since " harm None," is in the Wiccan Rede, what about killing pests? Like head lice, roaches,flies?

Question

and other creepy crawlies, like spiders? mosquitoes? Dumb,I know, but wondering...?

i have the Rede, t y. And have read it. over and over. Just a question, sheesh!

Answer 1

"Harm none" is an overly simplistic interpretation of the Rede. The Rede is not a commandment -- it is a recommendation to evaluate all our acts in terms of the net harm that is caused.

Obviously harm is unavoidable, and sometimes necessary -- for example, all animals survive by killing other living things, be they plants or other animals. In cases of lice, roaches, and flies, I would deem them as constituting a health hazard to me or my family, and therefore kill them to prevent them from causing harm to us. Same with mosquitoes (little winged disease vectors that they are).

As for spiders, I carefully gather them up and put them outside. They are generally not harmful to humans, and in fact are beneficial because they keep the insect population down, even if only by a small amount per spider.

Answer 2

An it harm none, do as you will is the whole of the Rede.

The other thing, beginning "Bide the Wiccan laws ye must" is Rede of the Wiccae, a copyrighted 1970s POEM from an AMERICAN tradition. Rede- An it harm none, do as you will=British, not American. Wicca came from Britain TO the US, not the other way around.

Speaking as someone whose been Wiccan for over 20 years, I've VERY disturbed by your question, as it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of something that is a DAY ONE LESSON ONE concept.

I strongly recommend reading "Wiccan Ethics and the Wiccane Rede, which is a nearly 10 year old essay explaining the difference between what all 8 words of the rede SAYS and what the "harm noners" think it means:
http://www.paganlibrary.com/ethics/wiccan_ethics_rede.php

I also suggest this 1992 essay:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos296.htm

I don't know where you learned the Rede is harm none, and I strongly suggest looking for better source material.

Answer 3

Actually the part most oft quoted from the Rede is "An it harm none do what you will", is saying don't worry about actions that cause no harm, go ahead and do it.

The Rede does not, and never has said do no harm.

This is why Wicca as well as any religion should be entered into by a mature mind. Within the whole of the Rede is the answer to what happens if you do cause harm, actually it is pretty clear about what happens when you do anything.

Answer 4

The Rede as I understood it (and still do) isn't as restrictive as all that. It's impossible to harm nothing while being a breathing, living being...I mean just by breathing we kill millions of microorganisms per second.

I think this essay:

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

Will shed some light.

Side note: Flies, mosquitoes, roaches, and lice I can understand, but why kill spiders? They eat the other creepy crawlies! Maybe I'm just biased because I like spiders...

Answer 5

hi && namaste :].

Alright well for one thing, since everyone has an individual path not all Wiccans even follow the Rede, and some have a more "loose" interpretation. [so to speak.]
Also I get the feeling that you may be new to this? (If not I'm sorry for insulting you, it was/is genuine curiosity on my part.)

Summarizing the Rede in such ways as;
"harm none"
"an' it harm none, do as thou will"
etc.
is a very grave mistake for anyone who should choose to follow it. Because, as you've read it, I'm sure you can see there is meaning in much more than just that part.
Also, as your one previous answerer has stated, it is not a commandment or a necessary rule of thumb.

&& of course everyone will have their own opinions to begin with, as we aren't damned to any hell for free thought in our religion.
My opinion is that, for the most part, if they aren't bugging me or like...actually ON me. than I'll try to just take them outside. (like spiders and other "creepy crawlies".)

But sometimes it is unavoidable.
Not to mention, not all of us are vegan/vegitarian. So in some indirect way, we're personally effecting the harm/death of other beings.

and if you want to look at a counter-example that's most applicable between other human beings. Well let's say you need to make a decision, and you choose a course of action that seems to be harmless to you; you're well intentioned in choosing it, etc. Someone could still be hurt, essentially accidentally but still.

I guess to summarize my idea on this I'd just say that it is impossible to live your life w/o ever bringing harm to others. Both humans and other animals alike. I draw the line at senseless, intentional harm personally.

Blessed be.

Answer 6

*sigh* the Wiccan Rede does NOT say "harm none". You can't just take two words out of a phrase and think they explain it all. The Rede says you can do what you please and it's okay, as long as you're not hurting anything. Nobody expects us to be completely harmless vegans who never swat at flies or use disinfectant to kill the bacteria growing in our bathrooms...

Answer 7

Yes, "harm none" is in the Rede. So is "And it" and "it harm" and "do what" and "what thou" and "thou wilt." Yet we don't ever attempt to boil the Rede down to those arbitrary two-word selections. You can't just pick two words out of a sentence and expect it to mean the same thing as the sentence. "And it harm none, do what thou wilt" does NOT mean "harm none."

Answer 8

I thought there was an implicit 'humans' in there. Does the Rede apply to all living things? What about non living things?

Answer 9

It's very much open to interpretation. It's why some are Vegetarians and others have defencive positions in their Country's military.

I personally do let bugs go outside, take efforts not to attract any underistables & only use poisons as a last resort.

.

Answer 10

Wiccans laws state that we cannot kill animals unless its for food or for our protections.

But when I step on or kill an innocent animal I feel so bad after that.