Wiccan ethics
From The Red Pill
The question is sometimes asked of Wiccans, regarding their ethics, "So about that An it harm none thing... How firm are you on that? Strictly pacifist/vegan/bug-dodging, or just Follow It When It's Practical?" Most are not at either extreme mentioned. To begin with though, an assesment of the Wiccan Rede is crucial before going on to actually answer the question.
"An' it harm none, do what you Will."
"Harm," as mentioned in the Rede, means unwarranted, wanton damage. For example, it's not OK to smack someone for no reason, but if one feels pain after beneficial surgery, the doctor has not done undue harm; that pain is an acceptable consequence of the surgery.
"None," of course, not only means others around you, but includes yourself as well.
"Will," in this case, does not mean "whatever you want." Your Will is your sense of what is correct, just, and appropriate in a certain situation, even if it isn't what you want to do. Another example, you find a wallet on the street with a substantial amount of cash in it. Your Want may be to keep the money, but your Will will most likely be to return the wallet with ALL its contents to the rightful owner.
"Do as you Will" is not simply statement of permission, it is a call to action, that you do consciously work your Will in a given situation. Going back to the wallet on the street, you could just walk past and leave it there, but abiding by the Rede would mean that you pick it up and turn it over to the authorities, even if you don't know the owner.
And lastly, an important caveat to the Rede that is far too often, at the very least overlooked if not outright ignored, is that sometimes working your Will means that someone will be harmed. However, since you did in fact work your Will, and your intent was not to do harm, any resulting harm is then another consequence to be dealt with (NOT ignored or disregarded, but actually faced), and NOT a violation of the Rede.
As an example, when one ends a long-standig romantic relationship, both parties are often emotionally harmed. It also means personal sacrifices, such as no longer attending regular community events. However, because of the state the relationship may have reached, it was no longer healthy for either party to remain in it. Regardless of who ends the relationship, if they are following the Rede, they are acting as they feel is most appriproate and beneficial for all concerned, given the information and experience they are currently privy to. After the split, both parties have consequesces to face as a result of the appropriate action, not only the emotional effects, but the dividing of shared property, the memories and other reminders that remain, etc.. If those involved had simply worked to avoid the more imminent harm of a break-up, they would have potentially been doing greater harm in the long run. Options were weighed, resulting responsibilities and consequences were considered, and a choice was made. That, then, is what is at the heart of the Rede, because failure to act can also cause harm.
Wiccans try to abide by the Rede in all they do, whether it be Magickal or mundane. However, using the Rede to justify the "strictly pacifist/vegan/bug-dodging" lifesytle mentioned in the question is a little ridiculous and impractical. Working backwards through the questions list of characteristics;
Bug-dodging, first of all, is damn near impossible for most people. Sure, we could walk with a broom, sweeping our path before each step (there are peoples who do so according to cultural customs), but that doesn't work in a car, and many of us ride in those fairly often. Second, many insects have such a brief lifespan, and not all that complicated an existence either (their purpose is to besically fornicate before they die), that it's hardly lowering their quality of life by squishing them (except that squish=death). Thirdly, there are so many kinds of insects and they reproduce so quickly, their population isn't noticebly affected by said squishing (not that it's ok to kill anything just because it's not endangered or rare, caveat caveat caveat...).
Veganism/vegetarianism a fine choice if someone wants to live that way, and done right it can be very healthy. However, citing the Rede as the reason is, well, silly. Even if you don't believe in killing animals for food, the plants you eat are still dying, and there are studies that show that plants scream at supersonic levels when cut down. And, animals kill each other for food naturally, they didn't learn that from humans. And those that aren't carnivorous, are still killing plants, and in a lot of cases will eat insects as well. In nature, life comes from death, so why humans should be any different? After all, we're animals and a part of nature ourselves, no matter how hard we may try to remove ourselves from it. This is not to say all the slaughterhouse and farming practices out there are humane or necessary or appropriate, but even for animals in the more extreme conditions, death seems all the more merciful. Overall, though, using the Rede as a justification for one's diet is somewhat missing the point.
Lastly, pacifism. The Rede is not a specific injunction against violence. "Harm" and "hurt/pain/violence" are different things. Some Wiccans who choose to enlist in the armed forces feel the Rede certainly allows it, as they believe their Will (the correct, just, and appropriate thing to do) is to defend their country (plus it doesn't hurt that the armed forces attempt to dehumanize the enemy). And although many of us may abhor war, we must concede that at times, it is the only course of action (once all other peaceful attempts have utterly failed, of course). And also, there are those who are haunted by war despite working their Will to defend their country, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Gulf War Syndrome, for example. Look as well at John Kerry; he went willingly to Vietnam, but upon his return spoke out against the war. This may not be "badness" happening to him because of his actions, but certainly his own Will told him that the effort itself was wrong, so he made strides to correct it.
Overall, "harm" in the Rede refers to wanton damage, maliciousness, forced acts, etc., and in Magickal terms, so-called "hexes and curses," basically Magick with the intent to do harm.
Notice that that the Rede makes commentary on actions that cause no harm (that you are to follow through with those actions) but what about actions that do, you may be wondering? The Rede says nothing about them, this is true. It is left up to the indvidual to decide whether to commit actions that cause harm. Will an initial harmful action prevent greater harm in the future (as with the example about romantic relationships)? Are you prepared to accept the consequences of said harmful action? All things to carefully consider when a harmful action presents itself as an option. For example, one could smack their significant other on the shoulder to get their attention, but is that necessary? Certainly there are other, non-harmful ways to accomplish the same goal (minus the agitation and pain caused to one's other), such as simply calling them by name.
The Rede does not state, "if it hurts someone, don't do it." Instead, it states, "if it causes no harm, then you must do it." Not that you can, or may, but that as a Wiccan, you have an obligation to do it.
In general terms, Wiccans are not the vegan/pacifist/bug-dodging types any more than any other person on the street. However, they also don't ignore the Rede when it's convinient either. For another example, if a Wiccan other did ignore the Rede at her convinience, she'd let her young son cry in the middle of the night instead of getting up to change him and feed him, just because she was tired. It would be irresponsible and cruel, both things the Rede directly prohibits. However, as explained above, the Rede is not "thou shalt not" statement. As was said earlier, it is a call to action, and abiding by it requires the Wiccan act according to their Will so that it causes no harm.
And unlike some practitioners out there today, this author doesn't believe that the Rede applies to everyone. If Wiccans can claim that they won't go to hell because they don't believe in it, than it would be hypocritical of them to then say that everyone is bound by the Rede regardless of their spiritual path. It only applies to those who believe in it, those folk being Wiccans.
To go off on a bit of a tangent while still discussing Wiccan ethical statements, the Rule of Three is of course tied very much into the Rede. Most agree with the Three-Fold Law, but not in a literal sense. It is more akin to the classic Golden Rule, and the idea that "what goes around comes around," and that none of us live in a vacuum, so everything we do, Magickally and otherwise, will have an affect on everything else. The essence of it is then, to be aware of your actions, and that they have consequences. Sometimes those consequences are rewards, sometimes they are burdens, but they WILL happen.
One criticism of this idea is that "the concept is inherently flawed. Nothing you do comes back any worse or less, 3 times or whatever. Energy is always consistent and equal."
This author's rebuttal is is follows: Energy is not constant, energy just in itself is balanced (or "neutral"), not inherently "good" or "bad." It is what is done with that energy, be it Magickal or mundane, that determines whether the consequences are "good" or "bad." Just as one of Newton's Laws states, "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." "Opposite" is not to say that good begets bad, but instead that the reaction, the goodness or badness, moves the other way, back to the source rather than away from it. As far as "equal" in that statement goes, applying it to the topic at hand means basically you get what you deserve, and the Universe/Gods/Karma/what-have-you will not dish out excessive rewards or burdens, only what is proportionally appropriate to the initial action.
To put in the most basic of terms, Wiccan ethics are about being responsible in your choices of action, realizing that there will be consequence (whether rewards or burdens) regardless of your actions, and having the maturity to face the consequences, whatever they may be.
