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Magical Ethics
Jul. 8th, 2005 03:28 pmNormally, I wouldn't discuss this here, but what happened yesterday at the MPRC was so disturbing, I keep turning it over and over in my mind.
Izzy turned up in the MPRC looking for Love Magic advice. I tried steering him away from controlling spells, advising him that he should just do magic work to bring love into his life. He said he had someone very specific in mind, so I suggested that he do an opportunity spell to bring about a chance to connect to the object of his desire.
He then began to tell me about all the stuff he'd already done, like candle magic, spells, paying others for spellwork, and nothing seemed to be working. "Maybe my aura needs cleaning," he said.
"I need to remove the obstacles in my path to get him to come to me."
"Or maybe the universe is trying to tell you that this person you want isn't meant for you," I replied, a bit more forcefully.
"No, no," he insisted. "I'm the best thing for this guy. I need him to realize this. I read somewhere I could do a pact with a demon, so maybe I could do a pact with this guy's guardian angel? Do you have a book on that?"
This was starting to get scary. This was the second time Izzy was coming to see me and I now knew that he was talking about a VJ on MusiquePlus. Apparently, Izzy had spoken to him on several occasions, but had not made the connection he was hoping for. His obsession with this VJ was getting so bad that he had been banned from visiting the MusiquePlus studios.
"Izzy, listen to me," I turned to him, all serious. "What you're talking about is the magical equivalent of knocking this guy out, tying him up, and taking him back to your home against his will. Is this what you really want? Wouldn't you rather he decided to be with you willingly?" I was hoping this harsh image would shake Izzy back to reality.
Nope. No such luck.
"Sometimes you have to force the things you want," he replied, wringing his hands. "Maybe if I could force him to be with me for a few months, he would learn how to appreciate me and we could be together. He needs me, he just doesn't know it yet."
"Kidnapping is wrong, Izzy, whether you use magic or nylon rope. It's evil, do you understand? What you're trying to do is evil."
He was just grinning apprehensively at me, as if he were thinking that I just couldn't possibly understand how right he was. "Maybe if I did a controlling spell on a candle? Maybe that would work."
"No Izzy. What you're doing is evil. You have to stop, and if you don't, the universe will make life very difficult for you. Stop while you still can." At that point, the staffers came to let us know that the shop was closed. Izzy, grinning all the while, waved good-by and he was gone.
This is a problem with the public perception of magic. Izzy is not pagan; he's Christian. But since the church can't give him what he wants, he thinks that spells and magic work will fix all his problems.
What's worse, he thinks he can use magic to get away with immorality. I think if he thought he could get away with kidnapping this man, he would. But seeing as how he could end up in jail for breaking societal laws, he thinks he can escape any consequence using "untracable" magic.
So this is a bit of an ethical connundrum. I feel what he's doing is wrong and unethical, but as a resource person, am I allowed to make this judgement? I'm tempted to flat out refuse to help him the next time he comes in. What are the ethics involved here?
Izzy turned up in the MPRC looking for Love Magic advice. I tried steering him away from controlling spells, advising him that he should just do magic work to bring love into his life. He said he had someone very specific in mind, so I suggested that he do an opportunity spell to bring about a chance to connect to the object of his desire.
He then began to tell me about all the stuff he'd already done, like candle magic, spells, paying others for spellwork, and nothing seemed to be working. "Maybe my aura needs cleaning," he said.
"I need to remove the obstacles in my path to get him to come to me."
"Or maybe the universe is trying to tell you that this person you want isn't meant for you," I replied, a bit more forcefully.
"No, no," he insisted. "I'm the best thing for this guy. I need him to realize this. I read somewhere I could do a pact with a demon, so maybe I could do a pact with this guy's guardian angel? Do you have a book on that?"
This was starting to get scary. This was the second time Izzy was coming to see me and I now knew that he was talking about a VJ on MusiquePlus. Apparently, Izzy had spoken to him on several occasions, but had not made the connection he was hoping for. His obsession with this VJ was getting so bad that he had been banned from visiting the MusiquePlus studios.
"Izzy, listen to me," I turned to him, all serious. "What you're talking about is the magical equivalent of knocking this guy out, tying him up, and taking him back to your home against his will. Is this what you really want? Wouldn't you rather he decided to be with you willingly?" I was hoping this harsh image would shake Izzy back to reality.
Nope. No such luck.
"Sometimes you have to force the things you want," he replied, wringing his hands. "Maybe if I could force him to be with me for a few months, he would learn how to appreciate me and we could be together. He needs me, he just doesn't know it yet."
"Kidnapping is wrong, Izzy, whether you use magic or nylon rope. It's evil, do you understand? What you're trying to do is evil."
He was just grinning apprehensively at me, as if he were thinking that I just couldn't possibly understand how right he was. "Maybe if I did a controlling spell on a candle? Maybe that would work."
"No Izzy. What you're doing is evil. You have to stop, and if you don't, the universe will make life very difficult for you. Stop while you still can." At that point, the staffers came to let us know that the shop was closed. Izzy, grinning all the while, waved good-by and he was gone.
This is a problem with the public perception of magic. Izzy is not pagan; he's Christian. But since the church can't give him what he wants, he thinks that spells and magic work will fix all his problems.
What's worse, he thinks he can use magic to get away with immorality. I think if he thought he could get away with kidnapping this man, he would. But seeing as how he could end up in jail for breaking societal laws, he thinks he can escape any consequence using "untracable" magic.
So this is a bit of an ethical connundrum. I feel what he's doing is wrong and unethical, but as a resource person, am I allowed to make this judgement? I'm tempted to flat out refuse to help him the next time he comes in. What are the ethics involved here?
