Wiccan Rede
Encyclopedia
The Wiccan Rede is a statement that provides the key moral system in the Neopagan religion of Wicca
and other related Witchcraft
-based faiths. A common form of the Rede is An it harm none, do what ye will.
The word "Rede" derives from Middle English
, meaning "advice" or "counsel" and being closely related to the German
or Swedish
. "An" is an archaic
Middle English conjunction
, meaning "if." "Ye
" is an archaic or dialectal form of "you" (nominative plural).
Other variants of the Rede include:
in 1964. 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"). According to B.A. Robinson of the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, Crowley adopted this line from François Rabelais
, who in 1534 wrote, "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".
King Pausole
, a character in Pierre Louÿs
' Les aventures du roi Pausole (The Adventures of King Pausole, published in 1901), had a similar motto of Do what you like as long as you harm no one. Although Gardner noted the similarity of the rede to King Pausole's words, Silver Ravenwolf
believes it is more directly referencing Crowley. Another notable antecedent was put forth by the philosopher John Stuart Mill
with his harm principle
in the 19th century. "Mill argues that the sole purpose of law should be to stop people from harming others and that should people want to participate in victimless crimes, crimes with no complaining witness, such as gambling, drug usage, engaging in prostitution, then they should not be encroached in doing so."
Documented ideas similar to the Rede reach as far back as the fourth century theologian Saint Augustine of Hippo. In Homily 7 on the First Epistle of John
, Augustine wrote Dilige, et quod vis fac meaning Love, and do what you will, Augustine was interpreting 1 John 4:7-8, which says, "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love." It has also been argued that similar concepts exist among Native Americans
.
This poem 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 poem has since been very widely circulated and has appeared in other versions and layouts, with additional or variant passages. It is commonly known as the "Long Rede".
, Valiente composed the couplet, following Gardner's statement that witches "are inclined to the morality of the legendary Good King Pausol, 'Do what you like so long as you harm none'"; he claims the common assumption that the Rede was copied from Crowley is misinformed, and has resulted in the words often being misquoted as "an it harm none, do what thou wilt" instead of "do what you will".
Thompson's attribution of the Long Rede to her grandmother has been disputed, since Adriana Porter died in 1946, well before Gerald Gardner
published The Old Laws, and no evidence for Porter's authorship exists other than Thompson's word. The poem refers to Wiccan concepts that, though ostensibly very old, have not been proven to pre-date the 1940s. Its attribution to Porter may have formed part of Thompson's claim to be an hereditary witch
. Its precise origin has yet to be determined.
Adrian Bott, in an article written in White Dragon magazine, 2003, argues that the Long Rede's creation can be placed somewhere between 1964 and 1975. Bott bases his argument on the alleged misuse of archaic English in the poem, in particular of " an' " as an abbreviation of "and", and of "ye" instead of "the". Bott states that the author of the poem was evidently unaware that this contraction of "and" is not an archaic, but a modern convention. According to Bott, in the "eight words" couplet originally cited by Valiente, "an" is used correctly, in the Middle English sense of " 'in the event that', or simply 'if' " (as in the Shakespearean "an hadst thou not come to my bed") and thus has no apostrophe. In the poem, this has been transformed into an abbreviated "and" and given an apostrophe, with every "and" in the poem's additional lines then being written " an' " as if to match. Accordingly, Bott concludes that the poem was an attempt to expand Valiente's couplet into a full Wiccan credo, written by someone who misunderstood the archaic language they attempted to imitate. Robert Mathiesen repeats Bott's objection to "ye", but argues that most other archaisms are used correctly. However, he states that they all derive from late 19th century revivalist usages. Based on this fact Mathiesen concludes that early twentieth century authorship of at least part of the poem is probable. He argues that its references to English folklore are consistent with Porter's family history. His provisional conclusion is that a folkloric form of the poem may have been written by Porter, but that it was supplemented and altered by Thompson to add specifically Wiccan material. Mathiessen also takes the view that the last line was probably a Thompson addition derived from Valiente. According to this account, the 1974 variant of the text, which was published by one of Thompson's former initiates, may represent one of the earlier drafts. Its publication prompted Thompson to publish what she — falsely, according to Mathiessen — claimed was Porter's "original" poem.
(a sect under Wicca) 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.
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, not a commandment. The rejection of specific exhortations and prohibitions of conduct such as those given in the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments
makes the Rede's character somewhat different from major religious texts such as the Holy Bible
or the Qur'an
. The Rede is only a guideline which the individual must interpret to fit each particular situation and unlike these Abrahamic religions, which actions "do harm" (and which do not) are not discussed in the Rede. What exactly does and does not do harm is therefore open to personal interpretation.
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 human
s as well as for oneself. Different sects of Wiccans read "none" differently. "None" can apply to only the self, or it may include animals and/or plants, and so forth. In essence, the Rede can be fully understood as meaning that one should always follow their true will instead of trying to obtain simple wants and to ensure that following one's will it does not harm anyone or anything. In this light, the Rede can be seen as encouraging a Wiccan to take personal responsibility for his or her actions.
A few people observe a modern revised Rede with the words "an it cause harm, do as you must" appended.
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
and other related Witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
-based faiths. A common form of the Rede is An it harm none, do what ye will.
The word "Rede" derives from Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
, meaning "advice" or "counsel" and being closely related to the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
or Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
. "An" is an archaic
Archaism
In language, an archaism is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current. This can either be done deliberately or as part of a specific jargon or formula...
Middle English conjunction
Grammatical conjunction
In grammar, a conjunction is a part of speech that connects two words, sentences, phrases or clauses together. A discourse connective is a conjunction joining sentences. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each...
, meaning "if." "Ye
Ye (pronoun)
Ye was the second-person, plural, personal pronoun , spelled in Old English as "ge". In Middle English and Early Modern English, it was used to direct an equal or superior person...
" is an archaic or dialectal form of "you" (nominative plural).
Other variants of the Rede include:
- Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, An it harm none do what ye will. Note: this is the first published form of the couplet, quoted from Doreen Valiente in 1964. Later published versions include "ye" instead of either "the" or "it": "Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill — an ye harm none, do what ye will" (Earth Religion News, 1974); "Eight words ye Wiccan Rede fulfill - An' it harm none, Do what ye will" (Green Egg, 1975)
- An it harm none, do what thou wilt
- An it harm none, do as thou wilt
- That it harm none, do as thou wilt
- Do what you will, so long as it harms none
History
The Rede in its best known form as the "eight words" couplet was first publicly recorded in a speech by Doreen ValienteDoreen Valiente
Doreen Edith Dominy Valiente , who also went under the craft name Ameth, was an influential English Wiccan who was involved in a number of different early traditions, including Gardnerianism, Cochrane's Craft and the Coven of Atho...
in 1964. A similar phrase, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law, appears in Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
's works by 1904, in The Book of the Law
The Book of the Law
Liber AL vel Legis is the central sacred text of Thelema, written by Aleister Crowley in Cairo, Egypt in the year 1904. Its full title is Liber AL vel Legis, sub figura CCXX, as delivered by XCIII=418 to DCLXVI, and it is commonly referred to as The Book of the Law.Liber AL vel Legis contains three...
(though as used by Crowley it is half of a statement and response, the response being "Love is the law, love under will"). According to B.A. Robinson of the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, Crowley adopted this line from François Rabelais
François Rabelais
François Rabelais was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes and songs...
, who in 1534 wrote, "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".
King Pausole
Pierre Louÿs
Pierre Louÿs was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection."-Life:...
, a character in Pierre Louÿs
Pierre Louÿs
Pierre Louÿs was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection."-Life:...
' Les aventures du roi Pausole (The Adventures of King Pausole, published in 1901), had a similar motto of Do what you like as long as you harm no one. Although Gardner noted the similarity of the rede to King Pausole's words, Silver Ravenwolf
Silver RavenWolf
Silver RavenWolf , born Jenine E. Trayer, is an American author and lecturer who focuses on Neopaganism. She is married and has four children. She currently resides in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania.- Biography :...
believes it is more directly referencing Crowley. Another notable antecedent was put forth by the philosopher John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
with his harm principle
Harm principle
The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals should only be limited to prevent harm to other individuals. John Stuart Mill first articulated this principle in On Liberty, where he argued that "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized...
in the 19th century. "Mill argues that the sole purpose of law should be to stop people from harming others and that should people want to participate in victimless crimes, crimes with no complaining witness, such as gambling, drug usage, engaging in prostitution, then they should not be encroached in doing so."
Documented ideas similar to the Rede reach as far back as the fourth century theologian Saint Augustine of Hippo. In Homily 7 on the First Epistle of John
First Epistle of John
The First Epistle of John, often referred to as First John and written 1 John, is a book of the New Testament. This fourth catholic or "general" epistle is attributed to John the Evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the Gospel of John and the other two Epistles of John. This...
, Augustine wrote Dilige, et quod vis fac meaning Love, and do what you will, Augustine was interpreting 1 John 4:7-8, which says, "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love." It has also been argued that similar concepts exist among Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
.
The Long Rede
In 1974 a complete twenty-six line poem entitled "The Wiccan Rede" was published in the neo-Pagan magazine Earth Religion News. Each line contained a rhymed couplet laid out as a single line, the last line being the familiar "short rede" couplet beginning "Eight words...".This poem was shortly followed by another, slightly different, version, entitled the "Rede Of The Wiccae", which was published in Green Egg
Green Egg
Green Egg is a Neopagan magazine published by the Church of All Worlds from 1968 through 1976 and 1988 through 2000, and restarted in 2007. It was created and edited for most of its existence by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart....
magazine by Lady Gwen Thompson
Lady Gwen Thompson
Lady Gwen Thompson was the "public Craft name", or pseudonym of Witchcraft author Phyllis Thompson .In the 1980s, she altered her craft forename to "Gwynne"; Thompson is her final married surname....
. She ascribed it to her grandmother Adriana Porter
Adriana Porter
Adriana Porter was an alleged witch.Porter's notability rests on a poem, The Rede of the Wiccae, which was published by her granddaughter Lady Gwen Thompson in Green Egg magazine in 1975 and attributed to her...
, and claimed that the earlier published text was distorted from "its original form". The poem has since been very widely circulated and has appeared in other versions and layouts, with additional or variant passages. It is commonly known as the "Long Rede".
Dating the Rede
According to Don FrewDonald H. Frew
Donald Hudson 'Don' Frew is a notable figure in American Wicca, the Covenant of the Goddess, national and international interfaith work, and original research.He is a National Interfaith Representative for the Covenant of the Goddess...
, Valiente composed the couplet, following Gardner's statement that witches "are inclined to the morality of the legendary Good King Pausol, 'Do what you like so long as you harm none'"; he claims the common assumption that the Rede was copied from Crowley is misinformed, and has resulted in the words often being misquoted as "an it harm none, do what thou wilt" instead of "do what you will".
Thompson's attribution of the Long Rede to her grandmother has been disputed, since Adriana Porter died in 1946, well before Gerald Gardner
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brousseau Gardner , who sometimes used the craft name Scire, was an influential English Wiccan, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, weaponry expert and occultist. He was instrumental in bringing the Neopagan religion of Wicca to public attention in Britain and...
published The Old Laws, and no evidence for Porter's authorship exists other than Thompson's word. The poem refers to Wiccan concepts that, though ostensibly very old, have not been proven to pre-date the 1940s. Its attribution to Porter may have formed part of Thompson's claim to be an hereditary witch
Hereditary witch
A hereditary witch is one who is born into a tradition of esoteric origin. These traditions are often not recorded, except maybe in grimoires which are also passed down, but rely primarily on oral and physical tradition....
. Its precise origin has yet to be determined.
Adrian Bott, in an article written in White Dragon magazine, 2003, argues that the Long Rede's creation can be placed somewhere between 1964 and 1975. Bott bases his argument on the alleged misuse of archaic English in the poem, in particular of " an' " as an abbreviation of "and", and of "ye" instead of "the". Bott states that the author of the poem was evidently unaware that this contraction of "and" is not an archaic, but a modern convention. According to Bott, in the "eight words" couplet originally cited by Valiente, "an" is used correctly, in the Middle English sense of " 'in the event that', or simply 'if' " (as in the Shakespearean "an hadst thou not come to my bed") and thus has no apostrophe. In the poem, this has been transformed into an abbreviated "and" and given an apostrophe, with every "and" in the poem's additional lines then being written " an' " as if to match. Accordingly, Bott concludes that the poem was an attempt to expand Valiente's couplet into a full Wiccan credo, written by someone who misunderstood the archaic language they attempted to imitate. Robert Mathiesen repeats Bott's objection to "ye", but argues that most other archaisms are used correctly. However, he states that they all derive from late 19th century revivalist usages. Based on this fact Mathiesen concludes that early twentieth century authorship of at least part of the poem is probable. He argues that its references to English folklore are consistent with Porter's family history. His provisional conclusion is that a folkloric form of the poem may have been written by Porter, but that it was supplemented and altered by Thompson to add specifically Wiccan material. Mathiessen also takes the view that the last line was probably a Thompson addition derived from Valiente. According to this account, the 1974 variant of the text, which was published by one of Thompson's former initiates, may represent one of the earlier drafts. Its publication prompted Thompson to publish what she — falsely, according to Mathiessen — claimed was Porter's "original" poem.
Interpretations of the Rede
The Rede is similar to the Golden Rule, a belief that is found in nearly every religion. Not all traditional Wiccans follow the Rede; GardneriansGardnerian Wicca
Gardnerian Wicca, or Gardnerian Witchcraft, is a mystery cult tradition or denomination in the neopagan religion of Wicca, whose members can trace initiatory descent from Gerald Gardner. The tradition is itself named after Gardner , a British civil servant and scholar of magic...
(a sect under Wicca) espouse the Charge of the Goddess
Charge of the Goddess
The Charge of the Goddess is a traditional inspirational text sometimes used in the neopagan religion of Wicca. Several versions exist, though they all have the same basic premise, that of a set of instructions given by a Great Goddess to her worshippers...
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.
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, not a commandment. The rejection of specific exhortations and prohibitions of conduct such as those given in the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
makes the Rede's character somewhat different from major religious texts such as the Holy Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
or the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. The Rede is only a guideline which the individual must interpret to fit each particular situation and unlike these Abrahamic religions, which actions "do harm" (and which do not) are not discussed in the Rede. What exactly does and does not do harm is therefore open to personal interpretation.
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 human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s as well as for oneself. Different sects of Wiccans read "none" differently. "None" can apply to only the self, or it may include animals and/or plants, and so forth. In essence, the Rede can be fully understood as meaning that one should always follow their true will instead of trying to obtain simple wants and to ensure that following one's will it does not harm anyone or anything. In this light, the Rede can be seen as encouraging a Wiccan to take personal responsibility for his or her actions.
Interpretations of "harm none"
There have been a number of published interpretations of how one should determine what constitutes 'harming none'. Silver Ravenwolf, for instance, believes that although acting to restrain a wrong-doer is in a sense harming them, failure to act against them could allow greater harm; this must be carefully weighed up, and preferably a course of action can be found that minimises harm to all parties.A few people observe a modern revised Rede with the words "an it cause harm, do as you must" appended.