The Ethics of Love Spells

I'm not a witch, nor do I play one on TV. Before sharing my opinion on the ethics of love spells, I thought it prudent to make this point. It's quite likely that my views on love spells will be different from someone who practices magic. They may also differ from someone who has asked for a love spell to be cast. This is to be expected, as opinions are formed by each persons lifetime of unique experiences. Based on my personal experiences, I don't believe most love spells are ethical.

I spent many years of my early life yearning to be loved. I fervently wanted a white knight to swoop me off my feet and carry me off to love-land. I held the mistaken belief that if a man were to love me, then I would therefore BE lovable. If I had taken up witchcraft and cast a love spell, or found someone to do it for me, I would never have come to a most important life revelation.

This is, of course, the revelation that no one can really, truly love us until we discover that unconditional love for ourselves. We need this self-love to be present in our own hearts first and foremost. Without it, every relationship is a farce. Ethics aside, I daresay it would feel terribly unfulfilling to be loved by someone simply because a love spell made them do it. If you didn't come by the love honestly and naturally, wouldn't you still feel unworthy of their love? Of course you would!

Now, all this assumes that love spells really do work, and that you really can "make" another human being fall in love with you by casting a spell. As I said, I have no experience with love spells so I really couldn't say. For the sake of argument, let's presume that love spells do work. Are they a morally acceptable way to find love? Should someone cast a spell for a mate?

I believe the answers are both no. It's never ethical to take away another human being's free will, and a love spell does exactly that. A love spell is a form of coercion, and it's especially harmful because the person usually has no idea they're being coerced. How do you supposed your beloved would feel, upon discovering they were manipulated into loving you? I doubt they'd like you very much after that. Wouldn't it be far better to allow them to decide for themselves whether they loved you, rather than having false feelings as a result of a love spell?

Nevertheless, there is one type of love spell that I believe could fall under the realm of ethical. This would be a love spell that's done with the intent to make you feel more attractive, outgoing or self-confident, much like a great new 'do or wardrobe might. Think of it as a mini makeover for the psyche. This love spell bolsters up the positive feelings you already possess rather than falsely creating them in others. When you feel good about you, others are naturally attracted to that positive vibration. And THAT'S the way it was meant to be!