Rede In Modern Day Paganism

An archaic word with Germanic origins, “rede” means “to give counsel to; advise (someone)”. It also has a secondary definition of “interpret, explain”. Deriving from the Old English word rǣd, “rede” is also related to the Dutch word ‘raad’, meaning “counsel”, and the German word ‘rat’, meaning “advice”. Though this word is rarely used in modern, common conversation, It has very significant meaning in certain groups of people. For example, often when the word “rede” is recepted, one’s initial thoughts will go to The Wiccan Rede. These are very significant guidelines to Wiccans, which we will get in-depth on later. In my perspective, the word “rede” means a guideline of which a person should conduct themselves or even a guideline of character. For instance, there is a book by the name of “The Rites of Odin” by Ed Finch - a book on ancient Norse values, lore, rituals, ceremonies, etcetera. It is actually a great book if you’re path is more along Ásatrú. At any rate, contained in this book is a doctrine called The Norse Rede of Honour. The rede consists of 26 guidelines for character and moral conduct. The Norse Rede being
Contrary to the Norse Rede of Honour, the Wiccan Rede is simply a statement, of which, actually, of fact has a number of variations, such as: ”An it harm none, do what thou wilt” “Do what you will, so long as it harms none”, “An it harm none, do as thou wilt”, and on and so forth, accommodating that same message. Conversely, there is one that is not just a simple statement, but a poem, of which is named The Rede of the Wiccae. Written for her coven, the poem was scribed and published by Gwen Thomson in Green Egg Magazine in 1975 and was soon making its rounds with Wiccans from all over. It has circulated so much, in fact, that it has a variety of versions all it’s