The Wiccan Rede is the central ethical statement of Wicca. In its shortest and best-known form it is eight words long: an it harm none, do what ye will.
What the words mean
The language is deliberately old-fashioned. Rede is an archaic English word for advice or counsel. An is an old word for if. Ye means you. In modern English, the Rede says: if it harms nobody, do what you will.
Two things follow from the wording. First, the Rede is counsel and not a commandment. It does not say what you must do. It tells you how to think about what you choose. Second, it is not a list of rules. It gives you one principle and leaves the application to you.
Where it comes from
The eight-word Rede was first recorded in public in 1964, in a speech by Doreen Valiente, who offered it as a summary of the whole of Wiccan ethics. A much longer poem of rhyming couplets, which includes advice on the moon, the elements, and the sabbats and ends with almost the same eight words, was published in the mid-1970s. Both are often simply called the Rede.
The idea behind it is older. Sayings about the freedom of the will appear in European literature and in the writings of earlier ceremonial magicians, and a few of them carry a warning against harm. Wicca put that condition first: harm none.
Freedom and responsibility
The Rede has two halves, and people often remember only one.
Do what ye will is a statement of freedom. Wicca has no list of forbidden pleasures. Your body, your relationships, and your path are your own. The word will means more than a passing wish, though. It points to your deeper purpose, the things you would still choose after careful thought.
An it harm none is a statement of responsibility. Before you act, you are expected to consider who might be affected. And none includes you. A choice that damages your own health or peace does not pass the test.
Can anyone truly harm none?
Read strictly, the Rede is impossible to keep. Every meal ends a life of some kind, and every choice closes a door for someone. Most Wiccans therefore read it as a direction and not as a pass or fail test: choose the course that does the least harm, think before you act, and take responsibility for what follows.
It is also worth noticing what the Rede does not say. It says that harmless acts are permitted. It does not say that every act with some cost is forbidden. For those harder cases, it leaves you to your own conscience, which is exactly where an adult ethic should leave you.
Applying it to magick
The Rede matters most when you plan a working. These questions are a good habit before any spell.
- Who will be affected if this works, and have they agreed to it?
- Am I trying to change myself and my circumstances, or to control another person?
- What will happen if I get exactly what I ask for?
- Would I be comfortable telling the people involved what I am doing?
- Is there an ordinary action I should take first, or as well?
If the answers trouble you, change the working. A spell to win one particular person's love becomes a spell to be open to love. A spell to make a difficult colleague suffer becomes a spell for protection and a calm mind.
The hard cases
Thoughtful practitioners disagree about several questions, and you should expect to work out your own position over time.
Healing without permission. Many witches will not send healing to someone who has not asked, on the grounds that it is still an interference. Others consider a general blessing acceptable. Asking first is always the safer course.
Binding and banishing. Is it harm to prevent someone from doing harm? Many witches accept protective work that stops harmful behavior without punishing the person.
Self-defense. Few people believe the Rede requires you to accept abuse. Shielding yourself, cutting ties, and seeking ordinary help are all consistent with it.
Is the Rede for every witch?
No. The Rede belongs to Wicca. Witches of other traditions may follow a different code or simply their own conscience, and folk magick has always included both cures and curses. Even so, a great many non-Wiccan witches find the Rede a sound starting point.
Whatever you decide, decide on purpose. An ethic that you have thought through will serve you better than a rule that you have merely borrowed. The Threefold Law is the Rede's usual companion, and it is worth reading next.