Friday, April 24, 2015

Tips for Living Wicca: Learn the Real Wiccan Rede

Bide the Wiccan Law ye must
In perfect love and perfect trust
yadda yadda yadda...

Would you believe me if I told you that this popular poem is not the Wiccan rede?

It's true... it was originally entitled 'the Rede of the Wiccae" and written by Lady Gwen Thompson in the 1970s. Actually, Thompson swears that her family comes from a long line of Witches and attributes this poem to her grandmother, Adriana Porter, who died before Wicca as we know it today was founded.

The problem is that the original poem misused archaic language, and Thompson has no evidence of this heritage she claims. Most believe she wrote it herself after hearing Doreen Valiente speak, and she incorporated the actual Wiccan Rede into it.

Sadly with the onset of the internet the poem got passed around under the title ''The Wiccan Rede (Long Version)". But it's not. It never was.

To be honest, the poem doesn't make all that much sense to me and I'm not a fan of it. If you like it, however, you should enjoy it. Copy it in your BOS if you like. Live by it. Whatevs. 

But love it or hate it, every Wiccan should be aware one fact: it is not the Wiccan Rede, long or short version. 

My Tip for You Today: Don't confuse Thompson's poem with the Wiccan Rede.

The Wiccan Rede, the whole Rede and nothing but the Rede is this:

'An it harm none, do what you will.

That's it. Eight words, no more, no less. "An" is an archaic word meaning 'if' or 'so long as', so the Rede actually translates to;

As long as it harms none, do what you will. 

Learn it, use it, live it. 


Is this news to you? 




1 comment:

  1. Hi, Wiccan Sage. This is the first chance that I have gotton to read some of your blogs. I am Lady Guinevere on Hubpages and on a few other places on the 'net.
    Christians twist it all around thinking that they can or that the "witches" can do anything that they want, which is not true at all. They only read what they want to. I am not Wiccan or anything of the like, BUT my Wlesh heritag has it that we were at one time a long time ago. I am not totally a Christian right now eithre, but I am a Universal Life Church Reverend. Most "Christians": think that they have to put me in a box of their own and I am not in tht box and will not go into that box. I rather see life as it is and not as it is told to me.
    Anyway, so glad that I found you and your wonderful work here on your blogs.

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