The Origin of Karma and Why Intentions Matter

Let’s talk about Karma. 

Recently I’ve seen a few advertisements for ‘moon boxes’ (aka witchy subscriptions), and one of them in particular really gets me. Without getting into the play by play of a commercial, it’s this person with white sage, smoke cleansing their upper half and it says “Cleaning My Karma”.

It makes me laugh and mad AF every time I see it. 

As if Karma is some window or a table top that can just be dusted off. 

It’s honestly disrespectful to the cultures from where the concept of Karma originates. It’s colonialist thinking. In a way, it’s cultural appropriation. Using peoples vague ideas of Karma to sell rocks. And nobody wants to keep perpetuating that.

So how do we engage with the concept of Karma in a way that is respectful of the cultures that created it? The same way we do everything else that has been appropriated. While we cannot turn back the hands of time, we cannot reverse the fact that these ways have been taken…  If we’re going to use it, we at the very least learn what it actually is, does, where it comes from and what it means to the people who created it. We Credit those People and show respect for the Creation. 

To know the origin of Karma, one must look to Bharat (India) and to the most ancient and revered Hindu sacred texts, The Vedas.

 The word “Karma” comes from the Sanskrit term Karman, meaning “to Act”, however in the very beginning, the word largely only referred to the performance of rituals ( aka “acts”). 

The first documented explanation of our ‘modern’ understanding of Karma comes from the great Vedic theologian  Yajnavalkya, who put weight to the acts. 

Yajnavalkya said  “According as one acts, according as one behaves, so does one become. The doer of good becomes good, the doer of evil becomes evil.” 

He also explains the process of Karma and rebirth, but that’s for another article. (If you’re interested in knowing more, begin your search with USHASTA-BRAHMANA veda).

This is the point where things get a little fuzzy, as there are two main schools of thought today. One, the ‘original’ idea is that Yajnavalkya means what one does in this life will help shape and define their next life. Which is in line with the teachings of the Vedas, and what Yajnavalkya actually said.

The other idea people have is that what one does in this life will help shape and define their current life. Which more intensely encourages moralism and ‘right action’. Simply put, if you knew you could steal a multimillion dollar winning lottery ticket without getting caught in this life, would you do it even with the understanding that you’ll have to pay for it in your next life? Would you be more or less inclined to do it if you know you’ll have to pay for it in this current life?

There are of course those who believe that Karma is overreaching, and that both of these conditions apply. Many believe that Karma can affect both this and your next life. As a result, they often believe that one must act right in this life to both limit their ‘bad’ Karma in this AND their next creation. 

Whatever thoughts one might have on this are to be each our own, and are for each of us to act in accordance to. In short, do you. 

However, with morality always comes circumstance, and I feel that’s really the fulcrum to an often touched question in the witchcraft/metaphysical communities, and that is “Will this give me bad karma?”

In my opinion, Karma is reliant upon circumstance and intention. 

It’s a very easy statement to say “You can’t curse anybody or you’ll get bad karma.” It’s a solid rule that feels comforting for some.  Through the last 40 years of Wiccan and Pagan tomes I’ve rifled through, most all of these resources make these kinds of statements. 

(Honestly, from an advanced practitioners perspective, excluding the Wiccans as “no harm” is a fundamental tenant of their practice, these warnings are really intended to help keep new and questioning witches safe because we know new practitioners have a habit of just jumping into things, especially without doing protections first and black magicks seem like a quick and efficient means to an end. Easier to use a blanket statement than try to explain nuance.)

Now, let me give a scenario to elucidate my point about intention, so perhaps we can come to a deeper understanding of Karma and ourselves. We’re going to explore the definitions of Good and Evil.

A boy wanders through a market. He sees a beautiful apple on a table at a  stand that you own. You turn your back to greet a customer, and the boy steals the apple and another. As you turn back, you see him take a bite out of one as he runs away around the corner. 

What do you do?

Will you act against him, to catch him and have him punished or let it go, citing that it’s his karma?

At first one might be inclined to go grab him. After all, he’s just a boy and he’s stolen a thing from you. In fact, because he bit into it, he’s ruined it. It’s like he’s stolen from you with no way to recoup the loss. But say you do chase him down, and someone comes to arrest him, lock him up, or hurt his hand for stealing… some would say ‘serves him right. Do the crime, serve the time’ and with no background, most would say certainly that theft is a ‘bad’ act and would generate ‘bad’ karma. 

BUT! What if the boy was starving and he was bringing the apple to his little sister who was hiding just around the corner and also starving? What if, unbeknownst to you,their parents have abandoned them, they live on the streets, they’re both too little to work, too hungry to go without another day?

Does the boy incur bad karma for stealing to feed his sister in this case?

Do you incur ‘good karma’ for having him punished because he did something ‘bad’ and you’re ensuring the order of things? Do you incur bad karma for addressing the crime and having the boy punished even though you didn’t know about their situation?

It’s a matter of circumstances and intentions, isn’t it?

This is an understanding that is paramount to assessing karmic impact. For those of you who do wish to work ‘black magick’(curses, hexes and such) you have to be objectively honest with yourself to understand the karmic potential involved. I think this is one of the hardest parts for new practitioners. Ego is real, and it can interfere and shade every situation to suit its needs. 

“I’m going to curse her because everyone hates her and so that’s like helping everybody else”

“I’m going to curse them because my boyfriend cheated on me with them and it’s their fault”

“I’m going to curse them because I know they cursed me and so that’s only fair”

Karma will certainly come to you negatively for these acts because the intentions are bad.

 If your intention is to create a balance, correct a situation, protect someone (including yourself) though, it is my opinion that those situations do not have to automatically offer ‘bad’ karma. It’s admittedly a  very, very slippery slope. And one that takes an honest heart to navigate because you’ve got to be aligned with your higher power and real AF with yourself about your truthful intentions, lest your work come back to bite you, here or in the next life.

 To quote Scott Cunningham in the 13 Goals of a Witch

~ “ First, Know Thyself.” ~

I hope this helps to create some clarity and give some background to this concept of Karma. Many thanks to Patanjali for writing the Yoga Sutras, in which I first learned of Yajnavalkya and the inner workings of Karma. Thanks to Yajnavalkya for explaining these concepts, gratitude to the country of Bharat for sharing their beautiful culture and bringing Hinduism to the world and special thanks to Veda Vyasa and Lord Ganesha for working together to write the Vedas.