The Wiccan Rede

The Wiccan Rede is probably the most notable of all Wiccan tenets, but it's surrounded in misconception. For as long as I've studied Paganism I've come across the same poem mis-labelled "The Wiccan Rede", that has been touted as the core tenent of Wicca.

The Wiccan Rede is only eight words:

"AN IT HARM NONE, DO AS THOU WILL"

So many people seem to feel that the lengthy poem by Gwen Thomas that starts "Bide the Wiccan Law ye must..." is the rede itself. This is most likely because the title of the poem so closely resembles the guideline:

                            "Rede of the Wiccae" - NOT the Rede

                            "The Wiccan Rede" - IS the Rede

So, what IS the Rede?

The Wiccan Rede is an eight-word guideline of how to live, not unlike other religious tenets such as the "Golden Rule". The problem with interpreting the Rede is that most people, who jump into Wicca with little more than a Silver Ravenwolf book, only see two words in the eight-word guide: Harm None. With the fluffy likes of authors like Horne and Ravenwolf, they obliterate the other 6 words, leaving the "Harm None" and declaring it a LAW. The Rede was never a law (and didn't exist before the 1960's). The very word "Rede" means advise, or to guide. It's not a law that you MUST abide by lest you be struck down by lightning. If you step on a bug you're not condemned to the Wiccan hell where you will be tortured for eternity. Wicca does not subscribe to eternal torture concepts.

The Wiccan Rede is advice on how to conduct yourself, not only in a religious sense, but in the mundane world as well. It essentially tells the follower: If its not harming anyone, do it...but "harm" is a confusing word. Essentially everything you do from taking medication to swatting a fly is doing harm to something. The key is to determine whether or not the consequences are acceptable for doing as little harm as possible (while understanding that harm is inevitible). When you swat a mosquito, are the consequences greater than if you were to let it live? Say it carries the Zika virus everyone is so worried about. If you left it, it could bite another and transmit the disease.

Now I'm not saying all mosquitos are possible carriers, but usually the reaction is to swat and kill the mosquito because of how much of a nuiscence scratching a bite can be (I know, especially when you get bit on the foot!)

But there are other types of harm you can do that is acceptable, like medication that I mentioned above. Medication kills hundreds of bacterias and viruses every day. What would be the consequences if you were to not take your medication because you worried about causing harm to the virus? You could become deathly ill...is your death a harsher consequence than if you were to kill a virus or bacteria? I'd say so.

The Rede doesn't dictate to anyone what will happen if you DO harm. It's not saying DON'T EVER DO HARM, EVER!!! It's simply saying to think before you act; look before you leap. What are the consequences of your actions and are they acceptable?

Naturally, as adults you are free to do what you will. You can harm all you like, but in the end...no one faces the consequences of your actions, but you (and of course, your victim).

I recommend these links for further understanding of the Wiccan Rede. The first one is by a very respected acquaintance of mine, Mackenzie Sage Wright. She puts greater perspective on the Rede, than I've seen.
Ethics in Wicca Part I: The Wiccan Rede

Another noted author, Catherine Noble Beyer, also discusses the Rede and offers better perspective than others:
The Wiccan Rede

I hope these are helpful in understanding Wicca's Rede better.

Is Wicca Whatever You Want It To Be?

Undoubtedly we've all heard the misconceptions surrounding Wicca and Paganism in general. In this series, I will attempt to clarify one of the many misconceptions about Wicca.

Is Wicca Whatever You Want It To Be?

There are a lot of people out there who have the impression that Wicca is the kind of religion in which you make up what you want and go with it. Contrary to this idea, Wicca is not a DIY religion. It's "flexible"...but not make-it-up-as-you-go-along. Wicca has structure that makes it Wicca, and to take out the main elements that make Wicca, Wicca, you cease having Wicca and have moved into Eclectic Paganism.

For example, there are a LOT of people who believe they can blend Wicca with another religion, such as Christianity. They believe that they can substitute the God for Jesus and the Goddess for Mary OR...they try to justify using "Asherah" as the Goddess, believing her to be the original consort of the Christian God. Regardless of who they choose to substitute the Gods with, Wicca is not a Christian religion, therefore Christian elements cannot successfully be integrated to it. Wiccans do not acknowledge the Christian deities. Not to mention the fact that many of the regulations within the Christian religion make it VERY difficult to BE Wiccan, such as the regulation of not believing in multiple deities, the need for salvation and a savior, adhering to books that determine how one is to live and believe, etc. 

Another example of this idea that one can do what they want to Wicca is to completely omit a deity altogether. Wicca is a polytheistic, fertility religion. To take out one deity, say the God, completely destroys the point of Wicca. Without the God, how can you understand the relationship that is played out during the Wheel of the Year? As well, how does omitting the God make Wicca polytheistic? Polytheism suggests the worship of MULTIPLE deities. And the fact that Wicca is a fertility religion, one cannot achieve fertility without a mate. So to omit the God no longer makes Wicca a fertility religion.

I can understand people's desire to make Wicca fit their beliefs...especially considering the majority of people coming into Wicca come from restraining religions, such as Christianity, but religion doesn't service to fit into other people's beliefs. You can't mold it and re-shape it to fit your desires. If this were so,  many people would change Christianity to suit THEIR beliefs by omitting the idea of hell, angels, Adam and Eve, etc. People follow a religion because IT speaks to THEM (not the other way around). It might be disappointing, but you can't just change Wicca because you don't like its structure; that makes as much sense as changing Christianity because you don't want to worship Jesus, but you want to pray the rosary and eat communion wafers.

If you have the desire to be a part of a religion, then that means doing the necessary research using proper sources that give accurate information on the religion, understand what the elements of the religion mean and how they integrate into the religion, and understand that if there are elements that are undesirable to you in the religion, how much of it disagrees with you and whether or not you can live with that integral element. If not, then perhaps that religion is not for you.

Is Wicca a Cult?

Undoubtedly we've all heard the misconceptions surrounding Wicca and Paganism in general. In this series, I will attempt to clarify one of the many misconceptions of Wicca.

Is Wicca a Cult?

It's actually been a while since I've seen Wicca referred to as a "cult", but I'm absolutely sure there are still people out there who believe it is.

What is a cult? According to Merriam-Websters Dictionary Online, the SIMPLE definition of "cult" is: a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous.

My own, more simpler definition of "cult" is that it is a group of people made solely dependent upon a radical leader and coerced into relinquishing all physical possessions to that leader and ending all personal relationships outside the group. 

For Wicca to fit the criteria of both definitions, Wicca would have to have one central authority, demand its followers to become solely dependent upon that authority and be completely isolated from society. Wiccans have NOTHING to do with any of this. Wiccans live normal lives like everyone else. Many are married with children, work day-to-day jobs, pay their bills and have interpersonal relationships with friends. If Wicca were a cult, they wouldn't do any of these things. 

The only difference between Wicca and another religion, say Christianity, is the subject of worship. The manner in which Wiccans worship differs slightly, but not by much.

So why do people claim Wicca is a cult?

It's part of that fear-mongering mentality that some people have to keep followers faithful to a spirituality. Naturally it's usually extremists and fundamentalists that make the wild claims that Wicca is Satanic or a Cult...as not all Christians believe this (believe it or not there ARE religious people who are very open minded and accepting of other people and other faiths while maintaining their own). They have the need to keep people from "straying" from their religion to another, and the only way they know to do this is to call another religion names (apparently it's more acceptable to call a religion names, but not people).

Wicca is not a cult as defined by the definitions stated above. There IS another definition of "cult"...according to Merriam-Websters Dictionary Online, the FULL definition of cult is: "1) formal veneration 2) a system of religious beliefs and rituals 5) a great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement or work. So technically, according to the FULL definition of cult based on Merriam-Websters, ALL religions are cults, INCLUDING Christianity. Let's look at this definition in a bit more detail to understand why Wicca AND Christianity are considered cults, based on this dictionary definition:

A Cult involves:

1) Formal Veneration

Both Christianity AND Wicca involve formal veneration...or, in simpler terms, worship. Both use altars, dedicated tools, food, and prayer to worship their God(s).

2) A System of Religious Beliefs and Rituals

As stated above both Christianity and Wicca both have formality when it comes to worshiping [the] God(s) in the form of religious ritual. They both believe in God(s), they both believe their prayers are somehow heard by [the] God(s) and somehow [the] God(s) answers. 

3) A Great Devotion to a Person, Idea, Object, Movement or Work

Both Christians and Wiccans have GREAT devotion to their deities. Christians may spend hours in a church praying to their God, whereas Wiccans would do various activities to show devotion, including prayers before their altar, community works, spiritual practices, etc. 

So as you can see, through the FULL definition of "cult" by Merriam-Webster, Wicca is indeed a cult, but so is Christianity...and for people to condemn Wicca for being a cult (simple definition) are actually being hypocritical considering Christianity is ALSO a cult. 

Wicca is only a cult in the manner that it involves formal veneration, is a system of religious belief and rituals, and has great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement or work. That's it!

Is Wicca Satanic?

Undoubtedly we've all heard the misconceptions surrounding Wicca and Paganism in general. In this series, I will attempt to clarify one of the many misconceptions of Wicca.

Is Wicca Satanic?

To understand if Wicca is "Satanic", one must understand what Satanic actually means. In this post, I will not only clarify Wicca, but Satanism as well...a two-for-one. 

I make the assumption that Satanism began as a rebellion from the Christian religion, hence the name. But as the years went on, Satanism evolved and/or branched from sympathy-for-the-devil, to being an atheistic system, using Satan merely as a symbol to represent what they felt was the "raw, human self", free from the restraints and constraints placed upon humanity by religious rule.

In a sense, Satanism is indeed a rebellion, but I don't use the word "rebellion" in a negative manner, here. Many good things have come from rebellions. Essentially (well, most of the time) when a group rebels, they're rebelling to fight against oppression. Most times organizations would put too strong a restraint on citizens, which causes rebellion because people no longer want to be controlled and manipulated through overly-rigid ruling.

In the case of Satanism, people rebelled against [possibly] over restrictive rule of the Christian church. The restraining rules of abstaining from physical intimacy until marriage and only for procreation, never recreation; being considered sinners and constantly seeking forgiveness for benign things such as "impure thoughts" or "blasphemy", or simply going against non-religious rules of the town for so long could create such frustration one would naturally feel the need to rebel in order to feel true freedom...then once they DO rebel, are considered heathens and are considered "Satanic" or under the control of Satan.

Of course this is all speculation, but makes sense if you really think about it. Some may actually had sympathy for the devil, believing "Lucifer" is the fallen angel who could not take the rules and restraints of God, believing Satan to be the "good guy" in the end, people would side with Satan, and embrace the term "Satanist". So as time evolved, they went from believing in an actual entity, to believing Satan is nothing more than a symbol.

Evolution in a religion is not uncommon. Even religions such as Christianity have evolved over the years...the evidence is clearly found in their own bible.

But I digress from the main point of this post. The entire point was to see if Wicca was the Satanic religion. Well, for one, Wicca would have to embrace such an idea as Satan for it to even minutely resemble Satanism. Satan is in no way found within the religion of Wicca. Wicca is not even a Christian religion, therefore it has NOTHING remotely close to anything Christian-related in it. Therefore Wicca is NOT a Satanic religion.

So why do people keep saying Wicca is "Satanic"?
Christians (usually the extremists and fundamentalists) will say anything that is not Christian is automatically Satanic. They have a "you're with us or against us" mentality. If you're not on the side of God and Jesus Christ, then you are on the side of Satan. That's a rather unfair assessment. It shows the rather insecure nature of many Christians when they automatically assume that if someone is say, a Buddhist is practicing a Satanic religion, especially considering Buddhism is an ATHEIST system. Buddhism is the attempt at achieving spiritual enlightenment; inner peace. Sounds horribly devilish, no? The very reason anything non-Christian is considered "Satanic" is merely out of fear mongering; the attempt to make everything non-Christian seem so scary...so much so that people would avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately for them, it can have the opposite effect. The idea of something being scary can be attractive to some.

But, regardless, Wicca is as benign as Buddhism. Looking at my post on what Wicca is, one would have a greater understanding of what Wicca is. I also have several links on the sidebar with even better information. Wicca is not Satanic. Those who say it is have little understanding of the real world.

Related:
What is Wicca?
Is Wicca Witchcraft?
Is Wicca a Cult?

Wiccan Ethics: The Wiccan Rede

Is Wicca Witchcraft?

Undoubtedly we've all heard the misconceptions surrounding Wicca and Paganism in general. In this series I will attempt to clarify one of the many misconceptions of Wicca.

Is Wicca, Witchcraft?

No. Wicca is not Witchcraft. It's understandable how so many people confuse the two. Especially since even the founder of the religion confused the two. Gerald Gardner, before even labeling the religion, believed his new "religion" was a "Witch Cult". While conducting rituals to honor the Gods he believed in, he utilized practices we consider to be Witchcraft. So traditionalists may see Wicca as a form of Witchcraft, but Wicca and Witchcraft are two different things, even if Gardner didn't understand that.

Wicca is a religion. Pure and simple. There's no way around it. What makes Wicca a religion? Well, Merriam-Websters Dictionary Online states that religion is 1) "the belief in a god or in a group of gods" 2) "an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods". Wicca's primary focus is the worship of Pagan Gods as well as building and maintaining an interpersonal relationship with them. How do Wiccans worship Pagan Gods? Through belief, ceremonies and rules:
          -Esbats are ceremonial rituals conducted at certain points during the year to worship the
           Goddess.
          -Sabbats are ceremonial rituals conducted at certain points during the year to worship the God.
          -The main ethic ("rule", though not actually a rule, but a guideline) of Wicca is the Wiccan
           Rede. Eight words that state: "An It Harm None, Do As Ye Will".
          -Wiccans believe they experience interpersonal relationships with their Gods; they believe their
           Gods communicate with them in a variety of ways, either through signs and symbols or
           directly.

So Wicca is a religion. Religion being the worship of Gods. Witchcraft is not a religion. It's not about the worship of Gods. Witchcraft doesn't believe that Gods need to be worshiped because it's a craft. To say Witchcraft is in some way a religion is like saying baking is in some way a religion. Absolutely the two can overlap. It happens in all crafts and religions ALL the time. But, because they overlap doesn't mean they are one in the same thing. Think about it. Painting is not Christianity or vice-versa, but there are plenty of Christian-themed paintings out there. Christianity is also not sculpting, however there are plenty of famous sculptures out there, including Michelangelo's "David".

So for Wiccans to participate in Witchcraft doesn't automatically make Wicca, Witchcraft.

What IS Witchcraft, then?
Witchcraft is a craft. A set of practical skills one develops through study and practice. There are a variety of practices that could be considered Witchcraft, but none so much more than "spells". Spells are not the sparkly *poofs* of smoke and instant materialization we think of when we hear the word "spell". It brings to mind many a Disney movie, doesn't it? Spells are hardly fantastic. In fact...they're pretty underwhelming in production-value. You don't see much when someone casts a spell, aside from perhaps throwing some paper into a small fire and watching it burn, burying an item or putting stuff into a pouch. There's hardly anything exciting that happens...unless someone makes a mistake and throws a little too much into that fire and it throws a fireball into the air. It's not as exciting or fantastic as tv makes it out to be. An outsider wouldn't know a spell was complete unless the Witch stated so. An outsider also wouldn't know a spell was successful because the outsider would be looking for the flash of light or the poof of smoke. The Witch, to determine their spell was successful, would make careful observations to ensure success. Where an outsider looks for smoke and sparkles or for something to appear in an instant, a Witch looks for signs: birds flying in a certain formation that would seem benign to everyone else, "coincidental" occurrences, unexpected messages, either mundane or esoteric, etc. Witchcraft is quite the subtle craft. Not only is it underwhelming to watch, it's also quite boring if someone is not adept. A spell could take anywhere from a couple of hours...to a couple of YEARS to manifest. This is where patience is imperative. If you have no patience, you probably shouldn't look to Witchcraft. It's not a means of instant gratification.

In conclusion, Wicca is not Witchcraft. Wiccans may indeed utilize Witchcraft in their practices, and may not see it as a sinister practice, nor forbit it in their religion, but that doesn't make them both one in the same thing.

What is Wicca?

Many a curious person may ask: "What is Wicca?"

Wicca is a 20th century, polytheistic fertility religion focused on the worship of Pagan Gods; generally a God and Goddess, but how many Gods and Goddesses a Wiccan may worship is really up to them.

Now, that's just the answer in a tiny nutshell.

Wicca is:

A 20th century religion
-Contrary to popular belief, Wicca is not an ancient religion, as it's often boasted to be. Gerald Gardner, founder of the religion approximately 70-75 years ago, created his religion basing it off the theories of anthropologist Margaret Murray, who believed (at the time) that there was an underground movement of Pagans and Witches who survived throughout the centuries with their beliefs and practices intact. More recent anthropological studies into her theories have since debunked and disproven those theories. There was no underground movement.

Gerald Gardner, approximately 75-80 years ago stumbled upon a group of Pagans practicing their own brand of Paganism and was eventually embraced into their group. He then branched off to create his own religion, admittedly "piecing" it together to fill in whatever gaps he felt were missing in his new religion (as he also based it primarily off the group he was a part of). The religion may have began with the idea he was creating a "Witch cult", including ideas that he was practicing an ancient religion, and whatever Paganism he had stumbled upon, but as time went on and evolution happened to the religion, practitioners who practice today (novices and well seasoned practitioners) acknowledge these theories were disproven, however that doesn't diminish the spiritual fulfillment the religion provides. Remember, it's not the age of the religion determines validity, it's those who find fulfillment in it.

A Polytheistic religion
-Wicca is a polytheistic religion. Polytheism suggests the belief in and worship of multiple deities. Typically Wiccans worship at least a God and Goddess, but they are not forbidden from worshiping a multitude of deities. How many one may worship is only limited to their own preferences. Surely there are some who choose to worship only one God and one Goddess, but there are others who choose to worship an entire pantheon of Gods and Goddess (i.e. Hellenists worship all the Greek Gods).

A Fertility religion
-Because Wicca is a fertility religion, many people like to think that Wiccans participate in a free-for-all in the manner of sexual orgies with many, many people, around roaring bonfires with a devil-may-care attitude.

Truth be told...while Wiccans do indeed value sexuality as something sacred, they hardly hold a "devil-may-care" "free-for-all" sexual orgy in the forest. Because of the sacred view Wiccans have about sex, it's done ONLY with full consent of ADULTS, and usually one-on-one (though if there are some who are more adventurous, that's their bag and no one elses business). It's also not done in full view of other participants. Like the vast majority of sexual encounters, it's done in the privacy of a private room, usually one's own.

The reason for this misunderstanding about Wicca's comfort about sex is that everyone else has a discomfort about it. Mostly because we've been indoctrinated to believe that sex is a negative thing. As children, we're shielded from sexual scenes in movies; parents lock their doors when engaging in sex; we're told it's dirty and sinful; we're told we should never find pleasure in it, despite it being a very pleasurable act. Finding pleasure and happiness in something so "dirty" makes us "dirty" as well. So for Wiccans to be so accepting about sex makes most believe that we are dirty sinners who find joy in being perverse. We forget that sex is NECESSARY for procreation; that the very reason it's pleasurable is because it makes procreation much easier, and that not only is it meant for procreation, it's meant for REC-reation as well. Are we as humans so naive as to believe the animals in the animal kingdom don't participate in sex for recreational reasons too? I challenge anyone to go out and study animals in the jungle for a year and come back to tell me they don't. Sex is nothing to be frightened about. It's not dirty, it's not perverse and it's definitely not wrong to do. The ONLY time sex is unacceptable is when it's with a minor and/or with someone who has NOT given consent (children cannot give consent, even if they know how to say "yes". That's not consent because they have no idea what they're consenting to).

A religion focused on the worship of Pagan Gods
-Wiccans don't worship plants and trees (or nature in general). They don't worship the devil (there is no "devil" in Wicca), they also don't worship Christian deities (including Jesus or Mary). Wiccans worship Pagan Gods...the Gods that have existed centuries before Christianity was even a thought. The Pagan Gods still exist. They always have, for the most part, though they'd been "pushed" aside for the more popular Abrahamic God and Jesus Christ. In parts of the world that dismissed the conversion of Christianity, or never heard of Christianity period, they still worshiped the Gods of Old. Today the embrace of Pagan Gods is re-growing, thanks to religions like Wicca, who open themselves up to accepting these new Old Gods.