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[this is from a Wiccan chat list I'm on, where various people were flogging the 'Harm None' interpretation of the Rede]
I've seen this term thrown around a lot, and it reminds me of how I also used to wonder- how can we possibly go through life harming none? It just is not possible. So I assumed it was just something to shoot for, an unattainable goal to keep us on our toes.
Then I ran into a couple of interpretations that made a hell of a lot more sense. Let me go dig them up...
From the Wiccan Church of Canada's FAQ:
The Wiccan Rede — "An it harm none, do as ye will" — seems simple on the surface, but is actually very complex, and paradoxical, if you really think about it. Remember, in a mystery religion, nothing is ever as simple as it seems...
Certainly, there are some who interpret it as "You may only do as ye will if it harms none" ("an" being an archaic version of "if") and thereby do feel that it constrains Wiccans to be pacifists, and there have been a few Wiccan writers in the last decade who have left out the "do as ye will" entirely, giving their version of the Rede as simply "harm none".
Others consider this to be a distortion of the Rede, and point out that if Wiccans were really forbidden to harm anything, we'd all starve to death (vegetarian or not; plants are alive too!). They also note that "An it harm none, do as ye will" doesn't translate to "harm none" any more than "If you go to Wic-Can Fest, say hello to my friend Bob" means "Go to Wiccan Fest". Both statements tell you what to do if a particular condition happens to be true, they don't tell you what to do if it isn't.
So what does the Rede really mean? Well, that's a subject we can debate for hours, preferably at the local pub. But here's one interpretation worth considering: the Rede says, essentially, that you have complete freedom if your actions do not harm anything or anyone else — but if they do, the implication is that you no longer have complete freedom. Why? Because as soon as you act in a way that affects another, or the world around you, you are embedded in a web of cause and effect, connecting you to the others who were affected by your actions, and causing you to be in turn affected by their reactions, and so on. You are bound by the consequences of your act, and find yourself having to act again, and again, in ways that are constrained by the initial act. Thus, you can no longer simply "do as ye will"... [then, a discussion about the Threefold Law ensues]
Then, there is the Ranting Witches site. It's very rude and harsh, and I like it a lot even though I disagree with some of what's said. Here's one of the ranter's takes on the Rede (and I'm going to be really PC and expunge the rude stuff in the spirit of harmony and niceness and all that happy hoo-ha since I don't know all of you well enough to unbutton my pants at the table, so to speak):
What the rede says [...]
It is very easy [...] to pass over the Wiccan Rede as a too-simple "law" that moronic Wiccans follow, a rule that says "harm none," but the Rede does not say harm none. The eight words that make up the Wiccan rede are:
"An it harm none, do as you will"
True, "harm" and "none" are in there, but the logic that says the Rede says "harm none" also makes it say "it harm" and "none do" which are equally nonsenscial. "An it harm none, do as you will," translated into modern English, is not "Do only that which harms none," it is "Actions that do no harm may be done as you will."
I have used the passive voice here on purpose. The Rede is not a commandment. It is not "thou shalt not," it does not tell you what not to do. It ONLY tells you what TO do, if it is your will-that which does no harm. [...] It does not say that that which harms none is the only thing you can do, either.
Here is a really, really, really long version of the rede, which explains the whole thing [...]:
You are aware of your thoughts and actions, so you know your will, a thing deeper than want-animals want-things that think, that are completely sentinent on the human or higher level have Will: intention and desire, based on knowledge of the self. Everyone who can know their Will can do their will-act within their intention, desire and knowledge of self to achieve an end.
Wiccans, however, are oblidged to attempt to live in a manner that works with their faith. Their Will is limited by choice. They may do freely, as their will dictates, only those things that harm none. They are limited in doing those things that can cause harm by the dictates of their faith. Those dictates are not stated in the rede, those dictates are given elsewhere in their faith, the Wiccan rede speaks only to those things which they can do willy-nilly, to their heart's content, without even having a spare thought for their faith-those things in the category of "that which harms none."
And THAT is what it's all about.
Food for though, anyway... :)
S.
I've seen this term thrown around a lot, and it reminds me of how I also used to wonder- how can we possibly go through life harming none? It just is not possible. So I assumed it was just something to shoot for, an unattainable goal to keep us on our toes.
Then I ran into a couple of interpretations that made a hell of a lot more sense. Let me go dig them up...
From the Wiccan Church of Canada's FAQ:
The Wiccan Rede — "An it harm none, do as ye will" — seems simple on the surface, but is actually very complex, and paradoxical, if you really think about it. Remember, in a mystery religion, nothing is ever as simple as it seems...
Certainly, there are some who interpret it as "You may only do as ye will if it harms none" ("an" being an archaic version of "if") and thereby do feel that it constrains Wiccans to be pacifists, and there have been a few Wiccan writers in the last decade who have left out the "do as ye will" entirely, giving their version of the Rede as simply "harm none".
Others consider this to be a distortion of the Rede, and point out that if Wiccans were really forbidden to harm anything, we'd all starve to death (vegetarian or not; plants are alive too!). They also note that "An it harm none, do as ye will" doesn't translate to "harm none" any more than "If you go to Wic-Can Fest, say hello to my friend Bob" means "Go to Wiccan Fest". Both statements tell you what to do if a particular condition happens to be true, they don't tell you what to do if it isn't.
So what does the Rede really mean? Well, that's a subject we can debate for hours, preferably at the local pub. But here's one interpretation worth considering: the Rede says, essentially, that you have complete freedom if your actions do not harm anything or anyone else — but if they do, the implication is that you no longer have complete freedom. Why? Because as soon as you act in a way that affects another, or the world around you, you are embedded in a web of cause and effect, connecting you to the others who were affected by your actions, and causing you to be in turn affected by their reactions, and so on. You are bound by the consequences of your act, and find yourself having to act again, and again, in ways that are constrained by the initial act. Thus, you can no longer simply "do as ye will"... [then, a discussion about the Threefold Law ensues]
Then, there is the Ranting Witches site. It's very rude and harsh, and I like it a lot even though I disagree with some of what's said. Here's one of the ranter's takes on the Rede (and I'm going to be really PC and expunge the rude stuff in the spirit of harmony and niceness and all that happy hoo-ha since I don't know all of you well enough to unbutton my pants at the table, so to speak):
What the rede says [...]
It is very easy [...] to pass over the Wiccan Rede as a too-simple "law" that moronic Wiccans follow, a rule that says "harm none," but the Rede does not say harm none. The eight words that make up the Wiccan rede are:
"An it harm none, do as you will"
True, "harm" and "none" are in there, but the logic that says the Rede says "harm none" also makes it say "it harm" and "none do" which are equally nonsenscial. "An it harm none, do as you will," translated into modern English, is not "Do only that which harms none," it is "Actions that do no harm may be done as you will."
I have used the passive voice here on purpose. The Rede is not a commandment. It is not "thou shalt not," it does not tell you what not to do. It ONLY tells you what TO do, if it is your will-that which does no harm. [...] It does not say that that which harms none is the only thing you can do, either.
Here is a really, really, really long version of the rede, which explains the whole thing [...]:
You are aware of your thoughts and actions, so you know your will, a thing deeper than want-animals want-things that think, that are completely sentinent on the human or higher level have Will: intention and desire, based on knowledge of the self. Everyone who can know their Will can do their will-act within their intention, desire and knowledge of self to achieve an end.
Wiccans, however, are oblidged to attempt to live in a manner that works with their faith. Their Will is limited by choice. They may do freely, as their will dictates, only those things that harm none. They are limited in doing those things that can cause harm by the dictates of their faith. Those dictates are not stated in the rede, those dictates are given elsewhere in their faith, the Wiccan rede speaks only to those things which they can do willy-nilly, to their heart's content, without even having a spare thought for their faith-those things in the category of "that which harms none."
And THAT is what it's all about.
Food for though, anyway... :)
S.
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I'm not sure if I said this before...
Date: Feb. 19th, 2003 07:45 am (UTC)From:When I was new to the workings, I would have said that harm none would be more for the newbies then for those that have practised for awhile, since "we don't know what in the world we are doing"... but deeper in, and more... experienced(?) and familiar with the energies and magics, I would have to sasy that it's as relevant for me today as it was back then-- perhaps even more so.
I'm rambling the obvious, I haven't woken up fully yet ;) shall I try to snatch the pebble from your hand next? :D
Re: I'm not sure if I said this before...
Date: Feb. 19th, 2003 11:57 am (UTC)From:Thank you! I was just getting tired of people saying 'those Wiccan idiots say we have to harm none! That's impossible, so watch me make a dismissive sneer or perhaps gesture towards the whole path! Ha ha!'
No pebble snatching. Here, I'll give it to you. :)