The Internet Book of Shadows.pdf

{file "The Laws by J. Random Folksinger" "jrflaws.htm"}

J. Random Folksinger writes:

I had reason to search the Web under my pseudonym, J. Random

Folksinger, and found a couple of my works included in your Book

of Shadows Index. While it is nice to see my writings still in

circulation, my Commentaries on the Abbreviated Laws (included in

the Abbreviated Laws file) and the Book of the New Law (free-

standing) are among my more negative works.

I am much prouder of my modern-English version of the Old Laws of

the Craft, which is mainly different from the other versions

because you can understand the language. I made no deletions and

extremely few additions to the original texts, and compared over

10 different versions as well as various exigeses which were

lovingly sent me by Judy Harrow.

I would very much like to have this added to your files, and have

attached a copy for your perusal and/or addition. This is in DOS

Text format, feel free to convert it to HTML if needed.

In Service to the Goddess,

Moss Bliss

aka J.Random Folksinger and Harry Smothers (many filk references)

The Laws

YOUR HIGH PRIESTESS

In the Magic Circle, the words, commands and wishes of the High Priestess are Law. She is the

earthly representative of our gracious Goddess. She is to be obeyed and respected in all things. She

is our Lady and, above all others, a Queen in the highest sense of the word. All female coveners will

curtsy and say "Blessed Be" when they come before Her, and all male coveners will bend their knee

and kiss Her on the right cheek and say "Blessed Be".

YOUR HIGH PRIEST

In the Magic Circle, the High Priest is the earthly representative of the Great God. He commands

the respect due a Magus, Lord Counselor and father.

THE LAWS

THE LAWS WERE MADE FOR THE WITCHES TO ADVISE THEM IN THEIR TROUBLES.

DO NOT CHANGE THEM LIGHTLY.

0. The Witches should worship the Gods as is their due, and obey their will. For the worship of

the Gods is good for the Witches even as the worship of the Witches is good for the Gods:

For the Gods love all their Witches.

0. As a man loves a woman more by learning more of her wants and desires, so should the

Witches love the Gods by the learning (mastering) of them.

0. It is necessary that the Magic Circle, which is the Temple of the Gods in these times, be cast

and purified such that it may be a fitting place for the Gods; and the Witches should be

properly prepared and purified to enter into the presence of the Gods.

0. With love and worship in their hearts the Witches shall raise power from their bodies (and

the elements around them), and they shall offer this power to the Gods so that the Gods may

help their Witches.

0. The High Priestess shall rule her coven as the representative of the Goddess, and the High

Priest shall support her as the representative of the God. The High Priestess will choose any

member of the coven to be her High Priest, if he has sufficient standing in the coven. As the

God Himself kissed our Lady's feet, gave Her the five-fold salute, and offered Her His

power because of Her youth and beauty, Her sweetness and kindness, Her wisdom and

justice, Her humility, gentleness and generosity, and shared His power with Her, so

therefore the High Priestess should always be aware that all power comes from Him; it is

only lent, to be used wisely and justly.

0. The greatest virtue of a High Priestess shall be recognition that youth is necessary to the

representative of the Goddess. She will, therefore, gracefully retire in favor of a younger

covener should the coven so decide in council. The true High Priestess should realize that

gracefully surrendering the pride of place is one of the greatest virtues, and that thereby she

will return to that pride of place in another life with even greater power and beauty.

0. In the Old Days, when there were many Witches, we were free and worshipped freely in the

greatest temples; but in these times, we must celebrate our sacred mysteries in secret.

Therefore, none but the Witches are to see our mysteries; no coven shall know the location

of any other coven or who its members are, except the High Priest, the High Priestess and

the Messenger; and that there shall be no communication among the covens, except by the

Messenger of the Gods or the Summoner. Only if it is safe may the covens meet in some

safe place for the Great Festivals; and while there, none shall give their true names or any

information about their coven or its members. This law is made for this reason: No-one can

tell our enemies what they do not themselves know.

0. It is ordained that no-one shall tell any person not in the Craft who other Witches are, or

give them names or addresses, or in any way tell anything that can betray a Witch to their

face. Nor may anyone tell where the covendom or covenstead is, where any meetings are

held or any other information about the coven unless directed to do so by the coven in

council.

0. If anyone breaks these laws, even under torture, may the Curse of the God and the Goddess

be upon them, so that they may not be reborn upon the Earth (but shall live forever in the

Hell of the Christians).

0. Let each High Priest and High Priestess govern their coven with justice and love, with the

help and advice of the other and of the elders of the coven, always heeding the advice of the

Messenger of the Gods if he should arrive. They will heed all the suggestions of their

coveners and strive to settle any differences among them.

0. It is recognized that there will always be people who will try to make everybody agree with

their ideas: these people are not necessarily bad -- they often have good ideas and these ideas

should be discussed in council. But if they will not come to agree with their other coveners

or if they say "I will not work with this High Priestess", then the elders will have them leave.

It should be suggested that they might join another coven, or if they are of sufficient

standing, they may be encouraged to found their own coven. For it is better this way, to

avoid strife among the family of Witches.

0. When using geographic boundaries, whenever anyone of Third Degree lives more than a

league from the covenstead (or are about to), any of these may found a new coven; indeed,

any Witch living within the covenstead who wishes to form a new coven will inform the

elders of this intention and immediately move to a new dwelling beyond the boundaries of

known covensteads. Members of any coven may choose to join the new coven when it is

formed, but they must totally avoid their old coven if they choose this course. The elders of

the old and new covens should meet in peace and love to determine the boundaries of the

covens. Any Witch living outside of any two covens may choose to join either coven, but

never both. All may meet for the Great Festivals if the elders agree, so long as they meet in

peace and love. Let the elders confer as to the use of this law when it is not directly

applicable. Always be aware that the splitting of a coven breeds bad feelings (energy

vortices?); this law was made chiefly for this reason. And may happier times come!

0. If you would keep a Book (whether it is called a Black Book, Book of Shadows, Book of

Light, or whatever), write it in your own hand. Let your brothers and sisters in the Craft

copy as they will from your book in their hand, but never let your Book out of your hands

and never keep the writing of another. Every Witch should keep and guard their own

writings, that none may be discovered through their Book being found in another's

possession.

0. Destroy your Book whenever danger threatens, and commit as many as possible of these

Laws to memory. Destroy the writings of a deceased Witch if they did not have time to do

so themselves. If any of their writings are found, it is clear proof against both the writer and

the holder, for our enemies firmly believe that "one may not be a Witch alone": their family

and all who are known to be friends may be suspected as Witches. Be responsible with your

writings and you will protect all who love you.

0. If your Book is found on you, it is clear proof against you along unless you tell our enemies

what you know. You may be taken and tortured, but keep all thoughts of the Craft from your

mind. If the torture is too much to bear, tell them, "I cannot bear this torture. I will confess.

What do you want me to say?" If they try to make you talk about the Craft, do not; but if

they try to make you speak of absurd things, such as flying through the air, consorting with

the Christian devil, sacrificing children or eating men's flesh, say, "I held an evil dream; I

was beside myself; I was crazed," or words to that effect, to obtain relief from the torture.

Not all magistrates are bad -- if there is any semblance of an excuse, they may show mercy.

If you have confessed to anything, deny it afterwards: say that you babbled under torture, or

that you don't remember what you said. If you are condemned, do not be afraid, for the Craft

is powerful and your escape will be aided if you stand fast. If you go steadfast to the flames,

be certain that drugs will reach you and you will feel nothing of the pain. You will only go

to death and what lies beyond -- the ecstasy of the God and the Goddess. If you betray

anything, however, there is no hope for you in this life or that which is to come.

0. To avoid being discovered, choose your working tools to be ordinary items which you

would have around the house. Make your Pentacles out of wax so that you can break and

melt them at once. Do not keep a sword unless its presence would alarm no-one. Have no

signs or names visible on anything. Write the signs in ink or water immediately before

consecrating the tool and wash them off immediately after. Do not engrave anything, for this

will only help you be discovered. Keep your athame and kerfan (working knife) among your

kitchen knives, and let the colors of the hilts determine the one from the other and from the

other knives. Always remember that we are the Hidden Children of the Goddess. Never do

anything to disgrace the Craft or Her -- never boast, never threaten, and never say that you

wish ill of anyone.

0. It is not forbidden to say, "There is Witchcraft in the land", for the Christians say so

themselves and have made it heresy not to believe so; but always say, "I know nothing of it

here, though it may be elsewhere." If any person speaks about the Craft outside of the Circle,

say, "Don't speak of such things -- it frightens me. It is bad luck to talk about such things."

Say this for this reason: the Christians have their spies everywhere. These spies have been

known to talk as if they were drawn to the Craft and as if they would want to come to our

meetings, and they say such things as, "My fathers and forefathers worshipped the Old Ones,

and my mother; I would like to worship in this way myself." To all of these, tell them that

you do not know what they are talking about, and that you wish they would stop. But to

others, say, "It's silly to talk about Witches flying around in the air; they would have to be

lighter than feathers or thistle-down. Besides, everyone knows that Witches are all bleary-

eyed old hags; what fun could they possibly have at their meetings, and why should I want

to participate? And besides, you know we were taught in school that there are no such things

as Witches." Always make fun of the subject, that we may worship in peace when the

persecution ends: let us all work for that happy time. May the blessing of the God and the

Goddess be upon all who keep this law.

0. If any in the Craft holds any property, let all Witches guard it and keep it clear and good for

the use of the Craft. It is the further responsibility of all Witches to guard Craft funds wisely.

0. If any Witch offers a well-made item, it is proper to pay them for it according to the value of

the work; this is not taking money for the Craft, but payment for honest work -- even the

Christians believe that "the labourer is worth his hire". Still, if any Witch works willingly for

the good of the Craft and will not accept payment, this shall be to their greater honor.

0. It is known that a coven may be bound together by sexual ties, and that this is often not

desirable. When it is found that this is not desirable, the coven should be made up of loving

couples, and there may also be single coveners. In such cases, it is required that the search

for new love be undertaken outside the coven except when two single coveners find love

with each other; otherwise, it will often cause division in the coven. For while all acts of

love and pleasure are indeed the rituals of our beloved Goddess, She is not inclined to favor

acts which divide Her covens and scatter Her Witches unnecessarily.

0. If there should arise quarrels or disputes among the Witches, the High Priestess or High

Priest shall immediately convene the elders and inquire into the problem. The elders shall

hear each side separately, and then both together. Their decision should be just, not siding

with one side until the matter is determined, recognizing that there are people who cannot

work under others, and others who cannot make wise decisions. To those who must always

be in charge, the possible solutions for them are to void the coven altogether, find another

coven for them, or for them to found a new coven (taking with them all who will go). To

those who cannot rule wisely, the solution is that those who cannot bear the rule will leave

the coven. No one can truly worship the Gods when personal conflicts among the coveners

are not resolved; all who cause strife in the coven must be told, "Go away from us, for the

Craft must ever survive."

0. In the Old Days, we could use the Art against anyone who treated the Witches badly; but in

these times, we must not do so. Our enemies have invented a burning pit of everlasting fire

into which their God throws everyone who does not worship Him, except for those few who

buy their penance from His priests (for their God always seems to be in need of money).

Even as our Gods need our aid to make fertility for people and crops, so it is that the God of

the Christians is always needing men to find and destroy us. Their priests tell them that any

man who is helped by us will be damned to their Hell forever, to the point that men are mad

with the terror of it. But the priests also make them believe that they may escape this Hell if

they give up Witches to be tortured, so that these men are always thinking, "If I catch only

one Witch, I will escape the fiery pit." For this reason we have our hiding places, and when

no Witches are found, the searchers will say, "There aren't any Witches, or at least not in this

area." But as soon as one of our oppressors dies or even catches a cold, the cry will go up

that it is "Witches' work", and the hunt will be on again. And while they may kill ten

Christians for every Witch, they will not care, for they are countless millions while we are

few indeed.

0. THEREFORE, IT IS ORDAINED that none shall use the Art in any way to harm anyone or

even wish them ill. However much they may injure us, HARM NONE, and may the

Christians forget that we exist.

0. These laws are ordained to help us in our difficulties. No person, no matter how large the

injury or injustice they incur, may use the Art in any way to do evil or harm anyone. But

they may use the Art, after great consultation with the elders and fellow coveners, to keep

the Christians and their tools from harming anyone -- but only to constrain them. To this

end, some day men will say "That man says he is a mighty persecutor of Witches, but all we

ever see him torture are old women -- we cannot see that they have hurt anyone, and if they

are all such powerful Witches, why has he not been harmed?" They will see him as the evil

person he is, regardless of his professed beliefs. We know that too many people have died

because someone had a grudge against them, or were persecuted because another wanted

their wealth or because they were too poor to bribe the witch-hunters. And many have died

only for being old women -- so many that most men now seem to believe that only old

women are Witches. This is to our advantage, for it turns many suspicious eyes away from

us; but we mourn deeply for the old women. Still, in England and Scotland, it has been

hundreds of years since a Witch "died the death"; be vigilant, for the misuse of our power

might begin the persecutions again. Never break this law, no matter how much you are

tempted. Never consent to the breaking of this law: even a High Priestess who merely

consents to the breaking of this law must be deposed immediately, for it is the blood of all

the Witches that she endangers. DO ONLY GOOD, and then only when it is safe to do

anything at all.

0. Never accept money for the use of the Art, for money always smudges the receiver.

Christians take money for the use of their arts, and they sell pot-metal charms, pardons and

potions to men so that they may escape from their sins. Do not act like these; as long as you

refuse to take money, you will be free from the temptation to use the Art for evil causes. All

may use the Art for their own advantage or for the advantage of the Craft, but you must

always be certain that no-one will be harmed by its use. Let the coven debate the use of the

Art at length, and only when all are satisfied that none will be harmed by its use will the use

be allowed. Remember that if you cannot achieve your means in one fashion, your aim may

still be reached through another -- always harming none.

0. If anyone in the Craft needs a house or land and there is no one willing to sell to them, you

may use the Art to incline an owner's mind to be willing to sell, provided that the spell does

not harm the owner or the property and that the full value is paid without haggling. Never

bargain or cheapen anything while living by the Art.

0. The most important of laws: Do nothing that will endanger anyone in the Craft or which will

bring them into conflict with the law of the land or any of our persecutors. In this regard, it

is NEVER permissible, in any dispute involving the Craft, to invoke any laws other than

those of the Craft, nor may any tribunals be held other than one consisting of the High

Priestess, the High Priest, and the elders.

0. The coven is to keep two books on herbalism. One of these will list the names and uses of

all herbs which are cures for ills or are otherwise good for humans, and all may have access

to this book to learn these things. But keep a separate book with the names of all poisonous

herbs and those used in dark spells, letting only the elders and other trusted Witches know of

these secrets or even of this book's existence.

0. Remember that the Art is the secret of the Gods and may only be used in earnest -- never for

show, or pride, or personal glory. The Christians may taunt you saying, "You have no

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