Musings of a Massachusetts Witch
CricketSong May 1st, 2010
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
An’ it harm none,
Do what ye will.
What exactly does the Wiccan Rede advise with those words? Let’s look first at the definition of harm. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as; physical or mental damage. I would not hasten to add spiritual damage to that definition as well. Okay. Got it. What about the word – none? The same dictionary goes on to define that as; not any, not one, nobody, not any such thing or person, no part, nothing. Huh. Now really, if you think about it, that’s a pretty broad spectrum. But what is the ‘it’ in the Rede’s phrasing? What is meant by the word it? Well, I understand the ‘it’ to be circumstances; our actions, words, behaviors and thoughts. So when we put all these definitions together we have – if your actions cause no one or nothing physical, mental damage, emotional damage or spiritual damage then do what you will (or desire).
Yeah. That sounds about right. But if we literally take what the Rede states then it doesn’t leave us the ability to do much; does it? I mean, if I am bond to not cause any mental, physical or spiritual damage to anyone or anything then how can I survive? I need to eat in order to survive, don’t I? Maybe you’re thinking that the Rede doesn’t stop me from eating but, as I said, if I were to take what the Rede states as literal instructions and follow it exactly, well, then it certainly does imply that I can’t eat.
“How?” you ask. Well, in order to eat … let’s not even consider eating meat … let’s mull over eating vegetables or fruit. If I were to eat an apple I would have to harvest it from the tree. Wouldn’t picking it cause physical damage to that tree? Perhaps not. What about chewing the apple and ingesting it? Wouldn’t that cause physical damage to the apple? What about harvesting vegetables from our gardens? How about herbs? Grains? Doesn’t the Rede state that as long as we don’t cause physical damage to anything then do as I desire? I desire to eat. I desire to live. Should I just expect manna to drop from the sky so that I might ingest it so I might live? No. Wait. I couldn’t ingest that either because that would be causing damage to the manna.
Is the Rede meant to be taken literally? Does the Rede truly state that we should not harm anything … ever? Honestly, it is my belief that it speaks to individual intent, motivation and perception. My understanding and feeling about the word “harm” and yours may differ greatly. What I view as causing harm, you may not and what you view as causing harm, I may not. Our perceptions differ because our life experiences have shaped us into unique sacred beings that are connected in a most intimate way – to and through The Divine (God and Goddess). What harm actually encompasses is a convoluted concept which requires serious thought and meditation. A witch must weigh all possible consequences to see if harm would result from his or her words, actions and behavior. This idea is difficult for many to grasp especially those just starting on their path and there will most certainly always be disagreements within the Wiccan community. Yet I believe it is the most important tenet and one of the cornerstones of Wicca as it requires every witch to be responsible for his or her own actions and the results of such.
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This is one of the many reasons why I am not Wiccan and only a witch. There is also a saying that a witch that cannot hex cannot heal. I don’t believe that to be true, but I reserve my right to hex, AS A LAST RESORT, knowing I have the strength to deal with the consequences of my actions. For instance, I would hex a child molester the authorities could not or would not deal with properly and once all legal avenues had been exhausted.
We all do some harm everyday; the point, I believe, is to do as little harm as possible.
This is my interpretation, excerpted from my essay on the Rede, which you can find here: http://hexeengel.blogspot.com/2009/10/wiccan-ethics-i-explanation.html
The word, “An” is usually cited as meaning, “if.” However, more accurately, it should be read “so that.” So in essence, the Rede says, “So that it harms none, do what you Will.”
“Harm,” as mentioned in the Rede, means unwarranted, wanton damage. For example, it’s not OK to smack someone for no reason, but if one feels pain after beneficial surgery, the doctor has not done harm; that pain is an acceptable consequence of the procedure.
“None,” of course, not only means others around you, but includes yourself as well.
“Will,” in this case, does not mean “whatever you want.” Your Will is your sense of what is correct, just, and appropriate in a given situation, even if it isn’t what you want to do. Another example, you find a wallet on the street with a substantial amount of cash inside. Your want may be to keep the money, but most likely your Will tells you to do what you can to return the wallet with ALL its contents to the rightful owner.
“Do as you Will” is not a statement of permission, it is a call to action, that you do consciously work your Will in any situation. Going back to the wallet on the street, you could just walk past and leave it there, but abiding by the Rede would mean that you pick it up and turn it over to the authorities or contact the owner yourself, whatever you deem necessary to return it to its owner.
Overall, “harm” in the Rede refers to wanton damage, maliciousness, forced acts, etc., whether mundane or Magickal. Additionally, the Rede does not state, “if it hurts someone, don’t do it.” Instead, it states, “so that it causes no harm, you must do it.” Not that you can, or may, but that as a Wiccan, you have an obligation to do it.
Notice that that the Rede makes commentary on actions that cause no harm (that you are to follow through with those actions) but you may be wondering about actions that DO harm. The Rede says nothing about them, this is true. It is left up to the individual to decide whether to commit actions that cause harm. This is an important caveat to the Rede that I feel is far too often, at the very least, overlooked if not outright ignored; sometimes working your Will means that someone will be harmed. But will an initial harmful action prevent greater harm in the future? Are you prepared to accept the consequences of said harmful action? All things to carefully consider when a harmful action presents itself as an option. If after such consideration harm is simply unavoidable, since you did in fact work your Will and your INTENT was not to do harm, any resulting harm is then another consequence to be dealt with (NOT ignored or disregarded, but actually faced), and not a violation of the Rede. The Lycian Tradition of Wicca adds a second statement to their interpretation of the Rede, “an it cause harm, do as you must,” to convey this particular caveat, but it is my personal understanding that this is implicit in the Rede as it stands.
Related here, it must be understood that the word “rede” means “advice or counsel,” not “law” or “commandment.” So although it is a call to action, encouraging one to engage in behavior that conforms to one’s Will, it is not saying, “you MUST act in this way, or else!” The consequences of disregarding the Rede’s advice are usually subjective and personal, and it is in fact part of the Rede’s advice that one think about what it will mean to ignore it.
If one were to translate the Rede out of the more poetic and archaic language in which it is most commonly presented, it would be essentially, “you have an obligation to do what you feel is right so that it causes no unwarranted damage, but sometimes that damage is unavoidable, and so you must also have the responsibility and maturity to accept the consequences of your actions, whatever those actions or consequences may be, including what may happen if you act contradictory to your Will, or do not act at all.” It’s a lot of meaning to pack into eight little words, hence the power and profundity of the phrase.