Coven structure

Here is information about how a Coven works in 'real-time'. That is, the day to day organisation and functioning of a Coven.

First of all some definitions.

That's just a few of the possibilities and potentials inherent in a Coven, and now I'll open that up more.

All Witches are creative, artistic, intuitive and spiritual people. All witches are highly individualistic. Weaving all of that together can cause conflicts at times in most Covens, but what sustains every Coven is that all its members keep their guiding principles firmly in mind and recognise that if all subsume some of their individuality, then we can bring all of our talents and power together in ways that benefit all. Quite simply there is a strength in numbers that is worth sacrificing some individual freedom of expression for.

In order to achieve this most Covens work through an agreed structure of rituals, activities, festivals and meetings. This is the Tradition of which that Coven is a member. Such as the Alexandrian tradition of which Galdraheim Coven is a part.

As well as that the structure of a Coven is designed to enable all members to express their creativity and inspiration, without having that be repressed or suppressed in any way.

At the core of Witchcraft lays spirituality- what most people refer to as religion. The religion of the Craft is earth honouring, earth respecting, recognises a dynamic creative balance at work that we term the Goddess AND the Horned God, and is experiential- all Witches in a Coven participate fully in all rituals, and partake fully of all mysteries and spiritual experiences- every member of a Coven is a Priestess or Priest, and no one stands between them and the Goddess and God- all experience spirituality first-hand and personally.

Let me share some of the ways that Galdraheim Coven works with all of this on a day-to-day basis.

Creativity: Many of our rituals and festivals have 'set' ritual parts that we always use, but most also have space within them for interpretation of the general broad themes for example, and such as spell workings and similar can be approached in a wide variety of ways. Generally beforehand, but sometimes on the occasion itself, we have 'brain-storming' sessions where all put forward their ideas, creative thinking and input generally as to how we are going to perform any ritual, or celebrate any seasonal ritual.

Those with appropriate skills blend incenses to use, make candles for rituals, write invocations, or perhaps make ritual items for use in rituals and festivals. Such as floral crowns for May-eve, or special tools to use in ceremonies.

Conflict resolution: Disagreements, arguments, jealousies, and  conflicts generally arise from time to time in all groups of humans. We resolve these by either the individuals concerned bringing them out for discussion, or by the HPS or Hp spotting them and bringing them out into the open. Either way, they do come out into the open where they can be dealt with in positive ways. Generally through full, open discussion, and using a Talking Stick process if need be, so that all Coveners can fully express themselves. Conflict is potentially a source of strength- by working through conflicts and overcoming challenges, we develop strength and balance at all levels.

Stores and supplies: Candles, incenses and similar are used at all rituals. Food and  drink various are consumed at all Festivals and other rituals. The Covenstead is generally the home of the HPS, and so attending Coveners use toilet rolls, soap, drink coffee/tea, and eat biscuits and similar snacks at times.

Galdraheim Coven doesn't collect fees/dues to cover these expenses as some covens do, but works instead on the principle of personal responsibility. Everyone respects this and contributes according to their means. Some people bring candles for rituals, others incense. Some bring flowers for the altar, others make, clean  or repair ritual tools for the coven.  Everyone brings food and drink to share. All help with preparation and with cleaning up afterwards.

Communication: Every festival, Full Moon esbat, or other gathering is 'synchronise diaries' time... We seek as far as possible to celebrate seasonal festivals at the appropriate time, full moons at the actual night of the full moon, etc. As Witches are real people living real lives, sometimes we have to work around peoples shifts, family and other life demands. If there is ever a change of plan we use a telephone tree system to let all know.

Teaching circles and workshops: Working rituals and celebrating festivals requires two things: One is having the skills to do this properly, and the other is keeping the energy flowing.

To help with the first we hold regular, generally weekly sessions at which we work on magickal skills such as Visualisation, making Talismans, the principles of spell-working, and similar subjects. These aren't school type sessions- all who attend do so because they want to learn and develop these skills, and all recognise and respect that all in attendance are grown adults.

Though these are focused on the subject in hand, and all need to remain focused and purposeful, they're not rigid, "po-faced", serious affairs. Neither are they "Teacher speaks and children listen". Sometimes the HPS, HP or other knowledgeable Covener presents the material as a lecture or talk, but that then shifts into full discussion, input from all, and question & answer time. From there we generally move into some practical application and exploration. All of which is within a loose but focused structure that respects the adulthood of all present.

For the second we also hold occasional participatory workshops and sessions where we explore such subjects as mask-making, ritual theatre, expressive art, trance-dance, chanting and drumming,  herbalism, Tarot, Runes, tree-lore and other similar subjects- basically these aren't according to a set curriculum, but explore those subjects that Coveners want to explore and learn about. Some of these explore the theory, most of them are practical and 'hands-on'. Including such as 'Herb-walks'- walking our local countryside discovering and identifying herbs and plants, trees and shrubs, or 'Tree-walks' to help people learn how to identify trees and bushes. Both for practical reasons- which woods to use for such as Wands or Staffs, and magickal associations and mythic correspondences of various trees.

This helps with developing skills such as intuition, artistic inspiration and visualisation, but it also helps to keep the interest and energy flowing- most people like at least some ritual regularity- using the same ritual format for "Casting the Circle" and other parts of rituals ensures that we all can flow straight into and with that as soon as we start, but 'variety is the spice of life', and so we explore other ways of working rituals and other areas such as mask work, so as to keep the energy flowing. Which also then yields greater input of creativity into our rituals and spiritual experience.

This also helps people access the collective pool of knowledge and experience that a Coven holds, and provides a structure through which those who do have skills and knowledge can share that with others in good ways. From this each and every Covener grows and develops, and that individual growth also becomes collective growth- within the fairly tight-knit structure of a Coven that kind of creative, mutual inspiration keeps the energy flowing for all, and that benefits all of us. 

'Speaking personally I must say that I like to work magick, celebrate rituals and festivals, and share spiritual experience with motivated, knowledgeable and energetic people. If I can help other Coveners to develop in these ways, then that's as good for me as it is for them, and we do not seek to repress anyone, or keep any kind of monopoly on knowledge, information or experience within Galdraheim Coven.

Previous Knowledge and experience: Very few people come to the Craft without at least a certain level of personal knowledge and experience. Even if that's only gained from reading a few books and experimenting with spells. Many people come to the Craft with a lot of knowledge and experience. We recognise and value all of this individual experience, and being a member of our Coven does not mean this knowledge or experience must be denied or rejected: From this and the structure that we work with, the fabric of Galdraheim is woven.

Support and guidance: A Coven also functions as a support and encouragement group. Obviously unless there are members of the Coven who are qualified to offer psychiatric help that only extends so far into that kind of area, but bearing that in mind it can also be seen that a Coven provides a 'family' of people whom you can turn to for support and encouragement on the way, and with difficulties in your life.

Craft Elders are generally people of considerable life experience: They aren't a substitute for sorting out your problems, and they can't do that for Coveners, but they can provide advice, guidance and support when you need that to help you work through any life problems. A Coven isn't a place to do therapy, but it's a powerful place in which to grow and develop the strength to overcome any difficulties you may have.

 

That covers most of the 'day-to-day, 'real-time' functions of a Coven, but I'm sure that many people will have questions about other areas not covered here. If so, do get in touch and simply ask. We are happy to answer all questions to the best of our ability.

We cannot though offer information about Covens or individuals other than Galdraheim Coven, and we cannot intercede in any conflicts others may have within the Craft.

Blessed Be,

Alan Tickhill. HP. Hlafmass-Mabon season 2000.

 

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