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Covens, study groups, and Wiccan/Pagan networking organizations are being formed all
the time. Some are brand new, others are well established, but the majority probably fall
somewhere in between. All too many newcomers to Wicca/Paganism get obsessed by their need
to be part of a group, and they dive off head first into the first one that invites them
without bothering to find out if it is really the best group for them. Often they find the
pool is empty, and they crash big time.
If you are a newcomer to the Craft, or a solitary who is just beginning to seek out a
group situation, it is wise to research the group first and decide if you really want to
be a part of it. Remember that the interview process is a two-way discussion. They not
only have to accept you, but you have to accept them as well. Be picky. You're worth it.
Recognize that, though there are unifying themes in any Pagan belief system, practices
from group to group can vary widely. One thing they all share in common is that all
members will be expected to blend their personal energies with those of the others in the
group, making it a very different spiritual experience from what many of us grew up with.
This also makes our ideal goal of "perfect love and perfect trust" within our
group situations essential to the well-being and spiritual growth of all concerned.
Define Your Requirements
Before you begin actively seeking contacts, sit down with a pen and paper and actually
write out a list of what it is you're looking for in a group situation. Don't get so
detailed that you build a fantasy group that can never exist, but do put into the words
those things that mean the most to you. For instance, do you want to be part of an actual
working coven, or are you more interested in a loosely structured study or discussion
group? Do you want a mixed gender group, or one that is all women or all men? Do you want
a group with an eclectic focus, or one that practices within a certain cultural framework
or within one particular tradition? Do you want to worship skyclad (ritual nudity), or in
robes or street clothes? Are you interested in a group that teaches others, that is open
to the public, or that keeps its membership to a certain number? Do you want to be with
younger people, or are you seeking the over-thirty crowd? Is it important to you to have
established leaders and a system of degrees for advancing within the group, or do you lean
toward the egalitarian/priestly traditions that share leadership roles?
After you have a list in front of you, go back over it and cross off any item about which
you feel flexible enough to compromise. What is left are your core requirements. These
requirements are what you should be looking for in any group you seriously consider
joining.
Questions for a Potential Coven
At your initial interview, and also after your first meeting/ritual with the group, ask
both the group members and yourself some of the following questions. There are no right or
wrong responses, but the answers should give you a general idea if this is the right group
for you to explore further or not.
1. What is this group trying to accomplish?
2. How do the leaders characterize the group?
3. How many members are in the coven? How large does the group expect to grow?
4. What is the group's general level of experience?
5. What sort of turnover rate has the group seen among its members?
6. Has any member ever been banished (forced out)? Why?
7. What qualities or characteristics are the group's leaders looking for in new members?
Why are they interested in you?
8. How did the coven's leaders get their positions?
9. Do the leaders seem to wield an excessive amount of power over others, or do they lack
leadership skills altogether?
10. Is there a written set of rules they will permit you to see?
11. What contributions will you be expected to make to the group? Teaching? Leading?
Providing a meeting site?
12. What will the group give you in return? Lessons? Chances for advancement? Connections
to a larger umbrella group?
13. Who prepares and leads the rituals?
14. What about magical practices? What are the ethics of the group and its individual
members? Are you comfortable with these?
15. Have you been asked to do things that conflict with your ethics, or things whose
purpose are not explained to you?
16. Have you either witnessed or been asked to participate in rituals that harm, degrade,
or frighten others?
17. Are the other members cautiously welcoming to you, or do they seem indifferent about
your participation?
18. Do the members seem to get along well with one another? If at your first meeting you
are bombarded by backbiting from rival members, it is a good sign to run fast!
19. Is there anyone in the group to whom you react negatively? It only takes one to keep
you from fully feeling a part of the group, and these clashes will likely lead to internal
fighting that could destroy the group.
20. Does the group seem to you to have a solid future?
21. Do the group members seem to be committed to spiritual progress, or do they strike you
as playacting?
22. Listen carefully to see if everyone's input is welcome. What happens when someone
makes a suggestion?
23. Do you feel this is a group in which you could grow?
24. If you had the power to alter the group in any way you wanted, what would you do? Most
important of all, how do these alterations measure up against your original list of what
you were looking for in a group?
If you would rather start youe
own then simply take a look at this ritual. I (Aiden) wrote it based on a traditional 1st
degree initiation, and is designed to start everyone off at an equal level.
--------------------------- )O(---------------------------
Each person enters the circle while chanting "Air Moves us, Fire transforms us,
Water shapes us, Earth Heals us. And the balance of the wheel goes round and round"
Bless each person by inscribing a star on their forehead with Lavender oil (personal
favourite for blessing) saying "May ______ be blessed and welcome"
All hold hands and move in circle. Prospective HP&HPS chant the rune while all else
chant the goddess chant. (isis, astarte, siana, hecate, demeter, kali, innana)
"Now is the time when we who have been called, are come to be called before the Lady
and her consort. We who wish access to the deeper, darker mysteries of the earth. We who
seek the wisdom within the dark womb of Cerridwen. We who wish to know, we who have
searched and wish a new torch to light their way, we who will come before the goddess and
god, now have asked and are received to be accepted among all as people who quest for
knowledge and as people who always seek the path of the Lady and her consort. Now,
Northern Gate, We bid you in your darkest gown, open your way of knowledge for the we who
seek to pass through."
Now 2 people (preferably a male and female) turn towards each other and create a bridge
with their arms. The priestess opens the door and the priest files all others out.
The group stands to the North of the altar in the centre facing South. The priest and
priestess face North standing on the South side of the altar. One by one the priestess
picks up the athame, and does the ordeal by knife. Then she takes up the lavender oil and
says, "By which name do you wish to be known?"
The initiate answers with their chosen craft name. The priestess then anoints the forehead
of the initiate and says, "Blessed be _______"
Now the priest picks the gift being made to the initiate.
Priest says "May this serve you well in the craft"
Next, bless the wine and cakes.
Now do whatever working you wish, and close.
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