On my profile, I wrote that I no longer call myself Wiccan because I have issues with the Rede and the Rule.
My question is this:
How is Wicca any improvement on Christianity when both follow rules based on fear of reprisal for what you do?
And are the Rede and Rule something Wiccan thot up to soothe the fears of Xtians about Wiccacraft?
Don't intend to offend. This is something I'm struggling with right now, and I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this.
I know, but…
BIG but,
How many times have you heard someone say don’t cast such and such a spell because the Rede and the threefold law say you’ll get your U-NO kicked bigtime? Every time I hear this, I think of the line I heard over and over when I was a kid, ‘if you do that, you’ll go to hell!’
That’s fear talking.
How many times have you heard someone say don’t cast such and such a spell because It’s wrong? I believe in taking personal responsibility for my actions. I believe there are consequences and I take responsibility for them but not because I’m scared of bad karma. I believe fear shouldn’t be a part of the religion that I love.
I believe that harming any living thing is wrong, so in effect I do abide by the Rede as far as it is possible for anyone to do so, but I do it because it’s the right thing to do, and for no other reason.
I am not a Wiccan,
but I do have a quote that I feel may be useful if shared.
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." -Buddha
I do not believe in this "threfold law"
nor do I know what you mean by the "rede,"
but I do know that you should never live in fear of anything.
My beliefs are mixed.
To simplify, I believe in myself more then almost anything else,
but I also believe in being open minded to new possibilities.
I have tried several religions,
including Christianity and Wicca,
and my preference here is unimportant.
My reason for mentioning this is that every path has extremists.
No matter what you believe and no matter who you follow,
someone is going to take something to far.
For Wicca it is the threefold law,
for Christianity it is hell or wrath
(which, by the way, is only mentioned
by ignorant hypocrites since it is not our place to judge
and according to Christianity you only need
to believe in Jesus in order to be accepted into Heaven)
and for others there are others.
Some believe that if you do not do good in this life
you will be stuck as something insignificant in your next life.
Such as a bug or insect.
That reincarnation punishment seems odd to me,
I don't know who came up with that,
but point is there will always be somebody
taking something to far.
Don't let them ruin a good thing for you.
Thanks for your replies to my post. I appreciate any input. I am really struggling with this!
When I started my path as a Wiccan(a looong time ago, lol!) I followed the Rede and accepted the Rule blindly. All I ever heard before that was satan, fire and brimstone, sin and death and Hell. I spent my whole childhood and young adulthood in a constant state of terror. To this day, I can't enter a Christian church without having a panic attack!
Than I came to Wicca and it was like coming home. I had peace for the first time in my life. I LOVED being Wiccan. I love being a Witch. I wear my pentacle with pride. But Wiccans are taught to question, to understand why they believe a thing is true, not just blindly believe.
As I studied and worked with Magick, thru the years, I became increasingly uneasy with and confused by these two aspects of Wicca. And now, I just don't know what to believe.
So I stopped calling myself Wiccan, now I just say I'm a Witch.
I refuse to live in fear any more, for any reason!
Are there any Wiccans here who DON'T accept the Rede and Rule? If so, I would love to hear their views on this.
The purpose of such rules in whatever religion you can think of is in the end the same: for those who need to be discouraged from comiting "crimes"; I once read a comparison between atheist and christians, that wereas christians are "good" for fear of reprisal, atheists don't commit crimes simply because those were their values,etc.
So, if you really don't want to leave the religion, just make your on system of values or morals and follow that instead of the rede, and think about whether or not you gain any benefit from harming someone else and wether or not it feels "wrong" to do so... And while the idea of religion seems nice and comforting, I think we should all form our own beliefs... I hope this helped.
Im Wiccan but i kind of think the rede and rule is kind of sill because wiccan is a religion based on nature and nature and nature is crule and kind. thats why i dont realy belive in a difference between white and black magic i think its the intention that you have when your working magic.
