Ethics  or Morals

I think that some folks are confusing (ethics versus morals and politeness).  First of all let me make this statement.  As Wiccans, we do not practice a moral faith, we practice an ethical faith.  While I do realize that many might argue this statement I believe that if you consider these thoughts you may come to a similar thought process. Religions of the Book practice moral faiths; morals indicate right or wrong, judgment versus non judgment.  Ethics do not have right and wrong in them, only decisions that incorporate the Wiccan Rede.  Those magickal eight words; “Do as thou wilt yet harm ye none” using the old English verbiage.  If you think about the Wiccan Rede (abbreviated version of course) we can put it into any part of our decision making process.  It actually replaces morals. 

Here are a few examples to get you thinking about your own set of ethics.

1.      Is it ethical to honk your horn to let someone know that you have arrived and are ready to pick them up?  Why / Why not?

Yes it is ethical.  If I honk my horn to allow someone to know that I have arrived, and wait for them to come to my vehicle, am I being unethical or unmoral?   It could be considered impolite possibly depending on the circumstances of the person that I am honking at, however it would not be considered unethical or unmoral.  

2.   Would it be ethical to use the express lane in the grocery store when you have more than the required set of items?  Why / Why not?

No this is not ethical because as a Wiccan it says that we will lie, or cheat to get what we want and by doing so it may or may not have consequences therefore ignoring the Wiccan Rede;  For example; by getting in the line with more items than you are suppose to have, you might have cut another person off who might receive a phone call that could really be an emergency and would make them late, this becomes an ethical decision then to ignore the rule and break it.

3.      Is it ethical to allow someone to go in front of you when you are in line at the store?  Why / Why not?

This also is no.  Why, there are people behind you that are waiting and have waiting as long as you have waited and it’s unethical to allow someone to break in front of them just to satisfy your ego in the matter.  Put yourself in the place of someone behind you and ask yourself, would I like this if someone in front of me did it?  Of course you would not.  However, there are circumstances such as a crippled older lady or man, a very pregnant woman who has no place to sit while she waits.  These are decisions you have to make where does one good deed become more ethical to do rather than to just say no for the greater good.

4.      Is it ethical to break a promise you’ve made to someone?  Why / Why not?

In Wicca we have a term that Hollywood has long used incorrectly; “WARLOCK”.  The word means “Oath Breaker”.  Our word is our bond and one of the only things that we can have control over to an extent.  If we give a promise we should keep it unless some kind of circumstance has prevented us from keeping it and then we should still strive to keep it even if it’s late or changed somewhat because of circumstances.  People can and will forgive problems coming up but they will not forgive a liar for very long.

5.      Is it ethical to vent frustrations about other people?  Why / Why not?

Of course not, but then again being human has its problems doesn’t it?  The person being vented to has nothing to do usually with the problems at hand.  They are just kind enough to be a friend who will listen to us rant and rave about something in order for us to feel better.  We who are fortunate enough to have such friends should not take advantage of that aspect of friendship to often and should always be quick to thank them for listening to us rant and rave.  There is also the other issue of truth versus non truth.  Do we have all the facts?  Are we looking at this objectively?  Most times we don’t know the other side of the story and if we “VENT” about someone based on facts that are either not correct or not complete then we make a judgment against them and this implies morals and we don’t practice morals as Wiccans, we practice “ETHICS”! 

As Earth based Pagans/Wiccan/Witches, we must look at this issue every single day of our lives.  Morals are from those that practice “the book” religions, basically those that follow the teachings of Judaism, Christianity or Islam.  The practice of morals means someone is wrong and someone is right based on those beliefs from those books! It would be nice if life was as black and white as that but unfortunately it is not.  Let’s talk about anger for a minute.  We become angry with someone.  Why?  Possibly because they have done something we do not like, or to someone that we care about and we deem it as wrong.  We are putting ourselves in their shoes and judging their path and we know nothing of their walk in this life, what they must endure or what they must go through to get to the point that they have come to when we because angry at them.  Each of us has a life path that we must walk.  It is not a shared journey but one that must be walked along and on the way we come across those that the universe places into our paths to learn certain lessons in life that we need to carry over until the next one.  If we subscribe to a certain set of morals based on a religious dogma then we are making a statement that someone is wrong and someone must be right. 

If we think “ethically” though then we remove this judgment about right and wrong and only do what we know to be ethical.  Ethics are so easy to see in all of our decisions. We simply need to choose to act ethically or not. If we can begin to do this and escape the stereotypical moral dogma that goes on then we can start to live as one people, united in cause and peace.  Until such time as we can come to the conclusion to do what is best for all mankind and get rid of the judgments of each other then we will continue to do what we have always done.  Choosing ethics over morals will not change the world in a day or a year, but it’s a start!

As a person that lived a long time in the “religions of the book” and then coming into a Pagan path that lead me into Wicca, it took me many years to realize that I know longer wanted to live a moral life, but rather an ethical one.  It was like a weight being lifted off of me when this happened.

So the next time that you are about to make a decision, take that brief moment and think is this ethical?  Does it affect other individuals than me? Does it affect me in a negative way? What kind of reach will this have? Could it possibly be like a stone thrown into a pond causing many ripples?  A quick simple mental exercise, which might cause you to rethink what you about to do, and possibly set you on a path with more peace of mind and heart.

Sacred Fire Temple oversees nine Covens locally throughout the north Texas area, has public Sabbats, Beltane and Samhain public fesitvals, and will host the 2011 Spring Lustration of the Correllian Nativist Tradition.