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Too often, a practitioner of the Old Craft will be approached by someone with an impossible or unreasonable request. And, when they're told that what they ask cannot be done, they reply with "Can't you just wave your hands and make it happen?", or similar ignorant proposals. In the hopes of better communication between witches and those would would be their patrons, I offer this primer on principles of the Craft.
Principles, not laws. Law, especially the legalistic concept embraced by so many rulers, is a human invention. The spirit realm could be considered akin to a body of water. It flows, it waves, and when disrupted, it crashes. Those who walk among the echoes disrupt the flow, but in ways that are predictable if you understand the craft.
The Principle of Reciprocity is often considered the most important; while I disagree with the notion, we must begin somewhere. The core of this principle is essentially "like attracts like": you get from the Craft what you put into it. This is the reason so many practicioners refer to themselves as "white" witches, to state that they reject hexcraft and curses. Those who bring darkness will receive darkness, those who bring light will receive light. This is a simplistic explanation, but suitable to those who have not been initiated.
The Principle of the False Self is the principle I consider most important. The idea of "self" as an isolated, unique entity is fallacious. We are all part of the worlds we inhabit, both the material and the spiritual. Everything we do will affect someone else, every action will send ripples into the worlds. Be ever mindful.
The Principle of Ephemerality states simply that nothing, not even Nothing Itself, is eternal. Attempts to defy the Principle always carry a cost - whether an active, ongoing cost, or simply one too dire to ever pay.
There are others, but these three form a necessary core to understand the craft, and to hopefully provide for better-informed petitioners when next I accept clients.
