magicianmew:

southerncunning:

deerpriestess:

foggy-student-witch:

witch-vomit:

under-exposed-under-paid:

foggy-student-witch:

The “three-fold-law” is bullcrap and thats not what it means.

YES the title’s inflammatory and trust me this isnt a bash against wicca as a religion. Just Bear with me PLEASE

As much as ive been loving researching wicca (despite simply being a secular witch atm) i have a huge gripe with neo-wicca as it stands in relation to their thoughts on cause and effect.

The “law” started with one comment from Gerald Gardner’s novel, High Magic’s Aid,

“Mark well, when thou receivest good, so equally art bound to return good threefold.”

Which actually means the opposite of “the three fold law” its saying when you recieve good things you’re obligated to do good onto others and the world as an act of gratitude and appreciation for what you’ve recieved.

because of this misinterpretation a poem was published in a magazine back in 1975 entitled “the wiccan rede” which isn’t the rede btw, the rede is just “an it harm non do what ye will” which is meant as a guidance to help you think about your actions, not a law. Because of that one poem we’re here with the obviously incorrect notion that absolutely everything returns 3 times as bad which im sorry but look at the world we live in with horrid people getting the best and the 1% and good people in ditches. No.

The wiccan rede isnt a law and wiccan never had a Threefold law of return until it got to the public and everyone misinterpreted simple lines of wisdom and teaching as laws because they were so used to the bible and commandments.

Furthermore, elder wiccans realised presenting the rede as law would abate the fear of curses or evil from the uninitiated public.

This is a hot topic today, it must be in the air.

Wowza ya learn smth new everyday….

Minor add on is that the 70s was also a large time where hindu and Buddhist teachings were assimilated into “new age” leading many (mostly american) covens teaching about karma as it was fascinating and assumedly made sense to them.

I don’t bash the belief of karma though i dont hold it. Its simply the claim that its an old wiccan law as old as the rede. (Or even that the rede is a law)

I never believed in it anyway, it never made sense, but good to know it was never a thing in the first place.

Also the way Wiccans/Neo-Wiccans teach karma is not accurate. Karma (essentially) relates to how actions in this life will reflect how an individual is reincarnated. It is NOT a “what you put out in the world comes back to you”. Karma has nothing to do with THIS life.

And ALSO let’s remember Gardner himself was perfectly happy to throw curses if he felt he had a good enough reason. To this day, most initiate Wiccans, especially of the more traditional sects, generally don’t believe the Rede is a law (that’s literally not even what the word means), or in threefold return of all energies. Because… that was never actually part of the religion.

So in short, dear Rede-thumping, curse-shaming sub-type of neo-Wiccans:

1. That’s not what threefold return means.
2. That’s not what karma means/stop appropriating shit.
3. That’s not what the Rede says.
4. That’s not how Wicca works.
5. Some of us aren’t Wiccan anyway and don’t welcome evangelizing.
6. Frickin’ learn your history/talk to actual educated Wiccans.
7. Have you looked at the world, serious question.

Please stop shouting at people.