Wiccan Ethics And The Wiccan Rede

By: David Piper, Sat 21 May 1994 12:16

From the Internet Book of Shadows

Part I: What Sayeth The Rede?

The "archaically worded" construction "An it harm none, do what ye will," rendered into modern English is literally, "if it doesn't harm anyone, do what you want."

Many modern Wiccans "reverse" the construction, however, taking the first part and putting it after the second to read: "Do what ye will an it harm none," or in modern English "Do what you want if it doesn't harm anyone."

Many people give the word "an" or "if" a value of "so long as" -- which is acceptable substitution, because it doesn't alter the meaning of the Rede itself. However they then proceed to read "so long as" as "only if," and that is completely different, because the Rede has ceased to be a "wise counsel" [anyone checked the meaning of "rede" in the dictionary lately?] and become an injunction: prohibitive commandment, rather than permissive advice.

In other words, the original archaic construction actually says "if it is not going to hurt anyone, it is ok to do" -- this is not the same as "if it hurts anyone it is not ok to do."

What is the significance of the change? A larger one than you might see, at first glance.

The "actual construction Rede," or AC Rede, says it is ok to do something that won't harm anyone, but it does not say anything about those things which do cause harm, except to set an ethical standard of harmlessness as the criteria to judge by.

The "modern reconstruction Rede" or MR Rede, explicitly says that any and all actions that cause harm are forbidden.

The two constructions do not mean the same thing at all. And it should be obvious that this has implications on our thinking, and discussions of the possibility of "obeying" the Rede.

Most of you will have heard or read, as I have, people saying the Rede is something to strive to live by, even though mundane reality makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to do so to the letter. This is only true of the MR Rede, not the AC Rede! As examples, they cite situations such as self-defense; this violates the MR Rede. Period. But it does not violate the AC Rede. Period.

Earlier, I stated that the AC Rede does not rule on actions that do cause harm -- and this is true. It only rules on those actions which do not, by saying that they are acceptable. This is relevant to "victimless crimes" for example -- civil "crimes" may in fact be "ethical," by the judgment of the AC Rede.

What the AC Rede does do, in terms of actions that cause harm, is state an ethical value by which an individual must judge the results of her/his actions before acting. In other words, by stating that a harmless action is ethical, the AC Rede sets harmlessness as the criteria for evaluation. Acting to prevent greater harm -- but in the process causing lesser harm -- may then be ethical, if there is no harmless, or more harmless, method of preventing that greater harm -- because not acting to prevent harm is to cause it, by an act of omission rather than commission.

In short the difference between the AC Rede, and the MR Rede, is that the AC Rede is a perfectly obeyable ethical standard, but the MR Rede is not, as so many people have pointed out. Do we take as our ethical standard a "counsel" which can be obeyed, or one which necessitates rationalizing in some instances? Which is truer to the Wicca, and to the real Rede?

rede: n. [archaic] (from Webster's New World Dictionary)
[Middle English rede < Old English raed < base of raedan, to interpret]

1. counsel; advice

2. a plan; scheme

3. a story; tale

4. an interpretation

Part II: "Do good, an it be safe..." (from the Ordains)

The MR Rede is the most common interpretation in Wicca today; so much so, that not only do many Wiccans not realize there's a difference in the two constructions, but they deny it when it is pointed out to them, holding firmly to the MR Rede as what the original has always meant.

At first the change of language was only an attempt to bring the language up from archaic, to modern English; but in doing so -- especially with the public relations campaign, to convince people that Wiccans are "not black magick/not devil worship/not evil nasty curse -- casters" the "harmlessness" aspect of the Rede was stressed, over the personal responsibility aspect. And in essence Wiccans became the victims of their own PR campaign.

An additional result is the injunction that one may never work magick for others, even to heal, without their knowledge and consent. Of course, we are allowed by this injunction to ask "Can I pray for you?" as a means of obtaining the consent. From "a love spell aimed at one particular person is unethical because it violates their will only to serve our lust" we've moved to an extreme: to the prohibitive injunction against ever doing any magick for another without permission, since it violates their free will. Does anyone really believe the Gods will judge them ill, for attempting to heal someone?

What of the case of an unconscious accident victim and family unavailable to ask -- are we forbidden to work? No, of course we're not -- but we do have to accept the karmic consequences of such acts. Do you really think that a neurotic who uses an illness as a crutch wouldn't be better healed of that neurosis as well as the illness? Of course that may call up some karma if the person isn't strong enough to give up that crutch yet. Once again the real criteria is personal responsibility and consideration of the consequences of one's actions before one acts rather than the "thou shalt not" prohibitive commandment.

There is however another reason for the "prohibitive form" of these redes -- one which has some validity. The teacher bears a karmic responsibility for the student. There was a group whose teaching was, "No magick may be done for another, even to heal, without their consent; any exceptions may be decided only by the High Priestess and the High Priest." The point of this is that a student is not yet experienced enough, not yet wise enough, (since wisdom is the harvest we reap of our experience and knowledge), to have that kind of decision, and the resulting karmic burden, left to rest fully upon her/his shoulders -- hence, some teachers and some Trads do not allow neophytes to have responsibility for that kind of decision-making.

It is far better, however, to teach a student the essential importance of personal responsibility, the need to look ahead for possible consequences before they act, than to lay "thou shalt not's" upon them despite Wicca's insistance that we have none.

I received a comment about the last sentence in part I, paragraph 3, that said
"Ack! Welcome to the One Wiccan Commandment!
Any 'thou shalt nots' lurking around?"
Food for thought, my fellow Wiccans! Food for thought!

---

Ethics and Etiquette

Hello,

I would like to contribute the attached article, written by me, to the IBOS. This article may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, providing that this original copyright notice stays in place at all times.

Thank you, Morgaine © Morgaine 2001

When we speak of ethics and etiquette in relation to pagansim what are we referring to? Are we speaking of outdated rules and actions that no longer have meaning and we only give lip service to? I don't believe so. Ethics and etiquette are living, breathing codes of life, shaping our actions in relation to each other, and ourselves. They are a guiding force in the way we live our lives.

Let us first look at ethics. Ethics are defined as -- a set of principles; moral philosophy; rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession; human duty; a particular system of principles and rules concerning duty, whether true or false; rules of practice in respect to a single class of human actions; motivation based on ideas of right and wrong; the philosophical study of moral values and rules.

When we begin to speak of ethics, we need to realize that this can be a very touchy subject. We are human after all, and we want to think our ethics are the correct ones. While there are generally accepted community ethics, it is personal ethics that make up who we are. And these are not the same for each person.

Before we begin to discuss in depth community and person ethics let us first look at the Rede, the most common code of conduct among Wiccans.

Bide the Wiccan law ye must, in perfect love and 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 with mind and heart;
And merry ye meet and merry ye part.

Every Wiccan knows the Rede. Our passwords into the sacred circle are in here. Our major rule of ethic is here. And the reason for breaking this ethic, as well as the consequences of breaking it foolishly. When we extract the line most popular -- "An ye harm none, do as ye will" and begin to dissect it, we have to wonder "Is this an ethic we can ever achieve?"

I believe the Rede is a standard of living, like all ethics, and one that is an impossibility to achieve. The goal is to live as closely to the Rede as possible. In the attempt to do this, we begin to analyze our actions. We follow the path of least harm. Thus, we begin to live conscious of our actions, and how they effect the world around us. And here comes the real lesson of the Rede. It forces us to have personal responsibility. Once you have acknowledged that the Rede is a goal to work for and not a given situation, and have taken off the blinders that let you go around smug and happy that your religion is so sweet it makes your teeth itch, you can get down to the work of making your life an ethical one. What this involves is considering each decision in the light of the Rede before you decide upon a course of action. You do this by looking at all the possible consequences of that action and whether that will cause harm to any, choosing the path that causes the least harm and, (this is the key), accepting the responsibility for the consequences of your actions whether intentional or unintentional.
-- Lark, HPS of Tangled Moon Coven.

Wicca, as well as most Paganism, is a religion and spiritual path of personal responsibility.
[ -- emphasis by celeste ! ]
We strive to live in an aware state. When we do this, we recognize our free will, and the free will of others. If we ignore the lesson of personal responsibility, we fail to realize our true spiritual potential and our true spiritual will.

As we begin our path, we must develop a set of personal ethics, while maintaining a respect for the ethics of the community we are becoming a part of. Some community ethics are very well defined:

• Don't practice black magick, or follow the left-hand path.
• Don't attempt to harm another or interfere with their free will.
• Always act in a way that will reflect well upon your path. Never do anything that will bring harm to the Craft.

Since Wicca, and pagansim, are very open paths and for the most part do not seek to make anyone follow 'One Right Way', most of the ethics defined by community are concerning harm to others, and harm to the Craft.

But to begin a spiritual path, and to follow it every day of your life, you must develop your own set of personal ethics that define the way you live. No one can tell you what your personal ethics should be. Your teachers, mentors, HPS, HP can all recommend both in word and deed, ethics that work for them. You may be given a 'Book of the Law' that governs your group or tradition. If you are a solitary, you may read on the net, or in a book, acceptable codes of conduct, or ideals. But you cannot take someone else's ethics and make them your own. You must do some soul searching, and decide how you feel about things. Now I am not suggesting that you ignore your HPS or HP, or your teachers and mentors. I am suggesting that you should always temper wisdom with personal experience. You must come to a point that you are willing to question what you are taught, to grow in your own self. Through this, your own sense of ethics and morals will come.

Now, here comes the biggie. What do you do when your personal ethics are in direct conflict with accepted community ethics? For example-it has become a phenomenon in the pagan community to love everything white and full of light, and shun everything dark and full of shadow. It has become unacceptable to speak of negative emotions like anger and envy. It has become unacceptable to feel hate towards another person, wish that a murderer would get the death penalty, [which wish] that rapist would get castrated by a bunch of angry women. Some of us fondly refer to this as "fluffy bunny Wicca", no offense to anything fluffy, or bunnies. We are taught to love unconditionally because we are all brothers and sisters, connected to each other and every living thing. We are taught that if we experience these emotions, maybe we aren't all that spiritual, and especially not as much as Miss crystal love and light. We are often looked down upon if we say something like 'I am so damn mad at my ex husband I could smack him'. The response I myself have heard to such comment is 'my my, now that wasn't very positive'. Well, guess what. It wasn't. Now I am not saying that you should indulge in these emotions. They can be deterrents to developing a sound spiritual identity because they are 'negative' in the sense that they are base emotions that do not vibrate on the spiritual plane. But they also teach us lessons that can lead to spiritual epiphanies.

Life is a balance between light and dark. Nature is both beautifully creative and frighteningly destructive. Inside of a single human there is light and shadow, and to be totally balanced we must learn to face both, experience both and therefore learn from both. So back to the original question. Let's say you don't feel that you are evil if you feel anger at another person or what have you. What do you do when community ethics conflict with your personal ethics? In my opinion, as long as what you are doing does not come into direct conflict with the good of the general community, or does not manipulate or purposefully harm another person, then your personal ethics should come first. You should not do something maliciously to another person. When you do this, you are not only harming yourself, but you are harming that person, and the whole of the community. It is very important that our community not be sullied, and the reasons are obvious. But beyond this, your personal ethics should prevail.

Do ethics change over time? Do you think that the ethics of our ancestors of 100, 200 or even 1000 or more years ago are the same as what they are now? I believe that ethics are a revolving and ever changing system. Some become outdated, and some we should always keep. For instance, it has only been in the recent resurgence of Pagansim in the last 50-60 years or so that the belief of 'An ye harm none, do as ye will' came about. In times past, a witch who could not curse, could not heal. Societies have not always believed that you should not harm another person, or that interfering with someone's life was a bad thing. The old wise woman of a village was sought out for every reason from fertility, to love, to revenge. It has been in our time only, with the resurgence of beliefs and the discrimination that we face, that we have adopted some of the common ethics we now have. I am not saying this is wrong, or that we should go back to the 'Old Ways'. In [a the] society that we [are] now living in, and the information is available for spiritual purposes, there is no longer a need to seek out the crone of the village and ask her to grant you revenge on your enemy. But this is the perfect example of how ethics change with time. At one time it was ethical for old men to mate with young girls. In our culture, it is no longer ethical. So ethics change, and so they should. Change is the only constant in the universe, and without it, we grow [stagnate stagnant] and our lives become filled with rot and decay. Change blows in new life to help recreate our lives, our beliefs and yes, even [out our] ethics.

The other common code of conduct that we hear of in the Pagan community is 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the Law, love under will.' This comes from Aleister Crowley, from his book entitled 'The Book of the Law'. Now knowing some of the things that we do about Crowley, it's almost humorous to think of him in a discussion of ethics, except to point to what not to do maybe! But, this is a very powerful outlook on developing your own set of personal ethics.

In my understanding 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law, love under will' does not mean you may do as you wish and that is it. It is speaking of your true will, your true purpose in life. And if you are following your true or higher will and purpose you will not come into conflict with another's will so therefore you do not have to worry about stepping on anyone else's toes. So you don't have to worry about harming another, because you are in touch with the divine and you are following your own spiritual path and will, which will not cause harm or conflict with another. Of course, we still have conflicts with people. One way to look at this is as a spiritual lesson for either you or the other person. But if you are seeking to control another or harm another, this is not your true will. This is based upon the belief that every person is an individual, and as an individual you should be true to your own nature or consciousness. You must find your true will and make all of your actions subservient to the one great purpose. This again leads to conscious living.

If ethics are codes of personal and community conduct, then etiquette is a code of social conduct. Etiquette is defined as -- the practices and forms prescribed by social convention or by authority; forms of conduct prescribed by polite society; code of correct conduct; also decorum denotes conformity with established standards of manners or behavior; the forms required by good breeding, or prescribed by authority, to be observed in social or official life; observance of the proprieties of rank and occasion; conventional decorum; ceremonial code of polite society; rules governing acceptable behavior.

Just like Emily Post and polite society, we in the Pagan community have behavior that is expected from us in how we interact with that community. In my opinion, etiquette is something sorely lacking in many Pagans. They are not taught certain things about how we interact with each other. This could be because maybe you didn't have a teacher, or your teacher didn't know them either. Or it could be because you or those who taught you just didn't care, it wasn't important to them. But I feel that etiquette is very important. It keeps us civilized, it aids us in how we interact and it shows the outside world that we know how to act.

Beyond the mundane world and it's social etiquette, lets take a look at some things that are common among Pagan paths, especially the Wiccan path.

You should never touch someone else's magickal tools and items without their express permission. If you see something you like and want to touch, then ask. Don't just hold out your hand for it, or just pick it up. A person leaves an imprint of their energy on what they touch, and they may not want someone else's energy on their magickal items. This includes athames all the way to stones and jewelery. And do not take offense if you ask and are told no.The way you live reflects on our whole community. You should always respect others, no matter their path. Inside your own religion there is a certain higher respect given each other, as Children of the Goddess. This comes from a basic understanding of the hardships of the path, and the process we all go through in some way to evolve. It can be equated to any secret society and it's initiation process and path of self-discovery. This path is not for everyone, and if you take it seriously, will change your life in ways you could never imagine. Any path that causes growth can be difficult. And we link with others that are going through the same thing we are and take strength from and learn from them. We endeavor to hold ourselves to a high standard of living our spiritual lives that the mundane world does not. Therefor we support each other, lending a hand when the pitfalls of the world come about. When someone gives of themselves to teach or guide, we recognize that person's giving, and respect it. Not all of us are called to teach, and those who are offer a valuable service that should not be taken for granted. When you are called to teach or guide, you have been given a very serious part to play in your community. You should never abuse it in any way. It also does not mean that you may use it as a way to gain power over, or look down upon any other person. We are all where we should be on our path, and it does not mean a thing that you have 10 or 20 years of service and someone else has 1. We are all equal in the eyes of the Gods. And if you are a teacher, you are held to an even higher state of conduct. You must never involve yourself in anything that could cause harm to your students or to the Craft. You should never do anything that would bring a bad light on us. For instance, you should never become romantically involved with one of your students. You should not condone the use of illegal drugs, or alcohol if the person is not of age. You should not use your position to control your students, or make them dependent on you. The goal is to aid a person on [t]his path. You supply the seed as a teacher. You cannot take them by the hand and learn from them, or be easy on them when you should be honest. In that same light, those who would be considered an elder in our faith are given a large amount of respect. The wisdom that is gained from following this path for 10, 20 or 30 years is an asset to our community, and we should respect the Elders of the community for what they have learned and what they teach us. Due to the advent of the internet, there is a phenomenon growing among new seekers that is very disturbing. It involves not understanding the hard work it takes to learn the Old Ways, or the dedication and self sacrifice those who follow, and especially those who teach and guide give to the path. From this lack of understanding, new seekers think they can go to any page on the net, learn what they can and be done with it. It also leads them to think that they can ask for what they want, and someone will just hand it over. For example, I have been asked to send someone a copy of my Book of Shadows. This shows me that the person requesting this has no idea of what a BOS is, what it stands for, and the process that is gone through to acquire it. This is flat out rude to begin with. This person is wanting their religion hand fed to them. They want to skip the hard work, the dedication, the pitfalls and the trials, and get right to the reward. This is simply not how it's done. This person wants the secrets and mysteries handed to them on a silver platter, without having to leave the comfort of the computer chair and work for them. This isn't possible. And I am here to say stop. Be mindful of what you are asking. You can't go to the net, read a page or two, then go ask someone for their BOS, or even ask them to teach you. There must be effort on your part. You are not an adept after reading a page, or a book, or even ten books. The mysteries cannot be handed to you on a silver platter and you are a master of the universe. This is what I call lazy Wicca, and through lazy Wicca you will never come to experience the mysteries, because they come through dedication, hard work and a personal dedication to the Gods. Those who are out of the closet must never give away the secrets of their brothers and sisters. You should never give any personal information. You should never tell the secrets of a coven, who it's leaders are, who the members are or any other information. We must honor our vows and protect those who for whatever reason have chosen to remain hidden from the eyes of the world. For those who are out of the closet, your life and your actions must be above reproach in the eyes of the world. As an open pagan, you may be the only one that a non pagan every sees. They will see every Pagan in you. So in all things you must be truthful. You must live with dignity and honor. In our discussion of ethics and etiquette the point I was trying to impress upon you is this. We have become a society who thinks that we may do as we please, act as we please and there are no consequences. We fight with the Christians. We complain about how they fight amongst themselves. We sneer at them when they point to another of them and say how that person is wrong and they way they practice is wrong. And yet, we do the same thing.
[ The nature of humans is relatively constant, as is the nature of religions, and both operate at a variety of levels. The greatest "spiritual" error, regardless the presence or lack of any associated "religion", is judgment of others in an absolute sense, (they are good or they are bad), versus discernment of appropriateness in your own reality, (they are good or bad for me, in these circumstances). -- celeste ]

When I meet a fellow priestess, I treat her with respect as a person, and doubly so as a priestess, since I know how hard that path can be, to have dedicated your life and your service to the Gods and the Old Ways. If I meet someone who has been walking the path for 20 or 30 years, I respect that person because of the knowledge they have obtained in that time. That is not to say my 10 years is less, or they are 'more spiritual' than me. It is saying that this path is not an easy one all the time, and to have lived it every day for that amount of time is deserving of respect. I was taught as a child to respect my elders, and I believe that is still a valid lesson. The elders of this path can teach us things that we have never even thought of. At the same time, as an elder, you should always remember what it was like to take your first stumbling steps on this path, and how you may have longed for some guidance. It is just as wrong to be an elder, and act as if you know everything, or someone who is only 20 or whatever age could never be a spiritual person. We all must remember our ethics and etiquette, and encourage each other every day.

We have forgotten to practice our personal ethics, and have thrown etiquette out the window. We have forgotten Emily Post and Miss Manners, and have went on about our merry little way to fight like cats and dogs, without even offering basic human respect for those with diverging views, and this troubles me. It is a plague that is infecting our community. The Witch Wars continue. We struggle to make our way the right way, even if we don't realize we are doing this. We forget the very basic teaching that we are all connected, and that all paths are valid, as long as they fulfill our spiritual needs.

Let us remember our ethics. Let us live our lives with honor, treating all of life with respect. Follow your own path, without interference into another's. Work hard, study hard and receive the blessings of a life well lived.

---

In my own "magical workings", because i long ago anchored into my own ethics, my intent always includes, and is conditioned by, "for the good of all, harm none", though, circumstantially, and to be judged by the collective wisdom rather than my own individual consciousness, to effect the aspect of ahimsa wherein a small harm must be done to prevent a larger one, "for the most good for the most, and the least harm to the fewest" is our closest approximation to perfection.
Ultimately, our ethics are going to be based upon our values.
-- celeste