An it harm none, do as thou wilt

The above law is called the Wiccan Rede, or the Witches' Rede. It is the basic, and often only, law that is accepted by most witches and neo-pagans.
The Wiccan Rede is a restriction of what is called the Law of Thelema:

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law

This formulation of the law can be traced back to Aleister Crowley and is promoted by the A.A. (Astron Argon, Aster Argos, or Argentum Astrum, these are Greek and Latin for Silver Star) and O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis).
Another, completely unrelated, section of the occult that accepts the Law of Thelema is the Temple of Seth or Ordo Templi Satanis. Followers of these schools of thought generally go by the name Satanists, but still do not worship the Devil, only themselves (check here for information). They sometimes refer to themselves as folowers of the Left Hand Path to distinguish themselves from Neo-Pagans who follow the Right Hand Path. The left hand stands for counter-clockwise or more accurately counter-sunwise, which might cause confusion for groups working in the southern hemisphere.

As the Law of Thelema is obviously basic to the occult orders, I will first limit the discussion to this law. I will return to the Wiccan Rede later.

Formulation: is the Law of Thelema actually a law?

The formulation of the Law is somewhat odd. It is clear that it negates the commandments of the Judeo-Christian tradition which, in English, all start with thou shall not. But unlike normal "laws", the Law does not seem to prohibid or prescribe anything at all. We are all so conditioned to expect "laws" to steer and limit our behavior, that it is difficult to grasp the meaning of a law that does not seem to do so.

So what can the formulation of the Law tell us. First, it denies us the right to accept a "Devine" system of rules, like the ten commandments of Christianity. We are not allowed to say: "my Goddess has written that I shall not lie/steal/kill/drink alcohol/eat porc, therefore I will not do these things". Instead we must choose (not) to refrain from these things out of our own free will. This choice is our own responsibillity, not that of any God (-dess). This might seem like a small distinction, but think of those who deny their children necessary medical treatment because their god ordered them to do so, and therefore claim not to be responsible for the crippling or deadly results.
The Law does not tell us to reject all higher authority or rule systems. Although many (Satanic) writings tell you that you should always act out of your own self-interest, they always are fast to point out that you should stay inside the law. The reason for this is easy to see. If you violate rules (e.g., the traffic code) the result can easily proof devastating (e.g., try driving on the wrong side of the road).

The second point that the Law makes is the more difficult one. The Law of Thelema is a real "law". You are obliged to do what you want. You may not do otherwise. But what is it that you want? For that matter, what do I realy want? I must admit that I still do not realy know this. There are all kinds of things I would want to do at this moment, but most of them are conflicting: I want to sleep and I want to work, I want to buy more things than I have money to pay. Most of the things I want are only means to an end: I want to be rich because it makes me feel secure and I can buy things, but I know that my frights are largely imaginary and I only want to have those things to impress others and myself. And why should I want to impress these other people? In the end we generally conclude I just want to be happy and do not know what will make us happy.
Thelemic thinkers (i.e., followers of A. Crowley) generally interpret the Law as an obligation of each human to discover her/his True Will, which is of a magical nature, and act accordingly. This True Will is better translated as Destiny in colloquial English.
The temple of Apollo in Delphi had written above its entrance Know thyself, and these words still hold. You cannot follow the Law without knowing yourself. And if you realy know yourself, following the Law might proof to be the only acceptable option and your destiny in live.

Function: is the Law of Thelema = the law of the Jungle?

The uninitiated usually see the Law as an invitation to Chaos. In writings of Satanists, the Law is indeed generally interpreted as the law of the Jungle. Writings of OTO sometimes refered to the Law as the canon of Anarchy. This vision can be related to the Victorian view on Human Nature: Without strict laws and morals, civilization will collaps and the "beast" lurking inside each human being will break out.
Although it generally can be assumed that all (non-human) living things try to act according to a superficial interpretation the Law, it is very short sighted to look at rats and snails for guidance in Human behavior. What should be kept in mind is that humans are exclusively social animals, not less so than ants or bees. A human alone is dead or will be so shortly. The exceptions generally prove the rule. Reports of feral children (remember Mowgli, there are no reports of feral adults), are extremely rare and generally involve children that have lived in the wild for only relatively short periods starting from not to early an age. Adults that survived alone in the wild invariably had access to knowledge, tools, weapons (Robinson Crusoe was modelled after a real sailor, Japanese soldiers come to mind) and therefore indirectly to other people. They also lived in unusually rich environments (tropical islands). The smallest isolated community that was able to survive indefinitely were the 5000 strong Tasmanians. But these lost almost all technical skills. Small Pacific island communities that lost contact with other Island communities invariably died out. This is all to say that an individuals' interest lies with his fellow people, and indirectly with quite a large community.

The social needs of humans are reflected in the very strong emotional attachment of individuals to their communities. Being a Hermite is a genuine achievement and isolation is a heavy punishment. The most common, neurotic, wish is power over others (naked or by money) and many people clamor all their life for love and affection.
So what has all this to do with the Law. Deep down, your wishes will be social ones (mate, company, love, respect, admiration). To fullfil these wishes you need others. Society, like Magick, acts like a mirror. By and large, your are treated as you treat others (Tit-for-Tat is the most rewarding social strategy). If you break the rules of your community, the community will retaliate. If you exploit others, they will shun you and you will end up without company or help. You might even end up being exploited yourself (remember Howard Hughs?). All in all, to get what you want, you have to bargain with others. This will be a matter of give and take. Only when you are very clever, will you be able to consistently outwit others without them knowing it. Only few of us are upto that task.

To summarize: The Law of Thelema can indeed be interpreted as the law of the jungle, but it is a human jungle. If we want to fullfil our deepest wishes, we will have to ensure the help of other people and be part of communities. We will be able to fullfil our wishes better when more people help us, so it pays to be a nice, responsible, and especially, respected citizen, even when you don't particularly feel like it. As a result, all followers of the Law are invariably advised to act like the most social of "patriots" (see OTO and Satanists).

The Wiccan Rede: An it harm none

I, myself, prefer the formulation of the Wiccan Rede over the Law of Thelema. The restriction incorporated in the An it harm none is one I feel very comfortable with. Most followers of the Law of Thelema will endorse the An it harm none as vigorously as any Neo-Pagan, but I like my laws as explicit as possible. The Wiccan Rede, indeed, places the An it harm none Center Stage.
As we have seen, even the more ardent Satanists and followers of the unrestricted Law of Thelema will, out of pure self-interest, act according to the Wiccan Rede most of the time. However, the provision that they might, sometimes, when it suits them, indeed harm others is a dangerous one. I am not a goddess and I cannot forsee all the consequences of my deeds. I do know that, if I hurt someone, I very well could end up feeling the pain myself, because as is written above, Society, like Magick, acts like a mirror. And remember, experience shows that self-inflicted wounds hurt the most.

This brings us to an often overlooked implication of the Wiccan Rede. It says that you shall harm none which includes yourself. Therefore, concluding that you cannot live without hurting some living creature, you cannot decide just to die because that would hurt yourself, and you would violate the Rede. Now this turn of the Rede should make you think, e.g., is following my ambition realy my true will or am I hurting myself with it.

A further consideration must be the fact that all human societies are build on trust. Living together is much easier, and more profitable, if no locks and bolts are needed. By openly restricting yourself by, and acting according to, the Wiccan Rede, companions will more easily trust you than when they always remind themselves that you do believe in the ruthless persuit of self-interest. The restriction then is a small sacrifice. This is like in the old story of the king who, after a profitable battle, ensured the trust and loyality of his suspicious followers, and therefore his future success, by honoring his hated, outmost critic first, before any of his personal friends.

As a final point I must admit that there are few things in live I hate more than hurting people.

Conclusions ...

The Wiccan Rede and the Law of Thelema are declarations of independence. The Law gives you sole responsibility over your moral standards and the consequences of your actions. No Book, God or Goddess can free you from the responsibility of deciding what is good and what is bad.

To live according to the Law, you have to know what you want. Know thyself is realy the ultimate goal of being a Witch, Mage, or any other spiritual undertaking.

Although the Law is a law of the jungle, it is definitely a human jungle we live in. Arguably the best strategy for survival in this human jungle is to become a respected member of your community.

The restriction of the Law, incorporated in the Wiccan Rede, that you should hurt none, is the best way to ensure the trust of your companions and the community you live in. It also helps against insomnia (Ein gutes Gewissen ist ein sanftes Ruhekissen, you can look that one up yourself).

... and beyond

The above might seem complete. Normally, the argument would have been closed now. But we are not dealing with the nomal, but with magick. The Law of Thelema as cited has a companion. The extended version of the law can be written as:

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
The word of Sin is Restriction.

The meaning of the second sentence is not immidiately clear, at least it was not to me. A Sin can be defined as an evil deed by someone who ought to know better, or as the breaking of ones own moral rules. The sentence The word of Sin is Restriction declares that there is only one Sin, and it is completely covered by the word Restriction. But what kind of restriction is meant?

In this context, three types of Restrictions can be distinguished:

1. A voluntary restriction of oneself. The Wiccan Rede contains such a voluntary restriction. Such restrictions are inevitable to reach ones True Will (as the proverb says: In der Beschränkung zeigt sich der Meister). Not being able to make such restrictions leaves one unable to complete any activity and therefore unable to live according to the law. Therefore, this kind of restriction cannot be a Sin.

2. A restriction imposed from the outside. This might be a physical or a social/mental restriction. Both are there to be overcome, what else is magick all about. Not fighting such restrictions is clearly a violation of the Law and constitutes a Sin. But as this case is already covered by the Law, why add an extra sentence?

3. A restriction imposed on the Law itself. The Law should pervade your whole live. Restricting its "application" to only some aspects of your live, or restricting its meaning to only a single interpretation is a Sin towards the Law itself.
   Although the Wiccan Rede lacks this second sentence, its meaning can be considered already implicit in the restriction An it harm none. As it is difficult to be sure whether your actions will hurt none (not even yourself), you must always contemplate whether your interpretation is realy the correct one. Freezing or restricitng your interpretation of the Law will most surely make you violate it.
   In this light, all of the previous discussion constitutes a Sin because it promotes only a single interpretation of the law. It makes sense to add a complete sentence to the Law to warn against this kind of misuse. In the history of religion, each and every moral rule has been bend towards its opposite at one time or another by canonizing its interpretation and making a dogma of this "final" interpretation.

So, the only conclusion to draw from this discussion is, that there can be no final interpretation of the Law of Thelema or the Wiccan Rede except as an obligation to doubt. Any other "final" interpretation would even constitute a Sin. Every person has to follow her own way to live with the Law. Anyone claiming to know its true meaning can reliably be considered in error.

Comments, questions, and reactions are welcome.

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