The Wiccan Rede
"Do what ye will, an harm ye none" This is the short form of the longer, more formal Wiccan Rede. Many see this as a law and other see it as a guideline. For me, it is a part of my way of life. It is an integral and inseparable part of the path I am on.
The first part of the short form Rede is "Do what ye will". This means to me that I can do whatever my heart desires. I am not restrained from following whatever road my journey leads me to. I am free to choose to do or not do anything set before me. It is also an encouragement to actually act (Do) upon what my will is. It tells me not to be lazy or fear the things I desire to do. If I wish to learn about a particular subject, such as astrology, I should make the effort to learn it. If I wish to create a shrine or sanctuary, I should do as my heart leads me without fear or shying away from the effort and responsibility.
The second part of the Rede says "an harm ye none". The simplest interpretation is to not hurt anyone or anything. I feel it is also about respect. I must respect people's right to make their own choices in life. If I interfere, I am harming them. Harm also comes in the form of harsh words, theft, violence and a myriad of other possibilities. Similar to the Christian "Golden Rule" I would not want another to bring harm to me therefore I should not bring harm to them.
Sometimes I may be faced with the decision to choose between allowing someone to harm another or to harm that person by doing what is necessary to protect the one they are trying to harm. This is cause for great debate in the Wiccan and Pagan community. Some feel that the "Harm ye none" portion of the Rede forbids us from taking any action at all that may be harmful to another. Others feel it necessary to step in to prevent, or stop, a bigger harm from being done. In either case, the choice one makes should include consideration of the responsibilities and repercussions of any action, or lack of action we choose.
I feel that I am obligated to aid those in need so I choose not to sit on the side and watch one person deliberately harm another. However, if given time, I would think carefully on what action I might take in order to abate the harm as much as possible for everyone. If an emergency, I go into the situation accepting responsibility for my actions and full knowledge there may be repercussions against me personally. Another thing to bear in mind is that I don't have license to be the "Magickal Police". It is not my place to judge the actions of others. Nor do I have the right to aid one against their wishes.
Simply put, I have the right and responsibility to do what I choose in this life but I do not have the right to deliberately harm another person with malicious intent. Further more, I am obligated to aid those in need of assistance when another is harming them so long as I have their permission to aid them. In extreme cases, I may act without permission but with full knowledge and acceptance of the consequences.
The first part of the short form Rede is "Do what ye will". This means to me that I can do whatever my heart desires. I am not restrained from following whatever road my journey leads me to. I am free to choose to do or not do anything set before me. It is also an encouragement to actually act (Do) upon what my will is. It tells me not to be lazy or fear the things I desire to do. If I wish to learn about a particular subject, such as astrology, I should make the effort to learn it. If I wish to create a shrine or sanctuary, I should do as my heart leads me without fear or shying away from the effort and responsibility.
The second part of the Rede says "an harm ye none". The simplest interpretation is to not hurt anyone or anything. I feel it is also about respect. I must respect people's right to make their own choices in life. If I interfere, I am harming them. Harm also comes in the form of harsh words, theft, violence and a myriad of other possibilities. Similar to the Christian "Golden Rule" I would not want another to bring harm to me therefore I should not bring harm to them.
Sometimes I may be faced with the decision to choose between allowing someone to harm another or to harm that person by doing what is necessary to protect the one they are trying to harm. This is cause for great debate in the Wiccan and Pagan community. Some feel that the "Harm ye none" portion of the Rede forbids us from taking any action at all that may be harmful to another. Others feel it necessary to step in to prevent, or stop, a bigger harm from being done. In either case, the choice one makes should include consideration of the responsibilities and repercussions of any action, or lack of action we choose.
I feel that I am obligated to aid those in need so I choose not to sit on the side and watch one person deliberately harm another. However, if given time, I would think carefully on what action I might take in order to abate the harm as much as possible for everyone. If an emergency, I go into the situation accepting responsibility for my actions and full knowledge there may be repercussions against me personally. Another thing to bear in mind is that I don't have license to be the "Magickal Police". It is not my place to judge the actions of others. Nor do I have the right to aid one against their wishes.
Simply put, I have the right and responsibility to do what I choose in this life but I do not have the right to deliberately harm another person with malicious intent. Further more, I am obligated to aid those in need of assistance when another is harming them so long as I have their permission to aid them. In extreme cases, I may act without permission but with full knowledge and acceptance of the consequences.
posted by Dreamweaver at 7:30 AM
2 Comments:
I've learned something in reading that. You have a double meaning to the 'do what thou will' part - desire and encouragement to act. Personally (and there's no saying that I'm right here!) I place an emphasis on 'will' in the very active sense. As in 'willing something to work' or 'I will this to happen'. It's the force behind sending energies. To me, the secondary, but interlinked meaning is will as in desire. Reading that, I've just learned a third angle from you - the encouragement to act. Thank you.
**the choice one makes should include consideration of the responsibilities and repercussions of any action, or lack of action we choose.**
This, I consider to be of utmost importance. It's not only trusting instinct and reacting to the momentary harm, it's seeing the wider picture and the possible ripple effects from any action. That's not always possible, but when it is, then that a subtle difference I see between preventing a major harm by allowing a minor harm.
Thing is, it's quantity versus quality sometimes or vice versa. Which is better? For more people to escape harm or for a significant individual to escape harm?
I have learned from you as well. Before I had not considered the "will" in the active sense. Its interesting because after I read what you said about that, I then read about Will in the same context but it wasn't about the Rede. Someone is trying to tell me something. :)
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