The Wiccan Warrior

As previously mentioned I am exploring the idea of "warrior magic" and all that entails (it is a rather loaded subject lol). Luckily one of my coven brothers had a book titled Wiccan Warrior by Kerr Cuhulain, which I borrowed have gotten half way thru, skimming the rest.

It is a interesting book, and one with good messages that I think ALL practitioners of any pagan faith (personally I think ANYBODY period) should read. He makes wonderful points on personal responsibility, a big issue to me that seems to be lacking in today's society. And I felt that his ideas for rituals and magical practices were very helpful. I was excited to see some one talk about braiding/knotting as a magical working as it is often over looked.

However there are many things that I feel were neglected in way of taking on a Warrior Path in your life. I will say that it may not have been the intent of the book to be a gateway to that Path. If it were my main issue is the self-centric tone of the book.

I applaud up and down anyone saying/teaching/preaching personal responsibility, but in the context of a "warrior" there is so much more than one's self. In the book this is because the root of the "wiccan warrior" is the Wiccan Rede : "Do as thou wilt, an harme none."

This is a rede, and philosophy that I will always have problems with, and why I will never be a Wiccan. My issue stems from they fact that the rede, and how it is applied in the book, is a rule. An unwavering guideline by which all your actions are to be judged. Rules do not bend, rules do not see circumstance, they are unmovable. Which is funny, since Kerr spends a great deal of time talking about how the "wiccan warrior" needs to be changeable and fluid, yet he attaches himself to such an fixed idea.

I'm going to state here and now, that I am not a pacifist. I firmly believe that some situations call for a use of force, I do not believe that all violence is morally wrong. That said I agree with Kerr that a warrior uses only as much force necessary to resolve the situation, and that in the society we live in now the situations were force is needed are extreme and rare.

I believe that to be a warrior, or to say you are one, is to say that there are certain things that you are willing to fight for. Indeed there are things that you are willing to die for.

Historically, warriors were not solitary. They had a tribe, a society, a clan that they were apart of, that they protected. That is an essential foundation to the warrior for me, to protect. Whether that be emotionally, physically, financially, a warrior is driven to protect.

When you reflect that against the rede, it doesn't mesh. The rede doesn't cover other people, in it's simplicity it deals only with the self and thus is somewhat contradictory to the nature of a warrior.

I felt that to be a book about a Warrior Path he needed to talk about connections with your social circle, and your duty to them. This can be as all encompassing as want to protect the rights of the less fortunate of the world, to as intimate as your family and friends. You need to have a loving connection with people that makes you want to be a better person for them.

I completely agree with Kerr that a warrior path is a constant betterment of ones self, through will and constant self-analyst. Were we disagree is in that drive, while you should want to make yourself better for your own sake that falls under a general healthy adult lifestyle to me. A warrior is driven further by their love and need to protect and up hold, either ideals and philosophy or just their special people.

So if the rede is too stoic of a rule by which to live for a warrior then what guides them? How do they make their judgments of morality?

A warrior needs a Code. A set of principles to which they are willing to fight for and strive to uphold in their everyday life. A Warrior Code isn't as rigid as the rede, it is a every changing goal to achieve. And as a thinking self-analyzing person that Code grows with you. It is not afraid to be challenged and reforged with new insight. It is up to the warrior to have the willpower to uphold themselves to their code, and there is great personal responsibility in that.

I would encourage anyone who is intersted in taking a Warrior path, to contemplate deeply on the princeples and ideals that they cherish above others. What do you look for in people that makes you respect them? Is is their honesty? Loyalty? Courage?

Once you've identified what qualities you value and what they mean to you, you can start to compose your own code. Think about different situations that may come up in your daily life and decide how you would like to handle them with those values in mind, and do it! If you value charity, does that mean that you give the man on the street money when he asks? Or does it mean that you donate money to organized cause? Volunteer? All of the above?

As I said, your ideas will change as you change but the point is to continue to try act in a way that you can look back without regret on your actions. It's a process but then if it weren't, it wouldn't be a living path.

*deep breath*

So if you managed to make it through all of that congratulations! I do have more to say on the book as there was one more important issue that I thought was lacking. But I feel that this point is valid to stand on it's own.

Next time on A Celt in the City, The Physical Warrior. Bound to be controversial lol!

Slán go fóill

Branwen