Tenet of the Balanced Life.  Man is only a small part of the Ultimate Divinity contained in the universe, everything living and inanimate is part of the whole, and each partakes of, by varying degrees of the essence of the diverse creative force, from which it came from and to which it will return.  Until man be in harmony with the smallest portion of creation, how can he hope to aspire to a greater harmony in mind, body, and spirit and unite with the Divine Being, the Creative Force.  We can understand that anything which is out of balance itself cannot be in balance with the greater whole without some form of compensation.  Man can rarely assume an outside compensation force, it can only come from within himself!  Therefore man’s need for balance must be found within himself!  And in terms with his own life and all living things.  Health is very important with the tenet of the balanced life.  It is much easier to lead a balanced life if the mind and body are healthy.  Health is a harmonious state of being.  We have to consider all things that limit the body from functioning in the way it was designed.  Illness, uncleanness, improper nourishment, and physical abuse all create a state of imbalance in the body, the need to rush around fast paced to earn a living, complexity of city living, which our forefathers would have seen as a nightmare (especially the Norse).  All these produce tensions which build up and produce body illness caused by physical stress.

Imbalance in the mind which is then reflected in our imbalanced body, by physical illness.  Fears are preprogrammed from an early age, the classical remarks of parents, “Don’t talk to strangers,” promote fears in the child of their fellow man, but we know this to be necessary within today’s society.  The fears of the unknown enemy lurking near your door and man fears not only for himself but mostly for the people he loves.  All of this cause psychological stress and many seeking relief finds himself running from another.  Thus it becomes important to find religions where there is an acceptance that the body be allowed to function in as natural way as possible so to do all the things it was created to do.  So we have to strive to maintain a pleasant state of mind so that it cannot adversely affect the physical condition of the body.  To do this we must find means of reflecting all varied stress and tensions which we encounter.  This is a difficult task, but is one we have to force when we study the Wicca.  So to achieve this state of balanced life first we must remember again as the divinity created us, so everything else was created of her.

 Tenet of Harmony:

This is different from the tenet of the balanced life, for in the latter, man must seek to be in balance within himself in order that he may ultimately be in balance with the world around him.  It is the achievement of the second balance that is related to the Tenet of Harmony.  Man must aim to be in harmony with the whole of nature for it is well to remember that while man needs nature it is somewhat doubtful that nature needs man.

In the Tenet of Harmony, man must strive to find harmony with man.  Disillusionments from friends and relations have to be taken without hurt feelings, or the desire to strike back. This we seek as we go through life, understanding of the human element.

For many, the availability of harmony is part of a karma path, some achieve it early in life and others find it a long rocky road, full of trials and errors.  Sometimes people seem unreasonable, but generally if you are prepared to Meditate as well as think and truthfully assess the situation a solution can be found.  A harmonious one.
 Tenet of Trust:

Where there is love there should be trust....  If trust is absent there can never be love that is meaningful.  If there is a flaw in trust, the trial evaluation of love becomes suspect.  We do not see a paradise on earth with all men loving each other because, in each, spiritual development is necessary and all are on different levels.  So we must find ways to seek trust and it cannot be blind trust.

If a friend lets you down several times, there is no sense in blindly trusting him.  But you must assess the situation, did you offer him every opportunity to let you down?  Can you blame friends for being untrustworthy if you yourself did not fulfill the trust within yourself?  Many times trust is distorted and blame lies within us.  It is better if trust is on a mutual basis, both trusting each other, not blindly and not without observations of facts and conditions.  Trust can be as great an attainment as love and is actually much more realistic.

 Tenet of Tolerance:

Those of you who are conscious of the tenets can only find that this is a natural development from all that has gone before.  We learn to endure with patience people whose opinions are not like our own.  We may even have to listen to others speaking offensively about us, while we understand not how they can know so little and speak so articulately.  Those who are offensive to others have not found harmony within themselves or any harmony in the world.  This may be necessary for them to fulfill their karmic path in this life.

To speak offensively often leads to physical danger, sometimes physical suffering inflicted by others carries with it a hard lesson.  We, as witches, have plenty of opportunity to remain patient and indulgent rather than condemning others who think differently.  For all offensiveness we also have remedies that do not require the inflicting of physical hurt; it is because or our superior knowledge of magickal practices that we can afford to be very tolerant of, and even smile at offensiveness.

 Tenet of Humility:

Humility --- but not vanity --- for vanity is love of self to the point of worship of self.  Sometimes we are accused of being selfish in our religious attitudes because one of the first laws in training people in Wicca is to “Study Oneself” and understand oneself, to put this before anything else.  Yet we teach not selfishness but selflessness.

We do not put ourselves as judges of everyone around us, especially those who seem to be in the habit of falling into what is termed “evil ways.”  In all our tenets of the craft, the acceptance of reincarnation makes itself known; and that reincarnation makes sense of many things we do not seem to be able to understand.  When we hear of one who is “evil,” we know it is because he is a lower evolved spirit, and may be new to the physical plane, bringing with him his memories of his animal nature into the present.  We do not set ourselves as better than he.  There is also some humility in knowing that he could have been you many thousands of years back.  We do not interfere with the karmic path of this person by trying to reform him but by helping him find some harmony within himself and hopefully keeping himself from inflicting pain on those around him.

To despise or spurn a person who does not seem to be spiritually evolved is just as reprehensible as refusing to speak to a handicapped person.  Many social workers help the mentally retarded and physical handicapped, but there are few who look out for those whose spirit is in an alien world which they cannot understand.  To give help without making demands, judging him, must always be the concern of the witch, and those who follow the Wicca. For we see the imperfections of man and the knowledge comes that we are part of an imperfect species.  If that is not enough to reduce us to humility, I do not know what is.

 Tenet of Learning:

In every aspect of the craft we become conscious that, as we learn, more learning is necessary.  But learning is nothing unless it is used in practical everyday life.  I know many people that are excellent occultists and can quote chapter and verse with great accuracy, but who have never spent any time using their learning.  It is necessary to relate learning to whatever sphere of life the student is in.  Not all can learn at the same rate, or speed, or absorb knowledge at the same rate, or be able to use it at the same time.  That is why the way of Wicca is slow and personal.  This has helped to maintain the standards of the Craft ... and is a part of our tradition.