It says it is "a neutral forum open to all adherents of the various Heathen religions, Pagan, Witch, Wiccan traditions and to Solitary Practitioners who/that follow a positive code of ethics such as The Wiccan Rede or The Ring of Troth's, Nine Virtues."
A NEUTRAL forum for all who follow a POSITIVE code of ethics? I'm sorry but according to my experience, every entity (a person or inc.) who requires their "friends" follow a "POSITIVE code of ethics" a) define by their own standards what is "positive" and thus also what is "negative", and therefore b) are not neutral, how ever much they like to use that word to describe themselves.
So, what is so "positive" about The Wiccan Rede (which is in reality not a rede at all, neither a code of ethics, but a poem that sounds nice, mystical and rhymes) or Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru?
The "positive code of ethics" of "the wiccan rede" reads:
Bide within the Law you must,
in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live,
fairly take and fairly give.
Light of eye and soft of touch,
speak you little, listen much.
Honor the Old Ones in deed and name,
let love and light be our guides again.
Heed the flower, bush, and tree
by the Lady blessed you'll be.
When you have and hold a need,
harken not to others greed.
With a fool no season spend
or be counted as his friend.
Merry Meet and Merry Part
bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Mind the Three-fold Laws you should
three times bad and three times good.
Be true in love this you must do
unless your love is false to you.
These Eight words the Rede fulfill:
"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live,
fairly take and fairly give.
Light of eye and soft of touch,
speak you little, listen much.
Honor the Old Ones in deed and name,
let love and light be our guides again.
Heed the flower, bush, and tree
by the Lady blessed you'll be.
When you have and hold a need,
harken not to others greed.
With a fool no season spend
or be counted as his friend.
Merry Meet and Merry Part
bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Mind the Three-fold Laws you should
three times bad and three times good.
Be true in love this you must do
unless your love is false to you.
These Eight words the Rede fulfill:
"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
"perfect love, perfect trust", "let love and light be your guide" but "with a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend"? "be true in love UNLESS your love is false to you"? Meaning, you don't need to be true in love IF... well, what justification could there REALLY be for you NOT to? How could someone else's actions be any reason for you to act any differently than you know to be right?
And didn't God create the fools as well as non-fools, and who of us actually is anything but a fool, what right do we have to deem others as "fools" and ourselves as "non-fools"? I'd rather be a friend of a sacred fool than a sanctimonious sage, which is what EVERY ONE COUNTED AS A SAGE is.
Also, every sane and moderately intelligent person knows that you can do very little that harms none.
Of course we could walk very, very slowly and brush the earth before us to make sure we won't accidentally step on anyone, but how did we get the brush? A broom is made of freshly cut wisps. You can't make a broom, at least not a good broom, of the dead branches you find in the forest.
Also, what gives you right to even take those? Those serve as home and food for many lives.
So you wipe the earth on which you step with your hands? Or go nowhere. After all, why would you need to go anywhere?
You shouldn't eat anything, because everything we eat is living materia. Something had to die to feed us, whether it is a cow, a carrot or a seed. I suppose one can only eat fruits and unfertilized eggs, and drink water...
But if you don't eat, because that would harm someone or something, and you don't go anywhere, because that might harm someone or something, you will harm yourself, and you too are "someone or something"...
No, I hate that "code or ethics", because it's unrealistic and stupid. Just one of those rules that sound so nice, and everyone likes to quote as "their code", but no-one lives by.
I'd rather pick plants to make medicine to help my fellow human beings,
I'd rather have a garden and sow seeds as I walk, to see there will be plants and food to my fellow life forms on this planet even after I have "fairly taken", and murdered some carrots and pigs to feed me. I'd rather walk and meet other people than sit egocentrically under a tree and get enlightened or something.
I'd rather live and accept that I too am part of the great circle of life, and my destiny will be to one day feed someone or something else. Be eaten, rot and decay, turn into soil and feed plants to feed other animals, who in turn will die, be eaten, rot and decay and feed others. Amen to that!
Also, three-fold law? Now, there's some "bah, humbug", if I ever saw any. The world is "unfair". I shouldn't do "good" to be rewarded or avoid doing "bad" to avoid punishment, but to be able to look myself in the eyes in the morning and like who I see. I cannot and shouldn't use other's conduct as justification to do "bad".
No, I don't consider this as "positive code of ethics".
Then the Asatru "code of ethics". "Passivity is for sheep" and "Gods are not for the weak". "We refuse to be spectators, we act and seek to fulfill our quest, whatever it may be..." for example, genocide.
There is no compassion, kindness and solidarity, understanding that we all have our weaknesses and strengths and no-one of us stands alone. We all, everyone of us, need others, each and everyone of them. We might not know how, when and why, and it's not for us to know either, but the girl you mocked yesterday might be the one on whom your success depends tomorrow... maybe the geek of the class will be responsible for the computers in your plane. Do you really want to put your life in the hands of someone whose life you made to hell in High School? I wouldn't...
Strength and courage is not everything.
What's so "positive" in these "nine virtues"?
I cannot quote any "code of ethics" as mine. I happen to agree with most Confucian and Epicurean wisdoms, but not with all of them, so I cannot say I'm Confucian or Epicurean, or following those codes of ethics.
Nietzsche and Schopenhauer sound often true to me, but sometimes not, so I don't follow them either.
The Golden Rule is not worth much in my mind, the so despisingly named Silver Rule is much better, even though people who don't think much see no difference in them... except that one is "positive" and other "negative", and they think "positive" must be "better", thus "Golden".
I'm Ketutarian. Naturally, *I* consider my ethics "positive", or "good", but not everyone agrees with me in that. How do I know if The Witches' Voice is open for me?
Frankly, none of this matters one bit. Most Wiccans and Asatruende don't follow the official "code of ethics" of their religion either, but adjust them to their own, personal "code of ethics", and deem it just as "positive" and "good" as I do, just like every other human being on this planet. Nevertheless, I think Witchvox should be a little more... how do I say it... perhaps, be a little more careful with what they actually believe and what code of ethics they actually follow, and what they actually tell people. My little writing about trolls and sockpuppets is the most read entry in this blog, and the truth is that if you are ok with yourself, if you are satisfied with your life, happy with who and what you are, you don't give anyone else the power to shake your serenity, and no trolls in the world will disturb you. But... who in this world is okay with herself?
Not many of them are in discussion forums and Facebook :-D
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