The Wiccan Rede :
The Wiccan Rede comes in many shapes and sizes, from the long poetic
version to the short eight word version which is the one which I have
chosen to use here, it goes: An it harm none, do as thou wilt. This
eight word statement comes down to this: Harm None. It may sound easy, but
is indeed very debatable. Many people ask about how far reaching this
law actually is, and I will attempt to answer that here by comparing it
to the ten commandments of the Christian faith. The ten commandments go
as follows:
a.. Thou shall have no other gods before me
b.. Thou shall not take my name in vain
c.. Thou shall remember the Sabbat and keep it holy
d.. Thou shall honor thy father and mother
e.. Thou shall not kill
f.. Thou shall not commit adultery
g.. Thou shall not steal
h.. Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor
i.. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's house
j.. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, cattle or other
belongings.
The only commandments a Wiccan would not immediately discard would be
commandments 5-8, that is because the purpose of a religion, any
religion is to aspire to become a better person, and not to appease gods. I
say this because a person can be good without being religious. For this
reason commandments 1-3 would have no meaning to a Wiccan. The fourth
commandment says to honor your mother and father, well...Wiccans try to
honor all people, indeed all living things which deserve to be honored.
In other words, those people (young or old) and indeed all living
things which have earned our respect will undoubtedly receive out respect.
And lastly, commandments 9 and 10 are about wanting something that
belongs to somebody else. Wanting something that is not ours is not harmful,
but acting on it is, so it is okay to want things, but it is not okay
to take action to get them....Commandments 5-8 are about killing,
committing adultery and stealing etc. and all these things have a victim
attached at the other end, they would cause pain to somebody or something,
and thus they would be harmful. Therefore Wiccans would follow
commandments 5-8.
I firmly believe that The Wiccan Rede should always be obeyed. No
matter what the circumstances are, then Harm None. To give you an idea of
what I mean, I have written this little list of things to do:
a.. Never perform a spell on somebody without their permission, for
the simple reason that it would be manipulation of that persons life.
Even if the spell is positive, they might not like the affect that the
spell has on them.
b.. Follow the Three Fold Law, which states that everything you
send out, will come back to you three times stronger. This applies to
magic as well as what you do everyday, e.g.: if you are nice to somebody,
you will be rewarded with rich blessings in the future, BUT....if you
take revenge on somebody, you could wind up with a lot of major hassles
later.
c.. Try and see Divinity in all beings. It will be hard to notice
this in some people, but if you keep trying to see it, then you will
eventually see the God and Goddess in everybody.
d.. Trust your own instincts, listen to your own wisdom, and be a
good judge of what is right and wrong.
The 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief :
The stimulus for bringing witchcraft out of the closet and opening
its doors to a wider audience, was the passing of the Fraudulent Mediums
Act of 1951. The passing of this act gave the individual freedom to
practice so long as their activities harmed no one. Hence the Wiccan Rede.
And sticking to the subject of rules and regulations.... In April,
1974, the Council of American Witches adopted a set of Principles of Wiccan
Belief, which I personally follow, and therefore list here for all of
you to read, and also for those of you who would like to know a bit more
about the reasons why things are done the way they are. Read them
carefully, and give yourself time to think about what they mean:
1.. We practice rites to attune ourselves with the rhythms of life
that are marked by the phases of the Moon, the seasonal Quarters and
Cross Quarters.
2.. We realize that our intelligence gives us a special
responsibility towards our environment. We strive to live in harmony with Nature,
to achieve a balance in the fulfillment of our lives.
3.. We acknowledge a power that is greater than that which is
apparent to the average person. This power is sometimes labeled
"supernatural", but we understand that it lies within that which is a natural
potential to all.
4.. We see the Creative Power as a manifestation of the masculine
and feminine, and that this same Power lies in all people, and functions
through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We do not value
one above the other, knowing that they are supportive to each other. We
value sex as pleasure, and the embodiment of life.
5.. We recognize both the outer worlds and the inner psychological
world, and realize that the interaction of the two is the basis of
magical exercises. We neglect neither of these, seeing both as a necessity
for our fulfillment.
6.. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but honor
those that teach, respect those that share knowledge and wisdom, and
acknowledge those who have the courage to lead.
7.. We see religion, wisdom and magic as being united, not only in
the way we view the world, but also in the way we live in it. This
philosophy of life is identified as "Witchcraft - the Wiccan Way".
8.. Giving oneself the title of "Witch", does not make you a Witch,
neither does heredity, nor the collection of titles, degrees or
initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within him/herself, thus
making it possible to live wisely and well, and in harmony with Nature, and
not harming others.
9.. We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life as a
continuation of evolution, as well as the development of consciousness
which gives a deeper meaning to the Universe that we know, and an
understanding of our personal role within it.
10.. Our only animosity towards Christianity, or any other religion
or philosophy of life, is to the extent that they claim to "be the only
way", and have thusly sought to deny the freedom of choice by
suppressing other ways of religious practice and systems of belief.
11.. As Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history
and origins of the Craft, nor the legitimacy of the various aspects of
the traditions that surround Wicca. We are concerned with our present and
our future.
12.. We do not accept the idea of absolute evil, nor do we worship
the entity known as "Satan" or the "Devil", as defined by the Christian
Tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, and
therefore do not accept that personal benefit can be derived by denial to
another.
13.. We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is
contributory to our health and well-being.
The creed of Wicca is based on a reverence for the natural world, and
the worship of a God and Goddess as principles which exist in all of
nature, rather than as actual beings that exist in an ethereal realm.
Wicca is primarily a lunar orientated religion, in which eight seasonal
festivals, Sabbats, are celebrated. Wiccans also make use of ritual
tools, which include a sacred knife (athame), and a chalice. There is also
placed a lot of emphasis on psychic training and the exploration of ones
spiritual abilities (path working).
The 7 Solitary Laws :
Here is a small list of laws that any solitary should aspire to
follow, and hopefully help you on you way to becoming a better Wiccan:
1.. Worship - Know your rituals and their dates, simply because the
God and Goddess are deserving of worship.
2.. Bloodshed - Always remember the Wiccan Rede, and abide by its
rules. There never made sacrifices of ritual animals.
3.. Avoidance of Harm - Most important law, also stated in the
Wiccan Rede. Don't cause harm unto others.
4.. Use of Magic - Magic must not be used for personal gain, and
also not to harm someone else. It is, however, permissible to use magic
to prevent others from causing harm.
5.. Conduct - You will not boast or threaten others, but treat them
with kindness and compassion. You will not gossip about other Wiccans,
and you will never interfere with the eachings of other Wiccans.
6.. Keeping the Law - The Law must be abided at all times. Never
allow it to be broken.
7.. Loving the God and Goddess - Remind yourself that you are not
alone and remember point no.1.
The 10 Golden Rules of Witchcraft :
1.. Know what you are talking about:
Nothing is sadder than talking to another witch or Wiccan whose
only opinions come from misconceptions. If you call yourself pagan to
shock others, you are just wasting the time of others. Learn all you can,
because knowledge is your best weapon.
2.. Be honest if there is something you do not know:
Most people have different areas of expertise and indeed
experience, even somebody you consider to be stupid could know something you do
not. You would do good to acknowledge this.
3.. Be consistent:
Try to progress in a linear fashion with regards to learning about
witchcraft, because jumping around from one subject to another will
only confuse you and everybody else.
4.. Be willing to answer questions:
Being a follower of the Wiccan religion is bound to activate some
alarm bells from people. If such situations arise which call upon you to
answer questions in regards to your faith, then be prepared to answer
them in a polite way to the best of your abilities. Doing this will only
make others admire your honesty, and openness.
5.. Do not be offended by stupid questions:
Like I said in number 4, some people will have strange ideas about
what they perceive Wicca and witchcraft to be. Just remember that no
questions are stupid, and be glad that there are people who are curious
enough to ask. You can use this as a teaching experience, and at the
same time you will be affirming the reasons why you are Wiccan in the
first place.
6.. Remember to have a sense of humor:
This is good advice at any given time. Being able to take a joke,
is sometimes a good way of opening up a conversation between yourself
and others.
7.. Know something about Christianity and the bible:
If you have this in your back pocket, you are better off than most,
because you will be able to back up what you are rejecting by reciting
a scripture or two. And like number 5 it will help you to understand
them as well as yourself.
8.. Be willing to politely stand up for yourself:
You don't have to start a fight, to get others to understand you,
But if somebody is purposefully being mean, there is nothing in the Rede
that says you cannot tell them to knock it off.
9.. Be true to yourself:
People will always respond better to you if you are yourself, most
people can spot a falsie. Just remember that while you might be able to
hide from others, you will never be able to hide from yourself.
10.. If you talk the talk, you will have to walk the walk:
It does not help if you carry on about Mother Earth, and then
litter all over her. It also will not help you to rant about religions
intolerance, if you show no respect for other religions. Being a hypocrite
is always ugly.
