The Rule of Three (also Three-fold Law or Law of Return) is a religious tenet held by some

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

ns, Neo-Pagans and

occultists The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...

. It states that whatever

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times. Some subscribe to a variant of this law in which return is not necessarily threefold. Rule of Three is sometimes described as

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

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 Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

literature, there is a comparable idea of threefold

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

referred to as Sanchita (accumulated works), Kriyamana, Agami, or Vartamana (current works), and Prarabdha (fructifying works), which are associated with past, present and future respectively. According to some traditions, the rule of three is not literal but symbolizes that our energy returns our way as many times as needed for us to learn the lesson associated with it. According to occult author/researcher John Coughlin, the Law posits "a literal reward or punishment tied to one's actions, particularly when it comes to working magic".Coughlin, John J. (2001
The Three-fold Law
on his website; updated edition published in his book ''Ethics and the Craft - The History, Evolution, and Practice of Wiccan Ethics'' (Waning Moon, 2015). 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 on the

Wiccan Rede The Wiccan Rede is a statement that provides the key moral system in the neopagan religion of Wicca and certain other related witchcraft-based faiths. A common form of the Rede is ''An ye harm none, do what ye will'' which was taken from a long ...

." Some Wiccans believe that it is a modern innovation based on

Christian morality Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...

. The Rule of Three has been compared by Karl Lembke to other ethics of reciprocity, such as the concept of

in Dharmic religions and the Golden Rule. The Rule of Three has a possible prototype in a piece of Wiccan liturgy which first appeared in print in

Gerald Gardner Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bri ...

's 1949 novel ''

High Magic's Aid High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...

'': However, The Threefold Law as an actual "law", was an interpretation of Wiccan ideas and ritual, first publicised by noted witch

Raymond Buckland Raymond Buckland (31 August 1934 – 27 September 2017), whose craft name was Robat, was an English writer on the subject of Wicca and the occult, and a significant figure in the history of Wicca, of which he was a high priest in both the Gardne ...

, in his books on Wicca. Prior to this, Wiccan ideas of reciprocal ethics were far less defined and more often interpreted as a kind of general karma. Raymond Buckland made a reference to an ethical threefold law in a 1968 article for ''Beyond'' magazine. The Rule of Three later features within a poem of 26 couplets titled "Rede of the Wiccae", published by

Lady Gwen Thompson Lady Gwen Thompson (September 16, 1928 – May 22, 1986) was the pseudonym of Phyllis Thompson, author and teacher of traditionalist initiatory witchcraft through her own organisation, the New England Covens of Traditionalist Witches. Lady ...

in 1975 in ''Green Egg'' vol. 8, no. 69 and attributed to her grandmother Adriana Porter.Lady Gwynne
the New England Covens of Traditionalist Witches website. Retrieved 2008-04-07. The threefold rule is referenced often by the Wiccans of the Clan Mackenzie in the S.M. Stirling

Emberverse The Emberverse series—or Change World—is a series of post-apocalyptic alternate history novels written by S. M. Stirling. The novels depict the events following a mysterious—yet sudden—worldwide event called "The Change" that occurs at ...

novels. This rule was described by the Dutch metal band

Nemesea Nemesea is a Dutch alternative rock band formed in Groningen in 2002 by singer Manda Ophuis and guitarist/songwriter Hendrik Jan 'HJ' de Jong and shortly thereafter completed with Sonny Onderwater on bass. Initially, Nemesea were a symphonic g ...

, in the song "Threefold Law", from the album ''

Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

''.

Notes

Further reading