Rede (1)

"Bide the Wiccan law ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust."
This line is the intro to the rede, and a nice opening. However, I must wait to fully explain this one, when I get to the post where I can explain it, I shall re-quote it.

"Live and let live, fairly take and fairly give."
The first half of the line says basically to live your life and let others live theirs. Don't let anyone control your life and you don't control their's.  The second have means to take no more than what you need, and to give others no more than what seems fair to you.

"Cast the circle thrice about, to keep unwanted spirits out."
This one seems simple. The first cast is with blessed salt water, the second with incense (or censor/smudge stick) and the third with your chosen tool (wand/sword/athame). Salt water holds the power of earth (salt) and water (water), incense holds the power of fire (burning) and air (smoke), the tool is your own power (some call it spirit or life). These three casts bind the circle with the five elements, and is a formidable shield against unwanted energies or spirits.

"Desoil Go by Waxing Moon, Changing out the witches' rune."
The Witches' Rune is a chant to call forth or summon something. So this line says to go desoil (clockwise) when the moon waxes and ask for what you desire to come forth.

"Widdershins go by waning moon, chanting out the baneful rune."
The Baneful Rune, is basically banishing things. So this line says to go widdershins (counter-clockwise) as the moon wanes and ask that things you want gone to be removed or diminished.

"When the lady's moon is new, kiss the hand to her, times two."
This is hard to interpret. When I first began practicing I thought of the "Dark Moon" as the "New Moon" but I feel for this interpretation, we should look at it as though they are the same. When a lady's hand was kissed, it was an act of respect and adoration. So this line is saying that while the lady travels in the underworld, gaining knowledge and wisdom, so too should we spend the time gaining knowledge and wisdom.

"When the Moon rides at her peak, then your heart's desire seek."
The fourth phase listed (see now why I thought the "new moon" was for the "dark moon"?). The moon at her peak is obviously a full moon, and is when we should ask for what our heart desires. We ask for things that we want to manifest, not just increase (as we do on the waxing).