An It Harm None, Do What Thou Wilt ۞ Whispering Worlds

Wicca – Why do we feel different about it?

Wicca is a certified religion under the laws of the United States of America. But not many people are ready to accept it for themselves. The reason is that it lacks any of a guide, prophecy, a script or in general, a book full of foretold or self-praising stories about the deity of the concerned religion. Unlike other religions, Wicca does not impose any rules on the followers, but instead guides them to act free, independent and nature-bound. Unlike other religions, Wicca, or the so called Witchcraft does not abandon anything that is a creation of nature to be accessed by man. In contrary is asks the man to be close to the nature, by living and praying with the elements of nature as the core of it.

Wiccan Rede

Each and every priestess, or Witch, as they were normally called as, of Wicca will see the God, Goddess, Iwas and other forces of nature as they wish them to be, but the energy, result and reactions remain the same. This is just like the fact that though the names of deities change, though the way they were worship change, though the elements of prayer change, the concepts remain the same – to have eternal peace after death. Wicca is also based on the same concept, but with a different set of values and styles.

Wiccan Rede, or the Words of the wise, is what the people of Wicca rely upon, while performing rituals and while celebrations. There are two versions of Wiccan Rede namely the Short and the Long redes. These are not rules and regulations and not “dos” and “don’ts”, but merely the words of our wise ancestors, which were seen as the words of the Goddess herself. They just tell us the importance of the phase of the moon, the importance of the elements used and how the body, mind and soul should be at and after the rituals.

The Golden Rule

Every religion in this world will have their golden rule, based on which their whole system operate. Likewise, Wiccan Rede tells the witches the golden rules of Wicca, which are not about limiting actions and desires, and not about God and Goddesses, but about the self of a person following Wicca. Wiccan rede is the first lesson for everyone who wants to know how to become a witch. The most famous line and the base concept of Wicca is,

“Eight words the Rede fulfill

An it harm none, do what thou wilt”

“An”, “thou” and “wilt” are archaic Middle Eastern words for “If”, “you” and “will” respectively. Though many people argue that the couplets that form the Wiccan Rede are written only during the 1960s, there are proofs to show that the words “DO AS THOU WILT” were from a famous writer and a pagan follower that were seen in his book from 16th century. Though Wicca or witchcraft lacks a Bible for itself, these eight words “An it harm none, do what thou wilt” is what all the religions in this world are all about.

Before getting into the meaning of these eight words, a short look into the preaching and teaching of some of the most widespread religions of the modern world is required. When the whole idea of the following religions is understood, then understanding the Wiccan Rede is not going to be a problem.

Christianity

In Mathew 7:12 and Luke 6:31, the Bible quotes the Jesus of Nazareth telling that one must do things to others that they themselves would like others to do for them. In a place where a person asks the way to live en eternal life, Luke 10:25 – 28, Jesus tells him to love his neighbors, who are none but anyone in need, like the same way he loves himself. There are lots of places in the Holy Bible, where this concept is mentioned as the law of the living, directly imposed by the God himself.

Islam

In the Holy Quran, in “The Calf” v. 267 from Surah 2, it is mentioned as the sayings of Prophet Mohammed that one should spend what they earn in plenty for others, but should not do things to others that they themselves won’t accept. There are a few places where Mohammed says the same thing, in a positive note in some places and in a condemning tone in some other places. It is said that the people who doesn’t follow this rule, will have their placed in the burning hell.

Hinduism

There is a place from the epic Mahabharata, Anusana Parva from the Brihaspathi Chapter, where it is mentioned that the rule of Dharma is that one should not do anything to others, which if done to them will cause harm. Also, in the Padmapurana, the same thing is written as the short description of Dharma. The Vedas, when told shortly explains only this and the ways to rectify the harms, if done, thereby reducing Karma.

Buddhism

Tripitaka, which is the life story of Gouthama Buddha, has the following lines from Udanavarga 5:18,

“Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

And also the lines,

“Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill”

These lines clearly explains that people should see others just like the way they see themselves and should not injure or kill others, in general, should not harm.

The basic concept of almost all the religions is the same, be it Judaism, Jainism, Confucianism or name any religion, they must be based on the same grounds as seen above.

An it harm none, do what thou wilt

Now, the meaning should be crystal clear after having a look at the other religions’ base concepts. Yes, here in these eight wise words, the word “none” is not only indicating the people around us, but also our heart, mind and body, which are different forms of ourselves.

This is why the words of a witch will not be vague, but strong, and no Witch will do any magick or spell, without the acceptance of the person involved. Because, even if the spell is meant for healing, it may not be needed for the person intended, and when thinking of something done to us without our permission or request, it is considered only as harm, even if it seems good for others.

Wicca – It is time to know, really

Wicca is not a religion, but a path to reach fulfillment, spiritual divinity, karma or whatever we call it, without upholding anything created by the nature to be enjoyed by us. We can worship the way we wish, dance, sing and call the nature to have a drink with us, without hiding the true “us” beneath. One doesn’t have to be silent when talking to the Divine power, like in other religions, and they don’t have to hide their emotions and act as some slaves in front of their favorite gods, goddesses and angels.

Rev. Sshivani Durga, one of the wise Wiccans, or witches as people would love to call, is not just a follower of an occult practice, but a certified and devoted follower of many other religions. But, the way she felt herself when doing spells, magick and rituals in Witchcraft made her to adapt the concepts and elements of other religions to be implemented in her spells and she has proofs to show that the spells and rituals resulted rather more than the normal traditional ones.

It is high time people should try to break the ice layer they have made themselves around them, and come out of it to know what really is there in the unknown parts and dimensions of the divine journey of life. If you are ready to do that, Rev. Sshivani Durga, or Mama Awiki as everyone calls her with love, will help you to know the pleasure she is having from what she is doing now.

Wicca will surely have an organized structure in the future, a physical one, when people come to know the real joy in the way everything divine is done through it. Keep in mind people, “An it harm none, do what thou wilt”, is what every religion says, and we should heed to listen to others, at least to weigh it.

Source by Elamaran Rajasekaran

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