Three Times Your Acts Return To Thee
This Lesson Well, Thou Must Learn
Thou Only Gets What Thee Dost Earn
"And Do what You Will be the challenge,
So be it in Love that harms none,
For this is the only commandment.
By Magic of old, be it done!"
- Doreen Valiente*
*Witchcraft for Tomorrow (Custer, WA: Phoenix, 1978) p.173
In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.
Live and let live.
Fairly take and fairly give.
Cast the Circle thrice about
To keep the evil spirits out.
To bind the spell every time
Let the spell be spake in rhyme.
Soft of eye and light of touch.
Speak little, Listen much.
Deosil go by the waxing moon,
Chanting out the Witches' Rune.
Widdershins go by the waning moon,
Chanting out the baneful rune.
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 wind's mighty gale,
Lock the door and drop the sail.
When the wind comes from the South,
Love will kiss thee on the mouth.
When the wind blows from the West,
Departed souls will have no rest.
When the wind blows from the East,
Expect the new and set the feast.
Nine woods in the cauldron go,
Burn the fast and burn them slow.
Elder be the Lady's tree,
Burn it not or cursed you'll be.
When the Wheel begins to turn,
Let the Beltane fires burn.
When the Wheel has turn to Yule,
Light the log and the Horned One rules.
Heed ye Flower, Bush and Tree,
By the Lady, blessed be.
Where the rippling waters go,
Cast a stone and truth you'll know.
When ye have a true need,
Hearken not to others' greed.
With a fool no season spend,
Lest ye be counted as his friend.
Merry meet and merry part,
Mind the Threefold Law you should,
Three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow,
Wear the blue star on thy brow.
True in Love ever be,
Lest thy lover's false to thee.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
An ye harm none, do what ye will.
- Author Lady Gwen Thompson
From the Samhain 1995 Issue of Witch's Brew
If no one is harmed by your action
(either physically, emotionally, or spiritually),
then do as you Will to do in Life
in accordance with your Higher Self.
Seek your identity and your purpose.
When someone does something good for you,
then repay the kindness by doing something good for another person,
so that the seed that was planted will bear fruit.
Keep your word and your oaths, when you give them.
Do not kill anything, except when food or protection are required.
Acknowledge and give due reverence to your gods,
observing all of the sacred times and festivals.
Belittle no one's beliefs,
but simply offer what it is you believe to be true.
Strive to live in peace with those who differ with you.
Strive to be aware of those around you and
seek compassion within Yourself
Be true to your own understanding and strive
to turn away from what is opposed within you.
Help others according to their need and according
to your ability to give of yourself
Respect Nature and Strive to live in Harmony with Her.
Information from "The Wiccan Mysteries" by Raven Grimassi
The Power shall not be used to bring harm, to injure or control others.
But if the need rises, The Power shall be used
to protect your life or the lives of others.
The Power is used only as need Dictates
The Power can be used for your own gain,
as long as by doing so you harm none.
It is unwise to accept money for use of the Power,
for it quickly controls its taker.
Be not as those of other religions.
Use not the Power for Prideful gain,
For such cheapens the mysteries of Wicca and Magic.
Ever remember that
the Power is the Sacred gift of the Goddess and God,
and should never by misused or abused.
And this is the Law of the Power.
Information from "Wicca: A Guide for Solitary Practitioner"
by Scott Cunningham
Wiccan Traditions
"Wicca is a solitary religion for some of us, something we learned through books, lectures or the Internet, or developed through personal experience and solitary practice. Some have studied Wicca in groves, study groups or learning circles. Others grew up in Wiccan families, then chose Wicca for thier own path. Many came to Wicca in the traditional way, through formal initiation into a coven that followed a specific tradition.
Some of the basic Wiccan Traditions include:
Gardnerian Wicca: Gerald Gardner's traditional path, which honors Aradia as the Lady and Cernunnos as the Lord. This is a formal, hierarchal path with skyclad worship and degrees of initiation. It focuses on rituals and male/female polarity. Covens have no more than thirteen members and are led by a high priestess with a high priest. Gardenerians believe it takes a witch to make a witch, and tend to disapprove of the newer "do-it-yourself" Wiccans.
Alexandrian Wicca: A formal, structured, neo-Gardnerian tradition founded by Alex and Maxine Sanders in England in the 1960s. Alexandrian and Gardnerian Wicca are sometiems referred to as Classical Wicca.
British Trad Wicca: This is a formal, structured traditioni that mixes Celtic deities and spirituality with Gardenarian-type Wicca.
Celtic Wicca: This traditioin incorporates Celtic god/desses and spirituality with green witchcraft and faery magic.
Dianic Wicca: Named for the goddess Diana, this is a gddess-centered tradition that excludes gods and does not require initiations. Although Dianic Wicca is somethings thought of as a feminist or lesbian path, there are also male Dianic witches.
Faery Wicca: This is an Irish tradition that centers on green witchcraft and faery magic.
Teutonic Wicca: A Nordic tradition witchcraft, this incorporates deities, symbolism, and practices from Norse and Germanic cultures.
Family Traditions: These are the practices and traditions, usually secret, of families who have been witches for generations.
Some witches hold that you must have been taught the craft by a living relative before you can be considered a hereditary witch, no matter how many witchy ancestors you dig up when you unearth your family roots. I think that, like blue eyes and diabetes, witchcraft can be inherited. The gift often seems to skip a generation, passing from grandparent to grandchild. Many witches were taught craft skills by thier grandmothers, even if no one ever used the word witchcraft.
You may come across oxymoronic groups calling themselves Satanic Wiccans or Christian Wiccans. These are contradictions in terms. They are not Wiccan, no matter what they call themselves, regardless of whether they mean well by it or not."
- The Wiccan Handbook, Eileen Holland.