Typically, witches have two options, to practice their craft alone or in a group. Practicing alone is called solitary practice and practicing with a group is called a coven.
What does being in a coven mean?
If you are in a coven you get to practice rituals in a group setting such as the sabbats, fulls moons, and spellwork.
Like most things in witchcraft, you have to be dedicated to your coven. You can seriously mess things up with your group if you aren’t committed. Also covens have their specific rules and usually follow specific traditions.
Usually you can’t immediately join a coven. In most cases there is some form of an initiation practice. Also, a lot of Wiccan covens (and some others) require a year and a day study to be initiated. So yes, you can get homework.
But, being in a coven is a group dynamic and can be called a spiritual family. You can also get more and better energy to work with, which can really help with spells.
I want to join a coven, how do I find one?
- Go to witchy stores or metaphysical shops and ask around if they know of any covens
- Festivals are usually a good bet, the vendors may know something **the festival doesn’t have to be necessarily Pagan or Wiccan, such as honoring the fae or faeries**
- Google it **just search (tradition your looking for) in (state)**
I see a coven I like, what's next?
You probably might want to look them up to see how they work.
1. Do they have a high priest or priestess?
2. Do they have traditions and what do they celebrate?
3. Are they accepting new students?
4. How long have they been established?
If you like what you see, you can send them a message via email or other ways they listed that they can be contacted. Be sure to ask if they are accepting new students. Also, be polite treat this like it is your witchy job interview.
Some questions to ask your prospective coven:
- Is there a higherarchy?
- What do they celebrate?
- Is there a training program?
- What is the male to female ratio?
- How many coven members are there?
- How long is training?
- Is there a degree system?
Always remember: you don’t have to join a coven if you don’t want to, this is your decision not any one else’s.
If something seems off or if you are in a weird situation and don’t feel comfortable doing something, leave. Also you should never have to pay a coven to be apart of it (unless its for food or supplies for a ritual). The validity of a coven and your safety are important, so just be careful.
