for your own thoughts, words, and actions. When you know how to effectively neutralize the unwanted energies you generate, you can more effectively neutralize other forces, both consciously as they approach you, and
unconsciously through establishing appropriate shields.
When you say think of something and realize you do not want to empower that thought with your majick as it would be harmful to you or others, hold your Instant Alpha Trigger and think to yourself, “I neutralize that.” When you speak something harmful, again hold your trigger and say, “I neutralize that.” When you envision something harmful in your mind’s eye, envision putting a white light “X” through it while holding your trigger, or literally lift your fingers and draw an “X” before you in white light, neutralizing the vision. These thoughts, words, and visions are a normal part of our unhealthy programming in our culture. People think, speak, and imagine all sorts of harmful, self- defeating behavior, but constant neutralization will transform how you think, speak, and imagine. While at first you will feel like all you do is neutralization, you will eventually transform your own process, replacing harmful programming with new, helpful patterns.
When you come across other people’s words and deeds that are harmful, you can silently hold your trigger and neutralize it. And you can program your own protection spells and shields with the power to neutralize harm automatically. Neutralized energies are then free to be put to constructive use. They are no longer trapped in a pattern of harm, and can manifest blessings.