Ethics II: Rede, Threefold Law, and Karma
“An it harm none, do what ye will.”
The Problem With Slogans
Ethics in Witchcraft has too often been reduced to bumper stickers. A line pulled from a ritual, repeated until it loses context. A phrase turned into dogma.
The most famous of these is the Wiccan Rede: “An it harm none, do what ye will.” A beautiful phrase on the surface, one that sounds wise, even compassionate. But like all absolutes, it cracks under the weight of reality.
Because harm is unavoidable.
The Myth of Harmlessness
We harm every day simply by existing.
We eat food — something dies.
We build houses — the land is changed, creatures displaced.
We speak words — they uplift some, wound others.
To live is to cause impact. To work magic is to magnify that impact.
Pretending we can live, let alone cast, without harm is not wisdom. It’s denial.
The Rede, when taken as gospel, trains witches to be fearful of their own power. To avoid action rather than to act with responsibility. It creates paralysis instead of discernment.
The Threefold Law
Another oft-repeated mantra: “Whatever you send out comes back to you threefold.”
Sounds neat, doesn’t it? A cosmic justice system that ensures everyone gets what they deserve. But here’s the truth: the Threefold Law is not ancient, not universal, and not inevitable. It emerged in the mid-20th century as part of modern Wicca’s attempt to present itself as safe and ethical to outsiders.
And here’s the rub: it only works if you believe in it.
Belief is power. If you truly believe every curse will rebound on you three times over, you will experience that reality. You’ve built it into your worldview, and your magic will bend to it. But if you don’t carry that belief, if you work from a different framework, then no such cosmic boomerang appears.
Ethics isn’t universal law. It’s the law of the Witch, and that law is written in your blood, your oaths, your practice.
Karma Misunderstood
Karma is another word stripped from its roots and plastered across Witchcraft books as a threat: “Don’t curse or karma will get you.”
In truth, karma is a Hindu and Buddhist concept far more nuanced than tit-for-tat punishment. At its heart, karma is about action and consequence across lifetimes, about the rippling effects of deeds, speech, and thought. It was never a scare tactic to keep witches in line.
When we twist karma into a quick-fix justice system, we erase its depth and misuse it as spiritual policing. Worse, we excuse ourselves from doing the real work of discernment by outsourcing responsibility to an imagined cosmic accountant.
Why These Rules Persist
So why do the Rede, the Threefold Law, and pop-culture karma keep showing up?
Because they’re easy.
They make Witchcraft look safe to the mainstream. They offer new witches a simple comfort: “Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen if you follow these slogans.” They erase nuance in favor of palatability.
But Witchcraft is not safe. And ethics is not simple.
What Ethics Actually Demands
If we strip away the slogans, what’s left? Responsibility.
Real Witch ethics looks like:
Asking: Why am I doing this working?
Divining before action to check alignment and consequence.
Preparing protections and cleansings before baneful work.
Accepting that every working changes the weave of fate, and being willing to carry the results.
This is harder than reciting a rhyme. But it’s also more honest.
Freedom and Weight
Some find this terrifying: no Rede, no cosmic law, no karma police to keep you in check. Just you and your choices.
But I find it liberating.
Because if you are the Witch, then you are the one who decides. You get to choose your boundaries, your codes, your limits. You are not shackled by someone else’s PR campaign. You are not a child waiting for cosmic punishment. You are sovereign.
Freedom, of course, comes with weight. Every spell is a vow. Every curse is a tether. Every blessing is a promise. You carry that. And you should.
So forget the slogans. Forget the sugar-coated laws written to make witches digestible.
Write your own law. Live by it. Own the consequences.
Because when someone asks, “Won’t the Threefold Law get you?” or “What about karma?” you can look them dead in the eye and say:
I am my law. I am my ethics. I am my consequence.
This is the crooked path. Walk it with eyes open.
