[Opinion] Ethics regarding using magic to help others

[lumineth Realm Lord]

This is something I've struggled with. People are usually creeped out by anything occult, whether or not they say they believe in magick or the supernatural. Especially if they're of the religious sort. So, I've often debated about doing rituals to help other people. The problem is I'm technically intervening in their lives, calling on beings that they likely don't know about. It's like sending a stranger to give someone a massage. And if they never asked for it, or consented, then I'm forcing the massage against their will. Essentially, this is about respecting agency. However, then you have to ask if letting someone else struggle is better than disrespecting that agency.

I've come up with work arounds, including that, if I am going to do a ritual to help someone, without permission, I should go by a tradition that's closest to what they're familiar with. As in to say, call on Angels. Unfortunately, the last time I did that, it wasn't successful. As for consent, I've decided that family is the exception if the issues bad enough. For anyone else, consent is needed.

I wanted to ask for your take on this issue. What's your thoughts on using magic to help others? Does intention outweigh agency?

 

[cormundum]

Don't charge for it. Prayer is magick, magick is prayer. I don't ever tell people if I do magick for them; I just do it. If there's disrespect of their agency, the angels will handle it. Otherwise, why assume anything bad at all? Agency only questionably exists anyway, so I really don't see anything wrong with it. The hand of God moves all things one way or another.

 

[Ziran]

My vote: never work magic on another person without their informed consent.

 

[Reggy Ciggs]

I've dabbled very little in comparison to many members here so heed my word with a grain of salt.

Would you ask permission of a butterfly before freeing it from a vacant web?

Or of a bear in a trap?

Be mindful of approaching a trapped bear as it could lash out in fear or anger

The butterfly, for its fragility.. freeing it without a careful hand could cause a painful death or make it easy prey

Knowledge of who you're helping seems more important than consideration of what powers you call upon!

Much love and i hope those suffering find a new perspective in your secret assistance!

 

[OberonFromTheHills]

To be honest it depends.

I see no problem sending a blessing to someone. A blessing to me is like saying "good luck", or "i think of you".... It's a reverse evil eye. Nobody asks your consent when it comes to send you evil thoughts, yet you manage to get affected by it.

When it comes to perform some sort of banishing or manifestation, i think it s better to ask the person for some reasons:

1) if the person does nothing to support the magick you cast on them, you are losing your time.

2) love, money etc are large topic. Having a talk to someone about it allow to have the best target and programming.

However, i don't think there's some sort of astral police that will check on you for performing magick without telling the person.

 

[lumineth Realm Lord]

When I was in highschool, I had an IEP. The IEP team said they were there to help me, but instead, they made decisions on my behalf, most of the time behind my back, segregated me from my peers, and advertised my disability. All of which they said was for my greater good. However, all of this caused even more problems.

I'm not worried about some astral police. I'm worried about inadvertently hurting someone else by meddling in their life over a situation that I possibly don't understand. Much like what was done to me.

 

[voidcat]

A good analogy from philosophy I've learn recently: An ax murderer is at your house knocks on the door and asks for your friend. You have two choices: you lie or you tell the murderer where your friend is. According to Kant the guy who made this analogy lying would be immoral no matter the circumstances so if you lied here and your friend sneaks out and is killed you are the one at fault. I disagree. I think it's perfectly moral to lie to the ax murderer to save your friends life and if friend is killed later it's the murderers fault not yours. Lying in general may be immoral but we also have a moral duty to preserve life. So it's moral to lie here if you have no other option to save your friend. Of course Kant's ax is unrealistic. If a guy is at my door toting an ax and I have not asked anyone to bring me one nor has my friend that door isn't getting answered. There's also a third option that wasn't brought up in my class where you open the door and instead of answering the murderer you just blink and close the door no answering the murderer.

Basically what I'm saying here is in terms of morality in my opinion most actions are very dependent on circumstances. Unlike Kant i think lying to a murderer is ok evennif lying most the time is immoral. You can have a guide an idea of what you should do (cateragorial imperative) but allow yourself to be flexible enough to acknowledge when exceptions need to be made.

The rule I'd follow with magick? Not without anyone's inform consent when possible. Don't even pray for folk without asking them first. But. Sometimes an exception might be ok depending on the circumstance. Like if the person is underage you want to do magick on perhaps asking the parent first might be the smart move and getting their consent first since the child is too young to consent. You'd also if it is a child want to get their input if possible. Kinda like how with doctors if there's a medical situation a doctor usually gets input from the parent for consent for treatment not the child but there's exceptions to that. I've also done spellwork on a dog before. I did not get consent from said dog but their owner asked me to. Another exception: cursing/hexing. Different people have different morals for this. Some dont hex at all feeling its immoral. I've hexed someone before but did not get permission from the person. Instead I chose to make the spell that their actions came back to them in a sense they were the ones causing the curse. I have my reasons for being ok with this morally as the person was very abusive and it was the only thing I thought that could help the situation.

Basically you got to figure out your own morals. I value autonomy so I prefer asking first.

 

[gvrzil]

kind of depens on what you're doing, lighting a candle or making protective wards wouldn't be such a problem compared to high level interference (love spells, fate-shifting rituals, binding, shadow work on their behalf) which without consent could backfire energetically or even tangle u karmically, the middle path that many magicians will take is asking their higher self during meditation or a ritual.
In the end of the day i wouldn't consider this an ethical question as much as it is a spiritual alignment one, morals are an external code wheras alignment is the resonance between your intent, the person's will, the entities involved and the cosmic order.