The Charge of the Goddess: A Wiccan Ethic It has been my experience that many people get involved in Wicca because they like the lack of rules. We don’t have a lot of “Thou shalt nots.” All we have is the Witch’si Rede, they say. But there are many unspoken rules of ethics that we think of as being essentially “Wiccan.” Why? Where do they come from? The answer should be self-evident but often isn’t. What is the one piece of liturgy that Wiccans really have? The answer is the Charge of the Goddess. Most modern Wiccans treat this prose as a lovely way to invoke the Goddess. It does work well that way. But consider the original meaning of the word “charge”. It is a command, a responsibility laid upon someone, an exhortation, a duty, an injunction, or being entrusted with someone’s care. It is a series of rules! In order to illustrate this, and illustrate how this piece of liturgy defines our Wiccan ethics, the remainder of this article will be concerned with breaking down the Charge into its component elements and paraphrasing them in a less poetic fashion. I will present both Doreen Valiente’s version and Starhawk’s version, since both are utilized among different Wiccan traditions. Though there are other versions, these are the most commonly known. There are also some slight differences (some elements present in one version may not be present in the other,) and so these differences need to be addressed as well. Valiente: Listen to the words of the Great Mother; she who of old was also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Cybele, Arianrhod, Isis, Dana, Bride and by many other names: Starhawk: Listen to the words of the Great Mother, Who of old was called Artemis, Astarte, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Diana, Arionrhod, Brigid, and by many other names: The Goddess says, first and foremost, “Listen!” I don’t believe that this is merely a poetic way of beginning the script. I believe She’s telling us to listen! And that means to pay attention. Many of the same Goddesses are also mentioned in both Charges. Is this accidental? I don’t believe so. The commonalities are Artemis, Astarte, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Arianrhod (different spellings,) and Bride/Brighid. Where they differ: Valiente calls upon Athene, Cybele, Isis and Dana; Starhawk calls upon Diana. This might just be a matter of preference for certain Goddesses on the part of the authors. But notice the variations! There are Maiden Goddesses, Mother Goddesses, and Crone Goddesses. There are Goddesses of Death and Goddesses of Life. There are Goddesses from multiple cultures. By this, we can gather that these Goddesses, in particular, have messages that the Lady (or at least, those inspired by Her to write this prose) wants us to pay attention to. We can also gather that we should accept a balance of forces – life and death; Maiden, Mother and Crone; intellect and passion; love and war. Furthermore, in both cases, she says, “Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who of old was called . and by many other names” and therein comes the Wiccan belief in the One Goddess being present in all Goddesses. But it also acknowledges that these individual Goddesses are separate beings with their own individual areas of concern, otherwise why mention them separately at all? By listing Them together, the authors are also claiming that all these Goddesses are equals and are equally worthy of our respect. This tells us to respect the Goddesses of other cultures as well, and to accept all Goddesses as having worth in Their own way. I would think that it would be important, then; if we follow a Goddess Who is not mentioned in this passage of the Charge, we should make sure to include Her when we recite it. Valiente: Whenever ye have need of anything, once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of me, who am Queen of all Witcheries. Starhawk: Whenever you have need of anything, once a month, and better it be when the moon is full, you shall assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of Me Who is Queen of all the Wise. The Goddess says, “Once a month, and I prefer it happen on a full moon, but at least once a month in any case, I want you to gather together.” Our Goddess is less demanding than some Gods we know (who demands a gathering at least once a week!) but She still demands that we get together. This is a great argument for covens, but there are many ways of “assembling,” especially for Wiccans in far away areas. The internet is marvellous for this purpose, or larger public groups, or even if you just gather for Sabbats. I think that this command should not be lost, however! She wants us to gather once a month. Take note. She says, “Better it be when the moon is full.” Why? Most Witches know that magick brought to fruition on the full moon has the power of the waxing full moon behind it. Wiccan writers in the past have postulated that maybe it’s just that since we were supposed to meet in secret, we would most likely be meeting at night, and with a full moon, you can see where you are going when you wander into the woods. Well, maybe so (I won’t get into the debate about whether Wicca really did or did not exist before the 1930s, but there you are.) Maybe it’s just because the full moon has always captured the imagination of humankind, and everything looks more magickal under Her light, putting us in a better frame of mind to seek the Mysteries and adore the Goddess. The Goddess also says, “You should gather in a secret place.” For someone who organizes a very public Wiccan group, I suppose it may seem strange that I emphasize this, but it really isn’t. Once a month, She wants us to gather in secret, away from the public eye. I believe this is because much of a Witch’s work is mystical in nature. Mysticism loses a great deal when it is done publicly. It should be a personal, private thing, shown only to those who are willing to understand, and that is why you traditionally had to be initiated first. I also believe that the Inner Work (the mysticism) is necessary before you can presume to do the Outer Work. You can also gather publicly (which I don’t think is a bad idea either,) but Her Charge commands us to gather in secret. This can also be read to incorporate a synonym for “secret” into our practice; occult. But that’s a matter of debate and you may not agree with me reading that into it! Last to note in this paragraph, the Lady also says, “You shall adore Me, who is the Queen!” That means that we need to worship and respect Her. We do not presume to demand things of Her like a servant. She’s bigger than us, and we need to keep that in mind. If She directs us to do something that we don’t understand, we just have to remember that She is the one who commands us. And we need to adore Her at least once a month. We need to commune with Her in the best way we can. For some, that means Drawing Down the Moon; for others, that means taking a meditative walk in the forest. Note, too, that She says “adore,” not “fear!” Many of us probably grew up being told we needed to fear God. We don’t need to fear the Goddess. She wants us to love Her. I believe that means that She also loves us, because love has to work in two directions in order to be real love. This is a very important distinction. Valiente: There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not won its deepest secrets; to these will I teach things that are yet unknown. Starhawk has no equivalent section. In this, the modern Wiccan must now make a choice. Which Charge do you follow? You see, there is another command here. If you choose to follow Starhawk’s Charge, you can ignore it. But if you choose to follow Valiente’s Charge, the command is, “Those of you who want to learn magick need to gather together to learn it, and I will teach you.” So if you are someone who follows the Wiccan faith but doesn’t practice magick, you shouldn’t follow Valiente’s Charge, because it is quite clear here that magickal training is expected! It also states that unless you have “won its deepest secrets” (and anyone who thinks they have is, in my opinion, suffering from High Priestess Disease,) you need to keep learning, always. Valiente: And ye shall be free from slavery; and as a sign that ye be really free, ye shall be naked in your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in my praise. For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit, and mine also is joy on earth; for my law is love unto all beings. Starhawk: You shall be free from slavery, and as a sign that you be free you shall be naked in your rites.