Path: shell.portal.com!shell.portal.com!not-for-mail From: nagasiva@yronwode.com (nagasiva) Newsgroups: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.pagan,talk.religion.misc,talk.religion.newage,alt.wicca,alt.thelemaa Subject: APTower: Wiccan Ethics (Was Re: A question on Wicca) Followup-To: alt.religion.wicca,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.pagan,talk.religion.misc,talk.religion.newage,alt.wicca,alt.thelemaa Date: 11 Apr 1996 04:32:40 -0700 Organization: Portal Communications (shell) Lines: 35 Sender: tyagi@shell.portal.com Message-ID: <4kiqko$p21@jobe.shell.portal.com> References: <4k7ii1$p28@newsbf02.news.aol.com> Reply-To: aptower@netcom.com NNTP-Posting-Host: jobe.shell.portal.com Xref: shell.portal.com alt.magick.tyagi:7603 alt.pagan:154402 talk.religion.misc:213560 talk.religion.newage:50330 [from alt.religion.wicca: aptower@netcom.com] SailleDuir (sailleduir@aol.com) wrote: : Merry Meet! : I am teaching myself Wicca and have been reading alot about it. I also : have this friend who says she is Wiccan. She smokes, drinks and does : drugs. Now one of the main things in most books is to harm none, including : yourself. So is this girl not Wiccan, Wiccan but (i don't quite know how : to phrase this) cheating, is that not what harming yourself is, or is that : not a main principle of Wicca? : Thanks for your help, : SailleDuir I am a longstanding Wiccan, of an old Tradition. I smoke. I became a smoker 20-odd years before I became a Wiccan. The two are not mutually exclusive. I don't drink, for medical reasons. Please note, Wiccans generally use wine in ritual. I taste the wine, then switch to something my body doesn't rebel against, like water. Some but by no means all, Wiccans use drugs in ritual. I don't. Wiccans and most other Pagans *don't sit in judgement on each other*. We grant each other the right to do as we please, so long as we dont harm others. Not harming oneself comes uder self-responsibility. There are no dogmas, no rules about behaviour beyond the Rede and keeping one's oaths. One cannot "cheat" on WIcca save by Oathbreaking or doing harm. Judging does harm. Think about it. Nina -- -- Ensure my response - CC public replies to email (READ ) (emailed replies may be posted) SEEK INFO: (PROTEST: 'indecency')