#Universal Law of Threefold Return

[sabrinaboglund]

The Law of Threefold Return - 5 Things You Should Know About the Universal Law of Threefold Return.

The Universal Laws help establish peace and order in the Universe, and although the Universal Laws are not created to punish anyone, it can be the consequence of unethical and incorrect behaviour or misuse of the Universal Laws. The Law of Threefold Return is one of the Universal Laws that asks you to think twice before you do or say anything. Just like with the Karma Law, there is a Consequence…

[traegorn]

There's a lot of debate among witches about the Threefold Law (I think? I mean the Law where whatever magic you cast, it will happen back at you three times as strong), which of course discourages cursing of any kind. I like using that as a challenge: like, damn that person was awful. What could I do about it/hope would happen to them? I bless that person. I hope they become a better person. I hope that they realise their faults, and that they can persevere to fix their mistakes and right their wrongdoings. (and I hope I can do that, too). I hoped to see a discussion about this, but I am not a witch and idk who else to ask to see a discussion like this.

The threefold law/law of return was a (possibly intentional) misinterpretation of a passage from Gardner's (fiction) novel High Magic's Aid created by Monique Wilson and popularized by folks like Raymond Buckland to make Wicca seem more palatable to the general public.

So I mean, do what you want. Sounds like you've come up with an interesting thought exercise for yourself. But also, if you aren't a witch (let alone a Wiccan), why were you worrying about it to begin with?

[the-hermit-at-midnight]

"The Wiccan Law of Three: The Ripple Effect of Energy"

Wicca is guided by a set of ethical principles that shape the practitioner's interactions with the world. Central to these principles is the Wiccan Law of Three, a concept that underscores the profound interconnectedness of actions and their consequences.

At its essence, the Wiccan Law of Three posits that the energy one puts out into the world, whether through thoughts, words, or deeds, returns threefold. This law encapsulates the idea of karma, emphasizing personal responsibility and accountability for one's actions.

In the intricate tapestry of Wiccan beliefs, the Law of Three serves as a moral compass, guiding practitioners to tread mindfully on their spiritual journey. The threefold return is not punitive but rather instructive, encouraging individuals to engage with the world in a positive and constructive manner.

Considered by some as the Wiccan version of the Golden Rule – "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" – the Law of Three amplifies the importance of intentions and the ethical use of magical practices. Wiccans believe that if one infuses their actions with positive energy, kindness, and goodwill, they will reap the benefits in abundance.

Conversely, negative actions, driven by malice or harmful intent, are thought to return with greater intensity. This principle acts as a deterrent against using magical practices for manipulation or harm. It fosters a sense of responsibility and encourages practitioners to align their magical workings with ethical considerations.

The Law of Three extends beyond spellcraft and rituals, permeating various aspects of Wiccan life. It underscores the interconnectedness of all things and the cyclical nature of energy. By understanding this law, Wiccans aim to cultivate a harmonious relationship with the energies around them, promoting balance and spiritual growth.

In essence, the Wiccan Law of Three serves as a reminder that our actions reverberate throughout the universe, influencing our personal growth and the collective energy of the world. It challenges practitioners to be mindful stewards of their intentions, fostering a community built on compassion, respect, and a deep awareness of the interconnected web of existence. In the vibrant mosaic of Wiccan spirituality, the Law of Three stands as a testament to the transformative power of conscious and responsible living.

.

[askvectorprime]

Dear, Vector Prime.

Is there a universe in which Twincast was an active clone of Blaster?

Dear Clone Contorter,

From an early age, Shockwave had been fascinated by cloning technology; in the past, Exarchon had used his fascination with this forbidden science to deliberately lure him over to the Threefold Spark when the mad warmonger attempted to conquer Cybertron, and their joint experiments yielded Soundblaster and many Skywarp clones.

In the immediate aftermath of the battle of Darkmount, which ended with Optimus Prime and many of the Autobots fleeing Cybertron aboard the Ark, the Decepticons turned their attention to imposing some kind of order in the territories they controlled. However, Megatron’s nascent movement lacked the manpower they required to effectively maintain martial law, and the Decepticons had suffered heavy casualties in the final battle against the Autobots. With the Pyramid out of commission, Megatron ordered Shockwave to reactivate his mothballed cloning program in the hope of mass-producing a temporary wave of “stopgap soldiers” until the Decepticons could return the building to functionality.

With the assistance of Soundblaster, Shockwave returned to his laboratory and embarked on a fresh wave of cloning experiments. In addition to creating a new cohort of Seeker clones, he obtained samples of Blaster’s CNA and used them to produce “Twincast”, who would hopefully support Iacon’s communications facilities; further experimentation yielded “Magnificus”, a scientist who emerged from his cloning chamber with all of Perceptor’s theories and papers pre-loaded into his mind and was tasked with restoring the Pyramid to full functionality. However, while Magnificus was content to be a loyal cog in the machine, Twincast quickly grew beyond his initial programming and came to doubt his place in the Deception war machine. Before long, Twincast abandoned the Decepticons and vanished from the grid, using his own subsonic signals to mask his energy signature; when he next surfaced, it was as a member of Elita-1’s resistance movement, where he helped to battle the tyrannical order he’d been created to uphold.

[vanilla-cigarillos]

My Thoughts On Curse-Shaming

So in many aspects of witchcraft and within the Wiccan community, there is the notion that curses are bad. Not bad in the sense that they’re baneful magic that can hurt other people, but that if you cast any sort of curse/hex/jinx the impact will be returned to you three-fold. This comes from the idea of the Threefold Law, however I have many thoughts to this I would like to share.

Threefold Law

Many people have the understanding of the Threefold Law (a.k.a. the Rule of Three) of “What you give out into the world, comes back to you times three (in its impact)”. There is a long history to this statement that often goes ignored when discussing this hypothetical model of morality.

The original rule, stated by Robert Graves within his fictional book The White Goddess, states that whatever a witch (practitioner of magic) is dealt they should deal back three times over. The passage itself does not mention this idea as a code of ethics for witchcraft. Later on, this was popularized by media through the works of authors such as Silver Ravenwolf (do your research on her before listening to her teachings!) 

Witchcraft Morals

Witchcraft itself, as a practice, does not have a universal set of morals or ethical code. The reasoning for this is very self-explanatory; witchcraft is a massive umbrella term for spiritual practices seen across multiple different cultures. It is impossible for there to be an all-encompassing ethical code. 

Claiming that the Threefold Law is the ruling set of morals across various cultures is not only incredibly short-sighted, but also disrespectful to the many established rules and boundaries already within said cultures. The Threefold Law is also incredibly European, particularly British in its origin (seeing aid in popularity through the works of Gardner). This is not a practicing ethical code that can be attributed to Hoodoo, Voodoo, Nordic practices, etc. 

I also believe there is an intense amount of victim-shaming that takes place when we shame these kinds of magic. Curses, hexes and jinxes can be incredibly important for victims of SA, abuse, and other types of mistreatment. We shouldn’t take away this empowering kind of magic from people who are most justified in using it. 

Should You Cast Curses?

Curses have the potential to deal damage to the caster, because they are one of the very few types of magic that witches actively ward against. Curses, hexes, and jinxes themselves are not inherently evil magic that will drag you into hell for casting them.

I believe that baneful magic should be treating like all magic. Use it appropriately, learn and respect your magical capability’s boundaries, and think things through. 

[jadisqueenofswords]

I found this article. What do you think? Discuss...

Shocker: There Is No Universal Three Fold Law In Wicca

The popular misconception that there is a Wiccan Rule or Law of Three or Threefold Return comes from a misinterpretation of a passage in a work of fiction written by Gerald Gardner, the grandfather of modern Wicca. The book was called High Magic’s Aid, and he wrote it with the permission of his High Priestess. It had to be fiction because at that point, witchcraft was still illegal in Britain. In that book and its fictional story, the protagonist undergoes a sort of initiation rite in which he is taught “mark well when thou receivest good, so equally art bound to return good threefold.”

This means that when someone does good by a witch, according to the witchcraft teaching in this *very* fictional novel, the witch is bound to return that good threefold. This is a far cry from “anything at all that you send out into the world will return to you threefold.” It actually means that what you do to a witch should be returned by her threefold, and specifically good acts. Which means it’s really, really good for you to bless, help or aid a witch. The idea is that the witch returns things triple, not the universe. The witch is herself the agent of a threefold response, not the universe. So if I, as a witch, do good work for a friend who is not a witch, there is no threefold return in that, because the non-Wiccan person was never taught to return good acts threefold. If I, as a witch, do a good work for my non-witch neighbor, there is no threefold return in that. But if I, as a witch, do a good work for my coven mate or my witch friend, then that friend or coven mate should return that good work threefold. if I, as a witch, do some nasty shit to my asshole neighbor, said neighbor will not return it to me, and even if she were a witch, she would only return it to me threefold if she somehow found out that something had been done to her, and who did it, which means that I did it poorly, and deserve the retribution.

The part in High Magic’s Aid that we are quoting is found on page 188. We recommend anyone who is familiar with the term Rule of Three to give it a read and think about what it really says and what it does not say. Keep in mind that this is a work of fiction which Gerald Gardner wrote to share some very generalized principles of the witchcraft he was taught at a time when witchcraft was still illegal in Britain (1949).

The insanely high number of uneducated voices on the internet that cry out “The Rule of Three!” whenever anyone even mentions negative magick tends to obscure the actual source into oblivion in favor of some fake, fluffy version of this principle which has been applied across the board to all magical undertakings in a rather ignorant and totalitarian manner. So the next time someone yells that phony baloney shit at you, politely inform them to eat a bag of scholarly dicks and drop them the link to this blog.

Blessed Be,

A Gardnerian

article copied from www.gardnerians.wordpress.com

posted on September 28 2014

Let's start a discussion! What do you all think about this?

Blessed Be

Jadis, QoS

[erowidboss]

Similarities Between Wicca and the Law of Attraction

Focused Intention

Wicca: Spellwork and rituals focus on setting clear, deliberate intentions, aligning energy, and directing it toward a specific outcome.

Law of Attraction: Manifestation emphasizes clarity of intention by visualizing what you want, believing it’s already yours, and aligning your thoughts with the desired outcome. Both systems emphasize the power of focused thought and intention to shape reality.

The Power of Visualization

Wicca: Visualization is used during spellcasting, meditations, and rituals to "see" the desired outcome clearly and emotionally in your mind. For example, imagining prosperity flowing into your life during a money spell.

Law of Attraction: Visualization is a core technique where you mentally "live" the experience of achieving your goal, feeling the emotions of success as if it’s already happened. Both systems believe thoughts and emotions create energy, which affects physical reality.

Energy and Vibrations

Wicca: Wiccans believe that everything—thoughts, actions, objects, and nature—has energy. Spells and rituals raise, direct, and release this energy into the universe to manifest intentions. Tools like candles, herbs, and crystals amplify this energy.

Law of Attraction: The Law of Attraction teaches that like attracts like. To manifest, you must match your emotional vibration (joy, gratitude, abundance) to the outcome you desire, as the universe responds to your energetic frequency. Both approaches center on the idea of vibrational alignment—what you focus on, you attract.

Faith and Belief

Wicca: The practitioner must believe in their spell’s effectiveness and trust the outcome. Doubt or negativity can weaken the energy sent out.

Law of Attraction: Manifestation requires absolute faith and trust in the universe. Doubt or negative thoughts block or delay results. Both systems emphasize that belief fuels success. Without faith, energy becomes scattered and less effective.

Gratitude

Wicca: Practitioners often express gratitude during rituals, offerings, or at the conclusion of spells to honor the universe, spirits, or deities for their role in helping manifest desires.

Law of Attraction: Gratitude is central to maintaining a high vibrational state. By appreciating what you already have, you attract more positivity and abundance into your life. Gratitude acts as a magnet for further blessings in both practices.

Responsibility and Ethics

Wicca: Wiccans follow the Wiccan Rede—"An it harm none, do what ye will"—meaning any energy sent out must not harm others. Additionally, the Rule of Three teaches that whatever energy you send into the world (positive or negative) will return to you threefold.

Law of Attraction: While it doesn’t explicitly mention ethics, the principle that you attract what you put out suggests that negative thoughts or harm toward others will attract negativity back to you. Both emphasize being mindful of your thoughts and actions, as they influence what you manifest.

Differences Between Wicca and the Law of Attraction

Spiritual Framework

Wicca: Wicca is a spiritual, nature-based religion with a deep connection to the Earth, elements, spirits, and deities (Goddess and God). Magic is seen as a spiritual practice involving rituals, symbols, tools, and energies drawn from nature and the divine.

Law of Attraction: LOA is not inherently spiritual, though it can be. It is a universal principle based on the idea that thoughts attract reality. Some view it as secular, while others align it with concepts of universal consciousness, higher self, or divine energy.

Tools and Rituals

Wicca: Spellwork often involves physical tools like candles, herbs, crystals, and sacred circles, which are believed to amplify and focus energy. Rituals may include chanting, moon phases, and invoking deities or spirits.

Law of Attraction: Manifestation typically relies on mental techniques such as affirmations, vision boards, journaling, and meditation. Tools and rituals are not necessary, though they can complement the practice. Wiccans incorporate magical tools and nature-based rituals, while LOA focuses on internal mental processes.

Belief in Magic and Deities

Wicca: Wiccans believe in magic as a natural force and often call upon divine beings, spirits, or elemental energies to aid in their work. Magic in Wicca is seen as sacred and interconnected with the natural world.

Law of Attraction: LOA does not require belief in magic or deities. It operates on the idea that universal laws govern energy and attraction, regardless of spiritual beliefs. Wicca incorporates divine and magical frameworks, while LOA is more neutral and universal.

Connection to Nature

Wicca: Nature is central to Wicca. The cycles of the moon, the Wheel of the Year, and the elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) are all integral to spellwork and rituals. Wiccans align their practices with natural energies.

Law of Attraction: LOA does not focus on nature or seasonal energies. It is more focused on personal energy, thoughts, and universal principles. Wicca integrates natural and seasonal cycles, while LOA is more individualized and abstract.

Conclusion

The Law of Attraction and Wicca are deeply compatible because they both emphasize the power of intention, focus, and energy to manifest desired outcomes.

[witchcraftsymbolsblog]

The Power of White Magic Spells

The Power of White Magic Spells: Unveiling Weight Loss Spells and Spell RemovalThe Power of White Magic Spells

In the realm of magic and mysticism, white magic spells have long been a source of fascination and wonder. These spells are often associated with benevolence, healing, and positive transformations. In this article, we will explore the world of white magic, focusing on two specific aspects: weight loss spells and spell removal. While white magic is commonly used for good, it is essential to understand its principles, limitations, and ethical considerations.

Understanding White Magic

White magic, also known as “light magic” or “good magic,” is a branch of magic that seeks to harness positive, constructive energies for the betterment of oneself or others. Unlike black magic, which is associated with malevolent intentions and harmful spells, white magic is guided by principles of love, healing, protection, and spiritual growth.

The fundamental tenet of white magic is the Law of Threefold Return, which states that any energy or intention sent out into the universe will return to the sender three times as powerful. This concept underscores the importance of using white magic responsibly and ethically, as it emphasizes the consequences of one’s actions.

Weight Loss Spells: A Quest for Health and Wellness

Weight loss spells, a subset of white magic, are sought after by individuals on a journey to improve their physical health and well-being. It is important to note that weight loss spells are not a shortcut to achieving fitness goals; instead, they are intended to support and enhance one’s commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Here are some key aspects of weight loss spells:

Positive Intentions: Weight loss spells should be cast with positive intentions, such as achieving a healthier weight, improving self-esteem, and boosting confidence. They should not be used with the aim of achieving an unrealistic or unhealthy body image.

Visualization: Visualization is a crucial element in weight loss spells. Practitioners often use meditation and visualization techniques to see themselves as healthy, fit, and vibrant individuals.

Incorporating Natural Elements: Many weight loss spells incorporate natural elements like herbs, crystals, and essential oils known for their beneficial properties. For example, rose quartz may be used to promote self-love and acceptance, while cinnamon might be employed to boost metabolism.

Healthy Lifestyle: Weight loss spells are most effective when combined with a balanced diet, regular exercise, and a commitment to making healthy choices. Magic should be seen as a complementary tool rather than a sole solution.

Spell Removal: Dispelling Negative Energies

On the flip side of white magic, spell removal is a practice that seeks to eliminate or neutralize negative spells, hexes, or curses that may have been cast upon an individual. It is important to emphasize that spell removal is considered an act of defense and protection rather than an offensive action. Here are some key aspects of spell removal:

Identifying Negative Energies: The first step in spell removal is identifying the presence of negative energies or the effects of a curse or hex. This may involve feelings of chronic bad luck, ill health, or persistent negative influences.

Consulting a Practitioner: Spell removal is often performed by experienced practitioners, such as psychics, mediums, or energy healers, who have the knowledge and skills to address negative energies.

Cleansing and Protection: The removal process typically involves a series of rituals, prayers, and energy cleansing techniques to dispel the negative influences and protect the individual from future harm.

Karmic Considerations: Practitioners of white magic believe in the importance of ethical actions and the Law of Threefold Return. Therefore, spell removal should only be undertaken when genuinely necessary and with the intention of defense rather than harm.

Ethical Considerations and Responsibility

While white magic spells, including weight loss spells and spell removal, can offer guidance and support in various aspects of life, they come with ethical considerations. Practitioners of white magic emphasize the importance of responsible use of their abilities, ensuring that their actions align with the principles of love, compassion, and harmlessness.

Free Will: White magic respects the concept of free will. It is unethical to cast spells that interfere with the free will of others or attempt to control their actions or emotions.

Respect for Nature: Practitioners of white magic often have a deep reverence for nature and the elements. Spells that harm the environment or exploit natural resources are considered unethical.

Karmic Consequences: As mentioned earlier, the Law of Threefold Return emphasizes that the energy one sends out into the universe will return threefold. Therefore, it is crucial to consider the consequences of one’s actions and intentions.

Informed Consent: When performing spells for others, practitioners should seek informed consent and ensure that the individual understands the nature and purpose of the spell.

Conclusion

White magic spells, whether related to weight loss or spell removal, are a testament to the power of intention, positive energy, and the human spirit’s capacity for transformation and healing. These practices are rooted in a deep respect for the natural world, ethical considerations, and a commitment to using magic for the greater good.

As individuals explore the world of white magic, it is essential to approach it with responsibility, humility, and a genuine desire to make positive changes in their lives. White magic spells can be a source of inspiration, guidance, and support on one’s spiritual journey, promoting physical and emotional well-being while upholding the principles of love and compassion.

[podcastwizard]

on the same day i posted this i got ANOTHER email saying i got a second interview for a job i really want and that interview is TODAY so send me ALL THE GOOD VIBES YOU CAN PERSONALLY MUSTER please and thank you.

had a miserable week last week and i woke up this morning to an email telling me my laptop is fixed and doesn't require any additional repair costs AND two different audio dramas offering me roles 😭🙌🙌 i don't know what curse i broke or divine entity i pleased but i'm so glad to be out of that personal pit of despair

[maddiviner]

I’m a witch - I started my journey back in 1999 and it’s been interesting. Over the years, I’ve come to believe that the westernized notion of “karma” doesn’t suit my beliefs.

With so much injustice in the world and so many awful people who prosper, I just don’t believe in it. I don’t fully understand the actual HINDU concept of karma, and am not Hindu, so that’s not part of my beliefs either.

As to the “threefold law” of neoWicca, well, I don’t believe in that, either. I’m not Wiccan, and I frankly don’t see why people take something from Gerald Gardner’s 1960s novel (High Magic’s Aid) and view it as a universal rule. I have no disrespect for those who do believe in it, and I don’t want to debate this, really.

I just want to mention something that SHOULD be obvious, but clearly isn’t. I can be “good” without karma, threefold law, or even the divine. In another space, I said I didn’t believe in karma, and was told (by a bunch of teenagers) that the gods were going to punish me for this, that I was a lost soul, that I was an evil sorceress, etc.

Funny thing, though? I’ve only hexed a couple of times recently. It’s been years. I see it as similar to any kind of violence or retaliative action, magical or otherwise, and I strive to apply the same morals to magic that I apply to daily life.

For example, if someone steals from me, abuses me, or attacks me, I’ll likely hit them back in some way. If I’m out on the street and someone punches me, I’ll punch back. Same with magic.

That said, it’s not like I have many (or really any) enemies that I’m concerned about. That’s why I haven’t cursed in years - there’s just no need. I fully respect and support all the folks on here seeking magical (in addition to mundane) solutions to abuse and disenfranchisement.

Just as your average random atheist might be a perfectly moral person without believing God will punish them, so plenty of witches and magicians like me can do our best to be good people, without the idea of a law of return hitting us.

This is just something I’ve seen in multiple places, and I think it is worth discussing. Anyways, that’s my dog, Molly Marie May. We gave her the last name May because I bet she couldn’t pronounce Bajsicka.

[teawitch]

i hope you don't mind me using your ask. i was wondering if I could still follow the wiccan rede, and be considered a wiccan?

Yes, of course you can. You don't even have to be Wiccan to follow the Rede. It's considered "Good Advice."

Let's discuss a brief history of the Wiccan Rede.

The origin probably traces back to Crowley's - "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" which Gerald Gardner turned into - "Do what you like as long as you harm no one" - back in the 1950s. The 8 words of the Wiccan Rede - "An it harm none do what ye will" are attributed to Doreen Valiente in the 1960s and are considered a "rede" or advice for all Wiccans.

Then there's the long, poetic version of the Rede from the 1970s which includes the lines Mind the Threefold Law ye should, three times bad and three times good.

This is where the debate gets started. Where did this law come from? Gardner's only reference is that the Witch themselves should return good or evil three times. Why has this been interpreted to mean that everything a Witch does comes back 3 times? Was this created just to keep new witches from running with scissors? (ie - going overboard with spells and hurting themselves.) Everyone loves a good debate!

Older Wiccan traditions may not have this as part of their rede. Newer traditions often include it. But the "Harm none" of the original rede is pretty universal. And you'll find a general concept of - energy out equals energy in. It's the specific Three in the Three Fold Law that gets debated.

[elminx]

Because this was in my notes today...The Threefold Law is not universal - if you don't believe in it, it doesn't affect you. I'm sorry if you want to believe that it does affect people who don't believe - but I promise that it doesn't.

The proof is in the pudding - there are MANY cultures that practice cursing without it reverting back on them. Sure, there are always SOME consequences to cursing - that's why you need to cleanse yourself and the space that you cursed in after you're done. The most common side effect I've heard from people who curse is bad skin and personal malaise (you feel bad for a few days but don't know why). This is because you use a lot of negative emotion to curse (most times) and you tend to sit in whatever you have created.

Ergo, and I believe this strongly: belief in the Three-fold law causes you to curse YOURSELF when you curse somebody else. Because YOU BELIEVE that it will come back on you and, as a result, you manifest the bad into your own life.

This is, of course, an oversimplification. There are circumstances on which your own magic may rebound on you for other reasons - most commonly you cursed a well-protected target who knows how to return your own shit to you.

Cursing is actually deceptively simple and you definitely don't need to be an expert witch to pull it off. And if you can forget about it, it may be, in some cases, the most foolproof spell you'll cast. But casting a solid curse that finds its target, does the intended consequence, and is unshakeable/unable to be sent back to you? That's much more complicated magic and takes a much higher level of finesse.

[traegorn]

@calesleftboobie Yep.

So the original idea of the law of return came from Gerald Gardner's fiction novel High Magic's Aid. In it, it's not some universal rule or misinterpretation of karma. It's just that if you do something to a Witch the Witch is supposed to do it back to you threefold.

Like as in "You hit me? Imma hit you three time!"

Now this is pre-invention of the rede and, again, in a work of fiction. And living like that would probably be exhausting. But, y'know, since it's just the witch doing a thing, it at least doesn't invent a mechanism in how the universe works.

Now after Gardner's death, Monique Wilson inherited his stuff. She was a Big Name Wiccan TM at the time, and she takes that idea from High Magic's Aid and turns it on its head. She starts telling people that the universe will return to you whatever you do many times over.

Raymond Buckland sees this, and goes "Aw shit, I'm telling EVERYONE," and it goes everywhere. Suddenly Gwen Thompson's inserting it into her shitty poem everyone mistakes for the rede. It's going out in books that end up in every beginner's hands. It's fucking everywhere.

But, like, it's never justified or explained. Wilson never tells anyone how she supposedly figured it out. And if you think about how the world works it doesn't make a damned bit of sense.

Reasoning why is just speculation, but the obvious seems to be PR. If we tack on this Western misinterpretation of karma to Wicca, it can seem more socially acceptable. "Oh, we don't hurt people because it would hurt US." But, like, it also disempowers the witch, right? Like a Wiccan witch then is following the rede not because they chose to, but because they're afraid of being spanked?

Fuck that.

Magic's a hammer. Hammers don't give a shit.

But also, other people have hammers too.

If I do black magic on someone evil who hurts and destroys others, will it come back to me 10x? Is there an exception for cases like this?

I don't like the term "black magic" for like a ton of cultural reasons and implications, but we'll put that aside for the moment.

Magic, like a hammer, has no implicit morality. Destruction or creation makes no difference to the hammer. It's still just a hammer. Hammers don't judge because hammers don't care. They're hammers.

The only moral reckoning that's going to happen is from yourself.

And also the law of return was made up by Monique Wilson, so don't fucking worry about it.

[yourwitchmama]

Do hexes really come back to bite you? The Threefold Law

Also known as “the Rule of Three,” the Threefold Law is part of many, but not all Wiccan/witchy traditions. It states that every magical act sent out into the Universe—whether positive or negative—will be returned to the Witch three times. This is somewhat akin to the concept of karma found in some Eastern religions, but with a Western twist, as it applies a specific equation (“three times”) to the return of the energy sent out by the practitioner. Just what does “three times” mean, however? Some people believe that the magical work will be returned in three individual instances. For example, if you worked a harmful spell against someone you dislike, you could end up experiencing bad luck on three different occasions (a car breakdown, a horrible day at work, and burning your dinner, to name three random possibilities). Others interpret “three times” to be a multiplier, meaning that the consequences for you will be three times stronger than the intention you sent out. So you might end up with far worse luck than car trouble or a bad day! The origins of the Threefold Law are a bit murky, but the idea is generally traced back to Gerald Gardner, who raised it in his early fictional work about Witchcraft, but did not include it as a major part of his teachings. Later Witches who learned from Gardner’s initiates—most notably Raymond Buckland—brought the concept into more widespread awareness. It is also referred to in the long poem known as the Wiccan Rede, which contains adages and advice regarding magical traditions and spiritual beliefs. Nonetheless, there were many others involved in the origins of Wicca who did not encounter teachings on the Threefold Law, and who doubted that there was a special karmic rule that involves the number 3 and only applies to Witches. Today, some Wiccans view it as just a playful elaboration on the ethical stance against causing others harm. Others take it quite literally, while still others pay it no mind at all. Those who dismiss the Threefold Law generally point to other concepts—namely, the Law of Cause and Effect and the Law of Return—as being more accurate explanations for the karmic exchange involved in magick. At the very least, the Threefold Law serves to remind us that there are consequences to our actions—whether those consequences come in “threes” or not!

Source

[stephenmccull]

To Free Doctors From Computers, Far-Flung Scribes Are Now Taking Notes For Them

Podiatrist Dr. Mark Lewis greets his first patient of the morning in his suburban Seattle exam room and points to a tiny video camera mounted on the right rim of his glasses. “This is my scribe, Jacqueline,” he says. “She can see us and hear us.”

Jacqueline is watching the appointment on her computer screen after the sun has set, 8,000 miles away in Mysore, a southern Indian city known for its palaces and jasmine flowers. She copiously documents the details of each visit and enters them into the patient’s electronic health record, or EHR.

Jacqueline (her real first name, according to her employer), works for San Francisco-based Augmedix, a startup with 1,000 medical scribes in South Asia and the U.S. The company is part of a growing industry that profits from a confluence of health care trends — including, now, the pandemic — that are dispersing patient care around the globe.

Medical scribes first appeared in the 1970s as note takers for emergency room physicians. But the practice took off after 2009, when the federal HITECH Act incentivized health care providers to adopt EHRs. These were supposed to simplify patient record-keeping, but instead they generated a need for scribes. Doctors find entering notes and data into poorly designed EHR software cumbersome and time-consuming. So scribing is a fast-growing field in the U.S., with the workforce expanding from 15,000 in 2015 to an estimated 100,000 this year.

A 2016 study found that doctors spent 37% of a patient visit on a computer and an average of two extra hours after work on EHR tasks. EHR use contributes to physician burnout, increasingly considered a public health crisis in itself.

Before COVID-19, most scribes — typically young, aspiring health professionals — worked in the exam room a few paces away from the doctor and patient. This year, as the pandemic led patients to shun clinics and hospitals, many scribes were laid off or furloughed. Many have returned, but scribes are increasingly working online — even from the other side of the world.

Remote scribes are patched into the exam room’s sound via a tablet or speaker, or through a video connection. Some create doctors’ notes in real time; others annotate after visits. And some have help from speech-recognition software programs that grow more accurate with use.

While many remote scribes are based in the United States, others are abroad, primarily in India. Chanchal Toor was a dental school graduate facing limited job opportunities in India when a subcontractor to Augmedix hired her in 2015. Some of her scribe colleagues also trained or aspired to become dentists or other health professionals, she said. Now a manager for Augmedix in San Francisco, Toor said scribing, even remotely, made her feel like part of a health care team.

Augmedix recruits people who have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent, and screens for proficiency in English reading, listening comprehension and writing, the company said. Once on board, scribes undergo about three months of training. The curriculum includes medical terminology, anatomy, physiology and mock visits.

Revenue has grown this year, and his sales team has grown from four to 14 members, Augmedix CEO Manny Krakaris said. Sachin Gupta, CEO of IKS Health, which employs Indian doctors as remote scribes for their U.S. counterparts, projects 50% revenue growth this year for its scribing business. He said the company employs 4,000 people but declined to share how many are scribes.

Remote scribe “Edwin” gives internist Dr. Susan Fesmire more time, freeing her from having to finish 20 charts at the end of every day. “It was like constantly having homework that you don’t finish,” she said. With the help of “Edwin” — Fesmire said he declines to use his real name — she had the time and energy to become chief operating officer of her small Dallas practice. Edwin works for Physicians Angels, which employs 500 remote scribes in India. Fesmire pays $14 an hour for his services.

Doctors with foreign scribes say notes may need minor editing for dialectal differences and scribes may be unfamiliar with local vocabulary. “I had a patient from Louisiana,” said Fesmire, “and Edwin said afterward, ‘What is chicory, doctor?’” But she also praised his notes as more accurate and complete than her own.

Kevin Brady, president of Physicians Angels, said their scribes start at $500 to $600 per month, plus health care and retirement benefits, while senior scribes make $1,000 to $1,500 — middle-class family incomes in India. Employers are required to provide employees with health insurance, although many scribes are contractors, and the job site Indeed.com says the average salary for a scribe in India is $500 a month. Scribes in the U.S. get about $2,500.

Remote scribing is still a small part of the market. Craig Newman, chief strategy officer of HealthChannels, parent to ScribeAmerica, the largest scribing company in the U.S., said that the firm’s remote scribing business has increased threefold since the pandemic’s outset but that “a large majority” of the company’s 26,000 U.S. scribes still work in person.

It’s a highly unregulated industry for which training and certification aren’t required. The service typically costs physicians $12 to $25 an hour, and studies show scribe use is linked to less time on patient documentation, higher job satisfaction and seeing more patients — which can mean more revenue.

For patients, studies suggest scribes have a positive or neutral effect on satisfaction. Some have privacy concerns, though, and state laws vary on whether a patient must be notified that someone is watching and listening many miles away.

Only 1% of patients refuse a remote scribe when asked by physicians at Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, said Dr. David Ting, the practice’s chief medical information officer. His group, an IKS Health client, always seeks patient consent, Ting said.

Scribes aren’t for everyone, though. Janis Ulevich, a retiree in Palo Alto, California, declines her primary care doctor’s remote scribe. “Conversations with your doctor can be intimate,” said Ulevich. “I don’t like other people listening in.”

Some patients may not have the opportunity to decline. With limited exceptions, federal laws like HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, don’t require doctors to seek a patient’s consent before sharing their health information with a company that supports the practice’s work (like a scribe firm), as long as that company signed a contract agreeing to protect the patient’s data, said Chris Apgar, a former HIPAA compliance officer.

About one-quarter of U.S. states require all parties in a conversation to agree to be recorded, meaning they require a patient’s permission. Some states also have special privacy protections for certain groups, like people with HIV/AIDS, or very strict informed-consent or privacy laws, said Matt Fisher, a partner at Massachusetts law firm Mirick O’Connell.

Remote scribing also raises cybersecurity concerns. Reported data breaches are rare, but some scribe companies have lax security, said Cliff Baker, CEO of the health care cybersecurity firm Corl Technologies.

The next step in the trend could be no human scribes at all. Tech giants like Google, EHR companies and venture-backed startups are developing or already marketing artificial intelligence tools aimed at reducing or eliminating the need for humans to document visits.

AI and scribes won’t eliminate physician burnout that stems from the nature of the health care system, said Dr. Rebekah Gardner, an associate professor of medicine at Brown University who researches the issue. Neither can take on burnout-driving EHR tasks like submitting requests for insurance company approval of procedures, drugs and tests, she said.

This KHN story first published on California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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[thegreenwolf]

The Invitation of Wild Geese

Originally posted on my blog, A Sense of Natural Wonder, at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/the-invitation-of-wild-geese/

I feel like not enough people knew of Mary Oliver, who passed away on Friday at the age of 83.

I myself, not being a huge fan of poetry, never heard of her work until just a few years ago. Somehow in my enjoyment of nature writing I had overlooked her work. While the poet herself is gone, her legacy is immortalized in an incredible body of work spanning several decades.

Like so many people, my introduction to Oliver’s work was her poem Wild Geese. I was working on my ecopsychology certificate in graduate school, and encountered her words in a reading. Initially my attraction to it centered on the imagery of nature, the painting in my head of the movement of pebbles and sun and geese over the land. For years I came back to it just for this picture as a source of solace and joy.

But over time it gained a deeper meaning for me. Having been raised Catholic, I was soaked from an early age in the idea of original sin and the idea that humanity is inherently flawed. This, of course, also bred in me a deep sense of guilt and inadequacy, as well as contributing to the anxiety disorder I still deal with today. When I shot forth from these confines as a teenager and landed in the lap of neopaganism, I thought the main thing I wanted was a religion that was centered on nature, rather than seeing it as a set of materials to be exploited.

I got that, of course, but what I also got was a lot of fellow pagans carrying a lot of Christian baggage. (1) The need for a higher power to have control of things and to be petitioned for aid; a tendency to divide things into dichotomies like “light” and “dark” or “white magic” and “black magic”; a desire for some authority (often scriptural) to offer clear lines of What To Do and What Not To Do. And with the crossover of paganism with environmentalism, I often ran into sentiments dripping with the idea of sin, guilt, and flawed humanity, like “humans are just cancer on the earth”, and “Gaea is going to make us all pay for what we’ve done to Her”.

I carried much of my Catholic baggage with me. I especially yearned for structure and ritual and orthopraxy and definitive methods of pleasing the powers that be, or at least that’s what I told myself I needed in order to be a Really Good Pagan. The crescendo of that particular adventure was the few years I tried putting together a formalized path using various bits and pieces of things I had learned and developed over the years. The harder I tried to make that work, though, the more I found myself rebelling all over again.

I went back and re-read Wild Geese. I read the opening lines:

You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

In that, I broke open. Catholic tirades about how we are all tainted with original sin even from birth, pagan moralizing over how the Threefold Law is gonna get ya or preaching Gaea’s ecological smackdown–these all came flowing out as though from a deep wound lanced. “Love what it loves” wasn’t a call to crass, reactionary hedonism or indifferent amorality, but instead trusting our instincts and deeply-ingrained social bonds that our ancestors evolved over millions of years to thrive together.(2)

And that was the key: the idea that humans are not inherently flawed, that we are just another species of animal in a highly complex world full of many ecosystems. Our actions have evolutionary roots, even if we’ve taken them in some beautiful, strange, or even terrible directions. Our large-scale destruction of the planet has largely coincided with increasing beliefs that we are separate from nature; after all, it’s easier to destroy something you don’t see any responsibility toward. Yet here was a call to return to our place in the natural order of things, where we are one among many.

From that point, the rest of the poem is a joyful invitation to return home. And I suppose that there is a bit of that shared concept of forgiveness in the idea that no matter how badly we’ve screwed up our lives and the planet–if we stop and do our best to turn things around, nature will still be waiting for us.(3) But it’s not a forgiveness gained through penance and punishment, nor is it dangled over our heads as the one and only alternative to an eternity in hellfire and brimstone. There’s no mention of any specific religion one must adhere to in order to be saved, no threat of damnation. We aren’t required to do rituals A, B and C in order to avoid angering the gods.

All it says is that the rest of nature has been there all along, waiting patiently for us to come back into the rhythm of the dance of raindrops and rivers. It will continue on in some form with or without us, but wouldn’t it be glorious if it were with us? There’s a grand, amazing world out there full of wonder and awe. Nature does not dole out sinfulness and punishment, but only natural consequences to actions, which are inherently neutral and not steeped in human ideas about morality.

Since that time, my paganism has evolved into something more naturalistic, and anything but structured and formalized. Instead it pervades every element of my life organically and without pretension. I feel constantly connected to something bigger than myself–the entire Universe–which is a key goal of spirituality anyway. Rituals feel redundant, unless you think of my daily farm chores and my meals and my sleep as rituals, all of which celebrate the world I live in in various ways. And I don’t see myself as being part of some cosmic hierarchy; I am not inherently better or worse than any other being here.

I am still working on returning to the rest of nature, but it is only because I am unpracticed, not because I feel unworthy. I can be concerned about the environmental destruction I am contributing to by my very existence and lifestyle without letting that concern translate into a guilt that continues to keep me separate as something dirty, foul, not deserving of nature’s touch. And the more I feel close to nature, the more responsibility I feel toward it, and vice versa. Nature may not be an entity that can love me; it’s pretty indifferent as a whole. But I can make up for that with the utter joy and astonishment I experience every moment I am aware of my place in nature and what amazement surrounds me.

It’s a cliche to say that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. I never told Ms. Oliver how much her work meant to me, and of course now I will never have that opportunity. But I don’t think I realized myself the importance of Wild Geese in particular until the evening after she passed, when I began writing this post. And I sent out my gratitude in these words–too little, too late–but hopefully enough to share that meaning with those who remain.

What is remembered, lives.

Obviously, yes, #NotAllPagans. But after over two decades in this community, I’ve seen these and other leftover Christian patterns frequently. These phenomena do also occur in other religions, and arguably in some pre-Christian paganisms. But it was clear in the instances I saw that the patterns were most closely replicating those many of us were raised with in Christianity, with a thin pagan veneer pulled over them.

I recognize this is a pretty romanticized view of “instincts”, and that hunting and other violent things are also instinctual to a degree. That’s not what this is about, though. Leave those aside for the moment.

Of course, with climate change being what it is, it may not be able to wait for us much longer, at least not in a form that allows us to survive as a species. But leave the doomsaying for some other time and place. All it does is make people less likely to try to improve things, and more likely to just give up, and that is antithetical to what this entire post is about.