the Crows Nest

Why is it so important, and how do we nurture it?

What is it?

The notion of personal sovereignty is a root of faith for many of us neo-pagans.  It has been described eloquently by the Satanic Temple as: ‘the idea that no-one owns your body, name, gender, sexuality and identity but you and you alone’. This differentiates our faith from the Abrahamic religions, who’s ethics are downloaded from their god as mediated by sacred texts and prophets. The absence of an external moral authority can appear as a burden for pagans: the burden of thinking for yourself and accepting responsibility for choices and actions.   

Wiccans have offered an alternative route via the Rede.  This is often cited as ‘harm none’ and is descended from the Garner/ Valiente: ‘Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, an it harm none, do what ye will.’  This itself being a re-working of the racist Crowley’s’: ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law’.  The imperative to ‘harm none’ raises all the quandaries of pacifism and veganism whereas a more obvious interpretation of Valiente’s 1964 articulation would suggest something more akin to the liberal:- ‘if you’re not harming anyone, do what you like’: a clarification of Crowley’s apparent egocentric nihilism.  

In practice, non-Wiccan witchcraft practitioners will clarify their non-adherence to the rede to maintain the option to curse. This, according to the principle of Sovereignty is entirely within their power. The principle however does not absolve anyone from responsibility.  We can still be held to account by ourselves, other people, Spirit and the Ancestors for the decisions and actions we take.  

What can we do about it?

There are people who would serve their own interests by undermining our sovereignty. These include individuals attempting to coercively control us, governments who’d prefer us to be compliant, political forces who need our support and commercial organisations that’d persuade us to to aspire to own unneeded material possessions.  The amount of effort expended by these agents demonstrate how successful they are in achieving results.  The maintenance of personal sovereignty requires effort to resist external pressures to comply, conform and consume.  

Resisting attempts to deny or undermine our personal sovereignty requires proactive steps. Coercive behaviours of others, perhaps of loved ones, needs naming and challenging.  We need to shield ourselves from the continuous inundation of false narratives from mainstream and social media. Personally, the most important step I have taken is to stage a withdrawal from the addictive landscape of the metaverse.  The continuous flow of deceipt by bad actors  is tiresome even if I feel strong enough to resist its influence. Many people have been seduced by its lies, whether they blame migrants for social injustice, claim the condensation trails from airplanes are chemical poisons sprayed by the government to kill us, or  that we can absolve ourselves of the responsibility to fight injustice merely by a gong-supported act of psychological adjustment.  

There is much help available in coping with experienced coercive behaviours and undue influence, and people can reach out to these as appropriate.  

A ritual can be conducted to celebrate our personal extraction from external pressure and our recognition of sovereignty. You are invited to perform this simple ceremony, or to ammend it as you see fit.  

1- place yourself in a place where you can be safe and feel the sense of being alone. Make it clean. Clear your thoughts using some appropriate breathing exercise (try: 4 in, 4 to hold, 4 out and repeat 3 times).  

2- light a candle and focus on the flame, allow yourself to become relaxed, to let the mental chatter subside.  

3- say:

According to guidance of Spirit and under the watchful eyes of the Ancestors, I embrace with joy the responsibilities of my personal sovereignty: I live my own truth.  

4- let the candle burn through, ground yourself by stamping and clapping, and move on.