~ What is Wicca? ~
Wicca is an Earth and fertility religion, a Neo-pagan denomination. Wiccans believe in the sanctity of all within nature, and that the Spirit, known as the God and Goddess are present within everything and ourselves. In the trees, rain, flowers, the sea, in each other and all of natures creatures. This means that they must treat all things of the Earth as aspects of the Divine. They attempt to honour and respect life in all its many manifestations both seen and unseen.
Wiccans learn from and revere the gift of nature from Divine creation by celebrating the cycles of the sun, moon and seasons. These are represented in the eight Wiccan Sabbats: Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Eostre, Litha, Bealtaine, Mabon, and Lammas.
They search within themselves for the cycles that correspond to those of the natural world and try to live in harmony with the movement of this universal energy. They also revere the spirits of the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water which combine to manifest all creation. From these four elements they obtain insight to the rhythms of nature and understand they are also the rhythms of their own lives.
Wicca is known as a ditheistic religion because it believes in the existence of two main entities: the God and Goddess, or Lord and Lady. The God is a dualistic solar god who is born at Yule, and dies at Samhain. During the waxing half of the year, he is the young Oak King, the green man of the forests. During the waning half, he is the Holly King, and also Lord of the Underworld, presiding over death and the darker aspects of life.
The Goddess is a Triple Moon goddess. Her three phases are Maiden, Mother and Crone, which are represented by the three main phases of the moon.
Wiccans have one major rule in their belief system which is part of the Wiccan Rede:
"An it harm none, do what ye will." Despite popular belief, this does not mean "as long as you don't hurt anyone, do what you like". In actual fact, if you look at Crowley's meaning of "do what ye will", it means to act upon your true Will's desire (what is needed spiritually, not what is wanted on a materialistic level), and in the Wiccan Rede this means that so long as no-one is harmed (including yourself) by your actions, one can achieve what you truly need.
The rule of harm none technically isn't a rule to harm none. The first indication is the title "Rede" - rede means advice, and advice isn't known for it's infalability.
Apart from that, it says "an it harm none, do what ye will". That would mean "if it doesn't harm, it's permitted", it doesn't say "if it harms, it is forbidden".
There is a difference between those two statements:
"If it doesn't harm, it's permitted"
This indicates that an action which doesn't harm is ok to do, but it doesn't say that actions which do cause harm are not allowed.
"If it harms, it is forbidden"
This is directly saying that certain actions are forbidden to do, but this is not what the Rede says.
A basic interpretation of the Rede would be encouragement of harmless acts, but it washes its hands of anything harmful and leaves it up to the Wiccan to decide if they should do it or not. So basically, if it causes harm, it's your choice: you aren't bound by any rules that say you shouldn't do it.
Another belief that goes hand in hand with this rule is that whatever we do, whether it be magickal or mundane, will come back to them three times over. Therefore, if they do a good deed, they shall be rewarded justly. However, if they commit a harmful action then they believe that they shall also be harmed in some way as a result.
An important aspect of Wicca is it's open-mindedness and tolerance of others. For example, Wicca has no rules saying you can't be homosexual. You can be or believe whatever you wish without prejudice, it is your way of life and they believe they have no right to dictate it, so they also believe in inclusivism. This means that they believe all religions and spiritual paths are valid paths. Wiccans do not think theirs is the only way, so they let people decide what is right for them instead of trying to "recruit" followers.
Many would argue that to be an official Wiccan, you must be formally initiated by an existing coven in keeping with Gardner's original system. Any "solitary Wiccans" are usually considered "Seekers" as they have not been formally initiated and taught. The good, credible books published today only contain "outer court" information on Wicca (as is that which is written in this article). To learn the "inner court" secrets of Wicca, one must be initiated into a Wiccan coven. These inner court secrets are know as "Mysteries". Initiation is required so one can learn the techniques for discovering these Mysteries. After all, Wicca is called a mystery religion for a reason.
Note that you don't have to be initiated into a Gardnerian coven to be considered Wiccan. You do have to be initiated by a coven that can trace its lineage back to Gardner, however. Alexandrian covens can do this, therefore Alexandrians are considered real Wiccans. Also, it is possible to have a "self-initiation," where the Lord and Lady directly bless you and initiate you into Their priesthood. Of course, to prove this, you should be able to provide Their true names, which are revealed to Dedicants at the moment of initiation.
Rede of the Wicca
Being known as the counsel of the Wise Ones:
Bide the Wiccan Laws ye must In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.
Live an’ let live - Fairly take an’ fairly give.
Cast the Circle thrice about To keep all evil spirits out.
To bind the spell every time - Let the spell be spake in rhyme.
Soft of eye an’ light of touch - Speak little, listen much.
Deosil go by the waxing Moon - Sing and dance the Wiccan rune.
Widdershins go when the Moon doth wane, An’ the Werewolf howls by the dread Wolfsbane.
When the Lady’s Moon is new, Kiss thy hand to Her times two.
When the Moon rides at Her peak Then your heart’s desire seek.
Heed the Northwind’s mighty gale - Lock the door and drop the sail.
When the wind comes from the South, Love will kiss thee on the mouth.
When the wind blows from the East, Expect the new and set the feast.
When the West wind blows o’er thee, Departed spirits restless be.
Nine woods in the Cauldron go - Burn them quick an’ burn them slow.
Elder be ye Lady’s tree - Burn it not or cursed ye’ll be.
When the Wheel begins to turn - Let the Beltane fires burn.
When the Wheel has turned a Yule, Light the Log an’ let Pan rule.
Heed ye flower bush an’ tree - By the Lady Blessèd Be.
Where the rippling waters go Cast a stone an’ truth ye’ll know.
When ye have need, Hearken not to others greed.
With the fool no season spend Or be counted as his friend.
Merry meet an’ merry part - Bright the cheeks an’ warm the heart.
Mind the Threefold Law ye should - Three times bad an’ three times good.
When misfortune is enow, Wear the Blue Star on thy brow.
True in love ever be Unless thy lover’s false to thee.
Eight words ye Wiccan Rede fulfill - An’ it harm none, Do what ye will.
History
The Wiccan Rede is a saying that sums up the ethics of the neo-Pagan religion Wicca. The most common form of the rede is An it harm none, do what ye will. "Rede" is a word from Middle English meaning "advice" or "counsel". "An" is an archaic contraction of the word "and", meaning "if", as in the Shakespearian "an it please thee". Other variants include:
An it harm none, do as thou wilt
Do what you will, so long as it harms none
An it harm none, do what thou will
That it harm none, do as thou wilt
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, / An it harm none do what ye will.
The combination of Wicca with no harm to others and do what thou wilt made its first known appearance in The Old Laws by Gerald Gardner, 1953. A similar phrase, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law, appears in Aleister Crowley's works by 1904, in The Book of the Law (though as used by Crowley it is half of a statement and response, the response being "Love is the Law, love under Will"). The rede in its best known form was used by Doreen Valiente in several writings. In the form of the "eight words" couplet it was first recorded in a speech she delivered in 1964. In 1974 a complete poem entitled "The Wiccan Rede" was published in the neo-Pagan magazine Earth Religion News. It was shortly followed by another, slightly different, version, entitled the "Rede Of The Wiccae", which was published in Green Egg magazine by Lady Gwen Thompson. She ascribed it to her grandmother Adriana Porter, and claimed that the earlier published text was distorted from "its original form".
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