The Wiccan Rede

"An it harm none, do what ye will"

These are the eight words of the Wiccan Rede. There is also a poem with a similar name, "The Rede of the Wiccae;" I have heard that there was another version of the same poem titled "The Wiccan Rede," but I am unsure of the accuracy of that statement. If you are ambitious, perhaps you could check on that statement and beat me to the update :)

Rather than discuss the history of this ethic, I would rather focus on the meaning. For an in depth look at the history, please check out the link to John Coughlin's site.

What I like about the Rede is that it is an ethical guideline rather than a commandment. This is purely my opinion, I don't have anything against people who wish to follow commandments, it's just not my thing. To each, his own, I think that's the saying. Anyway, what I like is that it challenges people to pay close attention to the actions that are made. The way the Rede is worded does not tell people they cannot do something, this is often the misinterpretation...again a problem. The Rede is very clear with what it states, there is no need for interpretation. The Rede tells us, So long as it doesn't cause harm to anyone or anything, go ahead and do it. What then, should we do if an action causes harm? If it causes harm, then it doesn't fall into this guideline and you should look towards other ethics or laws. You may look at The Law of Return, other moral laws, or even local, state or federal laws. The idea is to be aware of your actions. The Rede doesn't tell us we can do whatever we want, that would be only stating part of the Rede. Self responsibility is a huge player when looking at those other actions that are not contained within the Rede. If you harm someone, you're going to have to face the consequences.

Another quick little issue I want to bring up is shortening the Rede to "Harm none." This is not what the Rede says, again because by stating it this way it becomes a commandment, which it is not. By shortening the Rede to "harm none," you now have left the door wide open for interpretation, which it is not meant to have done. Where does harming none stop? By eating, plant or animal, I had to kill a living organism, by breathing I kill microscopic organisms, I could no longer wash my hands or use anti bacterial/viral, nor could I take medicine. Many people would say those are the extremes and don't count...but where is that stated. The shortened (inaccurate form) only states to harm none...the way I look at it, it means harm none, which is a catch 22 because by focusing on all of the above actions to harm none, I have now caused myself to be malnutritioned and catch any infection or disease out there, thus harming myself. So, please...do not shorten the Rede to "harm none." It's not worth killing yourself over :)

For more information regarding the history of the Rede please check out the websites and books listed below:

http://www.paganlibrary.com/ethics/wiccan_ethics_rede.php

http://www.waningmoon.com/ethics/rede.shtml

All One Wicca: A Study in the Universal Eclectic Tradition of Wicca by Kaatryn MacMorgan

Wicca 333: Advanced Topics in Wiccan Belief by Kaatryn MacMorgan

Witchcraft for Tomorrow by Doreen Valiente