THE WICCAN RULE OF BEHAVIOR

THE "WICCAN REDE"

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Overview:

The Wiccan Rede is the rule governing Wiccan behavior. It permits Wiccans to engage in any carefully considered action, as long as it harms nobody, including themselves. The Rede is reinforced by the Threefold Law. This is the belief that any harm or good that a Wiccan does to someone else comes back to hurt or benefit them -- magnified three times over. Both are mentioned in the Wiccan Credo, a poem about Wicca whose origin is unclear.

The Wiccan Credo:

The Wiccan Credo is a Wiccan poem. Some Wiccans believe that it was written circa 1910 CE by Adriana Porter. Others suggest that it was created during the very early years of Gardnerian Witchcraft, during the 1940s and 1950s. ₁ It includes the text of the main Wiccan rule of behavior, the Wiccan Rede, and a reference to the Threefold Law. 

The third last stanza refers to the Threefold Law. It states, in part:

"Mind the Threefold Law you should,
Three times bad and three times good."

The end of the Credo contains one version of the Wiccan Rede. It reads:

"Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
An' it harm none,
Do what ye will.
Blessed Be to thee."

The Wiccan Rede and Threefold Law:

"Rede" is derived from an Old English word "roedan" which means to guide or direct. ₁ One common version of the Rede is:

"An it harm none, do what thou wilt."

"An" and "wilt" are Old English words for "if" and "want to."

Alternative renderings of the Wiccan Rede are: 

The Rede states that a Wiccan is free to do what ever they want to, as long as it does not harm themselves or anyone else. Harm is normally considered to include manipulation, domination, attempts to control, physically injure, emotionally harm, or hurt another person or group in any way.

The Threefold Law (a.k.a. the Law of Return) adds a reward for those who follow the Wiccan Rede, and a punishment for those who violate it. The law states that:

The Rede and Law obviously prevent a Witch/Wiccan from doing harm to themselves or to others, taking harmful drugs, etc. "This belief constantly reminds us that there are many consequences to our actions and we must consider all possible outcomes before acting. The Wiccan Rede thereby binds Wiccans to do the right thing." ₂

Some followers of other religions have attributed many evil activities to Wiccans -- from the laying of curses to conducting love spells; from conducting human sacrifices to performing black magic. These actions are strictly forbidden to all followers of Wicca. In most cases, beliefs in evil magic by Wiccans can be traced back to European religious propaganda during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance in Western Europe which was used to justify witch hunting and burning.

Comparing the Wiccan Rede with behavioral rules of other religions:

The Wiccan Rede is one of many Ethics of Reciprocity which are found in essentially all of the world's religious texts. In Christianity, the Ethic of Reciprocity is sometimes called the Golden Rule. It urges believers to treat other people decently. For example, in Christianity, three of the 50 or so Gospels which circulated in the 1st century CE state:

Those Ethics of Reciprocity which are found in non-Wiccan religions concentrate on one's duties to other people. The Wiccan Rede goes further by also prohibiting a Wiccan from engaging in an action that hurts themselves.

The Pentateuch -- the first five books in the Hebrew Scriptures --  lists 613 behaviors that the ancient Hebrews were expected to either adopt because they are not sinful, or avoid because they are wicked.  These laws are referred to as the Mosaic Law. About two dozen of these behaviors are grouped into the Ten Commandments. In contrast to the 613 specific injunctions, the Wiccan Rede consists of only one general rule which is intended to govern all behaviors.

Most religions teach very specific rules of behavior. The Roman Catholic church, for example, sorts them into two categories: mortal and venial sins. In contrast, the Wiccan is not given a list of prohibited and compulsory actions. They forced to consider all of the likely ramifications of each action before deciding whether it meets the standard of the Wiccan Rede. It can only be performed if it is free from harm. Judy Harrow writes: "The Craft, assuming ethical adulthood, offers us no rote rules. We will always be working on incomplete knowledge. We will sometimes just plain make mistakes. Life itself, and life-affirming religion, still demands that we learn, decide, act, and accept the results." ₃

Robin Woodsong writes: " 'Do as you will and harm none' is not an easy way to structure morality. We have difficult personal choices to make and hard decisions to follow. It would be much simpler if all aspects of our lives were regulated, and the rules and regulations written down and posted. No more thinking, no hard choices, no more struggling over ethical conflicts." ₄ Being a Wiccan can be a difficult religious choice.

History of the Wiccan Rede within Wicca:

John Coughlin researched the writings of Gerald Gardner (1884-1964) and Doreen Valiente (1922-1999). These are the two individuals who are generally regarded as the founders of modern Wicca. He found the first reference to a ethical criteria similar to the Wiccan Rede in Gardner's third book: "The Meaning of Witchcraft." ₅ He wrote that Wiccans:

"...are inclined to the morality of the legendary Good King Pausol [sic], '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, and if, to prevent a greater wrong being done, you must discommode someone, you must do it only in a way which will abate the harm'." ₆

It appears that King Pausole was a character in a novel by a French writer, Pierre Louys, called "The Adventures of King Pausole," published in 1901.

Coughlin writes that: "The first recorded mention of the Wiccan Rede in the eight-word form popular today, at least that I have been able to discover thus far, was in a speech by Doreen Valiente on October 3, 1964 at what may have been the first witches' dinner organized in modern history. The event was sponsored by 'Pentagram,' a quarterly newsletter and 'witchcraft review' started and published by Gerard Noel in 1964:"

"Demanding tolerance between covens as well as toward the outside world, Doreen spoke the Anglo-Saxon witch formula called the Wiccan Rede or wise teaching: 'Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfil, An' it harm none, do what ye will'." ₇

Origin of the Wiccan Rede:

The original source for at least part of the Wiccan Rede appears to be by a 16^th century novelist, François Rabelais.

"DO AS THOU WILT because men that are free, of gentle birth, well bred and at home in civilized company possess a natural instinct that inclines them to virtue and saves them from vice. This instinct they name their honor." ₈

This concept appears to have been adopted by Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) in his Law of Thelema which is contained in his 1904 book Liber AL vel Legis (The Book of the Law). Many believe that Crowley received the text of the Law from an angelic entity named Aiwass:

"Who calls us Thelemites will do no wrong, if he look but close into the word. For there are therein Three Grades, the Hermit, and the Lover, and the man of Earth. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." ₉

Later in the Book of the Law is a verse which states: "Invoke me under my stars! Love is the law, love under will. Nor let the fools mistake love; for there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is the serpent. Choose ye well! He, my prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the fortress, and the great mystery of the House of God." ₁₀

Excerpts from these two verses are sometimes quoted together as two commandments:  "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."  "Love is the law, love under will."

Ellie Crystal writes: "Most Thelemites hold that every person possesses a True Will, a single overall motivation for their existence. The Law of Thelema mandates that each person follow their True Will to attain fulfillment in life and freedom from restriction of their nature. Because no two True Wills can be in real conflict ...this Law also prohibits one from interfering with the True Will of any other person." ₁₁

Crowley initiated Gerald Gardiner into the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) in 1946. Gardner may have taken the phrase from Rabelais and Crowley: "do what thou wilt," grafted it onto a clear, unambiguous expression to do no harm, and produced the Wiccan Rede as we know it today.

An alternative explanation is that the Rede was extracted directly from the Wiccan Credo which some Wiccans believe was written circa 1910 CE by Adriana Porter.

References used:

1. Spring Wolf, "The Pagan's Path™," at: http://www.paganspath.com/
2. Daria, "The Wiccan Rede," Psychic Journal, 1999-APR-19 at: http://www.psychicjournal.com/
3. Judy Harrow, "Exegesis on the Wiccan Rede," Harvest, Volume 5, #3. Online at: Real Magick: http://realmagick.com/
4. Robin Woodsong, "A view on the Wiccan Rede," Real Magick, at: http://realmagick.com/
5. Gerald Gardner, The Meaning of Witchcraft, (Reprinted 1982), Page 127.
6. John Coughlin, "The Wiccan Rede: A historical journey. Parg 2: The Early Years," Waning Moon, 2001-2002, at: http://www.waningmoon.com/.
7. John Coughlin, "The Wiccan Rede: A historical journey. Part 3: Eight Words...," Waning Moon, 2001-2002, at: http://www.waningmoon.com/.
8. François Rabelais, "Gargantua," (1534).
9. Aleister Crowley, "The Book of the Law," Chapter 1, Verse 40.
10. Ibid, Verse 57.
11. Ellie Crystal, "Aleister Crowley," at: http://www.crystalinks.com/

Copyright © 1996 to 2004 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2004-SEP-27
Author: B.A. Robinson