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By my chalice and my blade I speak the truth as I tell the laws of those who would drink of The Silver Chalice. Stand ye now and hear the true or depart in all speed from this solemn rite.

We are the Wica who drink from the Silver Chalice. We honor the Gods for the Gods are good, we love the Gods for they are our parents. Love is not love that is not given first, and so we reflect their love with our own. And so we love All mankind, for he who knows the love of other knows the love of the Gods.

To show our love we erect on Earth temples of spirit or stone, and within them we seek unity with the love of our gods. So shall ye be properly prepared and purified, to enter into their presence. With love and worship in our hearts shall we be at one in their power, drink of it, and add to it, as has been done since the times before when They were alone in the world, and their love for us not yet known.

As mankind is ruled by elders and those of knowledge, so shall those who drink of the Silver Chalice. Ours is a theology of the demos, ruled by the demos, serving it and the Gods. And so shall we be a democracy. Let the people elect from their number a priest and priestess of sufficient skill to serve as the leaders. After one year shall they be called before the assembly of those who drink from the Silver Chalice, and they shall be kept or new fellows elected. Should ten years pass in which a priestess or priest is elected constantly; let that one step down, that the experience be held by many, not few. Let that elder be henceforth known as "Honored Elder," and lend their vote the strength of three and the power of veto. For we of the Silver Chalice honor not Kings and Queens, but those elected for their skill.

You have been told, children of the Chalice, to practice in secret, to hide and flee from the magistrates and monsters that would do ill toward your faith. The gods say to thee flee no more. Become the magistrates, the police and armies, serve your people, your brother humans in the honor their deserve, and practice your rites as the gods move you. Do not shout your faith from the rooftops but be not afraid in it. But watch you; proclaim your faith but not that of others. Let those who would be secret be secret and those who would drink from the Silver chalice in the full of the sun be so identified. Do not be afraid to drink from the chalice, but be better dead than break your word.

Take not of money or treasure for your teachings, let those who would alter your teachings with ill will be cut from your students like a cancer. Let those who would create a new chalice to drink from do so freely. Love is not love which forces membership. Faith is not faith that has coinly cost or numbers bloated by those who practice in name only.

Know the types of people that covens be made of, watch what people you let drink in yours, know the rulers, the helpers, the right hands and lefts, those who would help and false friends in strife. Better your coven should part than breed ill will. Better to cancel a celebration than act against what the gods say. Better to drink of the Chalice in solitude than with those who mean ye or the art and faith harm.

We have learned the power of the mind. Our thoughts and deeds affect those we direct them at. Ye need not magick. The Gods will provide rain without rain dances, fertility without fertility rites, justice without your hand within it. Your art is to be one with the Love of the Gods, to grow into an accurate reflection of their love. So do no rites not based in love and improvement.

As you are of the gods, so reflect their love by acting first in forgiveness and secondly in truth. Do not be trodden upon willingly but weigh your vengeance with trust. Harm not your fellow man, for he is your brother, but if ye be in need of defense, or see one in need of defense, act always in that which does the greatest good. Silence, inaction, these may be harms done as purely as vice and attack. Know the greater good and work for it and nothing else.

Swear ye by the blade and chalice, the man and woman, the Lord and Lady, to abide ever their laws and their light, to act in a reflection of their love. Swear ye to be a force for the Light in this world and all other oaths are but shadows. For this is the ordain of the gods, and the ordain of those who would act within their love.
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Original Version of the Oath of Leadership (Oath of Practice):
As far as I can tell, this version dates to 1979.-KM

By my Chalice and my Blade, I swear to live my life in a manner that harms little and helps much, by The Ordains of Silver Chalice and The Fifteen Creeds taking responsibility for my actions and educating of my religion when asked. I will not turn any in need of help away without good cause, nor will I allow slander and misuse of the art and faith to go unchallenged, because someday I may have need of help or be slandered.

Within my practice, if I teach, I ask nothing in return, and expect nothing in return but the respect that I, as a teacher, deserve for the time and effort I put into each student.

I take some responsibility for those I teach, and if I find I have taught them incorrectly, it falls to me to undo the wrongs done.

I affirm that I practice Wicca, and all aspects of my practice, with a free Will, and I will never deny, or in any way restrict the Will of a student.

I am fully aware of the ramifications of this Oath and I swear it before the eyes of The Lord and Lady in truth. So mote it be.

Key Phrases in the Ordains and the Oath of Leadership:
A student would be trained in several memory techniques which made certain key phrases more important than others. It was not unusual for people to say these parts of the documents in unison and even more common to see them in other rituals:

By my chalice and my blade….. I swear it before the eyes of The Lord and Lady…. …in truth.
The most important oaths for a Silver Chalice Member.

Do not be afraid to drink from the chalice, but be better dead than break your word.
A common variation on the above.

Stand ye now and hear the true or depart in all speed from this solemn rite.
Often used in the circle rite.

We are the Wica who drink from the Silver Chalice…children of the Chalice
Used a lot, from Ceremonial Magick to the Circle rite.

Love is not love that…. X is not X that….
William Shakespeare uses this in a sonnet, but why it appears so often in Silver Chalice is beyond me. The rhythm is powerful, though-half a line of IP.

…times before when They were alone in the world, and their love for us not yet known…
Silver Chalice taught that the gods existed before man, and that religions were founded when man discovered the love of his gods, and it is not uncommon to see this phrase used in ritual, both to refer to the times before man existed and the time before Wicca existed (emphasis on different “us”es.)

the man and woman, the Lord and Lady
Often, Silver Chalice would use this phrase, which can be read to say “all of the people and all of the gods”

Let those who would be secret be secret…Let those who would X be X…
Again, another common ritual element with a powerful rhythm.

art and faith
Wicca is nearly always called the “art and faith” in the Silver Chalice stuff when it is not “Wicca” or “Witchcraft”

Iambic pentameter
One of the teachings of Silver Chalice was that the rhythm of words made them most powerful and in English Iambic pentameter was the highest of forms- reflecting The Lord and the Lady and the five elements. Very often, Silver Chalice rituals have a loose iambic pentameter, often more exposed when the words are spoken. I can’t even hear “Tis by my chal-ice and my blade I swear” without following it up with a similar line, so obviously the teaching took with ME.

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