The following personal manifesto was presented by Paul V. Beyerl to the 1987 Harvest Moon Celebration in Woodland Hills, California. It was in no way written to represent a set of laws to govern the behavior of others, but only as an open discussion of personal ethics to provoke thought and communication.

A WITCH’S PERSONAL MANIFESTO demands these things as a Witch:

– I must pursue my Highest Ideals
– I must strive to elevate my ethics
– I must be as good as my word
– I must demand integrity of myself
– I must be willing to suffer for my religion
– I must willingly embrace discipline
– I must develop financial responsibility and independence
– I must be able to pay my bills
– I must pay attention to my diet & intake of food
– I must LIVE the Hermetic Principle
– I must respect the astral
– I must approach ritual with great care
– I must see ritual work as a disciplined art form
– I must consider seriously the ramifications of reincarnation
– I must conserve fuels
– I must recycle whenever possible
– I must not litter, not even a cigarette butt
– I must avoid negative energy, even within my own thoughts
– I must avoid placing blame for any of the events in my life
– I must take responsibility for my ill health
– I must take myself seriously
– I must have humor
– I must live with my eyes open and my feet grounded

I demand these things of myself as a member of the Wiccan Community:

– I must support the work of making Wicca a respected religion
– I must expect financial accountability from those groups to which I donate
monies
– I must stop the mockery of other religions (including anti-Christian sentiment
sometimes found in modern Paganism)
– I must not support religious plagiarism (such as the teaching of shamanism by
those who have never experienced the wilderness nor studied from a real
shaman).
– I must be respectful of all other’s ritual forms
– I must separate myths and reality in our history and in our future
– I must work to contribute towards a reputable public image of Wicca
– I must protest against pagans who use shock tactics in dealing with the public
– I must upgrade standards of Wiccan education
– I must support serious research of our religious heritage
– I must demand quality in pagan literature, newsletters and books
– I must support the assembling of libraries
– I must not be a religious isolationist and I must work to remove pagan ghetto
mentalities from our communities
– I must demand provocative, challenging workshops over entertainment
– I must share my knowledge and skills
– I must make Initiations increasingly difficult, challenging and rewarding
– I must consider the amount of education other religions expect of their clergy
when planning Wiccan training
– I must be willing to network
– I must remain in contact with pagans in other places

I demand these things of myself as a Priest/ess:

– I must prepare for the deaths and burials of our peoples
– I must provide for the future of my consecrated tools beyond my physical death
– I must work towards the establishment of legal ministries
– I must provide for children and their education
– I must provide for the survival of my Tradition

I demand these things of myself as a Wiccan citizen:

– I must promote community service, being of help to all peoples regardless of
their beliefs
– I must be willing to be political
– I must be a knowledgeable, active voter
– I must respect and utilize the system
– I must find value in the political system in which I live or work actively to
promote change
– I must be aware of the world perspective
– I must extend myself to world poverty and hunger