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requires that we remember that there may be unheralded listeners to our public conversations (the walls
may have ears, you know!), people who might disrupt or threaten our exercise of our religion if they
knew where and when we were gathering together.
We have a duty to learn all we can. No one person could ever master all the knowledge and skills that are
relevant to our Craft. Neither are we interchangeable parts. Every human comes endowed with a unique
combination of talents, interests, and temperaments. If we each develop our own potentials as fully as
possible, we can become wonderful resources for each other. Sharing this diversity will enrich our
covens and our community, and provide our own direct students with the best possible environment for
their development.
We also owe each other some basic courtesies: no coven runs upon guesswork or happenstance, so it
behoves us to let our fellow Witches know whether we will be able to join them for next week's coven
meeting. Likewise, we should be prepared to pitch in to get the groundwork done before and after Circle:
the furniture moved and the floor swept, the candles trimmed, the dishes washed, the furniture put back
again...
Our duties to our neighbours:
The Laws direct us to keep a book of recipes for all the potions that the world at large expects Witches to
know, even though we may have no foreseeable use for such knowledge. The Laws also direct us to keep
a separate book of curative knowledge, from which our Coven neighbours as well as our fellow Witches
might derive great benefit.
From these injunctions, we might imagine that there was once a time when Witches were known as
keepers of knowledge of all sorts. As we grow in our knowledge and skills, we come to understand that
we owe to our neighbours the duty of learning and teaching knowledge that would be of benefit to all
people, Witch and Coven alike. That knowledge may range from the drawing of warts to the mysteries of
comforting the terminally-ill.
The duty to share our knowledge with our neighbours doesn't require that we advertise ourselves as
Witches - we can, and many of us do, discharge it adequately by simply lending a helping hand in times
of need, without making a big issue out of our own religious beliefs - or those of our neighbours. Indeed,
there may be times and places that are not safe for the explicit expression of our faith, yet it still remains
our duty to pitch in and help limit or prevent needless suffering. There is no need or benefit in boasting of
our faith at such times.
Our duties to the Earth:
We practice a faith that is grounded in Nature, that honours and celebrates the rhythms of the Earth. The
Earth is the Mother of all things, and the source of our very being. Therefore, it should come as no
surprise that we owe certain duties to the Earth.
The first, and simplest of these, is to walk lightly upon Her body, avoiding needless stress upon the
natural systems within which we live.
Walking lightly on the Earth implies that we understand how Her natural systems function, and how our
activities fit in with those systems. There lies our second duty to the Earth, to learn about the world
around us, and to make sure that our students in turn receive the knowledge we have gained. Our third
duty to the Earth lies in the realm of action, to make practical use of our knowledge to act as guardians of
the natural systems around us. For some of us that may mean becoming involved in local politics, to
change the human systems of our culture towards more Earth-friendly ends. For others of us that may
mean acquiring formal technical or professional education, and then putting our knowledge to use in our
workplace. It may also be as simple as speaking out when our neighbours dump engine oil into a storm
drain, as immediate as practising source reduction of waste in our homes, or as subtle as volunteering to
help teach nature studies at our local school.
Putting things into context:
The Wiccan Rede directs us to do as we will, so long as it harms none. That's no simple rule to follow,
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