ENTER THE CIRCLE OF GALDRAHEIM COVEN
Join and learn with us

Galdraheim is potentially open to the 'right people'. If you seek initiation into the craft of the Wise and are prepared to undertake Wiccan training and development, then we would welcome you into our circle.

Galdraheim is a teaching and training Coven as well as a working and development circle. Which means that we are open to those who meet our preliminary conditions.

On certain conditions:-

1) That you are over 18 years of age, and preferably no  longer in full time education.

2) That you are honest, sincere and committed in your desire to walk the paths of the Wise.

3) That you are not undergoing treatment for psychiatric or psychological problems, or taking medication for such.

4) That you are able and willing to travel regularly to Deal for Esbats, Sabbats and learning circles.

5) That you are sufficiently able-bodied to fully join in the often very active parts of Wiccan rituals.

6) That you have sufficient knowledge before you come to us to form a good foundation from which you can learn further.

Those are our base conditions, and which we'll now look at in more detail.

1) Wicca is demanding of your time and commitment, and it's best if you have some stability in your life at least before you become actively involved in the Craft. Younger people may have problems and conflicts between their education and active involvement with Wicca, and even conflicts with parents and peers over this. We  prefer to work with people over 18 who have achieved at least a reasonable level of financial and social stability in their lives so that they can make this kind of commitment without it causing problems and conflicts. If you're at College, University or still job-seeking or organising your career, that will bring obvious conflicts for your time. 

2) 'Many are called but few are chosen'. Initial enthusiasms often wane when the first flush of novelty and excitement wears off and needs to be replaced with something deeper. Being a member of a Coven is very much like being in a committed relationship, and all relationships need to be worked at if they are going to continue being meaningful, enriching and fulfilling. We ask everyone who approaches us how they feel about issues like this- some people start with us and move on, but above all else we give our time to those who are committed to the Craft itself. Whether that's in our circle or another- all Wiccan circles are circles of the Wise.

3) For reasons that we need to explore elsewhere, the dynamics of Wicca are very much in resonance with the deeper dynamics of the processes of self-actualisation and self-realisation which are worked through in therapy and psychiatric treatment. If you are undergoing therapy this will clash with the effects of powerful rituals on your psyche.  Medication and magick do not mix well, and attempting to make them do so is potentially dangerous and harmful.

4) This has to be self-evident. If you truly are able and willing to travel down from Dundee to Deal on a regular basis, we would applaud your commitment and dedication. But would be surprised if you were still so enthusiastic in six months time. If you were prepared to do that you would of course be welcome to stay over, but it's obviously best if you do live within reasonable distance of us.

5) This condition is also self-evident: Wiccan celebrations, magick and festivals are often extremely energetic- dancing, moving around, outdoors- over fields, stiles and fences in the dark at times.

6) Everybody has to start somewhere. If you've read a couple of books, browsed some websites,  have some foundation knowledge of Wicca and what it's about and feel that what you've learned speaks to you in the ways I've detailed elsewhere on this website,  that's a fine place to start..

The Craft is 100% participatory, and everyone within a Wiccan circle needs to be able to tell widdershins from deosil, an Athame from a Scourge, etc. We will teach you all that we can, and we have information for beginners on the path that will help you a lot, but you need to have at least sufficient understanding before you start that you can take in what we teach, and can grasp the more subtle nuances of circle work, energy work and similar subjects.

In this we require that you have done some preliminary reading, have read every part of this website, have acquired a few good books to use as references, and are willing to learn.

Above all else what you need is a good, working knowledge of Craft basics and principles- such as why we do what we do, our basic philosophy and concepts, and similar. All the rest- circle etiquette, magickal principles, techniques and practices, rituals and ceremonies, etc, we will be happy to teach you.

Further thoughts: Life stability is a major issue for many people, and I have to say that Wicca blends best into the lives of those whose lives are stable and who have regular careers/jobs, committed relationships and other stable elements in their lives. These provide a bedrock of stability against which you can bounce the Craft so to speak so as to work with it in ways that do enrich your life. If your life is still very much 'up in the air', then you have no stability against which to balance the Craft.

As well as that the energies that Wiccans work with, and the forces that we deal with, need to be grounded and earthed into our lives. The more stable your life is the better this works. The less stable your life is, the more disruptive this can be.

Relationships and the Craft: Singles are welcome in our circle, but Wicca is not an occult dating agency, and it isn't a place to find casual sexual partners. We do prefer that those who come to us do so as  couples, or are people who are in a committed relationship with someone who is tolerant of your involvement with Wicca, but as long as you can recognise the special relationship that exists between Coveners and respect that... well you may well find the perfect Wiccan significant other within the Craft.

Ego, learning and training: If you really cannot handle being told what to do on occasions, if you consider that  theorising from books you have read, or that a few months experience is  of more value than our experience and knowledge, we won't be able to help you and you'd best go elsewhere. We're not dogmatic, we don't do this for the aggrandizement of our egos, and we're not all-knowing, but there's nothing more disruptive of a learning circle for those who truly want to learn than someone who thinks they do know it all because they've read a few books, or that their theories and speculations are of greater value than what we can offer from our experience. If you really are that clever our circle isn't for you. You should found your own  where your ego, preconceptions and closed thinking will not be challenged. If you bring those to our circle we will challenge you till you either learn or go away.

Having read right through this page and all the other pages in this website- You have, haven't you- or you are going to? You should clearly see that above all else what we are saying here is that our circle is for emotionally and psychologically stable people who are not going to be disruptive or spoil anything for others. Having just one disruptive, disturbed, or overly ego driven person in a Wiccan circle can spoil it all for others, and we don't allow that to happen.

'All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals'. So speaks the Goddess in her 'Charge' to us, which is a central pillar of Wiccan philosophy.

From all the above you might be mislead into thinking that Wiccan circles are serious, 'po-faced' and rigid, and that you have to be 'dead-serious' all the time. Not so- 'All acts of love and pleasure...'. Witches are purposeful- if you come to learn we would expect you to be respectful of those teaching, receptive and attentive, and to look interested. But Witches are 'just' ordinary people in many ways- we laugh, sing ,have a good time, enjoy a party and  party hard when the occasion is right. Such as following rituals, at Sabbats-seasonal rites, and at other times- everything has its time and place. It's the Wise who can understand this. Parties after major Sabbats can leave you reeling for days, but that is after the ritual not during it. During rituals, all involved are focused and purposeful.

Have a read through other material on this website, get in touch to discuss anything that isn't clear and determine for yourself if you are a 'right person'.

If you're one of those 'right people', just get in touch, and our circle is potentially open to you- read on...

Initiation- entering the circles of the wise

However..... there are other possibilities.

1) One is that due to career changes, life, relationship and other demands, some of our circle may move away and leave a space in the circle for a 'proper person'. Those who are prepared to wait will find their patience, intent and determination rewarded. For this we would favour those who are obviously keen, who are self-determined and obviously making all possible effort to help themselves, and who we can clearly see are dedicated to their path.

2) Another is that  though you may not be able to fully join our circle, you may still be able to train with us and be initiated by us as a Witch, and therefore able to either be a well connected Solitary, or be then able to find a Coven to work with from our connections or ones that you as an Initiate might make, or might stay as a friend of Galdraheim who can join us for circles, Sabbats and other events when there is room for you to do so.

3) Thirdly is that you may be inclined to learn, work and develop with us so that you can work your way through the degree system to be able to found your own Coven.

These are all good possibilities that we can explore together. All you have to do is get in touch, be honest concerning what you actually want from us and the Craft, and talk with us- those who ask the right questions receive the right answers.

We approach things in this way because though we cannot expand our inner circle any further at this time, we do not want to neglect those who are truly of our way and want to offer to you all the help and support that we can.

If therefore you are having difficulty finding a Coven in your locality but still want to enter the Circles of the Wise, then get in touch to discuss how we might be able to help you. Even if you are at a distance from us and cannot attend all our training circles, Esbats and Sabbats, we still might be able to help you along the path of initiation. Just get in touch.... and ask the right questions.

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