In witchcraft, the rule of three is a pretty commonly known and accepted principle. The idea that whatever you send out will come back to you Three-fold. For this, and many other reasons, using Magick to cause harm or otherwise negatively impact someone\’s life is considered a bad idea.
Likewise, for some reason, there is a common stigma amongst many pagans that using Magick to benefit yourself is equally wrong. The thought is that it is selfish and an abuse of Magick to aid your own life. I myself frequently get caught up by this concept and am often hesitant to perform Magick for my own benefit.
This is a malformed concept. The idea comes from the surge of Prosperity related Magick that spread like wildfire during the \’90s. Every book on Magick, every website, every article always had a section ( a pretty hefty one at that ) on how to draw in money and success and promotions at work. This wave of \”me,me,me Magick\” was met with a negative response from the pagan community ( and rightfully so ). The things that these bogus guides offered to magically provide were always finite things. If they had worked, it would mean taking these things at the expense of someone else. If you magically find $500 on the ground, someone lost their money and might not pay rent or feed their family. If you magicked your way into a promotion, you stole it from the hard working coworker that has been striving to earn the position.
The community rejected these practices as selfish and a misuse of Magick. But does that mean all Magick used to benefit the magician is bad? Absolutely not
Just like any other skill, it\’s okay to use Magick to aid you. You can write spells to improve your weaknesses. You can carry spell jars for improving your communication and how you are perceived by others. There is absolutely nothing wrong with lighting a candle for becoming more receptive when studying.
Remember, the better handle you have on your own life, the better seated you are to help others. It\’s kind of like the air mask thing. When you are on an airplane and things go south, you are supposed to put on your own oxygen mask first. If you try to save other people first, someone may need to come save you. If you instead put your own mask on first, you can be alive and alert to help others. It\’s a very similar concept with Magick. Build yourself up. Use Magick to improve yourself and your life so that when you find people in need, you\’re in a much better condition to help them.