April 17, 2007

  • The Rule of Three

    "Ever mind the Rule of Three, three times what thou givest returns to thee, this lesson well, thou must learn, thee only gets what thou dost earn."

    In some forms of Wiccan practice there is a rule known as the Rule of Three (see above quote). Essentially the rule states that whatever you create in the world (good/evil, joy/suffering, happiness/sorrow), will be returned to you threefold. So if you could measure happiness in cups, that means for every one cup of happiness you put out into the world, you'd get back three cups of happiness. Or you can think of it in terms of investments (for you economics people), that you'd get three dollars for every one dollar invested. I'm not very savvy about investing, but that sounds like a pretty great return. This concept, however, works both ways, for both the negative and the positive. If you create negative energy, then you will get negative energy back. If you spread hatred, anger, suffering, pain, intolerance, sadness, revenge, or any number of other negatives, it will all come back to you some day, perhaps not exactly in the same form, and not exactly in the same way, but rather likely disguised as something else.

    We are all connected in this world of ours on a level far beyond our perception. What seems to affect only one or a few of us often has ripples that extend much farther than we realize and are capable of seeing. The energy we send is unique to each of us as individuals, and as it is sent out, it collects a little bit more from each person it touches, traveling across from person to person, life to life, experience to experience, collecting more as it goes until, like a migrating bird, it returns back home where it belongs with all the extra energy it has collected from its travels. If we have been harboring positive experiences, positive emotions, trying to spread compassion, kindness, giving, and understanding, then perhaps we can look forward to that day. But if we have been creating negative energy, creating negative experiences and situations, spreading anger, pain, and sadness to those around us, then maybe we might spend many a sleepless night worrying about the day all of that energy we sent out will come back... fearful of how massive it may have grown in its travels, and what form it may take once it reaches us.

    There are similar notions to this across many of our planet's cultures and religions: karma, the golden rule, and any number of Christian and biblical references, among others, but you have to think that such a universal concept must exist for a reason. No one wants to live surrounded by dark emotions, a prisoner of fear, chained and bound by all of the negativity we have created around ourselves. The power to break that cycle lies with you and you alone. Only you control the course of your own life and destiny. What path will you choose to walk?