Wiccan Law

Bide the Wiccan Laws we 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 every time, Let the spell be spake in rhyme.
Soft of eye and light of touch, Speak ye little, listen much.
Deosil go by the waxing moon, Chanting out the Witches' Rune.
Widdershins go by the 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 blows 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 has turned 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 Threefold Law you should, Three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow, Wear the blue star on thy brow.
True in Love ever be, Lest thy lover's false to thee.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: An it harm none, do what ye will!
Casting a circle is one of the most basic magickal acts that a Witch does. Circles are used for rituals and sometimes magickal workings. A circle does a number of things. Most importantly, it protects the practitioner(s) from spirits, negative energies, and other nasty things out there. It also serves as a sacred place in which to do ritual workings like sabbat celebrations and certain spells. The circle keeps the energy in a contained area so that it can be concentrated and strengthened as much as possible before it goes out to do its job. So, I know what you're thinking. "e;Yah yah. Who cares? Get to the good stuff! How do I do it?"e; Well now, aren't we impatient? Ok, so without further ado...

In Perfect Love
The Goddess exists within all things, and all things exist within her. When I'm angry at another person how can I go to the Goddess and tell her that I love her? I can't. First I have to forgive the other person.
Its often hard to forgive, but I won't let that be an excuse. Instead I'll have to pray about everything, and ask the Goddess to help me be willing to forgive. One of the things I've found helpful is this: to sit down where I won't be disturbed and and picture a ball of light. I focus the light energy on my feet, and say some sort of blessing like "may my feet serve the Goddess, may I walk her paths". Then I'll move slowly up my body focusing light and blessings on each part, reminding myself that I am a part of the Goddess here to do her bidding. When I'm done I'll imagine the person I'm angry at sitting in front of me, and focus the light on her. I'll repeat the same procedure of blessings focusing on loving the other person, and honoring her as a part of the Goddess.
In Perfect Trust
The Wiccan Rede calls us to be "in perfect love, in perfect trust". I've talked above about love, now onto the subject of trust. To me this means trusting the Goddess - turning everything over to her. If I've cast a spell, I have to let go and trust that it is in the Goddesses hands and if she wants it will be done. Some techniques I've found helpful are imagining your wish, and then putting the wish inside a big bubble and tossing it into the sky, or imagine that you are writing your wish on the blackboard - then erase it, and know that the wish is sent.
Sometimes what we wish for isn't what is best for us. In those cases we often don't get what we wished for. At first we might seem upset, wondering what's wrong or why our spells didn't work, but often later we'll realize it was for the best. Often when I form requests from the Universe I'll add something like "if this is for the best of all, may it become real" to the end of it.
Accept that the Universe wants to give you the best. The Goddess loves you. She loves you, and you don't actually have to wish for anything. All you have to do is trust her, and she will provide. Have faith, and know that you are loved.

HERE IS INTRO FROM FIRST PAGE: First of all, Wicca is NOT evil! We do NOT worship Satan, nor do we even acknowledge the mere existence of such an entity. We feel that there is no absolute evil and we can't go blaming our faults on a "devil". We do, however, recognize the divine. We view Deity as two equal, loving, and wise figures: the Goddess and God. These two are viewed as equals. We don't favor one over the other, but there is one tradition that worships only the Goddess aspect (Dianic Wiccans). I have found that the best way to express my beliefs about what Deity actually is, is through this analogy: The Divine force, the One, the All, or whatever one calls it, is the only Divine source. However, it is much easier to associate this unfathomable force as human, so we have. We have given Deity masculine as well as feminine characteristics. Doesn't life on Earth require a male and a female? (Well, intelligent life on Earth, that is). Now, we have been called monotheistic, polytheistic, as well as pantheistic. What does all of this mean and how does it apply to Wicca? Well, in the sense that we are monotheistic, yes, to an extent, we are monotheistic. We don't actually believe that the Divine is a God and Goddess, we just associate it to a Goddess and God and that is the form through which the Divine speaks to us. However, we are also polytheistic. We believe in most gods and goddesses. Does this contradict what I have just said? No, it doesn't. We believe in all gods and goddesses to an extent also. We believe that there is some truth to all deities, and that they are all just different ways of picturing Deity. So with that philosophy in mind, it is not impossible to be monotheistic AND polytheistic. Let me try to illustrate it with the previously mentioned analogy. Picture it: a Divine source. It has no form, no shape, and no gender. We picture Deity as male and female as to help us associate it to our lives. Now, say the Divine puts on a god "mask" and a goddess "mask". This would be the God and Goddess, respectively, whom we worship. Now, say the God puts on a Zeus mask, a Thor mask, a Jesus mask, a Jupiter mask, and a mask for all other gods known to man-kind. All of these gods may appear different, have different names, and act differently in mythology, yet they are all the same Divine source, just viewed differently! Now, say the Goddess puts on a Hera mask, a Freyja mask, an Aphrodite mask, an Artemis mask, and a mask for every other goddess known to man. They are also all the same Goddess, just viewed differently. Now, in recap, all gods are one God, and all goddesses are one Goddess. And the God and Goddess are one in the same; the Divine. Now that we're utterly confused *Chuckles*, let me try to associate it with another idea. The Christian Trinity. The Father (God), the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. Now, these three Divine powers are all separate entities, yet they are the same. The Holy Spirit and Jesus are a part of God. Sound familiar? I hope so :-) If you are still confused (which would be very understandable because I know that's a lot to swallow in one bite), simply e-mail me and I'll try to explain it a little better. We also believe that the Goddess and God aren't off in a distant "heaven," but that They are in everything and are everywhere: in rocks, trees, animals, people, and even the television! We view all nature as sacred and holy. Life is a gift and so is nature. We must do our best to keep this beautiful planet of ours inhabitable! If you actually stop to think about it and REALLY look around, you'll see how bad it is now. All the car fumes, the forests being leveled, the crime, hate, discrimination....*sigh* It does get pretty depressing after a while, doesn't it? :-) But, we try our best to help mankind through magick.
Yes, we do practice magick. The 'k' on the end is to distinguish it from stage magic which is just mirrors and illusion. Magick is not good NOR is it evil! It is simply a tool which we can use for good or bad, but true Wiccans don't use it for bad. Magick is like a gun in the sense that it can be used for good or bad. A gun doesn't kill, the people who use the gun kill. Wiccans have only one really "set" rule (And I use the term rule lightly): The Wiccan Rede. The Wiccan Rede (Or the main point of it) is, "An it harm none, do as thou will." We also subscribe to the idea of karma. If we send out bad energy, we expect bad energy to return. If we send out good energy, we should expect good energy back. This leaves little reason for us to do bad, and most would never think of doing so anyway. We also work with the Goddess and God and ask for Their help in our magick and life. They can be so helpful! :-) Also, magick isn't supernatural; it's quite the opposite! Magick is the use of will to alter or change our environment. It's all natural and everybody has the ability to use magick; it just takes practice and faith. Magick, as I see it, is just the use of laws and actions that we haven't discovered nor understand yet ("We" being the scientific community). Magnetism, for example, was once considered magick! When science investigated it, the reason for it was discovered. Who's to say that modern magick won't soon be "discovered" by science?
The pentacle (5 pointed star inside of a circle) is not only the symbol of protection, but also the symbol of the Wiccan faith. No, it is not the sign of the Devil. This pentacle is right side up and symbolizes: Spirituality on top, air next, followed by fire, water, and earth. The elements are a major part of magick (To me, anyway) and we can call on them to aid us in our magick. Spirit is on top to show that it is above all material things and more important, while the Satanic star shows spirit on bottom to show its inferiority compared to material things. Also, the Satanic has fire towards the top; a well known element favored by the Christian "devil". (Satanists aren't devil worshipers, by the way) Also, some Wiccans use the inverted pentacle. This isn't a common practice, but it is sometimes used in Alexandrian/Gardnerian traditions to show a second degree initiate.

Now, onto death. Death is not viewed as an end to anything, except for the troubles of living on this plane of existence. We, as Wiccans, believe in reincarnation (Most of us do, anyway). We are placed into a new body to repeat the endless cycle which is life just as the Earth does every year. Personally, I believe that after we die, we enter the Summerland. This is sort of like our "heaven," only it's seen as a beautiful land of endless summer. Here we look back at our lives and rest from living. I think we can stay here for as long as we want, but eventually most return to Earth to be reincarnated. Is there a judgement? No, not by some God. The only judge is ourself; when all is said and done, we are our own worst critic. How do I come to that conclusion? Well, how can a distant god damn us or give us eternal happiness based on this very short span of time on this plane of existence? After we learn from everything we have experienced, we can move on back to our mother and father (The God and Goddess) and be one with them again. The only hell is separation from Deity. The life cycles will still go on long after we all leave this plane of existence.
Another quick note. Most Wiccans are witches; however, not all Wiccans are witches and not all witches are Wiccan. A witch is one who uses magick. Witches aren't horribly ugly old women who make a pact with the Devil and go out and eat little kiddies. Hopefully, by reading this, you have come to discover that witches aren't evil, wicked, nor the hags whom you've seen stereotyped in movies and on television. They are your friends, neighbors, and look just like everybody else! And yes, I am a witch as well.
Another quick point I'd like to address is the label of "witch". Witch is not a feminine term. Male witches are called witches as well. We are not warlocks. Warlock is a Scottish word that means "oathbreaker" and many male witches take offense if called a warlock. All practitioners of witchcraft are witches, whether the person is a male or female.
That is a small explanation of my personal beliefs. Not every Wiccan believes as I do, but then again, a lot of them do. I hope this page has helped you understand the religion of Wicca a little bit better, but if you still have questions, drop me a line and I'll get right back to you! Hello please note that I am currently updateing this page, there is a new email and if there is anything special you would like to see added let me know. UPDATED 02/22/2004. Don't you just love comming to a page to read :-),,Sam