For Emm

[Erin]

I though I would start a new thread

Ill post the wiccan Rede which is the Wiccan law -


Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.

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.

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.

Deosil go by the waxing moon, chanting out the joyful tune.
Widdershins go when the moon doth wane,
and the werewolf howls by the dread wolfsbane.

When the Lady's moon is new, kiss the hand to Her times two.
When the moon rides at Her peak then your heart's desire seek.

Heed the North winds mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail.
When the Wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast.

When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss you on the mouth.
When the wind whispers from the West, all hearts will find peace and rest.

Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.
Birch in the fire goes to represent what the Lady knows.

Oak in the forest towers with might, in the fire it brings the God's insight.
Rowan is a tree of power causing life and magick to flower.

Willows at the waterside stand ready to help us to the Summerland.
Hawthorn is burned to purify and to draw faerie to your eye.

Hazel-the tree of wisdom and learning adds its strength to the bright fire burning.
White are the flowers of Apple tree that brings us fruits of fertility.

Grapes grow upon the vine giving us both joy and wine.
Fir does mark the evergreen to represent immortality seen.

Elder is the Lady's tree burn it not or cursed you'll be.
Four times the Major Sabbats mark in the light and in the dark.

As the old year starts to wane the new begins, it's now Samhain.
When the time for Imbolc shows watch for flowers through the snows.

When the wheel begins to turn soon the Beltane fires will burn.
As the wheel turns to Lamas night power is brought to magick rite.

Four times the Minor Sabbats fall use the Sun to mark them all.
When the wheel has turned to Yule light the log the Horned One rules.

In the spring, when night equals day time for Ostara to come our way.
When the Sun has reached it's height time for Oak and Holly to fight.

Harvesting comes to one and all when the Autumn Equinox does fall.
Heed the flower, bush, and tree by the Lady blessed you'll be.

Where the rippling waters go cast a stone, the truth you'll know.
When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed.

With a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend.
Merry Meet and Merry Part bright the cheeks and warm the heart.

Mind the Three-fold Laws you should three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow wear the star upon your brow.

Be true in love this you must do unless your love is false to you.

These Eight words the Rede fulfill:

"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"

The Wiccan Rule of Three -

Ever mind the Rule of Three, three times what thou givest returns to thee, this lesson well, thou must learn, thee only gets what thou dost earn

phew..that took a while lol,Ill do another post expalining this now

[Erin]

The Wicca Rede -

Ok basically this means to follow the rede,have respect for elders,speak when spoken to and listen to others,new moon phases and seasons changing,casting cirlcles 3 times to keep unwanted negative energies out,the wiccan/pagan Sabbats.Be careful who you choose to spend your time with.

Different neo pagan faiths interpret the Rede differently but the most importand part of the rede is basically interpreted the same all through neo-pagan releigions -

"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"

As long as it harms none,do what you want (this includes,humans and animals)

The Wiccan law of three -

"Ever mind the Rule of Three, three times what thou givest returns to thee, this lesson well, thou must learn, thee only gets what thou dost earn[citation needed]."

Basically becare what you wish for,what spells you cast and what you say or think about others as we believe everything comes back threefold.

[Erin]

there are so many good books out there but the one I find most usefull is - A Wiccan Bible by A.J Drew,very informative

Ill post about some of the main Sabbatts now

[Erin]

SamhainOctober 31st - (Halloween) A time to reflect on the year that has past and look forward to new things to come,it is one of our most Holy holidays.It is also known as the last harvest.
On Samhain, our Mother Earth begins to prepare Herself for the long winter ahead. She settles in for Her long slumber and allows the Horned God to reign over this half of the year. Our God in turn prepares the cattle and forest animals for the winter months by protecting them with thick furs, or hiding them away for the winter.

Yule,The winter Solstice December 21st -

The Winter Solstice, Yule, marks the shortest day of the year and the longest night. This is the darkest part of the year and a time when the Sun God "dies".He is reborn again to begin His reign all over. From this point on, the days get longer and eventually warmer as His strength grows and matures around MidSummer. The Goddess sleeps at this time after giving birth to the Sun God. The Death of the Holly King and the Birth of the Oak King is celebrated at this time. We like to celebrate this Sabbat by making Crafts indoors and giving them as presents. We tend to follow the idea of Brotherhood and Goodwill towards Man at this time. It is a reminder to us that these were harsh times for ancient people. They had to stick together in order to survive the Winter. We set up Yule trees, symbolic of the Tree of Life, and light candles to remind us that warmer days will return and from this day forth, the nights will be getting shorter and the days longer.

Imbolc February 2nd -
Also known as Candlemas, this Sabbat is the re awaking of the Earth Mother so that She can return to make our lands green again. It is also a time when the Sun God is encouraged to grow in strength so that He may awaken the Goddess from Her Winter slumber.

Imbolc actually means "in womb". This refers to all the Life that is laying beneath the hard frozen ground, in our Earth Mothers "womb", waiting to come forth in the Spring. It is up to the Sun God to warm the frozen ground and stir these seeds so they may blossom.

In our tradition, we take this time to encourage others and ourselves. The dark Winter months tend to depress many people, and several seem to give up hope. On Imbolc we try to restore that hope in order to survive. We light candles in a variety of ways to show that there will be brighter times and hopefully to encourage that inner light within all of us to ignite and flare.

Ostara March 21st - The Spring Equinox brings a time of balance. The Sun God has overtaken the darkness and day and night are of equal lengths. The Goddess, our Earth Mother, awakens from Her long slumber to replenish the Earth. We see new Life rising from the cold ground.
Many Pagan customs from this Sabbat continue to this day.the Easter Egg is a common Pagan custom. Eggs have always been a symbol of fertility and used as a symbol for this holiday. They were traditionally painted red or scarlet to symbolize the Suns rays in hopes that the rays of the Sun would warm the Egg and from it would spring Life.

Beltaine 1st May - Also Know as May day this Sabbat is a time of Sacred Fertility. The Goddess and the Green Man perform the Great Rite, sacred sexuality, in order to make the land lush and green. Because Maypoles are phallic symbols they are erected and danced around to celebrate the masculine aspect of this Sabbat. Many Pagans today also use a cauldron in their Maypole celebrations in order to symbolize the womb of the Goddess.

Midsummer 21st June - The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year,my fave!!!The sun god is celebrated in order to ensure a large harvest.He is thanked for the Life-Giving Light that He brings. It is a time for growing strong. The harvest is coming soon and the Winter months will be harsh.


These are the main Sabbatts.


Thats it for know lol my fingers are acheing
If you want to know anything else though just ask

[Emm]

wow Erin thanks so much for taking the time to write all that.

I find it really fascinating - I love how earthy it is!

How many Sabbatts are there altogether and do you celebrate them all? Also, if you don't mind me asking how did you get into Wicca - did some-one introduce it to you or did you just find it? If I'm too nosey and you don't want to answer I promise I won't be offended! LOL

[Erin]

There are 8 Sabbats all together Emm,The mains ones I celebrate are Yule,Summer Solstice and Samhain,I do light candles on the other sabbats but dont really celebrate them as such.
I was always facinated by my sister when I was growing up,we were/are very close and she used to read out of books to me all the time,instead of the normal bed time stories my sister used to read me the Rede and I loved it.
She used to show me all the different herbs and candles that were used for the different spells/sabbats etc, and I was just enchanted by it all,Ive learned pretty much every thing I know from her,even now if Im not sure of something Ill ask her.
I remember one year she took me to find a log for her yule log,she found one then did a wee under the tree where she found it from When I asked her why she had to do this,she told me it was leaving a gift to the earth for the log and that you didnt have to do a wee its just that she was desperate she would usually leave fruit.
We get together on the 21st of december and exchange our girfts then for Yule instead of christmas,I just love it.

[Erin]

I remember one year she took me to Averbury stone circle for The Summer Solstice,it was the first time I had been and there were some Druids there dressed up in there cloaks and it terrified me lol,she asked one of them to talk to me because I thought they were evil

[Emm]

I would have been scared of the druids as well

Thats really nice you get on so well with your sister. Thanks again for sharing all that with me - I hope your fingers have recovered from writing it all