In some Craft circles the Witche's Pyramid is known as the Four Powers of the Magus or Four Secrets of the Sphinx whose energy is considered  to be the foundation and four pillars of all practical and esoteric magick. The basic building blocks are the same.

To Know, To Dare, To Will, and To Be Silent.

To know - Ceremonial magic, especially that which survived through the Christian era, requires extensive knowledge of numerology, astrology, mathematics and more. While such studies have little place in Wicca, we still value knowledge. Everything we learn contributes another piece of the overall picture. It's why so many of complain today of Bunnies who "read one book and think themselves expert." Wicca also requires knowledge and understanding of the gods - not book learning, but personal experience.

To dare - One must be willing to take risks, to approach their tasks boldly and face the mysteries we investigate and experience. Wicca is not all goodness and light. One must be willing and able to face down the bad as well as the good, embracing the whole. However, this does not mean we should enter into things brashly or without thought, for that would negate the first phrase, "to know".

To will - If you do not believe you can succeed, you will not succeed. This is more than a simple acknowledgment - it must be a deep and heartfelt belief. You cannot fake you way past the gods. And yet, you should not shy away from those things that might contradict your belief, as that would negate the first two phrases, "to know" and "to dare". Crowley's Thelema centers solidly around the concept of power of will.

To be silent - There are several meanings attributed to this phrase. The one I find most appropriate in this day and age is that one should not brag or threaten others concerning their talents with magic. Magic is a divine gift, not some big, shiny stick to wave in crowds for attention.

Some say that magic loses its potency when it is openly discussed, or discussed at all.

Others attribute the phrase to the Burning Times, and that it was a command of self-preservation - advertising otherworldly powers won one a quick trip to the stake.

The reasoning behind some wiccans spelling magic with a k at the end was to seperate real magick from the Houdini kind. It is not necassary to spell magick like this. Some say its immature and impractical. Others, like me just like spelling it this way its all a matter of choice.

Ok time for the second entry. Hmm lets make this one about the laws and prinicples of wiccan belief.

The Rede

The rede consists of eight words, and eight words ONLY. There is no "Bide ye wiccan laws we must in perfect love and perfect trust live and let live fairly take and fairly give, etc, etc, etc" If you have memorized this document which was written by a woman named Gwen Thompson, you have wasted your time. It is called the Witche's Credo, and while it has some nice pretty information in it, it is not the wiccan rede.

It is also not to be confused with the Witche's Creed which was written by Doreen Valiente.

The real wiccan rede states: "An ye harm none, do what ye will."

This was written by Gerald Gardener himself. He took inspiration from the ceremonial magician Alister Crowley's Law of Thelema which states something like: "Do as thou wilt less it be the whole of the law." which is used in modern Satanism.

But back to the rede. "An ye harm none, do what ye will." What exactly does that mean? Are there exceptions?

Basically in essence the rede means As long as you harm no one physically, mentally, or emotionally, including yourself, you can do as you will.

Notice also that the word "rede" means "advice".

The above statement sounds logical yes? Well what about doctors? They have to harm people to treat them. They have to cut them open to save their life. But wouldn't that be harming them physically? I think it would. Which is why it is the opinion of most that you don't take the rede rock hard unmovably solid because there are exceptions. You just have to use common sense.

Another point of the rede that alot of people toss out is self harm. Smoking, Drinking excessively, Drug abuse, self mutilation, those all go against the rede. And allowing yourself to come to harm.

For example: If there was a girl at school who was competing with you for a school office, and you did a spell to harm her to keep her from winning, you'd be breaking the rede. But, if you knew she had bad intentions and then she started spreading lies about you and you did nothing, and ended up getting hurt from a rumor, then you'd also be breaking the rede by allowing yourself to come to harm.

The Wiccan rede is not the easiest of religious texts to follow, but it can be followed you just have to use intelligence and common sense and better judgement.

On to the other widely known law in Wicca. The Three Fold Law, pretty self explanatory in my last segment but if you didn't catch that, then I'll explain again.

In essence the three fold law means that whatever you do be it good or bad will come back to you three times as good or as bad as what you did. This belief is often confused with karma, but karma is a totally different thing. I use the word karma alot but only because I'm lazy and I either don't feel like explaining the three fold law to someone or I just would rather say a two syllable word than "three fold law". The Three Fold Law doesn't take sides, listen to excuses, or grant forgiveness, it just is. If you've done something bad, you pay. If you've done something good, you are rewarded. If you don't pay for your deeds or get rewarded in this life, you will in the next incarnation. Karma doesn't disappear with death. The only way to keep yourself balanced out or on the better side is to do more good things than bad, or to just not do bad things period. Easier said than done of course.

I like "karma" because its in reality alot more forgiving than some other religions such as the christian doctrine. In christianity if you do bad things, and don't repent, you go to hell for all eternity. There are no second chances. In Wicca, if you do something bad, you get punished for it, but you also get a chance to learn from your mistakes. Then, if you do it again, you get punished again, probably worse because it will take into account that you've already made this mistake once.

And lets face it, sometimes we aren't even sorry for our "mistakes" Who wants to beg forgiveness to a deity when they aren't even sorry for what they did or would do it again if they had the chance? Thats why I like "karma" you take responsibility for your actions. If I want to do something I know in essence is wrong I'm going to do it and accept the consequences. I'm not going to do it and then repent for it when I'm not even sorry.

Those are the basic "laws" of wiccan belief. Some wiccans will tell you these laws are just that, they are LAWS, disobeying them is the biggest mistake you can make and no wiccan alive is supposed to go against them or they can't call themselves wiccan. Likewise you have other wicans who will tell you that these aren't real laws, they are more like guidelines and they will tell you they are just as wiccan as any rede abiding "fluffy bunny" out there.

Who is the judge to who is right and who is wrong? I like to take the happy medium and say that in ways they are both right, but only "karma" can be the judge.

Other things some wiccans aren't clear on is drug abuse, and stealing.

Drug abuse is self harm. It harms you, it harms your family, it harms alot of other people as well. Thats a fact whether you think it does or not. I know I've lived with people who use ilegal drugs all of my life. Doing drugs does go against wiccan principle and belief. And also, using mind altering substances is not a good idea if you plan on doing magick or ritual anytime soon. They will mess up your magick big time and the repurcussions can be very severe.

Also, stealing is wrong as well. It may not harm you but it harms the people or places you steal from.

Discrimination is a big one. There are lots of "wiccans" out there who are prejudice against people of different races, sexual orientations, or religions. I understand how some wiccans can be bitter and resentful against other religions. I myself have alot of growing up to do just because of the fact that I came from christianity, I live with christians, I go to school where I am discriminated against because of my religion. It is hard. Very hard. But you can't let a few individuals turn you against a whole religion, race, or gender preference.

Wicca accepts everyone regardless of race, sexual preference, or religion. There are wiccans of all colors, shapes, sizes, and religions. And we are all equal.

We are all part of a collective unconsious and we all have to share this earth so we might as well make the best of it.