The Wiccan Rede: A Guiding Ethical Principle for Wiccan Witches

Wicca is a modern pagan religion that draws upon ancient practices and beliefs. It is centered around the worship of the Goddess and the God, as well as the reverence for nature and the cycles of life. Wiccan religious principles are based upon the idea of balance and harmony in the universe, as well as the importance of individual freedom and responsibility. One of the main principles of Wicca is the belief in multiple deities, often represented as the Triple Goddess and the Horned God. The Triple Goddess embodies the Maiden, Mother, and Crone aspects of women, while the Horned God represents the masculine energy and the cycles of life and death. These deities are seen as equal and complementary forces, working together to maintain harmony in the universe.

These deities are seen as equal and complementary forces, working together to maintain harmony in the universe. Another important principle in Wicca is the belief in the interconnectedness of all living beings and the natural world. Wiccans see nature as sacred and hold a deep respect for the Earth and its ecosystems.

Principles of Wiccan Belief

A faded copy of the Principles of Wiccan Belief drew me in like a magnet this morning. I was searching for Connie’s teachings on Mental Magick in the file cabinet where I have organized the original 23 pounds of paper into new files folders, one for each chapter of Box of Magick. I really love file folders, especially when categorizing the curriculum and studies of the Elder High Priestess of the Crimson Dragon Druidic Craft of the Wise.

So when pieces of paper have that magickal aura of pulsating light energy, I tend to pay attention. My recent wish to co-create with the Universe has been for core strength to finish strong on Box of Magick which is due to Sarah, my editor at Sounds True, on September 19. The pressure of these changing, uncertain times adds to my desire to want to write the very best book I can - maybe shake things up for the Witch, the Divine Feminine and peace on earth. Help one heart?

I made us Greek coffee based on the instructions in the story she shared in The Enchanted Diary. Her cup is the desert peach on the right because my Nana Della collected this pattern. I’m the apple cup, as in apples not falling far from the tree. I’m listening to learn how to read the grounds. Sometimes, I feel like Harry Potter learning about Dumbledore, except that I’m a Mexican Mama and Connie DeMasters is a Greek YiaYia.

As I go deeper into the womb space of birthing a book, there is a clamor in my head - critics say that my books are saccharine and novice. I wonder what they don’t get. I know my Magick runs deep. What don’t they see? How can I help them feel the transpersonal work and synergy with Nature is unfathomably rich? I started to spin, stuck in the labyrinth of language and words. H.A.L.T. Is an acronym for hungry, angry, lonely, tired. It’s a reminder to breathe. halt. live. Allow the wisdom to surface.

Number eight jumped out me at first glance of the Principles of Wiccan Belief and felt Connie’s hand on my back. I have been frustrated with new Witches who seem to value glamour and memorization over experience. This jealousy drives me batty because new generations of empowered, loud and proud Witches is what we have been waiting for. She’s reminding me, at least you get to still be there, feeling the Rise of Witches when songs like W.I.T.C.H. take off.

I began to type and defenses melted, dropping away. I remembered pieces of myself: how I fell in love with the Wiccan Way and how similar Christian Science Sunday School is to Wicca. How, yeah, I want to be good. The ninth principle reminded me that Wicca is a philosophy-of-life within WitchCraft that evolving and developing our consciousness gives meaning to our role in the Universe we know. It was like reading a prayer or a song that I had been living but had never heard until this moment - when I most needed grounding, rooting to my first chakra, my Wiccan origin story.

Principles of Wiccan Belief as adopted by the Council of American Witches at its
Spring 1974 Witchmeet, April 11-14, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Council of American Witches finds it necessary to define modern Witchcraft in terns of the American experience and needs.

We are not bound by traditions from other times and other cultures, and owe no allegiance to any person or power greater than the Divinity manifest through our own being.

As American Witches, we welcome and respect all Life Affirming teachings and traditions, and seek to learn from all and to share our learning within our Council.

It is in this spirit of welcome and cooperation that we adopt these few principles of Wiccan belief. In seeking to be inclusive, we do not wish to open ourselves to the destructions of our group by those on self-serving power trips, or to philosophies and practices contradictory to ours, we do not want to deny participation with us to any who are sincerely interested in our knowledge and beliefs, regardless of race, color, sex, age, nationality or cultural origins or sexual preference.

We therefore ask that only those who seek to identify with us accept these few basic principles:

1. 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.
2. 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 with an evolutionary concept.
3. 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 in all.
4. We conceive of the Creative Power in the Universe as manifesting through polarity - as masculine and feminine - and that this same Creative Power lives in all people and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supporting of the other. We value Sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.
5. We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological worlds - sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, the Inner Planes, etc. - and we see in the interaction 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.
6. 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 themselves in leadership.
7. We see religion, Magick, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it - a worldview and philosophy of life, which we identify as WitchCraft, the Wiccan Way.
8. Calling oneself a “Witch” does not make a witch - but neither does heredity itself, nor the collection of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with Nature.
9. We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of life, in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know, and to our personal role within it.
10. Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion of 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.
11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.
12. 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 suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that personal benefit can be only derived by denial to another.
13. We acknowledge that we seek with Nature for that which is contributary to our health and well-being.

RESOLUTIONS adopted by the Council of American Witches, April 14, 1974:

1. That members of this Council will refer sincere applicants to other Traditions if they are not suitable to the one approached.
2. That verbal rumors of an unpleasant nature will not be spread without direct attempts at verification with teh subject or subjects of such rumors
3. That no member of this Council will ever refer in print or in speech to his or her Tradition as being “the one true right and only way” of WitchCraft, or state that all other Witches are “not real Witches.”
4. That members of this Council maintain a standard of vigorous statement and defense of their own positions as opposed to the destructive criticism of the beliefs and traditions of others.
5. That we affirm and support the Aquarian Manifesto as published in The Green Egg.

May be reproduced at no cost courtesy of Gnostica/Llewellyn Publications. Box 43383, St. Paul MN 55164

A person doesn’t have to believe in a god to help protect religious freedom for people of all religions. According to the Pew Research Center, a growing number of Americans are not affiliated with any religious tradition – 22.8% in 2014 and 29% in 2021. These religious “nones” include atheists who don’t believe in any gods; agnostics who neither believe nor don’t believe in a god; and people who may be spiritual in some way but are not part of any specific religious tradition. RELATED: Prayer in school: What is (and isn't) protected? Can deeply held beliefs that don’t include religious belief be protected under the First Amendment? For Elliot Welsh, the military’s answer was no. Welsh was an atheist and a pacifist who was morally opposed to war. When he was drafted during the Vietnam War, he applied to be a conscientious objector. This designation had been available to religious groups like Quakers and Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose traditions oppose war. Members could receive alternate draft assignments that didn’t include combat. After Welsh’s application was denied, he sued. In 1970, the Supreme Court said that Welsh’s convictions should not be distinguished from religious beliefs just because his beliefs didn’t include religious faith. This ruling helped set precedent for courts to apply First Amendment protections to deeply held moral positions that involve no faith just as they protect beliefs based on religious traditions.

They strive to live in harmony with nature and often engage in rituals and practices that celebrate and honor the cycles of the seasons. Wiccans also believe in personal freedom and responsibility. They do not have a central religious authority or hierarchy, and each individual is encouraged to develop their own relationship with the divine and find their own spiritual path. Wiccans are responsible for their own actions and choices, and they believe in the concept of karma, that is, the idea that actions have consequences. Wiccans often practice magic as a means of harnessing and directing energy to bring about positive change in their lives and the lives of others. Magic is seen as a natural and neutral force that can be used responsibly and ethically. Wiccan rituals often involve the use of tools, such as candles, herbs, and crystals, as well as the recitation of spells and invocations. Overall, Wiccan religious principles revolve around the belief in multiple deities, the interconnectedness of all living beings and the natural world, personal freedom and responsibility, and the practice of magic in harmony with nature. These principles guide Wiccans in their spiritual journey and help them create a balanced and harmonious life..

Reviews for "The Connection Between Nature and Wiccan Beliefs"

1. John - 2/5 stars - I was really excited to learn about Wiccan religious principles, but I was disappointed once I delved into it. The emphasis on witchcraft and spells just didn't resonate with me. I was seeking a more spiritual and philosophical approach, but it felt like Wicca was more focused on magic and casting spells than anything else. It just wasn't what I was expecting or looking for in a religion.

2. Sarah - 1/5 stars - I found Wiccan religious principles to be quite bizarre and irrational. The concepts of worshipping nature, gods, and goddesses seemed outdated and simply impractical in today's world. I couldn't connect with the idea of casting spells and relying on supernatural forces to solve everyday problems. It felt more like a fantasy than a legitimate religious practice. Overall, I found the principles of Wicca to be too mystical and far-fetched for my liking.

3. Michael - 2/5 stars - As someone who values evidence-based reasoning and scientific explanations, Wiccan religious principles just didn't appeal to me. The reliance on supernatural beliefs and practices didn't align with my rational worldview. While I respect individual freedom of religion, I couldn't genuinely embrace Wicca's teachings due to the lack of empirical evidence supporting its claims. It felt like a leap of faith rather than something grounded in reality.

4. Emily - 1/5 stars - The Wiccan religious principles I encountered seemed to promote a rather self-centered approach to spirituality. The emphasis on personal power and the pursuit of one's desires through spellcasting felt like a manipulative and selfish practice. I was expecting a more selfless and community-oriented spiritual path, but Wicca didn't deliver on that front. It seemed more concerned with individual gain and personal fulfillment rather than promoting collective well-being.

Herbal Magic: Harnessing Nature's Power in Wiccan Witchcraft