The primary statement of Wiccan ethics: “if it harms none, do as you will.” Sometimes phrased in mock-archaic language as “An’ it harm none, do what ye wilt.” So prevalent is it among Wiccans that many have taken it to be a commandment for all Neopagans and even called it “the Pagan Rede”, despite the fact that many (especially Ásatrúar and those on warrior paths) feel no call to obey it at all. Those who consider the Rede to be an absolute commandment (perhaps misled by this society’s training in inflexible divine laws such as those laid down in Exodus and Leviticus) also seem not to realize that the word “rede” is a Middle English word meaning “advice, wise counsel”.
Despite the over-zealousness of some of the Rede’s promoters, however, it has much value as an ethical guide. It has been referred to as the “negative Golden Rule”, in that it differs from the Golden Rule by telling you what not to do, instead of what to do. In this sense, it is less restrictive.
Additionally, it has the merit of determining on the basis of “harm” rather than “what you desire”, thus escaping the conundrum of “what if a masochist were to follow the Golden Rule?”
Much ethical analysis has been expended over the Rede by Wiccan theologians, much of it centering on the precise definition of “harm”. It is commonly agreed that there is a distinction between “harm” and “hurt”, harm being what one does in assaulting and battering someone, hurt being what a surgeon does in the course of making an incision.
The Rede’s ethical guidance for Wiccans is often bolstered by the addition of the Law of Threefold Return (also called simply “the Threefold Law”, “the Law of Three”, and “the Law of Return”), which claims that energies put out (including spells) will be returned to their emitters threefold. Though the vast majority of Wiccans profess to believe this statement, a few are very up-front about joining most other occultists in being dubious about its truth.
The phrase “Wiccan Rede” is also used by some to refer to “The Rede of the Wiccae”, a 26-line poem of unknown authorship in muddled, quasi-archaic language, submitted to Green Egg by Lady Gwen Thompson and published in their March 1975 issue. This one starts “Bide the Wiccan Laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust”, and continues to give a long and somewhat bewildering list of laws, such as:
This version appears to be a survival of various bits of folklore, but does not qualify as truly cohesive.
A full examination of various forms of the Wiccan Rede, their histories, and comparisons with other ethical statements, can be found at the Wiccan Rede Project.
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