(^54) A Wiccan Bible
18 Heed ye Flower, Bush and Tree, by the Lady, blessed be.
19 Where the rippling waters go, cast a stone and truth you’ll know.
20 When ye have a true need, hearken not to others’ greed.
21 Never a season with a fool shall ye spend, lest be counted as his friend.
22 Merry meet and merry part, bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
23 Less in thy own defense it be, always mind the Rule of Three.
24 When misfortune is enow, wear the blue star on thy brow.
25 True in Love ever be, lest thy lover’s false to thee.
26 These eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: An ye harm none, do as ye will.
In line 23 of the Wiccan Rede is the instruction, perhaps a warning, about the Rule
of Three. Some have taken the Rule of Three to mean that anything one casts will
return three-fold. If you believe this, I invite you to send me ten dollars, for surely
someone will send you thirty. For that matter, send me a hundred dollars, a thousand,
ten thousand. Send me $333,333.33 and I promise I will return to you a penny. With
that penny and the $999,999.99 that the universe magickally returns to you in accor-
dance with that interpretation of the Rule of Three, you will be a millionaire. Of course,
that won’t actually happen because the universe does not follow laws made up by folk
who think they know better than Isaac Newton. Instead, the universe follows the laws
set by Nature which are sometimes illuminated by men who know that they do not
know better than Nature.
Called magicians in time of old and scientists today, these are the folk who create
the expression of Nature’s law after discovering it for themselves. The principle is rep-
resented again and again. In the science of thermal dynamics, the study of gravity, and
any form of energy ever considered by a scientific method. No matter how much force
you put into throwing an object into the air, that object will not return to the ground
with an equal amount of energy, much less with three times that amount of force. In
short, the previously mentioned interpretation of the Rule of Three is trumped by the
scientific observation of the law of Nature governing all forms of matter and energy:
The return is never greater than the investment. If it were, working perpetual motion
machines would be common place and I would never have to pay an electric bill.
The number 3 is a magickal number—not because if we make a wish three times it
will come true, and not because if we light three green candles we will win the lottery. It
is a magick number because it unlocks the totality of that that which we are. It tells us
that the whole of our being is mind, body, and soul. It uncovers our very essence and
divines our fate. It is the key to understanding our past, present, and future.
i WB Chap 02.p65 54 7/11/2003, 5:49 PM
barré
(Barré)
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