The Sacred Hearth

Will is an extremely complicated and multi-layered subject. Many people believe that Will simply means whatever you want, and it sort of does, but that's an oversimplification.

Every living thing in this world has a purpose. We are all like Cogs in an enormous machine called Gaia or the Earth, or the Universe if you prefer. Or like cells in a great body. Each plant, animal, rock, river, etc. It is our duty to fulfill our purpose, but it is our choice how to go about it. (Most of us, especially those of us who are sentient (i.e. humans) never fully grasp our purpose, but, if we pay attention, we get some clues by midlife.) The Will is a combination of our Purpose and our Free Will. It is the path we choose to take to get to our destination, it is a unique path and nobody can follow it except us.

There are a few laws associated with the Will that you may have heard. The Wiccan Rede says "An it harm none, do as ye Will" it means (again arguably) follow your path to your purpose as you chose it, but don't hurt anyone on the way. In contrast, Aleister Crowley gave us: "Do as ye Will shall be the whole of the Law" "Love is the Law, Love under Will" That is, respect and love others, let love be your guide, but don't let that love interfere with your own Will. Fulfill your Will (your Purpose as guided by Free Will) at any cost, but allow others to fulfill their Will as well, through Love. Crowley believed that if everyone followed their own Will perfectly, we would never get in each others' way anyway.