Merry Meet
   "Where did “Merry Meet & Merry Part” come from?"

"Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet Again" is a standard greeting among Wiccans. I believe that it was originally a part of the long version of the Wiccan Rede. A short version of the Rede goes like this:

"Bide the Wiccan Law ye must,
in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
An ye harm none, do as ye will.
Lest in thy self-defense it be,
ever mind the Rule of Three.
Follow this with mind and heart,
and merry ye meet and merry ye part."

A further word of clarification: This version uses standards of English not in common use today. (Elizabethan English: aka Shakespeare.) Some definitions are helpful to understand the meaning of this passage:

Rede = rule
An = if (not a misspelling of "and" as so often incorrectly purported!)
Lest = unless

~Flame RavenHawk
   July 1, 2002