Harm None: Do Wiccans Need To Be Vegetarian Or Vegan?

Harm None: Do Wiccans Need To Be Vegetarian Or Vegan?

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When approaching the Wiccan spirituality, many have questions about what is the appropriate behavior to live a life aligned with Wiccan values. Can you eat meat, or should you become vegetarian or even vegan?

There are Wiccans who choose to answer these questions in many ways. What’s important is that you explore your own connection to nature through Wiccan principles.

Let’s look at some important values to help you find the answer.

“An’ It Harm None, Do What Ye Will”

One of the central tenets of the Wiccan creed, the principle of “harm none” is at the core of our morality and actions. By decreeing that Wiccans can do anything so long as they are actively avoiding causing harm, we find greater freedom. For many Wiccans, this leads them down the path of vegetarianism - sensing that when eating meat you’re causing harm to other living beings.

Following this principle further, some Wiccans choose veganism. By construing animals not as inferior to humans but meriting equality, using them for dairy harms them by diminishing their autonomy. Many Wiccans feel comfortable using animal products if they know that the animal wasn’t harmed in their production. This means that eggs and milk are okay, but by a broader definition of harm, and the rights we owe to animals, others see veganism as the only option.

The Sanctity of Food

Food is one of the ways that Wiccans can build a stronger connection to the Earth. If we follow the path taken by food, it naturally leads us back to the land. This connection of food to Earth imbues what we eat with profound magickal energies, which Wiccans must feel and respect.

Food, therefore, is so much more than nutrition. These magickal energies impact different Wiccans in different ways, and for some they feel the suffering of animals in every bite.

Food also connects us to our community. If consuming dairy products is important to your rituals and traditions, then the sanctity of food may be inherent in eating animal products.

Environmental Impact

Many Wiccans feel strongly about the impact of humans upon the environment. Wicca’s interconnected and holistic perspective reveals plainly how human choices damage our environmental world, leading to climate change and great chaos. The creed of ‘harm none’ therefore, leads Wiccans to consider the broader impact of their actions.

For many people, veganism becomes inevitable through this perspective. The dairy industry contributes significantly to environmental degradation, through the release of greenhouse gases for example. Wiccan vegans see environmental harm as indistinguishable from harm to sentient beings due to the interconnectedness of everything.

Developing a Connection to Nature

Many Wiccans are led to the faith by their inherent sense of connection to nature and Wicca is a powerful way of pursuing a connection with the natural world. One way in which we can do so is by considering what we choose to eat. Purchasing meat and dairy products leads us to soulless grocery stores where prepackaged products line the shelves - an experience that is utterly, inevitably disconnected to the processes of production behind that food.

On the other hand, vegans can produce everything they need for sustenance in their own back garden. By tending to our own crops we build a deep connection with nature and the chain of growth to nourishment is unbroken. Even Wiccans who live in city settings can take advantage of this by cultivating herbs and tomatoes in window boxes.

Covens

In order to further explore the Wiccan creed, joining a coven can be a valuable element of Wiccan life.

Joining a coven means communing with other Wiccans. You’ll be expected to follow certain rules of behavior, which can include dietary habits. Certain covens will require you to respect a vegan diet at all times, while others will only mandate veganism for group meetings where food is present, such as dinners and potlucks. This might influence your own diet in your wider life.

Vegetarianism or Veganism?

Ultimately, for Wiccans, the choice is yours. Only by examining your relationship with the environment, your approach to food and your interpretation of living a life that does no harm can you see if your Wiccan path leads to veganism or vegetarianism. In either case, Wicca develops a strong sense of connection with our natural world, providing spiritual and holistic benefits.

Bio: Kendra Beckley is a writer and editor at Dissertation writing service. Growing up in rural Ohio in the 1970s and ‘80s Kendra was immersed in nature from a young age and was, early on, impressed by the mystery and might of the universe.



6 Responses

Jess
Jess

February 28, 2022

Happy eggs and milk are a marketing lie.

It’s quite off-putting that people who are supposed to harm none and be sensitive to energies can consume & justify maceration, forced pregnancies and the deaths that the dairy and egg industry cause.

Oliver jake
Oliver jake

September 27, 2021

I refuse to eat food from farms that hurt animals. I try to eat animal by-products like eggs and cheese instead of meat. https://essaysnassignments.co.uk/dissertation-writing-services/

Pathfinder
Pathfinder

August 25, 2021

Harm None’
Animals and Wiccans,Witches,Pagans etc; are strongly connected to us because they’re spirit,as are we .
Respect should be given for this reason respectfully
Any of our spirits can be INCARNATED into an animal. The body is only a vessel
Veganism is ideal for this reason alone,although easier said than done. I still eat meat because I haven’t been able to switch safely for my health
Going vegan also raises your energies considerably. The God and Goddess need this from us, because it sensitizes our spiritual gifts considerably! Even drinking more water,natural juices,smoothies and more vegetables and fruits in our diets help. Clearing our auras and cutting cords helps as well.
All this helps us to see spirits@nd sense negative energies MUCH easier!
Asking divinity to consistently raise your energy levels is important too!. Eventually you won’t be able to eat foods filled w chemicals w out getting sick. I’ve raised my energy and light so high, I need help from my main guide to keep my stomach under control because I can’t afford to eat the way my body needs me to now. Even canned fruit is out. Puked on a can of peaches two yrs ago.
As for coven work,I don’t want any part of it. I need to focus. I can’t bled my focus w multiple witches for a singular intention

Juanita Davisson
Juanita Davisson

December 30, 2020

My grandaughter was born in Feb which is 02-12-2020 and this is my daughter noticed it before me but the time she was born was 2:22 a.m this is beautiful does this mean my grandaughter will be a powerful white witch what does all that mean I need to know please tell me

Juanita Davisson
Juanita Davisson

December 30, 2020

My grandaughter was born in Feb which is 02-12-2020 and this is my daughter noticed it before me but the time she was born was 2:22 a.m this is beautiful does this mean my grandaughter will be a powerful white witch what does all that mean I need to know please tell me

Juanita Davisson
Juanita Davisson

December 30, 2020

I’m knew to all of this but I want to learn I have been told for years that the women in our family r white witch sometimes I have intuition and I believe in the magic I have 1 question my grandaughter was bor

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