These Eight words the Rede fulfill:
"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
"And It Harm None, Do As Ye Will" or "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law, Love is the Law, Love under Will."
I relate the Rede to the Golden Rule "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and the folksy "What goes around, comes around." I also relate it to multiplicity, in that what you send out is returned to you magnified according to the intensity of what you put out. The use of the number three (what you put out shall be returned to you threefold) that Gardner introduced is symbolic of multiplicity and not an actual number. I also believe that people who are trained in the magical arts or are simply highly aware are held more accountable to this universal law, since they cannot claim they "didn't know the gun was loaded". In other words, if you are fully aware of your actions and the consequences then you will reap the reward or the backlash. On the other hand, a child or a mentally challenged individual would not receive the same degree of backlash for something they did that they did not fully understand the ramifications of as someone who did.
The Rede does not only apply to doing magic, it applies to everyday life and is a way of life. If you are kind you shall receive kindness in return. The Rede is a way to express the concept of Karma. Someone taught me this wonderful expression: "what is begun with love ends in beauty, what is begun with deceit ends in pain" and that wisdom extends to the Rede as well.
However, some people take it too far and live in fear of doing anything because almost anything you do could be stretched to create harm to someone or something if you try to account for every possible variable and get silly with it. I don't believe it should be taken that far, even the most gifted cannot extrapolate the consequences of their actions beyond a certain point. That too is the nature of the universe...that we cannot see too far down the road. It will let us see what it wants us to see. So I believe that in living your life and doing magic that you do what you will in so far as you can tell that it will not purposefully create harm to someone or something else.
Aleister Crowley developed the rede from the Law of Thelema in it's modern form. Gardner used it with his own slant and Doreen Valiente made it prettier in her poem. Ultimately, however, I believe that it came from the Gods, the Universe, the Source or whatever words a person chooses to use to express the concept of ultimate divinity. Regardless of the actual wording, this concept of cause and effect is not a new one. From the Christians to the Buddhist to the Wiccans to the Pagans; the concept of the Rede exists in one form or another.
Despite the prevalence of this message, there are many witches and magical practitioners who either do not consider the Rede valid or do not interpret it the same way as myself and most Wiccans do. The focus for those who interpret it a little differently seems to be on the Will but even then I have read that they believe the True Will is inherently good and not capable of doing Harm. Of course there are also other factions who take it differently again.
Ultimately, most people agree that if you are hurtful to other people, by word or deed, you will get the same (or worse in return). Wiccan or not, Pagan or not, this concept holds true throughout the world and throughout our lives. Whether or not you accept the Rede and its threefold nature is your choice. Just remember, you will always catch more flies with honey...
Earthmystry
