Witchful Thinking: Free Will, Bending Will, and the Harm in The “How”

How do you get what you want?

Some people never make it to this question. They get stymied on the issue of deciding what they want. They have too many choices, or they don’t like their choices. They don’t trust the Universe. They don’t trust themselves. Deciding what you want carries with it its own set of issues one must work though. But we’re going to presume you’ve mastered that.

Once you know what it is you want, how do you go about getting it?

“An it harm none, do what you will.” The phrase has prompted nearly every thought leader in the pagan community to offer up opinions on the issue of whether it’s necessary or advisable to offer up the “harm none” portion of this admonition. After all, if you’re coming at your magic from a more Hermetic angle, the thinking is actually almost diametrically opposed, with some thinking that it’s quite appropriate to harm someone who is trying to “thwart” your will.

In pagan circles we talk a lot about living in accord with our own free will. A big mistake that many who are just starting on the path make is confusing the concept of what one wills with what one wants. They are not coextensive. It’s very easy to want things. I want ice cream. I want a million dollars. I want a lover. But merely articulating a want…