Ok couple disclaimers here....
1. The title is a joke, punning of the very popular and I may add useful * for Dummies books. I am NOT calling anyone a dummy!
2. I'm not the grand poohbah of all things Wiccan, infact I'm christo-wiccan which means I PERSONALLY blend aspects of Wicca with Christianity. My views and interpretation of the Rede therefore will not match everyone elses, especially when it comes to the nature of the Wiccan God and Goddess.
Got that?
ok let us begin...
The Wiccan Rede spells out, no pun intended, the core tenets of Wicca. Nearly every flavor / denomination of Wicca at least respects the Rede as its root. What follows is the Rede itself, parsed out and interpreted as _I_ understand it. Why am I doing this? Simply to offer some light on what may be occluded for others.
Those who know the Rede will no doubt notice I skip over some parts, these skipped parts denote festivals, seasons and the proper use of a cauldron(hint, it isn't for making Brews of any sort or for tongue of bat). I'm not considering these unimportant, just not including them as others may find them a bit dry.
Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.
ok, what does this mean?
What follows is the Law of Wicca, offered in Lovingkindness and without deception.
Our first two laws:
1. Live and let live, sounds pretty self explanatory, can also be read : Thou shalt not kill (sound familiar?).
2. Deal fairly and honestly in trade, "Thou shalt not Steal".
For tread the Circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out.
To bind the spell well every time, let the spell be said in rhyme.
How gatherings shall begin, rites, handfastings, prayer all these are opened with the drawing of a circle. The use of rhyme in rites is handy.. it helps you to remember them.
Light of eye and soft of touch, speak you little, listen much.
Honor the Old Ones in deed and name,
let love and light be our guides again.
Light of Eye.. we judge with our eyes don't we.. so light of eye means do not be quick to judge others.
Soft of touch.. well we all know what a hard touch is like.. tends to be unpleasant.
Speak you little, listen much..pretty self explanatory... there is much to learn out there and you won't learn it if you are to busy giving your opinions and thoughts to hear those of others.
Honor the Old Ones.. ok here's where I probably differ, I understand this to refer to Deities and the Creator. The Lord and Lady of Wicca, as I understand them, are symbols of the male and female aspects of nature. They are not above the Creator, being aspects of the creation itself. Many a book of shadows(journal) opens rites and spells with an invocation to and request for blessing in the work by the castors Deity.
(Seasons... festivals(Sabbots) etc.)
When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed.
Be wise with your possessions, in times of less than bountifulness do not go chasing after get rich quick schemes.
With a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend.
Avoid the company of fools, while you may be wise others will count you as they do the company you keep.
Merry Meet and Merry Part bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Begin and end each encounter and meeting with a positive mood and cheery disposition.
Mind the Three-fold Laws you should three times bad and three times good.
One of the most forgotten facts about Wicca, at least as I have seen is that Yes indeed there is a "wages of Sin", this is embodied in the three fold law which states, in short, what you put out, for ill or good, shall always comes back to you at least 3 times over. Therefore a cruel person will be subject to cruelty and a generous one will be blessed generously.
Be true in love this you must do unless your love is false to you.
Yeah ... No cheating on the significant other... unless the relationship is already broken beyond repair.. in which case it's not really cheating is it.
And now my favorite part of the Rede!!!!
These Eight words the Rede fulfill:
"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
That's right folks... "Do unto others as you would have done to you!", in essence at least the meaning is the same. Do no harm!
