[link= http://www.wicca.com/celtic/wicca/rede.htm ]http://www.wicca.com/celtic/wicca/rede.htm[/link]
The Wiccan Rede
(Full Version)
Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.
For tread the Circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out.
To bind the spell well every time, let the spell be said in rhyme.
Light of eye and soft of touch, speak you little, listen much.
Honor the Old Ones in deed and name,
let love and light be our guides again.
Deosil go by the waxing moon, chanting out the joyful tune.
Widdershins go when the moon doth wane,
and the werewolf howls by the dread wolfsbane.
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 winds mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail.
When the Wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast.
When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss you on the mouth.
When the wind whispers from the West, all hearts will find peace and rest.
Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.
Birch in the fire goes to represent what the Lady knows.
Oak in the forest towers with might, in the fire it brings the God's
insight.Rowan is a tree of power causing life and magick to flower.
Willows at the waterside stand ready to help us to the Summerland.
Hawthorn is burned to purify and to draw faerie to your eye.
Hazel-the tree of wisdom and learning adds its strength to the bright fire burning.
White are the flowers of Apple tree that brings us fruits of fertility.
Grapes grow upon the vine giving us both joy and wine.
Fir does mark the evergreen to represent immortality seen.
Elder is the Lady's tree burn it not or cursed you'll be.
Four times the Major Sabbats mark in the light and in the dark.
As the old year starts to wane the new begins, it's now Samhain.
When the time for Imbolc shows watch for flowers through the snows.
When the wheel begins to turn soon the Beltane fires will burn.
As the wheel turns to Lamas night power is brought to magick rite.
Four times the Minor Sabbats fall use the Sun to mark them all.
When the wheel has turned to Yule light the log the Horned One rules.
In the spring, when night equals day time for Ostara to come our way.
When the Sun has reached it's height time for Oak and Holly to fight.
Harvesting comes to one and all when the Autumn Equinox does fall.
Heed the flower, bush, and tree by the Lady blessed you'll be.
Where the rippling waters go cast a stone, the truth you'll know.
When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed.
With a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend.
Merry Meet and Merry Part bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Mind the Three-fold Laws you should three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow wear the star upon your brow.
Be true in love this you must do unless your love is false to you.
These Eight words the Rede fulfill:
"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
RE: The Wiccan Rede
Thank you for posting that, Sherringham:)
I just finished printing it out and I'm headed for the basement to dig up a few frames!
xoxo,
Gayle
RE: The Wiccan Rede
There is a bit of a problem with the last lines of the rede. Here's the original "Charge of the Goddess" from long before Valiente was on the scene and rewrote everything. The quote comes from Leyland's "Aradia Gospel of the witches" which wasrecorded by Leylandin the late 1800s. Note its ending.
"When I shall have departed from this world,
Whenever ye have need of anything,
Once in the month, and when the moon is full,
Ye shall assemble in some desert place,
Or in a forest all together join
To adore the potent spirit of your queen,
My mother, great Diana. She who fain
Would learn all sorcery yet has not won
Its deepest secrets, them my mother will
Teach her, in truth all things as yet unknown.
And ye shall all be freed from slavery,
And so ye shall be free in everything; p. 6
And as the sign that ye are truly free,
Ye shall be naked in your rites, both men
And women also: this shall last until
The last of your oppressors shall be dead;
And ye shall make the game of Benevento,
Extinguishing the lights, and after that
Shall hold your supper thus:....."
As we can see from this the "Charge" and Valiente's "Rede" are in conflict with one another.
Charles Leyland's work is freely available on the net. As we can see here there seems to be a conflict with the source from where Gardner obtained the Charge and Valiente's later altering of it in order to make it more respectable. We know that Valiente removed parts of (mostly Crowley's works) from Gardnersnotebooks (11 survived)forGardners later book and rewrote great chunks possibly to make it more acceptable for public consumption.
RE: The Wiccan Rede
Ostara, there are so many changes that Gardner made when he 'recreated' Wicca after Witchcraft became legal. In deed modern Wicca owes its existence to Gardner, but must leave so many Witches ( pre 1950)spinning in their graves.
But education is so important especially for modern day Witches, only a closed mind would reject your additions to the thread, and I do not have a closed mind.
RE: The Wiccan Rede
[link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Godfrey_Leland ]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Godfrey_Leland[/link]
Charles Godfrey Leland
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Charles Godfrey Leland
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Born
[link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1824 ]1824[/link]
[link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania ]Philadelphia[/link], [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania ]Pennsylvania[/link], [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA ]USA[/link]
Died
[link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903 ]1903[/link]
Charles Godfrey Leland ([link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_15 ]August 15[/link], [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1824 ]1824[/link]
– [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_20 ]March 20[/link], [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903 ]1903[/link]) was an American [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorist ]humorist[/link] and [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklorist ]folklorist[/link], born in [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania ]Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[/link] and educated at [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton_University ]Princeton University[/link], and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensively, and became interested in folklore and folk [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics ]linguistics[/link], publishing books and articles on American and European languages and folk traditions. By the end of his life shortly after the turn of the century, Leland had worked in a wide variety of trades, achieved recognition as an author of the comedic Hans Breitmann Ballads, fought in two conflicts, and had written what was to become a primary source text for [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neopaganism ]Neopaganism[/link] half a century later, [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aradia%2C_or_the_Gospel_of_the_Witches ]Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches[/link].
Life
Leland was born to Charles Leland, a commission merchant, and Charlotte Godfrey [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_15 ]August 15[/link], [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1824 ]1824[/link]
in [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania ]Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[/link]. Shortly after his birth, Leland's nurse took the child to the family attic and performed a ritual on him involving a Bible, a key, a knife, lighted candles, money and salt to ensure a long life as a "scholar and a wizard", a fact which Leland's biographers have commented upon as foreshadowing his interest in folk traditions and [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_%28paranormal%29 ]magic[/link].[link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Godfrey_Leland#_note-ritual ][1][/link]
Charles Godfrey Leland's early education was in the United States, and he attended college at [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton_University ]Princeton University[/link]. During his schooling, Leland studied languages, wrote poetry, and pursued a variety of other interests, including [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeticism ]hermeticism[/link], [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Platonism ]Neo-Platonism[/link], and the writings of [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabelais ]Rabelais[/link] and [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villon ]Villon[/link].[link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Godfrey_Leland#_note-Mathiesen ][2][/link] After college, Leland continued his studies in [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg ]Heidelberg[/link] and [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich ]Munich[/link]. In 1848 Leland attended the [l