The Wiccan Rede

The Wiccan Rede


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 eye and light of touch,
Speak little, listen much,

Deosil go by the waxing moon
Chanting out the Witches' Rune,

Widdershins go by the waning moon,
Chanting on 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 feats,

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 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 true need,
Hearken not others greed,

With a fool no season spend,
Lest ye be counted as his friend,

Merry meet and merry part,
Bright the cheeks 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 the brow,

True in love ever be,
Lest thy lover's false to thee,

Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill;
An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will.

Author Unknown

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by the way its not 'cast the circle thrice' its 'tread the circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out' and it actually has every two lines you have as one!! so get it right!

and it is all wrong most words in yours aren't in the rede at all

There are MANY versions of the Rede. At least this wasn't the one that mentions werewolves. Yes, one mentions "werewolves howl". Truly there is no set rede and the rede is far younger than Wicca itself and has been revised so many times, its ridiculous. Here is an article on it.

http://www.sibyllineorder.org/editorials/ed_rede.htm

Actually it is "cast the circle thrice", and the author is not unknown. The Rede of the Wiccae was started by Adriana Porter, finished by her granddaughter, Gwen Thompson. The 26th & final couplet "Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill - an it harm none, do what ye will.", was borrowed from Doreen Valiente with her permission after the statement was published in "The Green Egg" in the 1970's.

Do your research, and a good place to start is with a book that not only traces the author's lineage, but also cross references the information several times and includes not only the reference notes but also the cited manuscripts and works used. The book is: The Rede of the Wiccae: Adriana Porter, Gwen Thompson and the Birth of a Tradition of Witchcraft ~ By Robert Mathiesen & Theitic [ISBN- 0-9709013-2-1 (softcover) And the publisher is Olympian Press; Providence, RI.

The Rede itself actually predates anything Dr. Gerald Gardner put out, and most of his stuff (ie. chants, spells, rituals, songs, guidelines, etc) used for his Coven specifically wasn't even written by him, it was his colleague and later Priestess Doreen Valiente. Which didn't last too aweful long as she didn't take to his constant desire for the "public" spotlight; especially when at that time witchcraft was just being accepted to the point that witches weren't being hung, burned, stoned to death, or imprisoned for their practices anymore.

Research everything for yourself before discounting someone's shared research.

I thought be a lovely part in the kiss.the first time i have read
it and memorys come flooding back icant believe such a brilliant peace of writing will touch my heart as been a case with in.

The wiccan rede to me is a beautiful peice of art. I read it and its like i cant see every intent of the goddess and god.

live it