The Wiccan Rede
� This is as close to a credo of Wicca as you will ever find. The Rede is the basis
of most of the things you will learn in your studies. The Rede includes many aspects of
Wicca, from the Goddess and God, the Sabbats, divination, and general living. Some parts,
like the "9 woods in the cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow" are not
too applicable in today's society, who has time to find 9 different kinds of wood, much
less burn them all. But if you take a look at the poem before you really delve into your
studies and try to interpret it, and then go back after you have studied more aspects of
Wicca, the poem will almost definitely make more sense. The poem says something different
to all of us, for me, the nine woods represents magick working, nine being a powerful
magickal number, and burning something fast and slow is the working of magick, building up
something that is moving very fast, but you build it slowly. Which probably makes no sense
to you at this point, though it may later. Ok, ok, I'll shut up. Here's the poem.
Bide the Wiccan law ye must, in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust
Live and let Live, fairly take and fairly give
Cast the circle thrice about to keep the evil spirits out
To bind the spell everytime, let the spell be spake in rhyme
Soft of eye and light of touch, speak little, listen much
Deosil go by waxing moon, chanting out the Witches Rune
Widdershins go by waning moon, chanting out the Baneful Rune
When the Lady's moon is new, kiss the hand to her times two
When the moon rides at Her peak, then your heart's desire seek
Heed the North wind'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 West, departed souls will have no rest
When the wind is from the East, expect the new and set the feast
Nine woods in the cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow
Elder be the Lady's tree, burn it not or cursed you'll be
When the Wheel begins to turn, let the Beltane fires burn
When the Wheel turns to Yule, light the log and the Horned One rules
Heed ye flower, bush and tree, by the Lady, Blessed Be
Where the rippling waters go, cast a stone and truth you'll know
When ye have a true need, hearken not to others greed
With a fool no season spend, lest ye be counted as his friend
Merry Meet and Merry Part, bright the cheeks and warm the heart
Mind the three-fold law ye should, three times bad and three times good
When misfortune in enow, wear the blue star on thy brow
True in Love ever be, lest thy lover's false to thee
8 words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, An' it harm none, do what ye will!
Obviously not all of this is made to be taken literally, if you feel a west wind, no ghosts are going to automatically come knocking at your door. Here's an idea. Take a piece of paper and write down what you think each of the lines is saying. Some will be easy, like "True in Love ever be, lest thy lover's false to thee" Well duh! Be nice to the person you like or they'll dump you, but others may require some thinking like the "soft of eye and light of touch" part. When you are finished keep the piece of paper somewhere where you can find it again. (Which is also a very good skill to learn if you are going to become a Witch, you'll probably end up with a lot of stuff. I should know. I can't find half of my things when I need them.)
Notes: Deosil - move clockwise / Widdershins - move counter-clockwise / Cast a stone - divination, runes, tarot, crystal gazing etc. / Wheel - Wheel of the Year, the passage of the seasons / Beltane and Yule - Sabbats / Witches Rune / Baneful Rune - don't ask me! / Moon rides at Her peak - Full moon