Welcome to Brothers and Sisters, the weekly meetup for prayer* and community at Daily Kos. We put an asterisk on pray* to acknowledge that not everyone uses conventional religious language, but may want to share joys and concerns, or simply take solace in a meditative atmosphere. Anyone who comes in the spirit of mutual respect, warmth and healing is welcome.
Tonight I am going to share some pagan musings on responsibility.
One of the foundational concepts of Wicca to me is that of responsibility. It’s a foundational attribute of adulthood; with the privileges come the responsibilities. Similarly, Wicca assumes that each individual takes responsibility for themselves and their impact on the world around them.
It isn’t someone else’s fault all the time. It isn’t always just bad luck. We must acknowledge our bad decisions, as well as our good ones. We acknowledge our debts, and pay them. We make reparations where we can, and live with the consequences of our actions. Several Wiccans I know have been scarred by experiences of bad Christian theology that may be summed up as, “God forgave me, now you have to pretend it never happened” in regards to great violations of personal autonomy and boundaries. For them, a straightforward “you pay your debts, you serve your time, and you acknowledge the past” is a healing and healthy way to deal with wrongdoing. It is leavened by the compulsion to make it right so that it doesn’t happen again. We say guilt over something is a sign you did something wrong. That’s why people feel it. If you broke it, repair it, get a replacement, apologize, and accept your hostess may not trust you with her crystal next time. Sometimes people don’t feel they can forgive what you said, and then it’s your job to accept this and let the relationship go.
Using magic requires the user to accept responsibility, in much the same way driving a car does. In both cases, if you do it while not in control of yourself, you are likely to hurt someone. If you are reckless and pushy with either, you are more likely to have an accident. Indeed, while greater levels of initiation do bring with them more power, the power is under very tight control of oaths and accountability. There are no ten words of power over the universe that can be learned in twenty minutes(regardless of what movies say). The consequences of slipshod or unethical work cannot be avoided or redirected. This is one reason that many magics are still not taught in writing, but person-to-person, where the teacher can assess the ethics of the student, and their readiness for the responsibility of the knowledge they are to be given.
But responsibility goes beyond this. We step forward and take up responsibility for our mother Earth, for the life on it, and the health and well-being of our neighbors and of ourselves. As it matters to you if your partner or child is not well, so it matters to us if our neighbor is not well, our city is sick, our state is failing, our society in need of help. Where you are called will vary, and your felt responsibility will vary, but it is as well to examine your life and see where you might make changes to decrease your carbon footprint and enviromental impact, where you can advocate for the change you want to see. Maybe it’s something as simple as not laughing at a rape joke. Maybe it’s using a refillable bottle instead of buying bottled water. Maybe it’s getting your engine tuned up. Maybe it’s shopping somewhere else. Live your faith. Walk your talk. We have a responsibility to be who we say we are.