Post by cygnet on Jan 15, 2009 16:51:57 GMT
The Three-Fold Law.
The Three-Fold Law states, "Whatever you do, will return to you three-fold." The Three-Fold Law, is in line with the Wiccan Rede which states, "An' it harm none, do as thou wilt." The Wiccan Rede has it's origins in other cultures and religions which state, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In other words, treat a person with the same amount of respect as you would want them to treat you.
The basic idea of the Three-Fold Law is that whatever you do (good or bad) will come back to you, three times its worth, in reward or punishment. This idea was taken from the principle of Karma. Remember that all actions, whether in Magick or in Nature, have a cause and effect. To understand this better, we must look at Newton's third Law which states, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
Now, if everything is equal in its action and reaction, then how can one force be greater than the next? It simply cannot. Not even in Magick (or in Nature) does it state that one action will have a reaction three times greater than it's original force. To break it down further, if you should run 10 miles per hour, into a wall, the impact felt would have been as if the wall had hit you with the same amount of force as you hit the wall. Not greater, as would be implied by the Three-Fold Law. This fact cannot be argued with, though people will often try.
The Three-Fold Law should be examined in it's validity, and re-examined in the way people believe. This Law has, for so many years, mislead people in the idea that reward and punishment would be offered by their actions. It's true that we must take responsibility for our own actions, and even the Wiccan Rede hints at this, but do not follow so blindly at the thought of a reaction being three times greater than how you set things in motion
"As you sew, so shall ye reap". "What goes around, comes around". "Whatever you send out returns three times". These are all sayings very familiar to all of us, all of them examples of a supposedly Universal Law of cause and effect, action and reaction. Of course many of the religious systems try to furnish us with some sort of "escape clause" that will allow man to either alleviate suffering for past misdeeds, or to escape responsibility totally. Let us take a little closer look at these three ideas and their inter-relationship.
The three-fold law is often misunderstood. On the face of it it may be seen as a threat that if one were to undertake bad deeds then one will be a victim of that negativity as a punishment. While it is true that the negativity hit the perpetrator with the three times the force of that which is originally put into the deed, it is not true that it is a punishment from some outside force. The truth lies within the individual. Any intentional negativity generated by a person will tend to stick in the mind of that person and affect them on a mental level. From the mental level it will filter through to affect them on a spiritual level and also on the physical level. It is as much a psychological process as a mystical one.
This law also works with positive energy. If a person dedicates their life to doing good deeds for those around them, or for the common good as a whole, that positive energy will also manifest through themselves on the mental, spiritual and physical level. So not only is it a law that discourages bad deeds, it encourages and rewards good.
It seems that, on one level, we do live in a mechanistic universe, one pretty much ruled by cause-and-effect. This Newtonian universe seems to react in a very mechanical fashion, i.e. every action "produces an equal and opposite reaction". A good analogy for this is the example of one billiard ball striking another. The energy from the striking billiard ball is transferred to the one struck and is used to push against the first, imparting motion in the same direction. This brings the second law into play, i.e. an object in motion tends to stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force.
However, there is a way around Newtonian law. That is, the number three symbolises one of the magical processes involved; that the spell is invoked and thus sent out into the energy of the universe. this energy then comes back into world to manifest in the desired way, before reverberating in the life of the person working the magic to the power of three. thus, what you give out, you'll get back, only threefold.
The principle of Karma basically says the same thing; i.e. any negative or positive action or thought remains that way, until it expends its energy by acting upon the originator. Of course this also makes implicit the idea that thoughts or mental energy have a reality of their own, one that interacts with the physical universe. If this idea is accepted, it then implies the existence of at least one more "world" or order of the universe, one with a non physical "reality", and one where the basic fundamental rules of physics (as we know them) may not truly apply.
The magician can be described as one who "walks between" these two worlds. "Walking between two worlds" implies that an individual is connected with both and can move between them at will. The purpose of magic is to manipulate one world for the benefit of the other, i.e. to manipulate the unseen world for the express purpose of influencing events in the physical. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a "free ride" anywhere in the universe, and when an individual acquires the power to do this, they also acquire a great deal of responsibility! By accepting the power to exert "leverage" in the unseen world, an individual seems to also accept a multiplied susceptibility to influences initiated in that world. This is why negative workings are so dangerous! This may also be the reasoning behind the "law of three fold return".
Now comes the hard part! If all of this cause and effect stuff is absolute, how can any individual ever hope to "pay off" the debts for all of the "stupid" things they have done not only in this lifetime, but in many others? Must we "pay off" all past transgressions on a one for one basis? Is there no escape clause in this "contract" we seem to have for living in the universe?
This "escape clause" is called Grace by the Christians and by other names in other systems, but it does exist in all. Basically, the idea is this: "Once a lesson is completely learned and one grows beyond a need for this lesson, it need not be repeated, even if the 'books' are not balanced". This is the "Enlightenment" sought by the Buddhist that allows the "breaking" of the wheel.
The Three-Fold Law states, "Whatever you do, will return to you three-fold." The Three-Fold Law, is in line with the Wiccan Rede which states, "An' it harm none, do as thou wilt." The Wiccan Rede has it's origins in other cultures and religions which state, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In other words, treat a person with the same amount of respect as you would want them to treat you.
The basic idea of the Three-Fold Law is that whatever you do (good or bad) will come back to you, three times its worth, in reward or punishment. This idea was taken from the principle of Karma. Remember that all actions, whether in Magick or in Nature, have a cause and effect. To understand this better, we must look at Newton's third Law which states, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
Now, if everything is equal in its action and reaction, then how can one force be greater than the next? It simply cannot. Not even in Magick (or in Nature) does it state that one action will have a reaction three times greater than it's original force. To break it down further, if you should run 10 miles per hour, into a wall, the impact felt would have been as if the wall had hit you with the same amount of force as you hit the wall. Not greater, as would be implied by the Three-Fold Law. This fact cannot be argued with, though people will often try.
The Three-Fold Law should be examined in it's validity, and re-examined in the way people believe. This Law has, for so many years, mislead people in the idea that reward and punishment would be offered by their actions. It's true that we must take responsibility for our own actions, and even the Wiccan Rede hints at this, but do not follow so blindly at the thought of a reaction being three times greater than how you set things in motion
"As you sew, so shall ye reap". "What goes around, comes around". "Whatever you send out returns three times". These are all sayings very familiar to all of us, all of them examples of a supposedly Universal Law of cause and effect, action and reaction. Of course many of the religious systems try to furnish us with some sort of "escape clause" that will allow man to either alleviate suffering for past misdeeds, or to escape responsibility totally. Let us take a little closer look at these three ideas and their inter-relationship.
The three-fold law is often misunderstood. On the face of it it may be seen as a threat that if one were to undertake bad deeds then one will be a victim of that negativity as a punishment. While it is true that the negativity hit the perpetrator with the three times the force of that which is originally put into the deed, it is not true that it is a punishment from some outside force. The truth lies within the individual. Any intentional negativity generated by a person will tend to stick in the mind of that person and affect them on a mental level. From the mental level it will filter through to affect them on a spiritual level and also on the physical level. It is as much a psychological process as a mystical one.
This law also works with positive energy. If a person dedicates their life to doing good deeds for those around them, or for the common good as a whole, that positive energy will also manifest through themselves on the mental, spiritual and physical level. So not only is it a law that discourages bad deeds, it encourages and rewards good.
It seems that, on one level, we do live in a mechanistic universe, one pretty much ruled by cause-and-effect. This Newtonian universe seems to react in a very mechanical fashion, i.e. every action "produces an equal and opposite reaction". A good analogy for this is the example of one billiard ball striking another. The energy from the striking billiard ball is transferred to the one struck and is used to push against the first, imparting motion in the same direction. This brings the second law into play, i.e. an object in motion tends to stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force.
However, there is a way around Newtonian law. That is, the number three symbolises one of the magical processes involved; that the spell is invoked and thus sent out into the energy of the universe. this energy then comes back into world to manifest in the desired way, before reverberating in the life of the person working the magic to the power of three. thus, what you give out, you'll get back, only threefold.
The principle of Karma basically says the same thing; i.e. any negative or positive action or thought remains that way, until it expends its energy by acting upon the originator. Of course this also makes implicit the idea that thoughts or mental energy have a reality of their own, one that interacts with the physical universe. If this idea is accepted, it then implies the existence of at least one more "world" or order of the universe, one with a non physical "reality", and one where the basic fundamental rules of physics (as we know them) may not truly apply.
The magician can be described as one who "walks between" these two worlds. "Walking between two worlds" implies that an individual is connected with both and can move between them at will. The purpose of magic is to manipulate one world for the benefit of the other, i.e. to manipulate the unseen world for the express purpose of influencing events in the physical. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a "free ride" anywhere in the universe, and when an individual acquires the power to do this, they also acquire a great deal of responsibility! By accepting the power to exert "leverage" in the unseen world, an individual seems to also accept a multiplied susceptibility to influences initiated in that world. This is why negative workings are so dangerous! This may also be the reasoning behind the "law of three fold return".
Now comes the hard part! If all of this cause and effect stuff is absolute, how can any individual ever hope to "pay off" the debts for all of the "stupid" things they have done not only in this lifetime, but in many others? Must we "pay off" all past transgressions on a one for one basis? Is there no escape clause in this "contract" we seem to have for living in the universe?
This "escape clause" is called Grace by the Christians and by other names in other systems, but it does exist in all. Basically, the idea is this: "Once a lesson is completely learned and one grows beyond a need for this lesson, it need not be repeated, even if the 'books' are not balanced". This is the "Enlightenment" sought by the Buddhist that allows the "breaking" of the wheel.