The Wiccan Rede

[Amethyst Rose]

Another thread has gotten me thinking about the meaning behind the various lines of the long version of the rede.

There used to be an amazing site, called the Wiccan Rede Project that was packed full of all the info you'd ever want about the rede, but when draknet started charging for hosting it went belly up. Since then, there hasn't been (that I can find) a site that describes in detail each individual line of the origianal Wiccan rede as published in Green Egg magazine in 1975. I did, however, find a nice 5 part essay on the Rede's history that is quite helpful to anyone interested in it. You can find it here: http://www.waningmoon.com/ethics/rede.shtml

As to the Rede itself, I would like your feedback on what you feel the specific lines of the rede mean, particularily line 24. :)

Here is the Rede I'm refering to (many different versions have been published):

1. Bide the Wiccan Laws ye must In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.
2. Live an’ let live - Fairly take an’ fairly give.
3. Cast the Circle thrice about To keep all evil spirits out.
4. To bind the spell every time - Let the spell be spake in rhyme.
5. Soft of eye an’ light of touch - Speak little, listen much.
6. Deosil go by the waxing Moon - Sing and dance the Wiccan rune.
7. Widdershins go when the Moon doth wane, An’ the Werewolf howls by the dread Wolfsbane.
8. When the Lady’s Moon is new, Kiss thy hand to Her times two.
9. When the Moon rides at Her peak Then your heart’s desire seek.
10. Heed the Northwind’s mighty gale - Lock the door and drop the sail.
11. When the wind comes from the South, Love will kiss thee on the mouth.
12. When the wind blows from the East, Expect the new and set the feast.
13. When the West wind blows o’er thee, Departed spirits restless be.
14. Nine woods in the Cauldron go - Burn them quick an’ burn them slow.
15. Elder be ye Lady’s tree - Burn it not or cursed ye’ll be.
16. When the Wheel begins to turn - Let the Beltane fires burn.
17. When the Wheel has turned a Yule, Light the Log an’ let Pan rule.
18. Heed ye flower bush an’ tree - By the Lady Blessèd Be.
19. Where the rippling waters go Cast a stone an’ truth ye’ll know.
20. When ye have need, Hearken not to others greed.
21. With the fool no season spend Or be counted as his friend.
22. Merry meet an’ merry part - Bright the cheeks an’ warm the heart.
23. Mind the Threefold Law ye should - Three times bad an’ three times good.
24. When misfortune is enow, Wear the Blue Star on thy brow.
25. True in love ever be Unless thy lover’s false to thee.
26. Eight words ye Wiccan Rede fulfill - An’ it harm none, Do what ye will

[Amethyst Rose]

Does no one at all have any interpretation or speculation at all on line 24??

[HorseCrow]

The way I personally have interpreted/understood line 24, is that when I'm having a hard time in life, I should not give up, but instead hold my head high and visualize a blue star on my forhead for protection...

[RubyRose]

Amethyst Rose, I have a couple of interpretations of the full rede stored on my computer, I'll pm them to you if you like.

[RubyRose]

Line 24 relates to the following:

In this form, it means to open your third eye and listen to your higher self or Spirit Guide whenever you find yourself in difficulties. "Wear the blue star on your brow" which goes back to the days of Welsh villages, and may be evolved from the blue crescent of woad worn on the foreheads.

[bbnflpn]

heres my take on it
24. When misfortune is enow, Wear the Blue Star on thy brow.
the blue star would be water right. and water is also symboic of emotions. so when you have misfortune (misfortune enow) wear the blue pentagram (for protection) on your brow.

[Ben Trismegistus]

Well, it's poetry. It's not necessarily meant to be taken literally.

[Valnorran]

1. Bide the Wiccan Laws ye must In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.
I was never sure about what they mean by "perfect."

2. Live an’ let live - Fairly take an’ fairly give.
Sounds reasonable.

16. When the Wheel begins to turn - Let the Beltane fires burn.
Maybe I'm misinterpretting this, but in what tradition is Beltane considered the New Year?

20. When ye have need, Hearken not to others greed.
21. With the fool no season spend Or be counted as his friend.
23. Mind the Threefold Law ye should - Three times bad an’ three times good.
25. True in love ever be Unless thy lover’s false to thee.
26. Eight words ye Wiccan Rede fulfill - An’ it harm none, Do what ye will
Some more good ones. The rest, like Ben said, are just poetry and I can't bring myself to take them all that seriously.

[Goddess Rhiannon]

line 26 is why I quit smoking...it has been 17 days now...and I feel great

[Ron]

Maybe I'm misinterpretting this, but in what tradition is Beltane considered the New Year? Though I am not Wicca, I am sure that this could be interpreted several ways. For one, Samhain and Beltaine are often considered opposites, yes? and if in this contorted metaphor, "the wheel begins to turn" refers to Samhain, then surely it mightwork.

But I'm with Ben on the whole thing: Tis poetry.

[Amethyst Rose]

Yes, it's a poem, but it was written for a specific purpose, rather than just to be pretty. And even if when it was written it wasn't taken seriously, it is taken very seriously (maybe too seriously) by many people coming into Wicca today. Unfortunately, those people put too much emphasis on the 8 words a the end rather than looking at the whole poem.

I think that the entire poem contains direction of how a wiccan can/should practice and worship, and it has a lot of good guidelines that can be useful for teaching.

I suppose, I want to know if anyone knows what the original intention behind the lines of the poem are..... was it written to be a spiritual guide, or was it written just to be pretty?

[RubyRose]

I think the Wiccan Rede was written as a spiritual guide, simply because it is a good teaching aide, and it forces you to think.

[Ben Trismegistus]

I suppose, I want to know if anyone knows what the original intention behind the lines of the poem are..... was it written to be a spiritual guide, or was it written just to be pretty?
I think that if it were written as a spiritual guide, it would've been published in a religious setting, perhaps as part of a ritual, or in one of the Wicca 101 books that were coming out at the time. The fact that it was instead published in Green Egg magazine leads me to believe that it was just written to be pretty.

That said, there's no reason why we can't divine meaning from poetry. There are plenty of good ideas in the poem. We just don't need to knock ourselves out tracking down every meaning or adhering to it completely.

[Theognome]

What sort of thing(s) does the blue star in line 24 represent?

[bbnflpn]

well the blue star is the symbol for the element water, Water represents emotions, wisdom, the soul, and femininity, and is also used in protection for travelers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_(classical_element) there are 5 points to a star each one represents the elements of life red is fire, yellow is air, blue is water, green is earth, and purple is the spirit. this site http://thelemicgoldendawn.tripod.com/zelator/pentagram1.html says some of what is below exlpaing it alittle more than i can about what the pentagram represents

The Pentagram (5) represents Spirit or God (1) united with the physical Universe (4). It is the incarnation of Spirit into physical form through the four Elements for the sake of experience and self-realization. It is only by physical incarnation that the Spirit can realize its true nature, its potential, and its transcendence. The four Elements are the means by which Spirit can experience its infinite possibilities of self-expression; the finite is the means to the realization of the Infinite.

The Elements, which constitute man's earthly existence, including his inner Self, are linked with the five points of the Pentagram. These are Fire, Water, Air, Earth, and Spirit. The uppermost point is that of Spirit, the essence and matrix of the four Elements; the top left point is that of Air; the top right point is that of Water; the bottom left point is that of Earth; and the bottom right point is that of Fire. Also linked with the five points of the Pentagram are the five Hebrew letters, which compose the Divine Name of Yeheshuah. This Name represents the operation of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the Elements.

hope you find this helpfull the rest of the second site gives alot of information about the pentgram and why it is used as well. pretty intresting stuff

[Darakash]

24. When misfortune is enow, Wear the Blue Star on thy brow.

Interesting thoughts on this one people. I immediately thought of the the third eye (chakra) though that is indigo/blue....that when you are facing misfortune, you should keep your balance and intuition and "higher" mind in focus......

[Witchzee1]

What sort of thing(s) does the blue star in line 24 represent?

The answer I came up with on this actually hit me like a ton of bricks on Ash Wednesday. Not coming from a Catholic background I had no idea what the meaning of this smudge of ash was on the forehead or why it was placed there.

So I had to do some digging and found that it's not a smudge but rather a cross and marking the brow in ancient times was a symbol of ownership. So a cross on the brow means that you belong to Christ.

Bells and whistles!!!

Remember the Crescent Moon on the forehead of the priestesses in Avalon? It was an indication that they had given themselves or dedicated themselves to the Lady.

To me a 5 point star with the 1 point at the top means spirit above all things.

Then of course, I had to look up the word enow (since it's not a word I normally use in my daily language!) and found that it means "enough". (It's amazing how many things you can learn in a day! http://mysticwicks.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif )

So the way I translate line 24 is:

When you've had enough misfortune (and you don't feel like you can handle any more) give your problems over to Spirit and let the Lord and Lady help you work them out.

And that explanation works for me!!! http://mysticwicks.com/images/smilies2/nod.gif

[bbnflpn]

ahh the witches version of let go and let god. i thought that it was the envoking of the water pentagram to help you with the stuff you had enough of.

[Ishna]

I'm in the meditative camp. When you've had enough of the problems, meditate to calm yourself and help you through it.

The rede (which I think a lot of people forget actually means 'advice', not 'law') is nice, but is too random and cryptic for my liking, unfortunately.

I like the Charge of the Goddess much more. I think these two texts are incredibally important to Wiccan flavoured neo-Paganism.

[Ben Gruagach]

I think that if it were written as a spiritual guide, it would've been published in a religious setting, perhaps as part of a ritual, or in one of the Wicca 101 books that were coming out at the time. The fact that it was instead published in Green Egg magazine leads me to believe that it was just written to be pretty.

That said, there's no reason why we can't divine meaning from poetry. There are plenty of good ideas in the poem. We just don't need to knock ourselves out tracking down every meaning or adhering to it completely.

See, I think that because it was submitted to Green Egg magazine it was specifically meant to be a spiritual guide rather than just pretty poetry. Green Egg was always about sharing information (practical as well as theoretical and inspirational) about Pagan paths including witchcraft and Wicca.

I miss Green Egg. PanGaia, SageWoman, and NewWitch are close, but not quite the same.

[WynterWynd]

I think line 24 means that when you've had just about all you can take of the 'you know what' coming at you, to envision a blue star of protection upon yourself.