Pagan Blog Project 2013 - L is for Law of Three

The Law/Rule of Three is something that is generally found in Wicca and basically means, anything you send out to you returns times three.  Some relate this to another tenant of some Wicca followers to “Do what ye will, but harm none”.
I've had many discussions on the law of three.  I am one of those people that do believe that sending out positive will return positive.  This type of thought process is found in many other religions such as Christianity and Dharmic religions.  These are sometimes referred to as “The Golden Rule” or “Karma”.  I did a blog post on Karma for the letter K.
While writing several of my posts on the threefold law, I've been confronted with several arguments.  The most popular being, what about babies that die.  What did they send out to get that back?  I guess that really depends on how you look at death. Is death a punishment or a reward?  And who is the judge of this behavior and who passes out the grades at the end?
To me the Law of Three is something that was created to keep ourselves in check.  Keep in mind I am not Wiccan.  I do come from a background, meaning I was first introduced into Paganism via Wicca, but my stance today is solitary Hecatean.  I do not have a set of rules before me that I must follow in order to be a devotee.  It is more fluid than that.  I use the Law of Three not because someone tells me it is what I should do, but because it is the right thing to do.  

Right in my eyes.  No one else judges this.

What some fail to realize is that the majority of religion was created to do one thing.  Control people.  Either by fear or by reward, religion either punishes those who do not live up to a set of standards or rewards those with the blessings of the God/dess when they are good.

Though I do try to be good to others, and do well for my environment, it is not because of the Law that I do this.  I pick up the trash because leaving it hurts the lands.  I help others, because I would like them to help me.  I stay positive because being negative is not productive for me. 

When I watch people around me, Christian and non-Christian alike; I’m surprised to see how many people whip out their Gods & Goddesses and toss them around for every little thing.  From touchdowns to school shootings everyone claims that their deity saved them, granted powers or gave rewards for their service.  Some even go so far as to claim that their deity actively seeks out the “wrong doers” and punishes them with floods, tornadoes and the like.

I have two responses here.  First, my deity does not have an interesting in a football game.  She does not care if I gain or lose weight and therefore is not expecting thanks or honors if either of those occur.  Secondly, I do not necessarily believe in a physical manifestation of the Goddess.  To me, Hecate was created in order to personify characteristics that we as humans need/want to have.  Meaning, perhaps it wasn't so much that she walks the night with torches to show me the way, but more so that I use my energy to focus on her torches which then light to show me the way. 

That may sound a bit convoluted, but that is what I believe.  We can manipulate energy.  We are energy.  We can send out and receive energy. We can do it with respect to the law or we can do it for our own belief in what is right.

When presented with these types of situations I often think about it this way.  Do I want someone to do something for me because the law says so, or do I want them to do it because deep inside their convictions tell them?

For me, it’s always the intent that defines the action.

Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna

)O(

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