Marian Singer - A Witchs 10 Commandments: Magickal Guidelines for Everyday Life

A Witchs
10 Commandments
Magickal Guidelines
for Everyday Life

Marian Singer

Copyright 2006, Marian Singer
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ISBN 13: 978-1-59337-504-1
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eISBN: 978-1-44051-786-0
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Singer, Marian.
A witchs 10 commandments / Marian Singer.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-59337-504-2
1. Witchcraft. 2. Magic. I. Title: Witchs ten commandments.
II. Title.
BF1566.S515 2006
299.94--dc22
2006005105

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Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments taken from The Holy Bible: King James Version

Interior illustrations Dover Publications.

Contents

Acknowledgments

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ashleen, Mino, Daven, Cinnamon Moon, Bic, Alicia, Don & Dee, Dorothy, Bev, Danielle, Renee, Chuck, and the many other people who took time to speak to me from their hearts on this very complicated topic. Without your insights, counsel, and periodic reality checks, this book could not have been written.

The Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments

I. I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them .

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain .

IV. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work .

V. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land .

VI. Thou shalt not kill.

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

VIII. Thou shalt not steal.

IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbours [Exodus 20:217].

The Neo-Pagan Ten Commandments

1. Thou art God/dess.

2. As above, so below; as within so without.

3. Spirit abides in all things; words & names have power.

4. Maintain an attitude of gratitude (walk the talk).

5. Honor the ancestors, teachers, elders, and leaders.

6. All life is sacred.

7. All acts of love and pleasure are sacred.

8. Whatever you send out returns threefold.

9. Love is the law, love under will.

10. For the greatest good, an it harm none.

Preface

Think Globally, Act LocallyReligious Ethics in Review

I came to the conclusion long ago... that all religions were true, and also that all had some error in themMahatma Gandhi

B efore we start looking at a Witchs Ten Commandments as compared to the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments, it would be helpful to review some of the worlds major religions and the basic ethical guidelines associated with them. Even vision-based faiths do not exist in isolation. The way people of other faiths live their ideals is part of what shapes what they believe and what we believe about them. On some points we agree; on others we disagree. However, during an era when Muslims do not recognize Judaism as a religion, when Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, when Protestants do not recognize the pope as the leader of the Christian faith, and many Christian fundamentalists consider Neo-Paganism as satanic, it seems pragmatic (if not urgently necessary) to ask, without judgment: what makes us similar to each other, rather than different?

I think we will quickly discover there are underlying similaritieskeys that unlock some of the answers to important questions in the human condition. What is it, for example, that drives our need for faith? What rules of living do a majority of people hold dear? Do most people trust in an afterlife or a deity? How does this affect daily thoughts and actions?

Yes, this sounds a bit like trying to put the meaning of life in a nutshell. However, its not quite as complex as that. As my husband often says, The true meaning of life is that youre not dead yet, which also means we have yet more time to get this whole living thing right! In this case, were just looking at one area of life, our ethical foundations, not simply as a subculture, but as part of a greater whole.

Christianity

Since the title and structure for this book were based initially on Judeo-Christian concepts (the Ten Commandments), it seems appropriate to tackle the subject of Christianity first. Many Neo-Pagans started out with Judeo-Christian families and roots, either being brought up in a Christian home or having practiced as Christians for many years. This has created an inner struggle for some in our community in terms of handling the criticism of Neo-Paganism from some Christian factions, in terms of easing fears and concerns of family or friends, and in terms of coping with any residual negativity toward a religious system that simply left a person wanting (for whatever reason).

I am among those kept waiting, having grown up Lutheran and then finding my way to the Pentecostal Church during high school. For a while, the celebratory spirit of the latter seemed to fill a huge gap in my life. It gave me a place to be and belong. However, as I got older and began experiencing more of the world, I wanted to figure out personally what God had to say about God, not just what people had to say about this being. So I began to look inward, upward, and outward as well as studying many faiths. As you might imagine, this desire was met with criticism and on-going warnings of damnation.

It took time for me to forgive my critics, but then I realized that these people were only telling me what they truly believed. In fact, they were doing what their faith asked of them (i.e., walking their talk).

When speaking of Christians the first set of guidelines most of us think about is the Ten Commandments that appear at the beginning of this book. Among these commandments are principles that tie into common global lawslike those regarding theft and murder. We also notice that some commandments (the tenth, for example) speak to the social mind of humankind in an effort to teach the best possible focus, in this case where to best direct ones attention (by showing that the proverbial grass isnt always greener on the other side).