Moura, Ann, aka Aoumiel. Green Witchcraft II: Balancing Light & Shadow.
St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, February 1999. ISBN: 1567186890
From Chapter 1, "What is Green Witchcraft":
The Rules of Conduct
- To use the power, you must feel it in your heart and know it in your mind
- Be careful what you do
- Be careful who you trust
- Do not use the power to hurt another because what is sent comes back
- Never use the power against someone who has the power, for you draw from the same well
To use the power you must feel it in your heart and know it in your mind. The Green Craft is very internal. You do not have to dress in black and look "witchy" to be a witch, but you do have to feel the power within you, and perhaps you will be drawn to black clothing or some particular, distinctive appearance. Addressing the light and dark aspects of the Divine helps a person to accept that there is individual, innate power available. Like most magical practice, in the Green Craft that all-encompassing sensation of knowing is what moves the magic to work. Believe in yourself to believe in your magical power. Once you have felt that sensation of being in union with the power, you will never forget it.
Be careful what you do. With this power comes the warning to examine your motives and the direction in which you want to move your power. Again, this relates to knowing yourself, but also to understanding that there is a wide range of approaches to a problem or desire. Sometimes what seems to be the easiest route to gain an objective is a shortcut with an actual power range of limited satisfactory results to none at all. Think through what you are doing and the possible consequences.
For example if you husband (wife) is flirting (or worse) with another woman (man), decide first if you can overlook this flaw in him (her) and want to maintain your relationship with your spouse. If you determine that you can and do, then you must decide how to direct your power to remove the problem. If the other woman (man) seems to be the main cause, simply doing a love spell for her (him) to find someone else will work. If the problem is the spouse or yourself, that needs to be addressed in order for the interloper to go away.
Be careful who you trust. As a witch, trust is very important. You trust the Divine and The Power as they are a part of you, but there are less-connected people or people with less power who may fear a powerful witch. Many witches (I would guess most) stay in the broom closet simply to avoid unpleasantness from their neighbors or associates. In a coven situation, there is always the danger of one of the members turning on the others, either from a desire for power or abandonment of the coven path. It has happened, and the consequences can be anything from annoying (pamphlets, letters, phone calls) to alarming (public confrontation). Nothing dampen's a witch's enthusiasm for group efforts more than for the behavior of one of the members to become out of hand. If you do join a coven, try to find people who are of an equal level of power and who do not try to dominate or mold the coven to one person's ideas. If something does not feel right, listen to your intuition, and avoid what generates your discomfort.
You should also be careful not to let others drain your power from you. If you are generous by nature, there will be people who will draw upon your power to enhance their own. This is a very subtle matter that can result in petty jealousies and rivalries. The person who iphons power from another tends to want to prove that the power experienced is his/hers, and usually the only way to make a determination as to the effectiveness of that power is to toss it at the one it was drawn from. Of course, this simply does not work.
Do not use the power to hurt another because what is sent comes back. When you fashion your spells, consider matters from the perspective of others. A kind heart is necessary, even in the midst of anger. You know instinctively when something is wrong, so to engage the power is to emphasize an out-of-control aspect of your Self that drains you of your power and de-energizes you. The result is that since your Higher Self knows this is wrong, your Higher Self will reverse the direction of the energy back into yourself.
In terms of spiritual development, casting harmfull spells at others will eventually catch up with you. The Green Witch does not engage in this kind of spitefulness. There are many ways of dealing with problems. Some of these problems are an aid to your own development, and how you respond may have a lasting effect on you - for you are the one who will remember over the years what you have done. When people speak of near-death experiences in which their entire lives pass before their eyes, the most notable thing some of them mention is that they remember all the bad things they have done. When they awaken to life they are changed, for now they realize how much the consequences of doing wrong are, and they want to make amends. We are Self-judged. The Green Witch strives for connection with the All, and for Self-mastery.
Never use the power against someone who has the power, for you draw from the same well. Even more so than avoiding harn to your own power, using the power against someone who has the power is guaranteed to bounce right back. My mother never said anything about a three-fold return, only an equal return. Interestingly, the medieval ceremonialist had a similar idea, not of a thrice-fold law of returns (as is commonly seen in Wicca today), but of what was sent returning if the spell failed. The implication is that the sender has to have the power, not the recipient. This is reminiscent of what my mother said about people who have the power drawing from the same well.
The practical consideration here is that witches are family; family in the traditional sense of special people bonded together with ties of blood and heritage. This is the clan expressed through the power. If you are a witch, then witches are your kinfolk, and you do not work against your kinfolk. The importance of kinship is strong in Celtic society and remains a vital influence in lands touched by the Celtic peoples. Most Wiccan covens retain this admonition in the words, "Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again." A witch should feel secure in the company of other witches, and the rule abides.
