Laws and Council Principles

The Laws

1. We are of the Old Ways, among those who walk with the Goddess and God and receive Their love.

2. Keep the Sabbats and Esbats to the best of your abilities, for to do otherwise is to lessen your connections with the Goddess and God.

3. Harm none. This, the oldest law, is not open to interpretation or change.

4. Shed not blood in ritual; the Goddess and God need not blood to be duly worshipped.

5. Those of our way are kind to all creatures, for hurtful thoughts are quite draining and aren't worth the loss of energy. Misery is self-created; so, too, is joy, so create joy and disdain misery and unhappiness. And this is within your power. So harm not.

6. Teach only what you know, to the best of your ability, to those students whom you choose, but teach not to those who would use your instructions for destruction or control. Also, teach not to boost pride, for ever remember: she who teaches for vain-glory shall take little pride in her handiwork; she who teaches out of love shall be enfolded in the arms of the Goddess and God.

7. Ever remember that if you would be of our way, keep the Law close to your heart, for it is the nature of the Wicca to keep the Law.

8. If ever the need arises, any law may be changed or discarded, and new laws written to replace them, so long as the new laws don't break the oldest of all: harm none.

9. Blessings of the God and Goddess on us all.

The Law of the Power

1. The Power shall not be used to bring harm, to injure or control others. But if the need arises, the Power shall be used to protect your life or the lives of others.

2. The Power is used only as need dictates.

3. The Power can be used for your own gain, as long as by doing so you harm none.

4. It is unwise to accept money for use of the Power, for it quickly controls its taker. Be not as those of other religions.

5. Use not the Power for prideful gain, for such cheapens the mysteries of Wicca and magick.

6. Ever remember that the Power is the sacred gift of the Goddess and God, and should never be misused or abused.

7. And this is the Law of the Power.

Council Principles

1. We practice Rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the moon and the seasonal quarters and cross quarters.

2. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment.

3. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than is apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary, it is sometimes called "supernatural," but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.

4. We conceive of the creative power of the Universe as manifesting through polarity - as masculine and feminine - and believe that this same creative power lives in all people and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magical practice and religious worship.

5. We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological, worlds - sometimes known as the spiritual world, the collective unconsciousness, the Inner Planes, etc. - and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.

6. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.

7. We see religion, magick, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it - a worldview and philosophy of life that we identify as Witchcraft, the Wiccan Way.

8. Calling oneself a "witch" does not make a Witch - but neither does heredity itself, or the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with Nature.

9. We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of life, in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know and to our personal role within it.

10. Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief.

11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, or the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.

12. We do not accept the concept of "absolute evil," nor do we worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the devil," as defined by the Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that personal benefit can only be derived from denial to another.

13. We acknowledge that we seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being.