Below are the 8 basic Wiccan laws that I shall be living by. They are taken largely from "Self-initiation for the Solitary Witch" by Shanddaramon. Beyond that are the tenets in full.
I shall be adding and taking away text from this page as I gather a better understanding of these laws. I am very new to my path (I'm discounting my learning from over 7 years ago) so please feel free to add your thoughts or offer advice.
Basic Wiccan Tenets
1. A respect for nature and her cycles and observing of these cycles with celebration rituals.
2. An understanding of the division of the 1 power of the universe divided into 2 forces; masculine (God) and Feminine (Goddess).
3. A belief that the physical world is not the only reality.
4. A belief in reincarnation
5. A belief in the power to focus and direct energies of the Will to enact change
6. A belief in free will and choice, and understanding the responsibilities and consequences of them.
7. Respect and tolerance for all sacred paths.
8. An understanding and application of the Wiccan Rede and the Threefold Law in daily life.
2. An understanding of the division of the 1 power of the universe divided into 2 forces; masculine (God) and Feminine (Goddess).
3. A belief that the physical world is not the only reality.
4. A belief in reincarnation
5. A belief in the power to focus and direct energies of the Will to enact change
6. A belief in free will and choice, and understanding the responsibilities and consequences of them.
7. Respect and tolerance for all sacred paths.
8. An understanding and application of the Wiccan Rede and the Threefold Law in daily life.
The Wiccan Rede
Bide within the Law you must,
in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust
Live you must and let to live
fairly take and fairly give
For tread the circle thirce about
to keep unwelcome spirits out
To bind the spell well every time
let the spell be said in rhyme
Light of eye and soft of touch
speak you little, listen much
Honour the Old Ones in deed and name
Let love and light be our guides again
Deasil go by the waxing moon
chanting out the joyful tune
Widdershins go when the moon doth wane
and the werewolf howls by the dread wolfsbane
When the Lady's moon is new
kiss the hand to her times two
When the moon rides at her peak
then your hearts desire seek
Heed the North winds mighty gail
lock the door and trim the sail
When the wind comes from the East
expect the new and set the feast
When the wind blows from the South
love will kiss you on the mouth
When the wind hails from the West
departed souls will have no rest
Nine woods in the cauldron go
burn them fast and burn them slow
Birch in the fire goes
to represent what the Lady knows
Oak in the forest towers with mihgt
in the fire it brings the God's insight
Rowan is a tree of power
causing life and magick to flower
Willows at the waterside stand
ready to help us to the Summerland
Hawthorn is used to purify
and to draw faerie to your eye
Hazel, the tree of wisdom and learning
adds its strength to the bright fire burning
White are the flowers of apple tree
that brings us fruits of fertility
Grapes grow upon the vine
giving us both joy and wine
Fir does mark the evrgreen
to represent immortality seen
Elder be the Lady's tree
burn it not or cursed you'll be
Four times the Major Sabbats mark
in the light and in the dark
As the old year starts to wane
the new begins, its now Samhain
When the time for Imbolc shows
watch for flowers through the snows
As the wheel completes a turn
let the Beltaine fires burn
The wheel turns to Lammas night
and power is brought to magick rite
Four times the Minor Sabbats fall
use the sun to mark them all
When the wheel has turned to Yule
light the log and the Hornèd One rules
In the spring, when night equals day
time for Eostre to come our way
When the sun has reached his height
time for Oak and Holly to fight
Harvesting comes to one and all
when the Autumnal Equinox does fall
Heed the flower, bush and tree
and by the Lady blessed you'll be
Where the rippling waters go
cast a stone, the truth you'll know
When you have and hold a need
Harken not to others' greed
With a fool no season spend
Lest you be counted as his friend
Merry meet and merry part
bright the cheeks and warm the heart
Mind the Threefold Law you should
three times bad and three times good
When misfortune is enow
wear the star upon thy brow
True in love, ever be
'less thy lover's false to thee
These eight words the Rede fulfill:
An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will.
The Threefold Law
"mind the Threefold Law you should
three times bad and three times good"
The Thirteen Principles of Wicca
We practice rites to attune ourselves with the
natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarters.
We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.
We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called supernatural, but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.
We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity-as masculine and feminine-and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive to the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magical practice and religious worship.
We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological, worlds sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective unconscious, Inner Planes, etc.-and we see in the interactive of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.
We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.
We see religion, magick, and wisdom in living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it-a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft-the Wiccan Way.
Calling oneself "Witch" does not make a Witch-but neither does heredity itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature.
We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness giving meaning to the Universe we know and our personal role within it.
Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief.
As Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.
We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as Satan or the Devil, as defined by the Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the sufferings of others, nor accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.
We believe that we should seek within nature that which is contributory to our health and well being.
The Witches Creed
Hear now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night,
When dark was our destiny's pathway,
That now we bring forth into light
Mysterious water and fire,
The earth and the wide-ranging air,
By hidden quintessense we know them,
And will and keep silent and dare.
The birth and rebirth of all nature,
The passing of winter and spring,
We share with the life universal,
Rejoice in the magical ring.
Four time in the year the Great Sabbat
Returns, and the witches are seen
At Lammas and Candlemas dancing,
On May Eve and old Hallowe'en.
When day-time and night-time are equal,
When the sun is at greatest and least,
The four Lesser Sabbats are summoned,
Again witches gather in feast.
Thirteen siver moons in a year are,
Thirteen is the coven's array.
Thirteen times as Esbat make merry,
For each golden year and a day.
The power was passed down the ages,
Each time between woman and man,
Each century unto the other,
Ere time and the ages began.
When drawn is the magical circle,
By sword or athame or power,
Its compass between the two worlds lies,
In Land of the Shades for that hour.
This world has no right then to know it,
And world of beyond will tell naught,
The oldest of Gods are invoked there,
The Great Work of magic is wrought.
For two are the mystical pillars,
That stand at the gate of the shrine,
And two are the powers of nature,
The forms and the forces divine.
The dark and the light in succession,
The opposites each unto each,
Shown forth as a God and a Goddess,
Of this did our ancestors teach.
By night he's the wild wind's rider,
The Horn'd One, the Lord of the Shades,
By day he's the King of the Woodland,
The dweller in green forest glades.
She is youthful or old as she pleases,
She sails the torn clouds in her barque,
The bright silver lady of midnight,
The crone who weaves spells in the dark.
The master and mistress of magic,
They dwell in the deeps of the mind,
Immortal and ever-renewing,
With power to free or to bind.
So drink the good wine to the Old Gods,
And dance and make love in their praise,
Til Elphame's fair land shall receive us
In peace at the end of our days.
An Do What You Will be the challenge,
So be it in Love that harms none,
For this is the only commandment,
By Magic of old, be it done
Sources:
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