General Guidelines

There is only one rule in the Craft as far as codes of conduct, and that's not to harm anyone. Simple right? Maybe at the initial glance, but think about it.
Can you fight a war? Can you eat meat? This rule is also for your daily life. What's cool about the Craft is that one is encouraged to follow one's heart. There are many brave soldiers who are Witches, as there are many Witches who will gladly finish your burger for you. (Actually that sounds good right now...) You choose how to apply this rule, but be persistent. The heart is inflexible in matters of guilt and shame. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. By the way, there's also no point in lying to yourself about how you feel. You are only judged by yourself. There's no clergyman to tell you that you are a bad person or that you must be forgiven. There's no reason for forgiveness. Mistakes are essential to learning and the universe is fully aware of this. In the Craft, there's no threat of eternal punishment and no bribe of impending eternal reward. However, ones actions will always find them out in the end, and the thing one must really fear is stepping upon the left-hand path. Never use any magic to harm, because once you do, you are cursed. There's no use whining about it afterwards-unless you are looking in a mirror- because you cast the spell, no one else. Always keep this in mind, no matter what you are doing, and you will never need to worry about the spook stories people always told you about "well one time I dabbled in witchcraft and i got cursed" kind of stuff. That only happens when a Witch attempts to strip any entity of its free will. Always be very respectful of any being you meet, whether it has a body or not.
Some good rules of thumb are listed below:

• don't talk about the spell after it is cast
• only practice magic in the presence of people who accept it, never around those who would attempt to divert you
• don't show off, it won't work anyway (the fates love playing such games with those proud enough to brag- besides anyone could do the same thing if they so wished)
• keep your tools and journals and such things out of the public eye and in a secure location (e.i. don't take your spell books to the book club you just joined-unless of course, that book club happens to be pagan based, then show them the book and have them call me)
• no love spells (more on this later)
• don't attempt to bind anyone for the present moment, if you must be rid of them, banish.
• learn from everywhere, not just from books
• have enough humility to realize that right now you are a beginner and it would not be wise to pick fights with spirits or try to handle a force that's bigger than you, in other words, if you can put it back, don't take it out.)
• don't let anyone tell you you have to obey them, because you don't.

IF you follow these guidelines, then you will bypass many of the qualms that seem to plague beginner Witches. Just use your head and follow your heart and you will do fine.