The Rede of The Wiccae
being known as the counsel of the Wise Ones
1. Bide the Wiccan laws ye must in perfect love an perfect trust.
2. Live an let live -- fairly take an fairly give.
3. Cast the Circle thrice about to keep all evil spirits out.
4. To bind the spell every time, let the spell be spake in rhyme.
5. Soft of eye an light of touch; speak little, listen much.
6. Deosil go by the waxing Moon; sing an dance the Wiccan rune.
7. Widdershins go when the Moon doth wane, an the Werewolf howls by the dread Wolfsbane.
8. When the Lady's Moon is new, kiss the hand to her times two.
9. When the Moon rides at her peak, then your heart's desire seek.
10. Heed the Northwind's mighty gale; lock the door and drop the sail.
11. When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss thee on the mouth.
12. When the wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast.
13. When the West wind blows o'er thee, departed spirits restless be.
14. Nine woods in the Cauldron go;burn them quick an burn them slow.
15. Elder be ye Lady's tree;burn it not or cursed ye'll be.
16. When the Wheel begins to turn;let the Beltane fires burn.
17. When the Wheel has turned to Yule, light the Log and let Pan rule.
18. Heed ye flower, bush an tree;by the Lady blessed be.
19. Where the rippling waters go, cast a stone an truth ye'll know.
20. When ye have need, hearken not to other's greed.
21. With the fool no season spend or be counted as his friend.
22. Merry meet an merry part; bright the cheeks an warm the heart.
23. Mind the Threefold Law ye should; three times bad and three times good.
24. When misfortune is enow, wear the blue star on thy brow.
25. True in love ever be unless thy lover's false to thee.
26. Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: "an it harm none, do what ye will."
By Lady Gwen Thompson of N.E.C.T.W., as transmitted by her grandmother, Adrianna Porter.
About The Rede of the Wiccae
by Tamryn Wyrmstar
(based on a Lesson Plan from EA Lady Beth of Silver Chalice)
The Rede of The Wiccae is often called "The Wiccan Rede" because of the last two lines of Thomspon's
Rede of the Wiccae, which she attributes to her grandmother in the 1930s. It is clear to this Pagan, at least, that Porter (if she wrote it) is composing either a thing called a "faith poem" or a set or Ordains. To dispell the myth that The Rede of The Wiccae and The Wiccan Rede are the same thing, I want to draw my readers attention to line #23. Usually, where I have used a semicolon is a hyphen, I used the semi-colon for clarity. What we see here is the naming of a law. As Wiccans, we know the Law of Three is " three times bad an three times good," so we know that this line names the Law of (Threefold) Return as "the Law of Three."
Line 26 follow the same pattern, and names "An it harm none, do what ye will" as the Wiccan Rede (colon and quotes added by me). The last line can be read to say: "Always follow the eight words of the Wiccan Rede, which are "An it Harm none, Do as ye will."
Porter/Thompson have used an to mean and throughout the poem, but I believe that they are both transmitting an older statement, "An it harm none, do as you will" and that they merely use an throughout the poem to give an image of continuity. In fact, I don't think this is the "an" that stands for and, but the an that we also find in this translated Prayer as it was taught to my father:
"My Father, Protect me and the creatures of the field, for they are my sheep but you are my shepard, an I never stray, I am yours."
I could've just quoted part of it, but the prayer says both AN and AND, and an I never here means "If I never," or "as long as I don't ever" So the Rede itself then reads, "If it harms none, do as you will" and all the extra Ans in the poem are extra and mean "and" (I corrected a few of them to say AND). This prayer dates from about 1830, and is written in a letter in my family's archives, so this would date "an it harm none" to at LEAST that period in time.
surprisingly, lines 7 and 13 are both really silly and contrary to what most Witches believe. That they are lines 7 and 13, numbers of misinformation and ill fortune in British folklore, convince me that they are added to the Rede of the Wiccae to mislay any would be practioner of Porter's family beliefs who tries to speak their faith without the knowledge they need.
The rest of the poem seems contrived of folklore rhymes, some of which you find elsewhere, like the rhyme "elder be a fairy tree, cut it not or cursed you'll be" my own parents, Christians, knew, so I believe, and always have, that Rede of The Wiccae is actually a set of ordains (which WOULD explain the enumeration) collected and added to by Porter and/or Thompson. As a set of ordains, therefore, I choose to value them as I value the ordains of ALL traditions I am not a part of- a lovely piece of writing that is not sacred to me, but that I honor as sacred to others. I agree with parts of it, I find others a bit silly, but it's not mine. To those who value it as their faith, I honor and understand you, but as a Witch, I have Ordains of my own to abide by.
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