Rule of Three
Posted: 28 Dec 2017 11:11
The Rule of Three ( also Three-fold Law or Law of Return) is a religious tenet held by some Wiccans/Pagans.
It states that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive to negative, will be returned to that personn three times. Some subscribe to a variant of this law in which return is not necessarily threefold.
The Rule of Three is sometimes described as 'karma' by Wiccans; however, this is not strictly accurate.
Both concepts describe the process of cause and effect and often encourage the individual to act in an upright way. In Hindu Vedanta literature, there is a comparable idea of 3-fold Karma referred to as Sanchita (accumulated works).
Prarabdha (fructifying works) and Kriyamana, Agami, or Vartamana (current works), which are associated with past, present and future respectively. According to some traditions, the rule of three is not literal but symbolises that our energy returns our way as many times as needed for us to learn the lesson associated with it.
According to John Coughlin, the Law posits "a literal reward or punishment tied to one's actions, particularly when
it comes to working magic", the law is not a universal article of faith among Wiccans, and "there are many Wiccans, experienced and new alike, who view the Law of Return as an over-elaboration in the Wiccan Rede," Some Wiccans believe that it is a modern innovation based on Christian morality.
The Rule of Three has a possible prototype in a piece of Wiccan liturgy which first appeared in print in Gerald
Gardner's 1949 novel High Magic's Aid:
"Thou hast obeyed the Law, But mark well, when thou receivest good, so equally art bound to return threefold."
(For this is the joke in witchcraft , the witch knows, though the initiate does not, that she will get three times
what she gave, so she does not strike hard.)
However,The Threefold Law as an actual "law", was an interpretation of Wiccan ideas and ritual, made by noted witch Monique Wilson (1923-1982) and further popularised by Raymond Buckland, I his books on Wicca. Prior to this
innovation by Wilson and its subsequent inclusion in publications, Wiccan ideas of reciprocal ethics were less
defined and more often interpreted as a king of general karma.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Three_(Wicca)
It states that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive to negative, will be returned to that personn three times. Some subscribe to a variant of this law in which return is not necessarily threefold.
The Rule of Three is sometimes described as 'karma' by Wiccans; however, this is not strictly accurate.
Both concepts describe the process of cause and effect and often encourage the individual to act in an upright way. In Hindu Vedanta literature, there is a comparable idea of 3-fold Karma referred to as Sanchita (accumulated works).
Prarabdha (fructifying works) and Kriyamana, Agami, or Vartamana (current works), which are associated with past, present and future respectively. According to some traditions, the rule of three is not literal but symbolises that our energy returns our way as many times as needed for us to learn the lesson associated with it.
According to John Coughlin, the Law posits "a literal reward or punishment tied to one's actions, particularly when
it comes to working magic", the law is not a universal article of faith among Wiccans, and "there are many Wiccans, experienced and new alike, who view the Law of Return as an over-elaboration in the Wiccan Rede," Some Wiccans believe that it is a modern innovation based on Christian morality.
The Rule of Three has a possible prototype in a piece of Wiccan liturgy which first appeared in print in Gerald
Gardner's 1949 novel High Magic's Aid:
"Thou hast obeyed the Law, But mark well, when thou receivest good, so equally art bound to return threefold."
(For this is the joke in witchcraft , the witch knows, though the initiate does not, that she will get three times
what she gave, so she does not strike hard.)
However,The Threefold Law as an actual "law", was an interpretation of Wiccan ideas and ritual, made by noted witch Monique Wilson (1923-1982) and further popularised by Raymond Buckland, I his books on Wicca. Prior to this
innovation by Wilson and its subsequent inclusion in publications, Wiccan ideas of reciprocal ethics were less
defined and more often interpreted as a king of general karma.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Three_(Wicca)


