The Wiccan Rede

One of the most frequently quoted “ laws of Wicca, ” a variation of the Wiccan Rede appeared in the writings of Gerald Gardner, and is still used by many charming practitioners nowadays .

Did You Know?

• The Wiccan Rede is merely a guideline; there is no universal set of rules or ethical standards for today’s Pagans, so not all Pagans follow the Wiccan Rede. 
• An early version of the Rede was made famous by Doreen Valiente in the early 1960s.
• In the 1970s, Lady Gwen Thompson published her version of the Rede in the Green Egg, a Pagan magazine; she credited her grandmother, Adriana Porter, with the original work. 

A similar rule, or guidepost, can be found in the work of Aleister Crowley around the turn of the hundred, in which he advised his readers, “ Do what thou wilt shall be the wholly of the Law. Love is the Law, love under Will. ” Crowley admitted he was influenced by a much older text, St. Augustine ’ s Homilies on the First Epistle of St. John.

One adaptation of the Wiccan Rede was made celebrated by Doreen Valiente in the early 1960s, and in 1974 a lengthier interpretation, by Lady Gwen Thompson, was published in the Green Egg, a Pagan cartridge holder. Thompson credited her grandma, Adriana Porter, with the original work. Although there is no scholarly testify for this claim, the work remains one of the most popular writings in Wicca today .

It ‘s authoritative to acknowledge, in any discussion about the Rede that this is simply a guidepost. There is no cosmopolitan specify of rules or ethical standards for today ‘s Pagans, so it is unreasonable to assume that every Pagan you meet is going to follow the Wiccan Rede. After all, not all Pagans are Wiccans, and among even those who are wiccan, there is a commodity deal of board for interpretation. Although most heathen belief systems do have some sort of rules, there is a significant amount of discrepancy from one path to the other .

sable Aradia, at Patheos, has a fantastic article on the Rede and its many interpretations. She says ,

“I would argue that “doing no harm, ever” is simply not possible in a belief system that accepts death as a part of life. Have you ever eaten a steak? That cow died and you ate it. How about a celery stick (for all you vegans out there?) Yep, dead celery too. Have you ever been faced with a moral dilemma? [There are] a few small, everyday issues you might have been faced with that will require you to cause some harm somewhere, no matter what you choose.”

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dame Gwen Thompson ‘s adaptation of the Wiccan Rede reads as follows :

The Rede of the Wiccae

Being known as the advocate of the Wise Ones :
Bide the Wiccan laws ye must,
in perfect sleep together and perfect faith.
exist and let live, reasonably take and reasonably give.
Cast the Circle thrice about
to keep the evil spirits out .

To bind the while every time,
let the go be spake in verse.
Soft of eye and unhorse of tint,
speak fiddling, heed much.
Deosil go by the wax Moon,
sing and dance the Wiccan rune.
Widdershins go when the moonlight doth decline,
and the Werewolf howl by the fear Wolfsbane .

When the Lady ‘s Moon is newfangled,
kiss thy hand to Her times two.
When the Moon rides at Her bill
then your heart ‘s desire seek.
Heed the Northwind ‘s mighty gale ;
lock the door and drop the sweep.

When the wind comes from the South,
love will kiss thee on the mouth.
When the scent blows from the East,
expect the new and set the fete.
When the West wind blows o’er thee,
departed spirits restless be .

Nine woods in the Cauldron go,
burn them quick a ‘ burn them slow.
Elder be ye Lady ‘s 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 at Yule,
light the log and let Pan rule .

Heed ye flower bush and corner,
by the Lady Bless ‘d Be.
Where the ripple waters go
cast a stone and accuracy ye ‘ll know.
When find that ye have need,
hearken not to others ‘ greed.
With the fritter no season spend
or be counted as his supporter .

Merry suffer and merry separate,
bright the cheek and warm the affection.
Mind the Threefold Law ye should,
three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow,
wear the Blue Star on thy hilltop.
True in sexual love ever be
unless thy fan ‘s assumed to thee.
Eight words ye wiccan Rede carry through :
An ‘ it harm none, do what ye will .

Jason Mankey at Raise the Horns/Patheos says ,

There are parts of Thompson’s Rede which might be genuinely old. In The Rede of the Wiccae authors Robert Mathiesen and Theitic dissect every line of the long Rede and come up with some startling conclusions. Several of the rhymed couplets appear in other places, most notably in several collections of 19th Century Folklore. Even more amazingly there are several instances where the archaic language used in parts of the Rede actually follows old English grammar rules. What this suggests… is that Thompson’s version of the Rede had two different authors, perhaps both Porter and Thompson herself.

source : https://gametracker.one
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