Where do (often young) Wiccans get the idea that the Rede is "Harm None"?

Question

The Wiccan Rede, not to be confused with the copyrighted POEM Rede of the Wiccae is "An it harm none, do as you will."

Where do young Wiccans actually get the idea that this is the same as harming none?

I mean, letting aside the fact that BREATHING harms microbes, and living harms your food, whether vegetable or animal, Wicca is a religion that generally makes sense. Why would we use those other 6 words if we only needed two?

Is there a book, a well-read website or something else that tells them this? I ask because I literally can't imagine coming to the decision that only two out of eight words meant something!

The difference:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos661.htm

Answer 1

Wherever it started, its now a big game of telephone. People repeat it, other people hear it and in turn repeat it (or publish it).

The best guess I have in Scott Cunningham, which is a damn shame because I mostly really like him. In "Living Wicca" he provides a list of things he calls "The Law" as an example of laws a coven might draw up. Number three is:

"Harm none. This, the oldest law, is not open to interpretation or change."

The whole "this is not open to interpretation or change" goes completely against practically everything that he writes, especially since he was stressing that these were rules you MIGHT draw up. I don't know what the heck he was thinking that day, but I strongly suspect this is the smoking gun.

Answer 2

The Rede is indeed deeper than it would at first seem. It is applicable to people at all levels of maturity. It isn't a "commandment" as such - it's a commitment; and Wicca is a lifestyle, not a faith. Semantics, I know, but . . . . So - let's pull this thing apart - "An it harm none, do what you Will" It's aligned with the working of Magic - the Will, and relates to all work done in that context. You might say that we are 'working magic' all the time we are conscious, but that depends on your own inner understanding, or conscience. OK, define 'harm'. How do you decide what harm is? Is it OK to 'help' someone by stopping them doing something stupid? Or is it better to let them learn the lesson you can see descending on them like a ton of bricks? Your decision. You must decide whether to 'interfere' with a person's karma, or 'learning by doing', or take another route by perhaps advising them without taking any magical action. Then there is the case of someone acting to harm someone else. Do you interfere? Do you stop them with magical action, ("I'll teach this bastard") or do nothing and let the interaction take its course? Again, your choice. To some people the choice in either of these cases is clear and simple, but to a witch, many variables come into the equation. Now what about this 'none'. What does that include (or exclude)? Does it mean only humans? Does it include all life-forms? This again is a matter for your own discretion. It's all about taking responsibility for your own actions - or inactions. Total responsibility. The buck doesn't even start going anywhere else. It's not easy being a witch - green or not. That's a very simplistic overview, just off the top of my head, but I'm prepared to join in discussing the whole matter at length if there's enough interest. How about a new Yahoo! group?

Answer 3

It, unfortunately, is not only the young wiccans who chop and edit away many things so vital to the world. The answer is that this is the example set by our society...move faster...think quicker. If you want to be really enlightened to the compressed nature of the beast, take a quick look at text messaging.

The concept is that these people are choosing to reiterate the applicable part of the statement. "an it" being a reference to any possilbe choice of actions is accepted as universal. "do as you will" is the freedom and offers no guidance. "Harm none" is the restrictive part of the statement and therefore sets the guide for the lifestyle and therefore is what requires observance, according to their understanding.

In thinking on the concept of wicca and the focus of rite and ritual, I can say that this is but another step in the disempowerment of the self. It absolutely stunned me when I wandered into a magic store and saw someone buying a candle dressed by someone else. Here is a hint for all the magus, or witches, or whatever you may deem to call yourselves in the world. Magic is not in the ingredients, it is in the soul. the focus and preparation are there to tie the symbols and energies together and require respect and honor. Point and click (so to speak) magic will never work.

I will get off of my soapbox before I start preaching, but know this, that your question is a vital observance, as your understanding is overlooked by the masses, as it will be, we take one more step further from the beauty and truth of the world, and one step closer to individually encapsulated and powerless lives.

Answer 4

Look around, everything is shortened these days=) Kids don't have time to actually spit out 8 words.

There are so many different sects of Wicca, look at all the "fluff bunnies" that run around only seeing the "good" side of things. I think it's the secrecy and solitude of Wicca that leads to misconceptions. There is no one leader to say what is what. Look on the bookshelf at the local store and you will see really informative Wiccan books right next to a book on "love spells" and ones on "black magic" and calling the "Devil". There is so much confusion and disagreement when it comes to what is Wicca that it's easy to get confused, and there are many authors out there that write books full of their own opinions and full of junk that people believe is real.
A lot of young people are looking for a quick fix to their religious needs and don't want to do any research when it comes to religion. They pick up the few things they are taught by friends and a few websites and maybe one or two books and then start spouting about how they are "whatever religion" and how they know everything about it. It's something that happens in all religions (and politics to) not just Wicca or Paganism.

All you can do is get the word out there and pass along your knowledge to the neophytes and maybe one day everyone will get it=)

Answer 5

I know what you mean.
I saw && answered her question too (at least I'm assuming that's what this one's stemming from.).
and sadly she isn't the first I've heard of/talked to that has thought such a thing.
I can't say I understand why it is either, it had always been clear to me, even when I started out.
But I don't think it's necessarily YOUNG Wiccans so much as *new* Wiccans. Still though, your point is understood. I don't understand the trian of thought that leads them there, either.

Blessed be.

Answer 6

To harm none makes you totally responsible now and forever for everything you say and do. You must look at the repercussions down the line before you act. If everyone could do this, the world would be as close to paradise as a person could want. Imagine the world adhering to such a way of life in the Rede. My grandfather always told me to have fun, just don't hurt myself or anyone else. Same thing. If we have to stop and really think about our actions before they are committed, then most of the worlds problems are over. I like to think big scale. lol

Answer 7

It's a fact of nature that for anything to live, it must destroy other things. An organism lives at the expense of its environment. So "harm none" needs to be qualified. What it really means in practice is probably more along the lines of "Do not interfere with the will of another human being." Even then, conflict is inevitable; so I suppose we're back to the ultimate rule of "survival of the fittest."

Answer 8

Honestly, I think that the longer version is used because it sounds more mystic. And that particular version of the eight word Rede is in 99% of any book on Wicca that you'll pick up.

Answer 9

Perhaps you could explain the difference?

Edit: Thank you. However, after reading it a few times the difference still seems like sophistry. You would have to go out of your way to misinterpret it away from the obvious meaning, whichever order the salient parts are put into.

Answer 10

I think what's happened is that the entire rede (all one sentence of it) is too much to spit out, so they've shortened it to "harm none." I agree with you that it's naive and does not tell the whole story. However, not being Wiccan, I don't believe in the rede OR the threefold law. I'm one-a them heathen anarchist Pagans myself :-)