Image courtesy Lady Rhiannon Morrigan

 

The Wiccan Rede

Bide the wiccan laws we must
In perfect Love and Perfect Trust.
Live and Let Live
Fairly take and fairly give.
Cast the Circle Thrice about
To keep the evil spirits out.
To bind the spell every time
Let the spell be spake in rhyme.
Soft of eye and light of touch,
Speak little, listen much
Deosil goes by waxing moon,
Chanting out the Witches' Rune.
Widdershins go by the waning-moon,
Chanting out the baneful rune.
When the lady's moon is new,
kiss the hand of her, times two.
When the moon rides at her peak,
Then your heart's desire seek.
Heed the North wind's mighty gale,
Lock the door and drop the sail.
When the wind comes from the South,
Love will kiss thee on the mouth.
When the wind blows from the West,
Departed souls will have no rest.
When the wind blows from the East,
Expect the new and set the feast.
Nine woods in the cauldron go,
Burn them fast and burn them slow.
Elder be the lady's tree,
Burn it not or cursed you'll be.
When the wheel begins to turn,
Let the Beltane fire burn.
When the wheel has turned to Yule,
Light the logs and Horned one rules.
Heed ye Flower, Bush and Tree,
By the Lady blessed be.
Where the rippling waters go,
cast a stone, the truth to know.
When ye have and hold a need,
hearken not to other's greed.
With a fool no seasons spend,
or be counted as his friend.
Merry Meet and Merry Part,
bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Mind the Threefold Law ye should,
three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow,
wear the blue star on the brow.
True in love ye must ever be,
lest they love be false to thee.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
"An' Harm ye none, do as ye will."

 

There are many different versions of the rede, this is just one of them.  Aleister Crowley says in his Book of the Law, 

"Love is the law, love under will."

"There is no law beyond do what thou wilt.

Love is the law, love under will."

This one is kind of tricky though, the reason I say that is that even though, you can do what thou wilt, there are more rules to follow.  It is not do what thou will, it is do what thou WILL.  The difference is that once the magician ( I use magician here because even though they are similar Crowley was not wiccan ) is in tune with nature and his TRUE WILL he can do no wrong as long as he follows that.  ( Some people have a hard time deciding what to wear in the morning, let alone deciding what his true will in the role the god and the goddess have made for them. )

Another one that I've heard is...

"An' Harm ye none, do as ye will, except in the defense of kilth and kin."

This one is a bit more difficult.  Because it allows for others to be harmed.  Personally I feel that hurting anyone is bad, but I'm also not stupid.  For instance I disagree with the death penalty, only because I think that all killing is murder.  If we kill someone who has killed or harmed someone, we are doing the same thing that he did.  Who will punish us???  The same is with the military, to go and make war on people is murder.  However, ( there is always one of these ), I also believe that when there is no other way, we have to do what we must.  The military protects our rights which include freedom of religion and freedom of speech, and if making war on another country and murdering those people is the only way to ensure it, then that must be.  If sentencing a murderer to death is the only way we can ensure to protect another's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then that to ( unfortunately ) must be.  I personally do not think this is hypocritical, only because I disagree with the actions but understand where they are coming from, some things no matter how unpleasant must be done, and if in the end the greater good is served then it is at least some consolation, but we must find the least harming way to get there.

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