How to Become a Witch by Amber K. (large ebook reader txt) 📗

better space. Having a regular covenstead for most meetings is essential. We are okay with rotating occasionally to members’ homes and outdoor sites.

Money: Maybe have modest dues, occasional fundraising projects, or in-kind donations of candles and supplies. Negotiable as long as we don’t get hung up on money or make it hard for people to afford membership.

As the coven launches, it will encounter the normal bumps, tangles, and confusions of any new organization. If you put in the effort and are fair-minded and persistent, it will succeed…though usually not with exactly the same people you started with. There will be gains and losses in the first couple of years as the right mix of personalities come together.

Read the books mentioned above; you can really benefit from the experiences of others. Then find sources of ongoing counsel and support. Network with other leaders in your area, especially trusted elders and experienced Craft leaders in the Pagan community. Join local and regional networks, and national/international organizations such as Covenant of the Goddess, Circle, and the Pagan Federation. There is no excuse to be isolated unless you are one of those so-called leaders who fears having your power diminished if your coveners are exposed to different ideas.

Life in a Coven

Relationships in a coven can be confusing; it is like no other organization you have ever belonged to. It is a little like a family but without the baggage, good and bad, that comes from growing up together. It is somewhat like a church or temple but much smaller than mainstream religious institutions. Thus there is more intimacy—no meaningless “How ya doin’?” to a stranger in the next pew. There is also more responsibility; a large church has workers and floaters, those who make it happen and the others who are along for the ride. In a coven, everyone must pull their own weight: there is no room for observers or inactive members.

Many covens are hidden from the outside world, so they can feel like a secret society or underground movement. Within the coven, there is freedom to be yourself and to express sides of yourself that you could never reveal in the muggle world; at the same time, you are never anonymous, never in the background; every member is very visible to every other one at every meeting.

It takes courage to be part of something like that.

When you first join, chances are you will be called a “dedicant,” “student,” “seeker,” or some such title. Most covens have a traditional period of “a year and a day,” during which new people can explore the Craft and that particular coven. At any point, you can say goodbye and disappear into the sunset—“no harm, no foul,” have a good life. Or the group could decide that it’s not a good match and gently suggest that you explore some other path or coven.

If everyone is happy and harmonious after the year and a day, you might ask to be initiated as a full member of the Craft and the coven. Initiation is serious stuff, and if the others think you need more time, they will tell you. But if an initiation ritual is held, then you’re officially a priestess or priest of the Old Religion, a Witch, and a full coven sister or brother.

What happens if you decide a year (or ten years) later that you don’t want to be part of the coven? Then you resign and go do whatever you need to do. The coven will simply label you “alumnus” or “alumna” and wish you well…or, if it’s not a happy parting, they may do ritual to cut all spiritual and emotional ties with you. Either way, you’re free to go. Forget the B-movie blood oaths: “Once you have passed these doors, you are forever bound to this path…” Witches are committed to freedom and will respect yours.

Taking your measure

One of the old customs was to measure each candidate for initiation with a cord, marked to show the person’s head, heart, and height. This cord was kept in a safe place by the leaders, and if the new member ever betrayed the coven, the cord could be used as a magickal link to punish the individual. Many covens have abandoned this practice, since we live in somewhat less dangerous times, so perhaps we can afford to be more trusting.Most covens today give the cord to the initiate to wear at all rituals.

Alternatives to Covens

We have mentioned starting a study group. You can also practice as a family. If you have children, you will not be training them to become priests and priestesses unless they are of age and want you to. But you can certainly celebrate the sabbats with them, and teach them about nature, and share little magickal techniques that will boost their confidence and help them be happy. Some useful books for Wiccan families are:

Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions by Pauline Campanelli (Llewellyn, 1991)

Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life by Pauline Campanelli (Llewellyn, 1989)

Pagan Homeschooling by Kristin Madden (Spilled Candy, 2002)—Useful even if you are not homeschooling!

Family Wicca: Revised and Expanded Edition by Ashleen O’Gaea (Career Press, 2008)

Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions by Starhawk, et al. (Bantam, 2000)

You can do witchy outings together as a family to festivals and public sabbats. When the kids are asleep or at a friend’s, you and your spouse or partner can do more serious magickal workings together.

Another option is starting or joining a CUUPS chapter. The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans is affiliated with the UU churches but caters specifically to Pagan or nature-oriented Unitarians. Anyone can form a CUUPS chapter in association with a local UU church or fellowship. Then you have church facilities to meet in and the sheltering presence of an established church. CUUPS chapters cannot be as exclusive in their membership as a coven, and CUUPS programs tend to be broadly Pagan rather than specifically Craft-oriented, but CUUPS makes sense for many Witches