The Law of Threefold Return

THE 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!

Intent without action is worthless, and action without intent is worse than useless - it can be harmful. When our actions are true expressions of our intentions - our wills - we are doing magic.

The Rule of Three illustrates the power underlying our intentions. Everything we do is returned to us threefold. The ethical directive of the Wiccan Rede is balanced by the moral guide of the Rule of Three, without lengthy lists of prohibitions and "sins." Our intent determines the approach we take to life. Our actions determine the response life takes to us.

While the Rede is an ethical statement, the Law of Three is a moral one. We cannot ask for what we do not ourselves offer to others. Think of it as applied common sense; our actions and words ripple outward from us, touching countless other lives in one way or another. Every good deed we do, every helping hand we lend, and every time we act responsibly, we improve our society by fostering an environment in which positive actions begin to outnumber negative ones.

The Rule of Three is not a mandate to become a pacifist. Rather, it's a challenge to find a constructive, positive way to deal with the situations we all face in the course of our lives. We all are still part of the world, and our relationships with other people are still very much our own matter to deal with. We all have to live with the results and consequences of our actions and the fruit of our intentions.

The Rule of Three demonstrates the importance of right intent, and reveals the secret to bringing about real prosperity. Every little thing we do comes back to us, so it behooves us to send out the sorts of things we really want to have come back to us. When applied alongside the Rede, we are given a total goal to work toward, that of doing good, of helping others, and of making the world a better place. Wicca is a lifestyle as much as it is a religion. Its lessons are best appreciated by experiencing them.

~Written by Jim Garrison - quite frankly, I couldn't have stated this better.