Category Archives: ethics

Questions about love spells and ethics

Someone emailed me with questions related to my recent writing about the ethics of love spells. They indicated that they emailed me because I don’t allow anonymous comments, but when I replied by email, the reply failed. I’m posting their … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, feminism, magic | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Further thoughts

Follow-ups to a couple of recent posts, plus other assorted thoughts. Guns: Salon explains why the answer is not more guns: But perhaps the biggest problem is the philosophy underpinning notions to arm more people. Goddard of the Brady campaign … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, feminism, health care, magic, politics | 7 Comments

When love spells become rape

As I mentioned in the last post, there were many things that speakers said at Between the Worlds that I was glad to hear people saying, actively, in the Pagan/magical community. There was one glaring omission: “Love spells” as most … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, feminism, magic | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

John Michael Greer and the Raspberry Jam Principle of Magic

One of my favorite things about Between the Worlds was hearing respected teachers and practitioners saying things that I think we need to have more discussion of in the Pagan community. Some of that was on the issue of eclecticism … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, magic | Tagged , ,

A 9/11 challenge

Healing takes time. I’ve lost a member of my immediate family (although not to violence), so I understand some of that first-hand. Grieving takes time, and it’s never enough time. I’m glad that in some ways the pain of Sept … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, Pagan

The myth of nonsectarianism

Sometimes someone has to say that the emperor has no clothes. Here goes: There is no such thing as nonsectarian prayer. “Nonsectarian” is a polite euphemism for “generically Christian,” and more specifically “generically Protestant, but probably acceptable to nearly all … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, politics, religious freedom | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

The Prisoners’ Dilemma of Pagan Standard Time

Hecate tells the truth about Pagan Standard Time and links to Kerr Cuchulain’s little video about it. Hecate talks about the experience of a circle with respect to PST. Kerr says that it’s a violation of the Rede and gives … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, Pagan | Tagged | 5 Comments

Crowdsourcing: Examples of magical victim-blaming

I’m working on an article about the problem of victim blaming by magical practitioners. I have a handful of examples – including one stunning one from Buckland – but would like to collect as many as I can. So please … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, magic | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Respect and Consent

Getting consent for spiritual practices – even ones that I might regard as inherently “harmless,” like Reiki – is a matter of basic respect for others. Some time ago the Slacktiverse had a post about the Mormon practice of baptism … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, magic, QUILTBAG issues, religious freedom, theaology | Tagged , , , , , | 44 Comments

Updated: Sustainable Sandalwood

After further research, I’ve found two sources of sustainable sandalwood oil, but no incense. Both Aura Cacia and Mountain Rose Herbs carry Australian sandalwood oil. Aura Cacia products are available at Whole Foods stores and other natural-products stores. For larger … Continue reading

Posted in ethics, nature | Tagged , ,