The Rede of the Wica

 

The Wiccan rede is an important piece of Wiccan history. Often Witches and Pagans alike will dismiss this Rede without understanding it in it's full context. It is not a law that ALL Witches or Pagans must follow but rather as Gerald Gardner put it: "...they (the Wica) believe a certain law to be important."

There are many versions of the rede.

"Bide the Wiccan law ye must,
in perfect love and perfect trust;
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
'An ye harm none, do as ye will;'
Lest in self-defense it be,
ever mind the rule of three;
Follow this with mind and heart;
And merry ye meet and merry ye part."

It is commonly known as: "An it harm none, do as ye will." It was written by Doreen Valiente and captures the essence of Gardner's Rede of the Wica.

Do what you like so long as you harm no one

In "The Meaning of Witchcraft", Chapter VIII, 1959, Gerald Gardner writes:

"It is an old saying that 'The difference between orthodoxy and heterodoxy is that orthodoxy is my doxy and heterodoxy is someone else's doxy.'...'All pleasure is sin.' Nowadays most people modify that a little, saying “My pleasures are innocent, everybody else's pleasures are sin." Witches cannot sympathise with this mentality. They are inclined to the morality of the legendary Good King Pausol, “Do what you like so long as you harm no one ". But they believe a certain law to be important, “You must not use magic for anything which will cause harm to anyone..."

The Adventures of King Pausol

King Pausol was the literary creation of Pierre Louÿs. "The Adventures of King Pausol" (1901) The adventures take place in the fictional land of Trypheme. The kingdom of Trypheme has two simple codes:

I. Thou shalt not harm thy neighbor.

II. This being understood, do at thou wouldst.

Here we see the birth of the Wiccan Rede: "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." It places more importance on the harming none part.

An it harm NONE?

The statement is a moral rule in which to use as a guideline, if taken literely you are eventually going to break this rule. If used as a moral compass then it can keep you from taking actions that later you might regret. I, like many other Wiccans have broken this rule on purpose, at least once in our spell-crafting career, and I for one learned an important lesson when that spell back-fired. It is part of the growing process of becoming a crafter of magickal energy, no matter how hard one may try to word a spell. It is going to change something and send ripples into the astral and mental planes.

The top three spells a new Witch is mostly likely to cast are: A Curse spell, a love spell or a money spell. The first two have the highest potential for harming another and the third is likely to harm the caster.

The Law of Thelema

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. Love is the law, love under will. There is no law beyond do what thou wilt."

I have to admit I was under the misconception that the Wiccan Rede was adopted from Crowley's law of Thelema. It was not.

The law of Thelema (Will) places an emphasize on the 'true' will of the individual. The law of Thelema is often shortened to: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." Here will is not our intention but our destiny. To understand this law and what it means I have pulled this quote from Aleister Crowleys The Book of the Law:

"This means that each of us (like) stars is to move on our true orbit, as marked out by the nature of our position, the law of our growth, the impulse of our experiences. All events are equally lawful-and every one necessary, in the long run - for all of us, in theory; but in practice, only one act is lawful for each one of us at any given moment. Therefore Duty consists in determining to experience the right event from one moment of consciousness to another. Each action or motion is an act of 'Nuit'; each such act must be 'under will', chosen so as to fulfill and not to thwart the true nature of the being concerned. The technical methods of acheiving this are to be studied in Magick..."

Aleister Crowley, The Book of the Law (Liber Al Vel Legis). April 8-10 1904

When I read Crowley's book: The Book of the Law, Liber Al Vel Legis, and I came across the law of Thelema ("Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. Love is the law, love under will. There is no law beyond do what thou wilt." ) I felt it meant something deeper then what the words read. Indeed the whole thought does, it means that we all should live our true will, our true love and our true passion.

In conclusion

It is important to seperate Gerald Gardner's "Wiccan Rede" from the law of Thelema. As these are two seperate and living traditions, and they should not be muddled together. The greatest thing to be, is the full potential one is capable of..."An it harm none, do as ye will" or, if you prefer...

'Follow your bliss, and don't be an ass.'

Lailoken

The Rule of Three and The Three-fold Law

First off, why three? Why not the Rule of Two or The Four-fold Law?

Three is a common number in Celtic mythology. Symbolicly, three is the number of creativity, continuation and rebirth. Three can be seen as the child. One is the father, two is the mother and three is the child.

For a moment let us suspend the assumptions and countless opinions of this 'rule of three' or 'three-fold law' and exam where it originated and what the context is around this concept when it does appear.

In Gerald Gardner's Fictional Work: High Magics Aid, 1949. Chapter XVII pg.188

He writes:

"Then shee took the cords, and prompted him to bind her as she had been bound, then she spoke. "Learn, in Witchcraft, thou must ever return triple. As I scourged thee, so thou must scourge me, but triple, where I gave thee three strokes, give nine, where seven give twenty-one, where nine, give twenty-seven, where twenty-one, give sixty-three. (For this is the joke in Witchcraft, the Witch knows though the initiate does not, that she will get three times what she gave, so she does not strike hard.) Then she said; "Thou hast obeyed the law. But mark well when thou receivest good, so equally art bound to return good threefold.'"

I am going to break this down into two seperate concepts. The first is the "Rule of Three".

The Rule of Three

The first line: "Learn, in Witchcraft, thou must ever return triple." - Meaning that Witches learn to return three times what they have recieved. Or, to give more then they have recieved. You do not just return a favor, you return a greater favor or return it in excess.

This implies that what we recieve we should return triple. You recieve one and you return three.

The next concept is what I would call the "Three-fold Law"

The Three-fold Law

The last line: "Thou hast obeyed the law. But mark well when thou receivest good, so equally art bound to return good threefold'" - This reiterates what was already written earlier, but made solidified into a 'law'. What law? Well, the Law of Three-fold return.

This Three-fold law is meant to express that the Witch is to "mark well" when they "receivest good" they are "bound to return good threefold".

This 'three-fold' law has a specific stipulation of upon receipt of good. It has nothing to do with "curses" or "hexes".

In conclusion

As with many things in Wicca, through the years this "Rule of Three" and "Three-fold Law" have been corrupted into a nonsensical saying, and taken out of its proper context. Wica is a mystery religion, as such there is no orthodoxy or dogma. The initiate is to find meaning as the various 'layers' of mystery are revealed to them. Rather then being told what and how to believe, the initiate comes into their own understanding and belief. It is less of what the "Rule of Three" or "Three-fold Law" means, but rather what they mean to you.