Some would say that this is the ultimate law of modern witchcraft; but it is more than just a law, and is better described as a philosopy to live by. No body is really sure how old the Rede really is. The Gardnerians claim that it goes back before the New Forest coven (see The Witches Way or The Witches Bible), others claim it was a development of Aleister Crowleys Book of the Lore statement 'Love is the Law; Love under Will'enlarged upon by Doreen valiente. Regardless of where it originally came from (because at the end of the day it's actually irelevant!) it has become the major underlying principle of Wiccan belief, and it is so powerful a statement that it has become adopted by pagans of many other traditions.

At first it may seem like a simple statement; do what ever you want but don't harm anyone. It seems easily enough to follow but don't be fooled; you soon find yourself asking 'What constitutes harm?' when you start to examine it more deepy. Does avoiding paying your taxes do any harm to anyone? Does stealing from a large corporation such as a Bank do any harm to anyone? The answer to these questions may appear to be no until you start to examine the Wiccan Rede more fully. Both of the above cause harm; not to the individual but to society as a whole, so it is important to remember that the Rede talks about harm to everyone - including yourself. This is important as it is often forgotten, and can be taken to mean that you should enjoy life, but not go to excess to the appoint of endangering it.

The Rede is the philosophy of taking responsibility for your own actions during every moment of your life. It is of course a positive Law as opposed to the negative Laws of the Old and New Testaments. This immediately makes it a life affirming statement, but also means having to think about all your actions and what effects they will have on yourself, other people, society as a whole and your environment, not just now but also in the future.

It is obvious now, no doubt, that it is far from a simple law to follow, and just to complicate things further, it is a flexible law. What constitutes harm can differ from culture to culture and from time period to time period. Here is an example; in some areas of the world narcotic drugs are not considered harmful, but in our culture they are. Who is right? Both are, but it is up to the individual to decide for themselves. If they buy drugs in our culture they may be doing harm to the fabric of society and sponoring others to do harm to themselves.

This aspect of deciding for yourself how far you can apply the Rede is one of the most important parts of it. It is an intrinsic part of its nature to promote spiritual growth within the individual; they soon find they must listen to their own inner voice to give them guidance on what is right and what is wrong.

The Rede becomes even more important when it is applied to magick and psychism. Once having developed psychic skills it is possible to influence others just by thinking positively or negatively about a situation. The Rede shows that it is important in such cases to have develop a positive attitude to life and other people, if you are to prevent harm from coming to them, and to yourself. Most Wiccans believe that if you do harm it will bounce back on you three times; the first time for harming the individual its aimed at, the second time for the damage indirectly to other people around them (society) and the third for the harm you are doing yourself karmically!

It is no wonder that many Wiccans are involved with politics, charities, and environmental action. They have realised another aspect of the Rede, one that is the most important but often the most ignored, that sometimes doing nothing can cause harm, to quote Edmund Burke: