Quite frequently I am asked "Do you know of any covens in my area? How do I go
about finding a coven?"
It is most likely that I have no idea whether or not there are covens in your
area. Covens are extremely private, thus even if I had such information I would
not be willing to admit it. This can be a bit frustrating for many, for with
the exception of large, well known circles such as Circle Sanctuary, finding a
group to become involved with can be very difficult. Of course there is a large
difference between an open circle and a coven. My advice is not to go looking
for a coven at all. First, you won't find a real one. Most Wicca won't admit
they are part of one, and certainly won't "finger" any others as members.
Second, if you find one and they say "come on in," it's not a real coven. Any
"real" coven worth joining will have an outer court where a candidate will be
"scoped out" for a good while, and brought up to speed. Once a certain level of
trust is reached, and they (or a contact) find out what you're all about, they
may or may not invite you into the inner court. This traditionally requires a
period of one year and a day. All this privacy is for good reasons, most of
which revolve around the central theme of "perfect love and perfect trust."
In any case, the best course of action is to mingle, and to join or start a
study group. Many bookstores have bulletin boards where people can put up
inquiries. If there are none, try putting up some ads for a discussion group on
"The Spiral Dance" by Starhawk. Typically what will happen is that a large
group of people will come, and those of like mind can form a spin-off group. The
original group will probably die out within a few months, but the spin off
group(s) can begin more intensive study groups. This group will then find out a
member is already in a coven and be invited into an outer court, and/or it can
begin to "work" together in ritual. If everyone's in "sync" a coven will
spontaneously generate over time. If not, smaller groups will form or the group
will dissipate. In any case, the "study group" is what to look for, not an
actual coven. I have, on the other hand, seen covens put out "applications
for admission." I will stand by my initial opinion that if an applicant is not
trained in an outer court for some time, then s/he is joining a circle, not a
coven.
Suggested ebooks:
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