Part One: King Pausole and the Wican Rede in Wican Ethics by David Richard Jones.

“John J. Coughlin in his excellent study of the genesis of the Wican rede shows fairly convincingly that Doreen Valiente, with her talent for poetic composition, is the probable author.” [via]

Consider also:

  1. “King Pausol is not, in fact, legendary per se but the literary creation of the French novelist by Pierre Louÿs (1870-1925).”
  2. “‘Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: An ye harm none, do what ye will.'”
  3. “Aleister Crowley expanded this idea into the modern religion of Thelema from its reference in his (or Aiwass’s depending on your point of view) holy text The Book of the Law, which has not only ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.’ but also ‘There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.'”
  4. “The only remaining question is who converted the code of Tryphême into the rhymed version that is so familiar to pagans worldwide.”
  5. “In the Lord’s Prayer we have the first surviving ancient appearance of the word Θελημα as ‘thy will.'”