Posit:
The laws of thermodynamics maintain that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Posit:
The Wiccan Law of Threefold Returns maintains that for every action, there is a reaction which is threefold greater in intensity.

Query:
How can the cosmos maintain any level of stability when (if even only applied to magical action) the Law of Threefold Returns overrides thermodynamics - with the result of every action being amplified by three?

Many - if not most - Wiccans and nonWiccan Witches accept the Law of Threefold Returns at its simple, face value. Some view Threefold as only a magical law; others find it to apply to "mundane" as well as magical work. There are debates as to whether Threefold represents judgement of deity or is simply a "law" of the cosmos. Whether it applies to all outcomes or only to intent. In relation to these three questions, I am of the following beliefs... Threefold applies to ALL actions (as a Universal Animist, I find the distinction between magical and mundane, or between sacred and profane, to be wholly artificial). Threefold is simply a description of a cosmic principle (as a Witch, I do not expect my Gods to judge me and meet out reward or punishment - I accept responsibility for my actions and the consequences, positive and negative, obtaining from them). Threefold applies to outcomes, whether intended or not (again, as a Witch I accept responsibility for ALL of my actions, not just the ones which flow to ends matching my intent). But what of the basic meaning of Threefold Returns?

In drastically simplified exposition, Threefold proposes that if I send out a dollar, I'll get back three dollars. Does this make any sense at all? How could any system based upon continued positive [sic amplifying] feedback (with no hint of negative [sic inhibiting] feedback) keep from spiraling out of control? For those unfamiliar with the terminology of positive and negative feedback... a real-life example. If you hold a microphone in front of a speaker with the volume of your stereo turned up, you hear feedback. It gets louder and louder. In a system which is not fused, the feedback cycle will build until the amplifier burns out. In my opinion, that's exactly what the face value Threefold Returns would cause in the cosmos at large.

So, if I accept Threefold Returns, but say it can't happen - what am I doing? It's simple - I'm using a contradiction in order to attempt a paragigm shift. I did NOT learn the threefold as a face value lesson. Instead, I learned it as follows:
The Law of Threefold Returns observes that for every action undertaken by a sentient being, that being receives three phases of feedback from the cosmos. First, a one for one return to the enactor of the energy expended - or action and reaction as stated in the Laws of Thermodynamics. Second, a one for one return via the effect upon the enactor's self perception which results from reflection upon the action undertaken. And third, one for one return upon the enactor via the effect of any action undertaken upon other's perception of the enactor.

Therefore, I accept that all actions bear threefold consequences; however, I differ in the extreme from the standard Wiccan codification of what Threefold Returns actually conveys.