by GreWolf
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"An it harm none, do what ye will."
One of the simplest, but most misunderstood rules of the Wiccan religion is the Wiccan Rede. This is especially true for the beginning student. It sounds SO simple, and it really is, but has been taken out of context and misunderstood by many. Alot of the "Mainstream" religions have played on it to make Wicca seem like a "Free for All" religion. Some newcomers to Wicca also take the Rede the same way or at least way too lightly.
The Vocabulary of the Wiccan Rede:
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The Rede appears to be presented in a pseudo-archaic form of English. Is this done like this for fun or is there a valid reason for the vocabulary selected? Let's look at the Rede, word by word.
AN:
This word is commonly mistranslated as "if", which is a significant error. The word "an" is more accurately translated "Just as long as".
IT:
This pronoun refers to whatever it is that you are thinking of doing.
HARM:
This refers to anything which either you or any other person involved or affected by "it" would regard as loss, damage, pain, discomfort injustice, invasiveness, or prevention, related to the situation existing before "it" was done. Anything which goes against another person's free will, even if it intends them good, would constitute serious harm.
NONE:
This ought to be self-explanitory. "None" is an all exclusive word. If you harm anyone or anything, including yourself, you have harmed "some", not " none".
DO:
To perform whatever working is contemplated by "IT", above.
WHAT:
The meaning here is " Whatever", and refers foreword.
YE:
The archaic PLURAL form of "you". The current word "you" denotes both the singular and the plural; the archaic word "ye" is always plural. We shall see, later on, that this is no accident.
WILL:
To will something is to exercise your intellectual decision-making power to determine the course of action which you feel to be the best. "Will" has little or nothing to do with "wish" or "want" or "desire". It is not an emotional inclination or feeling. It is the employment of reason to make a decision based upon your best judgment.
The Two Sections of the Wiccan Rede:
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A. Section One: "An it Harm None"
There is a reason why "An it Harms None" comes first in the Rede, and that is the reason that "An it Harms None" is intended to come first in your own thinking, as a Wiccan initiate and practitioner. If "Do What Ye Will" came first , you and others could and would find a way to excuse and even justify anything that you take it into your head to do. Since human nature is like that, Spirit inspired the Rede to be written with " An it Harm None" to come first.
The Wiccan Rede's "An it Harm None" has parallels in many disciplines. Perhaps the most significant parallel is found in the Hippocratic Oath taken by every physician before he or she is certified to practice. The first part of the Hippocratic Oath binds the physician "First, to do no harm." It is sobering to realize that magical ethics, as set forth in the Wiccan Red, are or should be so similar to medical ethics, an issue with such a powerful effect on so many lives.
When we read of a physician who has violated his medical ethics, we read this with outrage toward him or her with empathy toward those patients who suffered inadequate care because the physician violated his or her ethics. It is more sobering to realize that the future generations will regard violations of magickal ethis with the same degree of outrage, and rightly so.
B. Section Two: "Do What Ye Will."
Even without the first part of the Rede, "Do What Ye Will" is most certainly not a blanket permission to do whatever you desire to do. As many Wiccan High Priests and High Priestesses have observed, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This is certainly true when you're talking about using real magick to acomplish real goals in the real world.
When we realize the kinds and orders of results, both expected and unexpected, both knowable and unknowable, which eventuate from almost every human action, it would seem the better part of both valor and wisdom to never do anything at all, especially not anything which is done with spiritual power guided by no more than human wisdom. Unfortunately, to do nothing is also a choice, and the results of inaction are often far worse than the results of even ill-considered action. This is why the second half of the Rede demands that we make a decision and act upon it, as well as conforming that decision to the requirement that it harm none.
The Standard of the Rede.
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Note that the Wiccan Rede contains no loop holes what so ever. The Rede does not say, "An it harm none to the best of your knowledge." The Rede also does not say " An it harm none to the best of your ability to dicern whether it will harm someone."
The Wiccan Rede does not say these things, or anything similar to them. It simply says "An it Harm NONE, Do What Ye Will."
This means YOU, anoce you have committed to live by the Wiccan Rede,are committed to be solely and totally responsible for any harm resulting from ANY ACTION YOU TAKE, MAGICKAL OR NOT.
Ideally, when you commit to live according to the Wiccan Rede, you commit to conform your entire life, not just the magickal, mystical and religious aspects of it, to the standard set by the Rede. Never again will you be able to act impulsively or without considering the results of what you do. Never again will you be able to act or even speak in thoughtless irritation or anger. Instead, you will come to consider the implications of every word you speak, and of every routine action you do. For it is not just by magick that we can harm ourselves or others; evrything we do, and everything we say, has the potential to help or harm others, and to help or harm ourselves.
It is also important to note that the Rede sets up a standard which prevents us from harming ourselves as well as others. You are to harm none, and this means that you are not to harm yourself either. Wicca recognizes that human beings are social creatures. What does harm to one, does harm to all in varying degrees. Therefore, it is imperative that each person strive to harm no one, himself or herself included.
Please note: Harm, does not just refer to the physical form of the word, it also applies to the emotional aspects too. This is one aspect that alot of people tent to over look. This cannot be stressed enough.
Finally, it is significant to note that the word "ye" in the statement, "Do What YE Will." This is the ancient plural form of "you", and it means that your individual will is assumed to be in accord with some other will, instead of acting entirely on its own. What is the other will which, together with yours, comprises the "ye" in the Rede? Well if you are working in a coven, it would well be the combined will of the other members of the coven. This would not apply to those that work alone, and is not the highest or best meaning, even for those working in a coven.
How does one act, so as to be certain to harm none? Not by refusing to act, since inaction is itself a decision, and often causes far more harm than even rash action. Not by delaying action until the time for it has passed, because that is the same as inaction. And not by relying solely upon your own human wisdom, either.
The best way to act, so as to be certain to harm none, is to call upon the Goddess and/or the God, and to hand Them the power you have raised,together with the situaton you have raised the power to deal with, and say, " You are holy, good, and wise, and know how to usethis power to help and not harm. Do Your will in this situation. That is my will, that Your power will be done."
Thus the Rede is fulfilled: For the "ye" who will are yourself and Themselves, who are good, and love humanity, and who always act for the highest good of all.
Conclusion
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The Wiccan Rede is one of the foundations of the Wiccan religion. When first read the Rede sounds so simple, but as you have seen, it goes much deeper than it first appears. For this reason, many have done wrong things referring back to the Rede as there defence, or have used it to say " As long as it doesn't hurt anybody, I can do whtever I want." Which you can clearly see is not the case in hand.
So many books have been written, and so many people have been taught, with little emphases of what those eight mighty words REALLY mean;
" AN IT HARM NONE, DO WHAT YE WILL."
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