Wiccan Rede
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Wiccan Rede (pronounced "reed") is a statement that provides the key moral system in the neopagan religion of Wicca, and other related witchcraft-based faiths. The most common form of the Rede is An it harm none, do what ye will.
"Rede" is a word from Middle English meaning "advice" or "counsel", cognate to the German Rat or Swedish råd. "An" is an archaic Middle English conjunction, meaning "if," as in the Shakespearean "an it please thee." "Ye", in the context of Middle English, means "the" and is pronounced "thee" (see archaic ye)
Other variants include:
- Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, An it harm none do what ye will. Note: This is the first published form of the couplet, quoted from Doreen Valiente in 1964. Later published versions include "ye" instead of either "the" or "it": "Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill — an ye harm none, do what ye will" (Earth Religion News, 1974); "Eight words ye Wiccan Rede fulfill - An’ it harm none, Do what ye will" (Green Egg, 1975)
- An it harm none, do what thou wilt
- An it harm none, do as thou wilt
- That it harm none, do as thou wilt
- Do what you will, so long as it harms none
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