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For those of you who don't know me, I'm Michelle Belanger, founder of House
Kheperu (www.kheperu.org). I've been an active and influential member of the
vampire community since 1991. I'm the author of the Vampyre Codex (Sam Weiser
Press, Fall 2004) as well as the revisionist of the Black Veil, a list of guidelines
for behavior fundamental to the Sanguinarium. In addition, I'm a vocal advocate
and practitioner of ethical psychic vampirism.
DEFINITION OF ETHICS
Ethics deals with grey areas and touchy decisions like abortion, murder in
self-defense, and death with dignity. Although religious people and moralists
will attempt to define ethics in shades of black and white, a true ethicist
recognizes that we do not live in a black and white world. Sometimes the right
decision is crystal clear. Sometimes, as in your worksheet, it is very, very
hazy.
Basically, an ethical choice acknowledges the rights of the individual while
also acknowledging the rights of others as individuals. An ethical choice
may also be defined as "the greatest good" - a decision that allows
for the protection and well-being of all individuals involved - both the self
and others. A final way of looking at it is that ethics takes an ideal and
applies it as workably as possible to the hardly ideal real world.
POPULAR OPINION
Now, it's been my experience that a lot of Pagans, Wiccans, and Otherkin
have serious issues with psychic vampirism. In general, most non-vampires
consider any exercise of vampiric abilities to be inherently wrong. However,
if someone is a true psychic vampire, taking energy is not a choice. It's
part of who and what they are. To simply condemn the practice of psychic vampirism
out of hand is to show utter disregard for the problems psychic vampires wrestle
with every day of their lives. This sort of shortsighted condemnation is akin
to demanding that a homosexual just choose not to be gay.
Before I jump into the different ethical approaches to psi-vampirism, let's
briefly discuss what psi-vampirism actually is. A lot of you probably know
this material already, so bear with me if I'm covering familiar ground.
DEFINING VAMPIRISM
Anyone can take energy. In fact, everyone actually does. Each and every person
in this room at this very moment is engaged in a complex interchange with
the energy of the environment around them. This includes the energy of the
people around them - with my energy, with your energy, with your energy and
with yours. This is an intricate dance of give and take that is influenced
by mood, attentiveness, physical and mental health, physical proximity, emotional
connection and a variety of other factors.
Taking energy is a perfectly natural process. The ratio of give and take
varies from person to person, but in most cases, it evens out to a balance.
The distinction for psychic vampires is that they have a need to consistently
take more than they give. I would also specify that true psychic vampires
need to take primarily human, vital energy (where human loosely applies to
all of us running around on two legs.)
A need to take in large quantities of energy can arise from physical or subtle
illness, imbalance, or damage - however, this is not true vampirism, as the
conditions are temporary and the heightened intake of energy will cease once
the underlying problem has been resolved. True psychic vampirism is inborn,
and it is frequently carried across incarnations.
A psychic vampire's need typically arises from a difficulty in energetic
metabolism, digestion, or connectedness, all of which are strongly determined
by soul origin. Souls that have come from a reality outside of this one may
not be compatible with the natural energies of this place. They may also operate
at a much higher frequency than is typical to this place, thus accounting
for higher energetic "metabolisms". Furthermore, foreign souls often
lack the connection to the Source that sustains souls that are native to this
place. This is why you will very frequently see a high concentration of psi-vamps
who are also Otherkin. Illness, damage to the subtle body, or intentional
alterations can also cause psychic vampirism. Of these last three, illness
and subtle body damage are generally only temporary, though the subtle body
often heals in terms of lifetimes, not just years.
RIGHT AND WRONG
So now let's address ethics. If each and every one of us naturally takes
energy at some point in our existence, when is it actually wrong?
I've divided attitudes and applications of psychic vampirism up into five
main areas that fit upon an ethics continuum. We have Darwinian Vampirism,
Robin Hood Vampirism, Pragmatic Vampirism, Sustainable Vampirism, and Vegetarian
Vampirism. Let's take a brief look at each.
DARWINIAN VAMPIRISM
Adherents of Darwinian Vampirism hold that taking energy is a right. This
is pure survival of the fittest. Darwinian Vampires do not ask for energy
- they simply take it because they can. This can include individuals who take
energy out of legitimate need as well as those magickal workers who have learned
techniques for the taking of energy.
Question
All right. If an ethical choice acknowledges the rights of the individual
while also acknowledging the rights of others as individuals, then what
can be said of the ethics of Darwinian Vampirism?
Answer
This is the least ethical attitude on vampirism. These are the people who
attack you at clubs and other public places without provocation, and they
are the very visible minority that gives the rest of us a bad name. I do
not endorse Darwinian Vampirism, and in fact, I have devoted many years
to combating this attitude within the community.
ROBIN HOOD VAMPIRISM
The next approach to psychic vampirism is Robin Hood Vampirism. Here you
rob from the rich to sustain the poor. Robin Hood vampires don't take from
just anyone. They target people who have an abundance of energy, justifying
this through the notion that these people have "more than enough"
and won't really miss it in the long run.
Question
Weighing the good of the individual against the good of others to find the
balance of the "greatest good", what do you think of the ethics
of Robin Hood Vampirism?
Answer
Otherkin and other high-energy Awakened are frequently targeted by Robin
Hood vampires. But this is hardly justification to "steal" from
you, as you are no more responsible for your energy largesse than a psychic
vampire is responsible for their need. While "theft" from those
with an abundance of energy can be justified in truly extreme circumstances,
such circumstances are in fact rare and typically this approach is just
an excuse to victimize others.
PRAGMATIC VAMPIRISM
Next up is Pragmatic Vampirism. This is all about grey areas. The basic goal
of a Pragmatic Vampire is to feed only from willing and capable donors. However,
the Pragmatist acknowledges that some circumstances give a vampire no other
choice but to feed from someone without their permission or suffer terribly
him or herself. Self-sacrifice is balanced against infringement upon others.
Question
Again, if an ethical choice acknowledges the rights of the individual while
also acknowledging the rights of others as individuals, what can be said
of the ethics of Pragmatic Vampirism?
Answer
When a Pragmatic vampire has no source outside of unwilling targets, they
engage in a weighing of needs. The Pragmatist will consider the potential
discomfort of the target, their likely recovery time, as well as the invasion
of privacy constituted by psychic attack. Next, the Pragmatist considers
his own discomfort and potential loss of well-being if no energy is forthcoming.
Further factors include the danger the psi-vamp places himself in as well
as those around him if his need deepens, as well as the likelihood that
an opportunity for consensual feeding will present itself within a certain
window of time.
All these considerations are weighed against each other, and the ultimate
decision differs from case to case based on the balance of needs.
SUSTAINABLE VAMPIRISM
After the Pragmatist comes the adherent of Sustainable Vampirism. Sustainable
Vampires make the "noble sacrifice" of enduring hunger and privation
in order to protect others from their needs. Practitioners of Sustainable
Vampirism will feed only upon consenting donors even though these are rare
and hard to come by. When donors are not available, Sustainable Vampires will
limit themselves to ambient feeding, a technique which draws in the loose,
free-floating energy given off by crowds. This energy is plentiful but not
very sustaining, and over a long period of time, it fails to support anything
more than minimal functionality.
Question
Given that ethics seeks to find the greatest good for both the self and
all others involved in a situation, what can be said about Sustainable Vampirism?
Answer
There are two main problems with Sustainable Vampirism. One, consenting
donors are very rare. This leaves most Sustainable psi-vamps to feed only
upon ambient energy. This is the second problem. While ambient energy will
suffice for basic survival, this comes at a high cost of mental, spiritual,
and physical well-being and functionality. This means the follower of Sustainable
Vampirism protects the rights of others at costly sacrifices to themselves.
VEGETARIAN VAMPIRISM (also, The Reluctant Vampire)
This is the complete ideological opposite of Darwinian Vampirism. In this
schema, taking energy is seen as being fundamentally wrong. The Vegetarian
Vampire will not take from sentient beings (a.k.a. sentients) - willing or
otherwise. Frequently, this includes ambient energy as it ultimately has its
source from sentients.
Question
Given that abstinence in psi-vamps eventually brings about very real, and
sometimes debilitating, physical ills, what can be said of the Vegetarian
approach to vampirism in terms of the greatest good?
Answer
Vegetarian Vampires struggle against their nature and take the high road
of abstinence. The problem with this of course is that vampirism is a part
of some beings' natures, just as some animals are meant to be carnivores.
Vegetarian Vampires open themselves up to a host of physical, mental, and
spiritual problems. It is not uncommon for a vampire who abstains entirely
from feeding to be hospitalized for these problems. While an abstaining
vampire will probably not die from lack of energy, they most certainly compromise
the quality of their life.
FURTHER CONSIDERATION
If you are still of the opinion that a psychic vampire should "do the
right thing" and sacrifice their needs for the protection of others,
there is another consideration that must be added to the equation. As mentioned
before, in true psychic vampires, a need for energy is inherent and their
ability to take energy can be exercised whether they are conscious of this
or not. If a psychic vampire does not consciously feed, then at some point
when their need becomes great enough, survival instincts will kick in.
What does this mean? This means that whether they intend to or not, a psychic
vampire who is in deep need will suck in energy indiscriminately from their
environment. Anyone they come into contact with will be fair game, and since
there is no conscious exercising of this intake, there is also no conscious
control. Starving psychic vampires will unintentionally dream-walk to others,
especially those they have a significant emotional, mental, or energetic connection
to, and they will also pull energy down through any connections or links they
have to others.
Essentially, a starving psychic vampire becomes an energetic black hole,
and as nature abhors a vacuum, any person the vampire has contact with will
have energy taken away in order to fill this.
Thus, as noble as they might sound, Sustainable Vampirism and especially
the more severe Vegetarian Vampirism are actually shortsighted approaches
to ethical behavior. In the short term, they serve the "greatest good,"
but in the long term, this service falls apart. Control over a potentially
destructive habit is only worthwhile as long as it can be maintained, and
if a particular approach puts you in danger of losing control, then the ethics
of that approach are compromised.
CONCLUSION: THE MIDDLE PATH
As defined at the outset of this presentation, an ethical choice acknowledges
the rights of the individual while also acknowledging the rights of others
as individuals. Ethical behavior, then, is essentially a balance between selfishness
and selflessness that allows for the greatest benefit and protection of all
involved.
Through different periods of my life, I have tried all five of these approaches.
Darwinian and Robin Hood Vampirism trample the rights of others, while Vegetarian
and Sustainable Vampirism sacrifice the rights of the self. Although self-sacrifice
has long been forwarded by our culture as the most noble of ideals, when applied
to practical reality, it remains an ideal only. Self-sacrifice devalues the
worth of the self just as purely selfish behavior devalues the worth of others
as individuals. This leaves us with the Middle Path, that of the Pragmatist
Vampire, a path which I support and currently uphold.
This article is presented as part of an ongoing effort to present other views outside of, as well as within, the online vampire community. Those of us who consider ourselves vampiric don't always look at things from the same viewpoint due to our life experiences. As such, the views and opinions contained in this article are entirely those of the author(s), and may not necessarily be shared by SphynxCatVP. The webmaster is not under obligation to update or otherwise keep current the contents of this article. Most importantly, only you can decide for yourself whether this article or any of the author(s) other views are useful or applicable to you - you are responsible for using your own reasoning and judgement, so judge wisely.
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