Know the Wiccan Law thou must:
In perfect love and in perfect trust,
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill--
If it harm none, do as thou will.
Ever mind the rule of three,
As thy self-defense it be.
Follow these with mind and heart,
And merry meet and merry part.
The Wiccan Rede
Bide the Wiccan Law ye must,
In perfect love, in perfect trust,
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
And ye harm none, do what ye will.
What ye sends forth comes back to thee,
And ever mind the Rule of Three
Follow this with mind and heart,
And merry ye meet and merry ye part.
The Rede
Bide the Wiccan Law ye must,
In perfect love and in perfect trust;
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
"An ye harm none, do as ye will."
Lest in self-defense it be,
Ever mind the rule of three.
Follow this in mind and heart,
Merry ye meet and merry ye part.
Another version of the Rede
Bide the Wiccan Rede ye must,
In perfect love, in perfect trust.
These eight words ye must fulfill:
"An harm ye none, do as ye will."
And ever mind the Rule of Three:
"What thou sends forth returns to thee."
Follow these with mind and heart,
For merry ye meet, and merry ye part.
Wiccan Rede (short Alexandrian trad version)
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
"An it harm none, do what you will."
Ye Wiccan Rede (very long version)
Bide ye Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust
Live and let live, fairly take and fairly give
Form the circle thrice about, to keep evil spirits out
To bind ye spell every time, let ye spell be spake in rhyme
Soft of eye, light of touch, speak lityl, listen much
Deosil go by the waxing moon, singing out ye Witches' Rune
Widdershins go by the waning moon, chanting out ye Baneful Rune
When the Lady's moon is new, kiss your hand to her times two
When the moon rides at her peak, then ye hearts' desire seek
Heed the North wind's mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail
When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss ye 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 ye cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow
Elder be the Lady's tree, burn it not or cursed ye'll be
When the wheel begins to turn, soon the Beltain fires'll burn
When the wheel has turned to Yule, light the log the Horned One rules
Heed ye flower, bush and tree, by the Lady blessed be
Where the rippling waters flow, cast a stone and truth ye'll know
When you have and hold a need, harken not to others' reed
With a fool no season spend, nor 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 anow, wear the star upon your brow
True in love ye must ever be, lest thy love be falst to thee
I these eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, an ye harm none, do what ye will.
Myth's Notes
In ethical codes, the sentence known as the Wiccan Creed or Wiccan Rede is stated in numerous variants.
If it harm none, do as you will.Ethics: Codes of Conduct, provides examples of how this sentence is wouund into ethical codes.
However, the term "Wiccan Rede" can also refer to some allegedly old material, which is really poorly crafted poetry. There are at least two versions of what I call the "rhyming Wiccan Reded." The short, 8-line version and a longer version.
At the top are four variations of the 8-line "rhyming Wiccan Rede."
I have been unable to establish who wrote the 8-line "rhyming Wiccan Rede" or when. The version titled, The Rede, apparently appeared on posters either in the very late 1970's or possibly very early 1980's.
The "rhyming Wiccan Rede" as a couplet is quoted in many discussions on Wiccan ethics. (The "rhyming Wiccan Rede" as a couplet is also known as the Wiccan Rede "eight words" couplet. I learned in 2015 that it was first publicly recorded in a 1964 speech by Doreen Valiente. See notes on update.)
The long form of the rhyming Wiccan Rede has several versions too. This particular form, titled, Ye Wiccan Rede, was taught by Tzip and Kenny Klein in Blue Star. A slightly different version of this very long rendition of the Wiccan Rede is titled, The Reded of the Wiccae. The Reded of the Wiccae appeared in Green Egg magazine (issue #69) in 1975. It was submitted by Lady Gwynne Thompson. She attributed that version of the Rede to her paternal grandmother, Adriana Porter. Sundry versions of the longer version have also popped up in numerious Wiccan BOS.
This long version has some scraps of older lore woven into it, such as comments about not harming an elder tree. The elder tree was associated with Faerie and it was taboo to cut them down for firewood or to use the wood to make cradles. More importantly, the tree's flowers, berries, and leaves were used in numerous herb medicines. Therefore, elder trees needed to be preserved for use by the cunning folk and wise women.
However, it is unlikely that The Reded of the Wiccae predates the 1960's, as that is when the term, Wiccan (in the first line), came into common use. Other claim this version may date to the 1930's.
Originally I thought the shorter 8-line version of the "rhyming Wiccan Rede" might be older than the longer version that appeared in Green Egg in 1975. I now suspect the shorter version is a condensed version of poetm that appeared in Green Egg in 1975.
Anyone who has information about the "rhyming Wiccan Rede," particularly when the 8-line version first appeared, please contact me.
In February 2015, while I was looking up something else, I came across the following article by John J. Coughlin about the history of the Wiccan Rede. I had originally thought that the eight word couplet was simply lifted from the eight line version of the "rhyming Wiccan Rede." My assumption was apparently wrong. The oldest published version is from Doreen Valiente's speech, which took place in 1964.
This fact means one of two possibilities.
The first possibility is that Doreen Valiente may have been quoting something written by another Wiccan at an earlier date. It may well have been something well known among a small group of people.
The second possibility is that Doreen herself might have written the couplet.
John J. Coughlin has written an excellent article on the history of the Wiccan Rede, a significant portion of which I quote here:
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."The above quote is from Hanz Holzer's book The Truth About Witchcraft first published in 1969 and again in 1971. This was one of the first books to present witchcraft from an outsider's view looking in, observing some of the practices of the various forms of witchcraft in both the U.S. and U.K. around at the time.Valiente's "Eight Words" quote was also published in volume one (1964) of the Pentagram, the UK newsletter that hosted the event and as will be discussed later was subsequently published beween circa 1965 and 1966 in the United States in The Waxing Moon newsletter. In 1965 the Rede was again quoted without references in Justine Glass' book Witchcraft, The Sixth Sense:
The other, only slightly less important belief of the witches is in hurtlessness; an article of faith also of the ancient Huna religion, which is thought to have originated in Africa and traveled across the world, by way of Egypt and India to Hawaii. The kahunas taught that the only sin was to hurt – either oneself or someone else. The Wiccan Rede (i.e. Counsel or advice of the Wise Ones) is: 'An ye harm no one, do what ye will.'Sadly no reference is given but since Glass had quoted from Pentagram earlier in that chapter it is quite possible that her above mention of the Rede derived from something inspired by Valiente's speech in 1964. The wording is a bit different from that speech, but this may have been due to the usual changes that occur when information is passed via word of mouth or as the author recalled the quote from memory. Since Glass had an advertisement calling for help in her research which was printed in the same issue of Pentagram (and on the very same page) as Valiente's "Eight Words" quote, this is a likely source.--John J. Coughlin, The Wiccan Rede: A Historical Journey Part 3: Eight Words... 2001-2010, John J. Coughlin. (John J. Coughlin's text may be disseminated freely for educational purposes provided it includes proper credit containing a link back to waningmoon.com.)
|
If the Wiccan Rede was created, as some suggest, to alleviate the fears of
cowans, it appears not to have worked. -- from "Arachne's aphorisms for Wiccans" |
When this page was originally prepared, I had my webmaster, Thoron, post the humorous aphorism about the Wiccan Rede above.
The following quote from Hans Holzer implied that Doreen Valiente was quoting the couplet to encourage harmonious interaction between covens. Hans Holzer's interpretations are not always the most accurate, but portions of what he wrote are historically meaningful, because they have an early publication date.
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." --Hans Holzer, The Truth about Witchcraft, 1971, p. 128
copyright 2008, 2015 Myth Woodling
Ethics: Sacred Suggestions
Ethics: Your Personal Rights
Ethics: Codes of Conduct
CPC Code of Honor