Those Catholics are not telling others that they used the body and blood to make another person behave in a manner contradictory to that person’s own will or that they were slipping a potentially lethal substance to that person along with the host without their consent. I am aware that there are spells that use blood, often as a means of personal sacrifice on the part of the practitioner. It is not the “ick” factor that concerns me here, it is the accusation of the intent and method of using the blood.
Are you in fact saying that you have heard of numerous occasions in which women would place menstrual blood in the food of an unsuspecting person in order to bind that person to them without their consent or in direct opposition to that person’s stated desires (presuming that one would not take such an action unless one thought one’s partner were planning on leaving the relationship)? And this was considered ethical by the groups in which they practiced? Do you happen to remember the names of the traditions they followed in any of those circumstances? I’d like to know for future reference.
It seems to me that this particular one (putting menstrual blood in the food of an unsuspecting person to bind them to one) is not within the bounds of the Wiccan ethics with which I am acquainted. There is a vast difference in intent and ethical context between using one’s own blood for a spell that is not aimed at control of another and deliberately placing such blood into an unsuspecting person’s food in order to make them act against their will. Rather like using a knife to cut a piece of cheese or open a package versus using it to stab someone. The tool remains the same, but the intent and ethical/moral context are very, very different.
Such behavior seems to contravene the “harm none” clause in a number of ways—exposure of someone to another’s bodily fluids without their consent and thus potential exposure to blood borne pathogens such as hepatitis, HIV, etc, seeking to control another’s behavior against their will, practicing magic on a person without their consent, etc. This is why it sounds like something other than Wicca, at least the branches of Wicca with which I am familiar. My husband, who is much more familiar with Wicca on a personal level, agrees that in his experience it would be considered wrong and unethical, period. Now, are there branches of Wicca in which this might be acceptable but with which I am just not familiar? Possibly, I can’t rule it out because I am certainly not an expert in the subject (and I have to say that those are branches I would likely avoid, personally, if such exist), but I am very skeptical. That is why I asked for the source of the information.
As I and other posters have said, many people refer to themselves as Wiccans, whether or not they follow any actual written practice of the faith, or know anything about it other than the name and that some practitioners use magic…is another story.
I have had people, who refer to their religion as Wicca, tell me they have used menstrual blood in love binding spells. Most often it is put on a personal item of the beloved, but I have heard on a few occasions of it being placed in food or drink.
While this may be a perversion of Wicca, or more likely have nothing to do with Wicca itself, but be another form of magic that they have happened across is entirely possible.
I don’t feel I need to defend the practice on their behalf because I do not share their faith, belief in magic, etc. But I also know this is not something the people who shared it are ashamed of, nor would they consider me to be blaspheming or misrepresenting their beliefs to share this information. But it might not stem from the Wiccan aspects of their faith. I do not know.
My sources are the practitioners themselves. If you go to pagan forums, there are threads on love binding spells, using blood in spells etc.It is discussed on openly public forums.
However, as far as using blood in spells goes, nearly everyone I have ever discussed the subject with only uses their own blood, and it is not ingested by others, and very rarely by themselves. It is believed to add power to spells, to show great intention and commitment.
The love binding use of menstrual blood is the only time I have outright heard of anyone unknowingly causing another to ingest blood, and there is conflict among spellworkers about love spells. Many practitioners of magic DO indeed consider them unethical, especially ones that involve blood.
This practice has a tremendous amount of controversy in the magickal community.
