The Wiccan Rede

&

The Rule of Three's

The Wiccan Rede (pronounced "reed") is a saying that was formulated to sum up the ethics of the neo-Pagan religion Wicca. The most common form of the rede is An it harm none, do what ye will. "Rede" is a word from Middle English meaning "advice" or "counsel", cognate to the German Rat or Swedish råd. "An" is an archaic contraction of the word "and," meaning "if," as in the Shakespearean "an it please thee." Other variants include: An it harm none, do as thou wilt Do what you will, so long as it harms none An it harm none, do what thou wilt That it harm none, do as thou wilt Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, An it harm none do what ye will.[1] The combination of Wicca with no harm to others and do what thou wilt made its first known appearance in The Old Laws by Gerald Gardner, 1953. A similar phrase, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law, appears in Aleister Crowley's works by 1904, in The Book of the Law (though as used by Crowley it is half of a statement and response, the response being "Love is the Law, love under Will"). The rede in its best known form was used by Doreen Valiente in several writings. In the form of the "eight words" couplet it was first recorded in a speech she delivered in 1964. In 1974 a complete poem entitled "The Wiccan Rede" was published in the neo-Pagan magazine Earth Religion News. It was shortly followed by another, slightly different, version, entitled the "Rede Of The Wiccae," which was published in Green Egg magazine by Lady Gwen Thompson. She ascribed it to her grandmother Adriana Porter, and claimed that the earlier published text was distorted from "its original form." The full poem as published by Thompson is as follows:

Rede Of The Wiccae

Being known as the counsel of the Wise Ones:

Bide the Wiccan Laws ye must, In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.
Live, an let live - Fairly take an, fairly give.
Cast the Circle thrice about, To keep all evil spirits out.
To bind the spell every time - Let the spell be spake in rhyme.
Soft of eye an light of touch - Speak little, listen much.
Deosil go by the waxing Moon - Sing and dance the Wiccan rune.
Widdershins go when the Moon doth wane, An the Werewolf howls by the dread Wolfsbane.
When the Ladys Moon is new, Kiss thy hand to Her times two.
When the Moon rides at Her peak, Then your hearts desire seek.
Heed the Northwinds mighty gale - Lock the door and drop the sail.
When the wind comes from the South, Love will kiss thee on the mouth.
When the wind blows from the East, Expect the new and set the feast.
When the West wind blows oer thee, Departed spirits restless be.
Nine woods in the Cauldron go - Burn them quick an burn them slow.
Elder be ye Ladys tree - Burn it not or cursed ye'll be.
When the Wheel begins to turn - Let the Beltane fires burn.
When the Wheel has turned a Yule, Light the Log an let Pan rule.
Heed ye flower bush an tree - By the Lady Blessed Be.
Where the rippling waters go, Cast a stone an truth ye'll know.
When ye have need, Hearken not to others greed.
With the fool no season spend Or be counted as his friend.
Merry meet an merry part - Bright the cheeks an warm the heart.
Mind the Threefold Law ye should - Three times bad an three times good.
When misfortune is enow, Wear the Blue Star on thy brow.
True in love ever be, Unless thy lovers false to thee.
Eight words ye Wiccan Rede fulfill,
An it harm none, Do what ye will.

The poem has since been very widely circulated and has appeared in other versions, with additional or variant passages. Interpretations of the Rede The Rede is seen by both Wiccans and outside observers as very similar to the Golden Rule, a belief that is found in nearly every religion. While the Golden Rule forbids harm subjectively, the Wiccan Rede does not forbid anything. There is some debate in the neo-Pagan and Wiccan communities as to the meaning of the rede. The debate centers on the concept of the rede being advice (from the meaning of rede) not a commandment, as well as the fact that actions which do harm are not discussed in the rede. An expansion on this theme can be found in Wiccan Ethics and the Wiccan Rede by David Piper. The concept of ethical reciprocity is not explicitly stated, but most Wiccans interpret the Rede to imply the Golden Rule in the belief that the spirit of the Rede is to actively do good for one's fellow humans as well as oneself. Different sects of Wiccans read "none" differently: some include the self, others include animals or plants, and so forth. In the second part of the Wiccan Rede the word "wilt" is understood to mean "will". The meaning of "will" in this case is understood to mean one's true will as opposed to a want. This means that the rede can be fully understood as being that one should always follow your true will instead of trying to obtain simple wants and to ensure that in doing one's will you do not harm anyone or anything. The rede can be seen as encouraging a Wiccan to take personal responsibility for his or her actions. In addition to the concept of ethical reciprocity expressed by most versions of the Golden Rule, however, the Rede also expressly rejects the concept of sin outside of harm to oneself or to another. Some Wiccans interpret the Rede as meaning that causing harm by inaction is inconsistent with Wiccan belief. For instance, doing a spell to disable a rapist from continuing to abuse others, even though he may be harmed by the spell, can be interpreted as a legitimate observation of the Rede. Where greater harm is caused by inaction, then the Rede may be seen as encouraging responsible action to prevent it. It is this qualification that most distinguishes the Wiccan Rede from other versions of principle of non-harm. Others disagree, however, and believe that any harm done intentionally must be avoided. Sometimes the rede has a second line appended to it, clarifying the point: An it harm none, do as you will; an it cause harm, do as you must The rejection of specific exhortations and prohibitions of conduct such as those given in the Ten Commandments in Christianity makes its character somewhat different. The Rede is only a guideline which the individual must interpret to fit each particular situation. Interestingly, the ethics espoused in the Rede have gained quite a bit of modern currency among anarchists and some libertarians, and have become widely used in debates over, e.g. drug legalization and euthanasia. Also interesting, is that similar statements have been derived by Christian theologians as a logical outcome of "Love thy Brother" and the foundation of most of the Ten Commandments (e.g., common sense construes stealing and murder as harm). It must be noted, however, that not all traditional Wiccans follow the Rede itself; some Gardnerians in particular espouse the Charge of the Goddess as a guide for morality. Its line "Keep pure your highest ideal, strive ever towards it; let naught stop you or turn you aside, for mine is the secret door which opens upon the door of youth" is used as a maxim for ethical dilemmas.

The Law of Threes

Witches have a very strict belief in the Law of Three which states that whatever we send out into our world shall return to us three fold either good or bane. With this in mind, a "True Witch" would hesitate in doing magick to harm or manipulate another because that boomerang we throw will eventually come back to us much larger and harder then when we threw it. Many Wiccans also promote the Law of Threefold Return, or the idea that anything that one does may be returned to them threefold. In other words, good deeds are magnified back to the doer, but so are ill deeds. The Threefold Law is sometimes stated like this:

 Ever Mind The Rule Of Three
Three Times Your Acts Return To Thee.
This Lesson Well, Thou Must Learn,
Thou Only Gets What Thee Dost Earn.

 Gerina Dunwich, an American author whose books (particularly Wicca Craft) were instrumental in the increase in popularity of Wicca in the late 1980s and 1990s, disagrees with the Wiccan concept of threefold return on the grounds that it is inconsistent with the laws of physics. Pointing out that the origin of the Law of Threefold Return is traceable to Raymond Buckland in the 20th century, Dunwich is of the opinion that "There is little backing to support it as anything other than a psychological law." Her own personal belief, which differs from the usual interpretation of the Threefold Law, is that whatever we do on a physical, mental, or spiritual level will sooner or later affect us, in either a positive or negative way, on all three levels of being. 161 Laws A few Wiccans also follow, or at least consider, a set of 161 Laws often referred to as Lady Sheba's Laws. They are based in large part on Gerald Gardner's Old Laws, which he attributed to his New Forest coven and first came to light in 1957. Some Wiccans find these rules to be outdated and counterproductive. One Wiccan comments, "I find much of this document, regardless of origins, to be outdated and unnecessary. It is at points sexist and ageist, and it is saturated with the paranoia associated with the myth of the Burning Times.

" Eight Wiccan Virtues"

Most Wiccans also seek to cultivate the Eight Wiccan Virtues. These may have been derived from earlier Virtue ethics, but were first formulated by Doreen Valiente in the Charge of the Goddess. They are Mirth, Reverence, Honour, Humility, Strength, Beauty, Power, and Compassion. They are in paired opposites which are perceived as balancing each other.