"Taking someones free will" thing is a myth

I just learned you CANNOT take someone’s free will. They’re just easily influenced. Say you do a love spell on someone who hates you. They’ll just be mad that they think about you more often but most likely will not be in love with you. But if someone already likes you, they’re more likely to do all the acts of the spell.

It depends on how weak their mind is, how they already feel towards the spell you’re casting on them, and etc. But you cannot take their free will away from them. At all.

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I agree. We people can be very easily influenced, and that’s part of why spells work.

A love spell may not directly affect someone’s free will. However a spell, a word, or even a look can have an effect on someone’s emotions or unconscious biases. That doesn’t instantly change their behavior because it’s still up to the person to decide to act on those emotions or not. But many times we do, and I believe that’s why the most powerful witches and healers are those who we love and trust.

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True, but you never know another person’s mind. What if they’re unstable and you don’t know about it? A mild love spell could be all the push they need to turn into a stalker or something. Better to be safe than sorry down the road.

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I know. This is why it’s still not good to do something recklessly. “You can cast one, but be careful in the process” is how I view these things.

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That is definitely a complicated subject.

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I used to get into some interesting debates over this topic. I personally believe free will is an illusion and that illusion can be changed. This idea opens a whole can of worms for another thread.

If we believe magic or prayer can work with science to heal bodies in miraculous ways, then why can’t magic or prayer change another person completely? I can be depressed and a person on the other side of the planet can send positive energy to me and my mood will change in that instant. Or I can be sick and someone can send positive energy and I can be healed. If this isn’t true, why do we have an energy exchange category?

If free will is an illusion - and I admit that’s a large if - then there should be magic that will change another’s will. Only, the effects would be so terrible on them and on yourself that you’d wished you had never done it. This is why I always say never try to get an ex back with magic. (I had a whole book written here and removed all of it to stay on topic.)

I’m editing in this: if free will is a myth, then of course it stands to reason taking their free will is a myth, too. This negates everything I just said before but I was always destined to say it anyway so I don’t take any of it back. LOL

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The idea of “free will” and if/how we can influence it (both in ourselves and in others) is a fascinating topic, and a very important one to consider when deciding what kind of magick aligns (or doesn’t align) with our personal ethical beliefs- thanks for bringing it up, @jada1! :sparkles::blush:

As someone who studied both religion and philosophy in university, I can say for sure that fate and free will are very deep topics and exploring how you feel about these forces can help to bring direction and answers to both your magickal practice and your views of life and society as a whole :+1:

Some philosophers argue that there is no such thing as free will (also called “Determinism”), while others claim that we have complete control over our thoughts and actions- aka that there is no such thing as “Fate” or “Destiny”. This is the timeless Freedom vs. Fate argument.

If someone likes the idea of Determinism, then yes- to them, it would be impossible to take someone’s free will as everything is already written in stone and our actions have no effect :mountain:

But to those who believe in the power of choice (whether it’s completely in our hands or anything on the spectrum shy of definite), it’s a lot more of a grey area.

I personally believe that our choices have value. And that all choices have consequences. Even something small can have a big effect on someone else’s life and the decisions that we make can have far reaching (and sometimes unintended) results- much like the butterfly effect :butterfly: !

Because of this, I’ve found that it is important to me to encourage positive things because I believe in the responsibility of my own actions. That my actions and choices have value- to myself, to those around me, and to the world :earth_americas: . I think that responsibility and mindfulness of the results of our actions are important even for those who don’t believe in ethical guidelines like the Rule of Three or the Threefold Way or Karma.

A really wonderful topic to dive into and explore- ethics are a big part of determining our own personal spiritual and life beliefs. Thanks again for opening up this discussion, Jada!

Blessed be! :heart:

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I tend to agree with this. I find the topic really interesting!

Also like the whole nature vs nurture discussion. Born evil? Made evil? :thinking:

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This is something I have been thinking about for the past several months, not only in my practice but also in my interpersonal relationships. Aside from the topic of free will, there are other considerations. Lately, I have approached my impulse to change others or help others with turning that impulse back on myself (with varying degrees of success and failure). I worry about people and situations constantly. But I need a lot of work and focusing on others can be a too-welcome distraction from that difficult task. For example, say I wanted to cast a love spell to make someone love me, then I would turn that back on myself. How can I be more loving to myself? How can I change to be a person that people loved? Or a justice spell, How have I not been fair in the past? In what ways, can I make amends or change my behavior? How can I be a better adovcate? A better negotiator? A protection spell: how can I trust people to solve their own problems? What boundaries do I need to set or strengthen? What situations or people do I need to avoid? Am I taking unneccesary risks? A money spell – do I fully appreciate all I have? Have I been less than responsible with money? Should I just be working harder? It’s challenging sometimes to simply appreciate people for who they are without wishing they were different in some way; the same for situations. And on the other hand, it’s even more challenging tryingt to change yourself when you know you need to. It may not be my place to attempt to manifest changes in others. My interference might also make things worse.

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@praecog29 Yes, but I think there’s a distinction between e.g. a love spell, and sending healing energy (in other words “pure” energy) that was granted by the Spirit to all of us. Our energy exchange is our own internal fuel that we are channeling towards someone else. Even if a bad person used his/her energy to heal someone, it would be pure light as soon as it reached that person.

On the other hand, if someone doesn’t feel in control of their own life and want somebody to fix it for them, that’s a sign that they are very vulnerable and somebody can easily manipulate or hurt them (through magic or other means).

@mary25 Well said. :+1: We are the result of every minute of our life. To me, Magic is a self-improvement tool above anything else.

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