Yes, it is widely publicized in Wiccan circles...but it predates "Wicca".
Quoting a much earlier post by myself from the thread:
"Re: All this is interesting but...
Quote Originally Posted by Lermanet_com View Post
~snip~
Arnie wrote: "(Hope this helps, and to Sweetness&Light, who wanted to know more, are you sure you DID? After all these years digging in this trash pile I do not like some of the lessons I have had to learn...)" I replied: "I can see how you would feel this way about the subject!"
Note1: In the Huna religion of the old hawaiians there is a description of the techniques used to kill another person by intent...There is ONE amazing detail about the mental attack used... it will NOT work unless the target has guilt. Amongst the Hawaiians, a person who felt no guilt was not vulnerable to such an attack by a Kahuna. The old Hawaiians had only two rules for happy living, 1) Never steal or damage another person's possessions and 2) Never hurt another persons FEELINGS.
Yes, Arnie...it does help, and I am o.k. with learning more about the (REALLY) dark side and true origins of Scientology! Thank you. I never had to LIVE it like you did.
Can I just take a moment here to add that Aleister Crowley (seen below doing TR 0 ~ note how the TRs start with 0 and not 1, another magickal influence... ) really SQUIRRELED THE TECH when he wrote that "This is the whole of the law: Do what thou wilt". Do whatever the hell you want to do in life, (no matter who it hurts) is the kind of ruthless self-determinism that you "get" when you "Get IT" in EST, which was an offshoot of Scientology. I think Crowley's postulate of this as a "rule to live by" as a wannabe magus is the seminal thought behind Ron's creation of Scientology. I think Ron just copied and followed his hero...
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" is an exact quote from Crowley's best known and still read work "The Book of the Law" published in 1904. It wasn't even an original thought with him...from Wikipedia:
"This famous statement derives from several historic precedents, including that of François Rabelais in describing the rule of his Abbey of Thélème in Gargantua and Pantagruel: Fait ce que vouldras (Do what thou wilt), which was later used by the Hellfire Club established by Sir Francis Dashwood. It is also similar to the pagan proverb: An ye harm none, do what thou wilt; but the oldest known statement of a similar idea is by St. Augustine of Hippo: Love, and do what thou wilt."
Good old St. Augustine of Hippo (Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church... respected by Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran traditions alike) lived from 354 to 430, A.D.
The important point that I want to make about this is that Crowley's "The whole of the Law is 'Do what thou wilt'" is squirreled from, and morally, ethically and spiritually diametrically opposed to the spirit of the ancient pagan magical rede,
which pre-dates Christianity and so, St. Augustine, from which this all comes, "and so it harm none, do what thou wilt..." St. Augustine's version is a slight reworking with a Christly "love one another" take on it.
That to me is very similar to the golden rule found in various ancient cultural traditions and teachings, same meaning and import. I think it's a key to success in spiritual practice, protection, and advancement for us as individuals and for our moral and social evolution as a species.
The core concept of Ron's Scientology creation opposes that.
The ruthless self determinism of Crowley's "This is the whole of the law, do what thou wilt" (invalidating all other religious and social systems of belief, moral values and social practice that promote loving kindness, and first do no harm to others kinds of values) is the core essence and foundational platform of Scientology. We see that being played out and demonstrated for us both historically while Ron was alive, and in real life right now by actions and abuses in the so-called "Church of Scientology" by it's current leadership.
The whole COS enterprise is rotten to the core and worse than worthless, harmful spiritually to people, because of this.
Last edited by SweetnessandLight; 8th November 2011 at 01:39 PM."
I prefer the term Pagan when referring to the ancient European earth oriented per-Christian religions..."Wiccan and Witchcraft" tend to all come from the Gardnarian tradition, yes, made popular here in the 60's.
Adriana Porter allegedly wrote it in a poem published in 1910, according to her grandaughter who re-published in the 70's. I think we can safely say it was a common pagan saying, passed on by word of mouth during training in "the Craft", well before Crowley "squirreled" it from Rabelais , changing it's intent and meaning from the alleged original saying. Hard to pin it's origin down exactly when we are dealing with oral traditions here...
As an aside...I enjoyed this essay on the "Rede" by Judy Harrow:
From:
http://www.realmagick.com/5126/exegesis-on-the-wiccan-rede/
"I'd like to try doing some exegesis on an essential statement of the Craft way of life. Every religion has some sort of ethic, some guideline for what it means to live in accordance with this particular mythos, this worldview. Ours, called the Wiccan Rede, is one of the most elegant statements I've heard of the principle of situational ethics. Rather than placing the power and duty to decide about behavior with teachers or rulebooks, the Rede places it exactly where it belongs, with the actor.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: AN IT HARM NONE, DO WHAT YOU WILL.
I'd like to start with the second phrase first, and to take it almost word by word.
Do what YOU will. This is the challenge to self-direction, to figure out what we want, and not what somebody else wants for us or from us. All of us are subject to tremendous role expectations and pressures, coming from our families, our employers, our friends, society in general. It's easy to just be molded, deceptively easy to become a compulsive rebel and reflexively do the opposite of whatever "they" seem to want. Living by the Rede means accepting the responsibility to assess the results of our actions and to choose when we will obey, confront or evade the rules.
Do what you WILL. This is the challenge to introspection, to know what we really want beyond the whim of the moment. The classic example is that of the student who chooses to study for an exam rather than go to a party, because what she really wants is to be a doctor. Again, balance is needed. Always going to the library rather than the movies is the road to burnout, not the road to a Nobel. What's more, there are other values in life, such as sensuality, intimacy, spirituality, that get ignored in a compulsively long-term orientation. So, our responsibility is not to mechanically follow some rule like "always choose to defer gratification in your own long-term self interest," but to really listen within, and to really choose, each time.
DO what you will. This is the challenge to action. Don't wait for Prince Charming or the revolution. Don't blame your mother or the system. Make a realistic plan that includes all your assets. Be sure to include magic, both the deeper insights and wisdoms of divination and the focusing of will and energy that comes from active workings. Then take the first steps right now. But, beware of thoughtless action, which is equally dangerous. For example, daydreaming is needed, to envision a goal, to project the results of actions, to check progress against goals, sometimes to revise goals. Thinking and planning are necessary parts of personal progress. Action and thought are complementary; neither can replace the other.
When you really look at it, word by word, it sounds like a subtle and profound guide for life, does it not? Is it complete? Shall "do what you will" in fact be "the whole of the law" for us? I think not. The second phrase of the Rede discusses the individual out of context. Taken by itself, "DO WHAT YOU WILL" would produce a nastily competitive society, a "war of each against all" more bitter than what we now endure. That is, it would if it were possible. Happily, it's just plain not.
Pagan myth and modern biology alike teach us that our Earth is one interconnected living sphere, a whole system in which the actions of each affect all (and this is emphatically not limited to humankind) through intrinsic, organic feedback paths. As our technology amplifies the effects of our individual actions, it becomes increasingly critical to understand that these actions have consequences beyond the individual; consequences that, by the very nature of things, come back to the individual as well. Cooperation, once "merely" an ethical ideal, has become a survival imperative. Life is relational, contextual. Exclusive focus on the individual Will is a lie and a deathtrap.
The qualifying "AN IT HARM NONE," draws a Circle around the individual Will and places each of us firmly within the dual contexts of the human community and the complex life-form that is Mother Gaia. The first phrase of the Rede directs us to be aware of results of our actions projected not only in time, as long-term personal outcomes, but in space - to consider how actions may effect our families, co-workers, community, and the life of the Earth as a whole, and to take those projections into account in our decisions.
But, like the rest of the Rede, "an it harm none" cannot be followed unthinkingly. It is simply impossible for creatures who eat to harm none. Any refusal to decide or act for fear of harming someone is also a decision and an action, and will create results of some kind. When you consider that "none" also includes ourselves, it becomes clear that what we have here is a goal and an ideal, not a rule.
The Craft, assuming ethical adulthood, offers us no rote rules. We will always be working on incomplete knowledge. We will sometimes just plain make mistakes. Life itself, and life-affirming religion, still demands that we learn, decide, act, and accept the results."