Spiritual Stages of Development & The Wiccan Rede Part 2

            It has been a while since I picked up the pen to write the next segment of the blog.  Today I will continue the discussion on the Wiccan Rede, by focusing on how I practice it in my life.  Then in the next posting, I will expand the exploration of thoughts surround how religion influences our ability for spiritual fulfillment based on religion’s capacity to recognize and honor all aspects of an individual’s humanity.

          Looking at the Wiccan Rede and its usage in my life, I can see that my interpretation of the Rede has changed through time.  Therefore, the expression and modality of the Reade has also evolved over the course of my spiritual and religious growth.  In the next few paragraphs, I will walk you through this evolution of thought and action.

            During my initial phase in spiritual and religious development as a Pagan and Wiccan, I associated the Rede only with the application of spell work.  Therefore, I designed my workings around the principle of “Not to Harm.”  During this stage of development, I focused on workings geared towards self-growth and near the end of the phase, protection spells.  Because “Harm None” was the guiding principle I took extra time and care researching and writing my workings.  This was done in order to remain within these guidelines.  However, as I moved into performing protection spells I realized that pure intentions might cause harm.  The idea that I unknowingly might be the cause of someone’s pain shook me to the core of my being.  Due to this inner upheaval, I reflected on the meaning of the Wiccan Rede, which led to a new interpretation.

            With a new interpretation of the Wiccan Rede, I entered the next phase of spiritual development as a Pagan and Wiccan.  Throughout the duration of this developmental stage, I interpreted the Rede as an extension of The Golden Rule.  Therefore, the focus was on physical actions.  With this type of focus, I continually asked two questions of myself before acting or reacting to situations.  I asked, “Would I want this done to me?” or “Would I want someone to treat me in this manner?”  These are good questions to ask before reacting or acting on a specific situation(s), but there is a flaw in the fabric.  The flaw is more like a hole in clothing.  Although clothing is still usable with a hole or multiple holes, the functionality of the material to keep an individual warm or dry is reduced.  Just like a hole in an article of clothing my practice although functional was incomplete.  The reason for the incompleteness is that my interpretation of the Wiccan Rede focused only on behaviors.  Therefore, the interpretation left out other methods of communication such as words and additional activities that affect the quality of energy such as thoughts.  The Golden Rule phase of my spiritual development lasted for a long time.  It was not until I started attending the meditation class and Dharma talks offered by the Chan Buddhist meditation center in Houston, TX that I noticed the hole in my practice.

            Through the Dharma talks at the center, I started reconsidering what the Wiccan Rede is teaching us about life and living our spiritual practice.  I began to think about my actions holistically.  I started to go beyond behaviors and considered all manners of communication.  I considered and implemented the words of the Shifu at the center.  Shifu said that in order to live an honorable life we not only perform actions respectfully but we only engage in speech that is meaningful.  The portion of Shifu’s message that influenced me the most was “to engage in meaningful speech.”  To me this means that we do not engage in activities that send negative energy vibrating through the world we live in.  The most obvious forms of communication that we engage in on a regular basis that is not meaningful is gossip.  Before I go further, I want to say that, the topic of talk vs. gossip is important but I will not explore debate at this moment. 

Instead, I want to focus on the idea that talk without purpose can be harmful and/or a waste of precious time creating something meaningful.  Having a talk over a cup of coffee or tea with a friend is not idol chitchat if you are connecting with them.  When chitchat becomes idol, the connection to your friend is weakened and both parties become unengaged in the conversation.  The best way to know when the conversation is meaningful is when an hour or more of time passes without either party noticing.  However, when talk is without meaning there is not a purpose, the people become board, and the chitchat may venture into gossip territory.  When meaningless conversation becomes gossip, the words send out negative energy into our community and one could say the talk has become harmful to the environment we occupy.  Of course, gossip can hurt in more than one way and it can lead to harmful actions.  These lines of thinking lead me to reinterpret the Wiccan Rede to include thoughts and words.  It also led me to include the lessons I had learned from previous spiritual and religious development stages.

The current interpretation of the Wiccan Rede that leads my life is to act in an ethical manner.  On a regular basis, I think about how my actions, words, and even thoughts will affect the environment around me.  I believe that the energy behind what we do is important.  That the time put into considering how the action will affect others will determine if the energy is positive or negative.  From each spiritual and religious stage I have learned valuable lessons.  I have learned that it is important to reflect on each thought, word, and action.  Through the reflection, we can see if our pure intentions are ethical.  Just because an intention is pure does not mean that it is ethical.  Only through reflecting on the thought, word, and/or action can we see the harm that even good intentions can put forth.  This leads me to the next phase in my growth that I am currently in the process of moving towards in my spiritual and religious growth. 

In conclusion, I am starting to move towards a line of thinking that is adapting the thoughts behind the Unitarian Universalist’s first principle, which is based on some principles of Humanism.  I am starting to formulate the belief that it is important to honor and respect that even the principle of “Harm None” can take a form of harming in order to act in ethical ways.  The key to living by the “Harm None” in the Wiccan Rede is that we heed, honor, and respect through reflection and that we are truly performing in an ethical manner.  This line of thinking is preparing us for the further discussion of how religion influences our ability for spiritual fulfillment based on religion’s capacity to recognize and honor all aspects of an individual’s humanity.  Until next time walk in beauty.

By Hano Tawodi