following the rede? is it truly possible?

Question

in my sphere of experience i have noticed that whenever we create something, something else is destroyed. If that be the case, how can someone follow the rede--"and it harm none, do as you will"--when they know that for every action they take, there is an opposite reaction, for every positive there is a negative and for every negative there is a positive? If for example i do a spell to get money, then in order for me to receive that money someone else has to lose it. wouldn't that harm the person who lost the money? This is why i do not follow the rede, because i do not believe you can.

PS i am pagan but not wiccan if anyone wonders :)

Answer 1

I totally agree with you. I don't follow the rede, I look at spellcasting as righting the balance. The rede is naive and really just another way of controlling people.

Answer 2

Following the Rede, not a problem.

Actually, if one reads the whole Rede, it does spell out the consequences of anything a Wiccan does.

All the Eight word tell you is to not worry about actions that cause no harm, that is all the eight words say. I think that it was hoped that any persons who travel far enough down the Wiccan road would have figured out the rest of it by study and talking to ones Elders.

Answer 3

There's an excellent little article on the Rede here:

http://wicca.timerift.net/rede.shtml

A rede is not a hard-and-fast rule -- it is more like a suggestion for conduct. Of course living without causing harm is impossible; what the Wiccan Rede advises us to do is to consider the consequences of our actions and, where possible and prudent, minimize the harm that we cause.

You'll note that there is no statement equivalent to: "Follow the Rede or you will burn in Hell!" Those who adopt the Wiccan Rede do so of their own free will, not because they are afraid of punishment. It is a truly autonomous code of ethics, and one that not everyone will feel called upon to follow.

Also, there are times when harm MUST be done in order to prevent greater or ongoing harm from occurring. For example, I have cast binding spells without the knowledge of the persons they were cast against in cases of stalking, physical abuse, poisioning of pets, etc. However, in those cases I asked for the person to stop their harmful actions and to come to a place of greater wisdom and/or get the help they needed to realize that those actions are destructive and that they can change. I would NOT cast a spell asking for other, more direct forms of harm to come to that person.

Answer 4

The rede is often misinterpreted to mean "harm none" which is an impossible standard for anyone to live up to as we can't possibly exist without causing harm to something. However, the rede never actually tells us that we can't do harm. It simply says that if an action doesn't harm something, we are free to do it without restriction. It doesn't tell us how we should approach actions which do cause harm. This is why many interpret the rede to mean something along the lines of "harm least," which essentially means not causing direct harm merely for the sake of it.

Answer 5

if you are Pagan and not Wiccan, then the Wiccan reede has litttle bearing on you. i do not follow the reede because i am Celtic Pagan, not Wiccan, i follow Celtic law.

however i see the reede as a good standard to try and live by, but it is impossible to achieve. simply by existing we cause harm. by useing the computer we cause harm.
electricity to power the PC, comes (most likely from a coal burning plant. the coal comes from massive holes dug into the earth. and causes pollution. the trucks that run the coal use gasoline which is made from oil that is again taken from the earth. and causes pollution. all of this is on top of the roads that destroy habitat for animals. and in buildings that destroy even more.

however if you apply it strictly to a magical sense, and you are cafeful with the wording of your spells then you can indeed do no harm with magic.

Answer 6

If what one wills harms, then one cannot do what one wills.

Avoiding the knowing and intentional harming of others is possible but not easy if one has the power to harm. Many people live in an emotionally,spiritually and physically nonviolent way.

What is included in the"none"? Animals? Plants? Pre-born humans? The rest of the environment?

Is willing equated with desiring or the volitional?

If someone is willing to give another money for an agreed result or product how is that harmful unless the product or result is harmful in itself or in its foreknown repercussions?

Answer 7

I doubt anyone has the wisdom or the experience, insight, and sheer mental capacity needed to anticipate all the results from any given action.