Covens and their establishment

[Garden of Eden]

Those of you who are in covens... did you join an exsisting group with solid traditions? A established group with eclectic practices? Or did you start from scratch, laying down traditions as you went?

If you could give advice to someone starting a coven (or attempting to) what would you say? What do you think are the most important, core features or principles of a coven?

[bbnflpn]

i know nothing of starting a coven,

i was asked to join one, they felt comfortable with me and asked and i felt comfortable with them so i joined. they are eclectic. they are a hive of another coven, so they had established ways of doing things

[Ron]

The way to start a tight-knit spiritual fellowship, is to plan it. I know that sounds basic, but it has been what I've seen work... (not that I'm some sort of authority on the matter)... So, I think that for a tight group to form there has to be a common vision, a shared love for something, etc.

Other than that people should not be harassed into joining or attending. They should want to come.

It should be sort of secret, so as to keep it feeling personal.

It should probably start with just talking as a group, and gradually slip into a meditation focused-group.

The rest of it is really up in the air... I mean: it's hard to generalize about this sort of thing. It really depends on the group's vision.

:)

[fangedeshana]

And I'm sure if someone hasn't already, the book Covencraft by someone who's name eludes me right this momment will be flung into to this thread. (Lovecraft, perhaps?)

There are atleast 6-10 threads discussing this that are semi-recent. You might want to do a search and check them out.

[Morgandria]

My coven is an Alexandrian coven. They definetely have an established method of practice, teaching, and degrees - British Traditional Wicca at its' finest (at least in my opinion).

And it's Covencraft, by Amber K.

[fangedeshana]

And it's Covencraft, by Amber K.

Thank you! I suck at remembering authors of books I haven't read... 8O

[Ivy Artemisia]

I thought I might BTT this thread.


Those of you who are in covens... did you join an exsisting group with solid traditions? A established group with eclectic practices? Or did you start from scratch, laying down traditions as you went?

After inheriting (as HPS) a pretty disorganized group with no common purpose, I had a clear sense of what kind of group I wanted to be in. So our group disbanded, and I looked to join another group. I was having the hardest time trying to get other coven leaders to get back to me. So, I decided to start my own- and because I was very clear in regards to what kind of group I wanted, I started from scratch, created bylaws and the hierarchy, etc. I just put it all together and tried to make it as "turnkey" as possible. I'm sure this wouldn't work for everyone, but it worked for me (and my sisters). We have created our own coven traditions as we work together, and its great. They pretty much happened by accident, the result of us doing the same things over and over again.



If you could give advice to someone starting a coven (or attempting to) what would you say? What do you think are the most important, core features or principles of a coven?


I would suggest to have a clear picture of what exactly you want your end result to be. Spend loads of time planning before you open to members- each minute you spend planning beforehand can save you hours later.

I think the core feature and principles of a coven will totally vary from group to group. Some covens are loose-knit (with no particpation requirements); their focus might be on learning from one another. Others might be more tight-knit and expectations might be higher- the focus might be on specific work, ie: pathworking, creating a team/group mind, honoring of a specific Pantheon, etc.


And it's Covencraft, by Amber K.

She also has another fab book out right now called RitualCraft. I'm in the middle of it. It's really great for those working in groups.