And it Harm None, do What Thou Wilt

By Rev. Catweasel

Bide the Wiccan laws ye must

In perfect love and perfect trust;

Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill,

An it harm none, do what ye will.

Lest in thy self-defense it be,

Ever mind the rule of three.

Follow this in mind and heart,

And merry meet, and merry part.

It is often stated that the Wiccan Rede will return to the sender whatever they put out, only threefold.

So if you bless another person, you get three times the blessing. If you curse them, three times the curse is returned to you.

This doesn't make a lot of sense, because if you make someone lose their job, for example, it isn't like you can lose your own job three times over (at least not at one time, as might happen to the recipient).

So people assume this is wrong, because they figure that the rule of three is a simple 'amplicifation' of what a person does.

This allows people to figure that they can 'get away' with magic that hurts another person, or find a loop hole. This is of course baloney and the sender ultimately finds out to their cost.

The rule of three does not mean three times the reward or risk. Rather it means that whatever you put out, will return to you in mind, body and spirit.

So if you help someone in distress, your spirit will soar (1), you will feel better about yourself mentally (2) and you will benefit physically (3)either in the same manner, or because of the combined effect of the positive energy you have generated in Mind and Body.

Likewise, if you deliberately hurt someone, your spirit will fall, because that is not the action of an evolved being. You will feel a degree of guilt inside (either consciously or subconsciously) and you will suffer physically - again, either in the same manner (because you have created the reality and are therefore subject to it), or through the manifestation of physical ill effects brought on by the negativity generated in your mind and spirit.

It is for these reasons that most religions, including Wicca, teach that it is better to 'rise above' that which offends or disturbs you. Meditation is an incredibly useful tool in this regard, and is certainly a lot safer and more spiritually beneficial than resorting to spellcraft of questionable merit...

Catweasel is Priest of the Correllian Tradition and a Ceremonial Magician in the Golden Dawn. You may contact him at catweasel@witchschool.com.