Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

100 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

The basic principle of “Harm no one” does seem to

be a good prerequisite for behavior that is both ethi-

cal and moral. It is, in fact, the first rule of the Hippo-

cratic Oath sworn by all doctors since it was origi-

nally written by the father of medicine, Hippocrates

of Greece (460–377 BCE): “Never do harm to any-

one.” In his Republic, Book I, 335e, Plato wrote: “For

it has become apparent to us that it is never just to

harm anyone.” And certainly we can all adopt the

splendid motto of motto of Saint Peter Fourier: “To

be of help to all and to harm no one.”

Lesson 4: What Goes Around,

Comes Around

Karma

Karma is the Hindu term for the cosmic prin-

ciple of cause and effect, which holds that for every

action in life, there is a reaction: Good is returned by

good, and evil is returned by evil. I’m sure you have

learned that if you treat others the way you wish to be

treated, your life moves more smoothly.

Threefold Return

However, with Magick this rule may be ampli-

fied. Some Witches maintain that there is a natural

principle they call the Law of Threefold Return. By

this, they mean that whatever energy we put out into

the world, for good or for ill, shall return to us multi-

plied three times. This is a very powerful element of

magnification, as long as you remember that Love is

the highest law.

Love is the Highest Law

Love for our fellow man, the Earth, and Her crea-

tures is one of the elements that defines our human-

ity. “Love is the highest law” means to allow Love to

be your guide in all of your actions. When your Magick

is ruled by Love you will know that your intentions are

in your best interest and the best interest of others.

The Greater the Circle, the More the Love

Grows

If you share your cookies with your friends, you

will eat fewer cookies. With Love, sharing causes the

opposite to occur. As you share your love with oth-

ers, the love that is given to you will increase. The

more you love, the more you are loved. This is a great

and wonderful truth.

Pay It Forward

The best way to make sure that good energy goes

around in the world is to put it out there yourself. A

wonderful way to do this, and to change the world by

simple acts of kindness, was conceived by author

Catherine Ryan Hyde in a wonderful book and movie

called Pay It Forward. It’s an action plan within a

work of fiction. Since the book was released in Janu-

ary of 2000, a real-life social movement has emerged,

not just in the U.S. but worldwide. What began as

fiction has become much more.

Reuben St. Clair, the teacher and protagonist of

the book Pay It Forward, starts a movement with this

voluntary, extra-credit assignment: Think of an idea

for world change, and put it into action. Trevor, the

12-year-old hero of Pay It Forward, thinks of quite

an idea. He describes it to his mother and teacher this

way: “You see, I do something real good for three

people. And then when they ask how they can pay it

back, I say they have to Pay It Forward. To three more

people. Each. So nine people get helped. Then those

people have to do 27.” He turned on the calculator,

punched in a few numbers. “Then it sort of spreads

out, see. To 81. Then 243. Then 729. Then 2,187. See

how big it gets?”

You can do this, too. If you’d like to learn more,

check out the Pay It Forward Foundation at:

http://www.payitforwardfoundation.org/.

Lesson 5: Be Excellent

to Each Other

We will get respect if we walk our talk, act with

integrity, stand by our values, treat people with

excellence, and truly care about each other and

about the Earth. —Kyril Oakwind

A Wizard sees the Divinity in all living things.

Therefore we respect the free will of others. We pre-

fer to lead, not by guilt or coercion, but by inspira-

tion and example; not only to be excellent to each

other, but to strive for excellence in all our endeav-

ors, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Tribal

values we hold include Loyalty, Generosity, Fairness,

and Hospitality.

You are a spark of the great soul-fire of Nature,

and you are filled with the essence of Divinity. To

truly honor the Divinity within each other is to treat

each other with respect, kindness, courtesy, and con-

scious consideration. This involves honest and respon-

sible communication, including the avoidance of gos-

sip and rumor-mongering, and the willingness to reach

The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends

toward Justice. —Martin Luther King, Jr.

In every revolution, there’s one man with a

vision. —James T. Kirk, Star Trek

(“Mirror, Mirror” by Jerome Bixby)

There’s no Justice. There’s just us.... —Death,

from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books

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