Welcome to another one of my spiritual journey videos. I was asked by a lovely YouTube member to talk about my experiences and views on Coven work vs Solitary work as an Eclectic Witch.

Everything I say here is from my experience and my opinion. You don’t have to share my views. I am simply sharing.

I have worked in Covens and as a solitary Witch and they both have their benefits and areas that can be challenging. As far as the benefits and limitations of each this isn’t an exhaustive list, I am sure I have missed some things out.

Benefits of working as a solitary

• You say what goes and what doesn’t
• There is SO much information out there (sometimes too much) that you can work on your own if you choose to.
• There are some amazing people offering great online courses for those people who can’t find people or who want to work alone. I love Lucy Cavendish, Wendy Rule and Christopher Penzack. There are more out there these are just some recommendations. Not to mention the wonderful YouTube Witch community.

Limitations of working as a solitary

• It can get very lonely
• Community is a big part of spirituality and religion for some people and this can be tough when we are on your own
• If you are stuck or you want to take it to the next level you may not have anyone to talk to or learn from face to face
• It is easier to get a little lazy and stagnant (I know cause this is something I have to be aware of with my own practice)

Benefits of working in a Coven

• If you find the right people it can be an amazing environment for support, growth, friendship and family. Like every relationship it has to be the right one and people do change but the right people can make your path even better.
• Rituals and events take on a whole new level of meaning and understanding with like minded people
• You can share more of the work, such as preparing for ritual, you can go to different houses each time etc.
• There are more ideas with more people.
• It’s a wonderful way to learn from people with a lot of experience.
• It helps you stay focused and motivated.

Limitations

• People are people, sometimes people suck, people flake, bail, get sick, have family emergencies and bring their shit to circle. A good HPS or HP or Coven leader should take care of this stuff but it does happen.
• The wrong group environment can be a total shit show. I have heard it all from flat out abuse to energy stealing to drama, drama, drama.
• Covens or circles tend to have well established rules and ways of doing ritual. Some people love this and thrive on routine and structure. Others do not. You will know from the outer court what structure your coven will have.

I have had positive experiences way more than I have had negative ones with the Pagan community. I hope that is true for you as well.

If you want to start finding more people in your community here are some suggestions.

• Check out Pagan Pride for information on your local organisers – http://www.paganpride.org/
• Witchvox.com has a Events and Groups listing pages and lots of information – http://www.witchvox.com/vn/vn_index/xevents.html the listings for Outer Court programs is very helpful
• Check out Meetup.com for coffee groups in your area or events – www.meetup.com
• Visit your local metaphysical store and see what courses they have on offer. I have made some great friends at workshops.

Before I go into my personal journey from being a Solitary practitioner I want to make a note on sexual acts and Wicca/Paganism/Witchcraft.

If ANYONE wants you to do anything sexual in ritual or out of ritual that you are even remotely uncomfortable with. RUN DO NOT WALK AWAY. If anyone touches you and makes you feel uncomfortable, tell them to back off. Do not stand for this shit and report them. NO ONE no matter what spiritual path or religion they choose should hide behind it to take advantage of people.

Same goes with money. I charged $10 for my classes to cover hire of the hall I was using, photocopying and drinks and snacks. That was a long time ago too, not sure how far $10 would get me now for the same set up. If anyone is getting you to give them large sums of money. Just don’t. It is a very triggering topic when you talk about being paid to teach. I think there is nothing wrong with being paid and there is usually a coven membership fee for things like candles, supplies etc and people do run public events and gatherings that are paid events. There is nothing wrong with that. As a teacher I get paid to teach. I am talking about costs of money that make you feel uncomfortable. Your inner compass will know.

Trust your gut. This is why I am all for you taking a friend with you until you are comfortable with people or meet at social events. I even had some of my Teen Groups Mums want to meet with me or come along to gatherings for a while to make sure everything was cool. I was 100% okay with that. I am absolutely able to say no and get myself out of situations that make me feel bad but I know not everyone is so take a buddy if you need to.

BTW you do not have to be friends with everyone in your Coven. You do have to be comfortable with working with them and being extremely energetically and emotionally open. For me this means that I have to be friends with the people I am working with. I do know that there are plenty of people who don’t socialise with their coven mates outside of gatherings, teaching sessions and ritual. Do whatever works for you.

My Journey from Solitary to Coven Member

I started my journey as a solitary witch until I found other people in the community and I am sure that is a very common theme with people. Many of us find the path on our own before we find other people.

I can imagine it would be very different being born into a magical home that was or has a covenstead.

I am a highly social person so very early on I wanted to find other people to connect with, talk to and share my experiences with.

And boy, call it luck or divine protection or intuitive guidance (it was probably all three combined to be honest) I was very fortunate not to have any negative experiences that made me want to leave Wicca behind.

I was running a Teen Witch group for a while, I had a Angelfire page and I was holding meetings and running a very open outer court in my area because I was lonely mostly.

I remember a very well known store at the time in Fremantle WA, The Alchemist (I miss that place) and I wasn’t able to join any of the Church of Wicca’s celebrations or classes because I wasn’t 18 years old.

A friend introduced me to a well known Pagan Male in the community and I immediately had ‘FUCK NO’ screaming in my head. I was polite and when we left I never again met that person.

Years later when I was introduced to the Combined Covens Social Club in Perth I found out that I missed a whole bunch of drama with those people. I am glad I did.

I got older, I learnt more, the teen group disbanded and went their own ways once High School had finished and I kept running my classes in Fremantle. One member of the teen group found me again many years later, reminding me that the people we are meant to walk the path with, we will find.

This is where I started to meet some more incredible people. It was a lot harder then, the internet wasn’t so easy to navigate, we didn’t have meetup etc.

I meet a number of the SCOTIF coven members through this over the years. We would have open rituals for some of the bigger Sabbats and we even tried to form a small coven.

That didn’t stick, no one’s fault, sometimes life just happens. I have remained friends with the ladies who are not in SCOTIF but were in that group.

More years, joining more community groups and getting super involved thanks to my good friend Tamara Lampard.

I met a lot of amazing High Priestesses and Priests and was introduced to the open covens in Perth. Meaning those covens that were active teaching covens and that advertised that they would teach people. Thank you Witchvox.com

I was still making friends and celebrating with a group of amazing women who were getting stronger and closer.

I then was torn, do I try to go through another traditions outer court and degree system. I respect so freaking many of these people and am so proud to know and be friends with a lot of them.

I sat with this and asked council from a few elders that I respected and decided to form SCOTIF with some amazing Witches.

That circle is like home for my spirit and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss them so much.

We aren’t perfect. No one is but I am glad that I found them.

Then I moved to Vancouver and started practicing as a solitary again, which has been even harder with a Son. Thankfully with Meetup I was able to connect with some lovely local people here.

Where my path will go from here, I am not sure. Depends when I move back to Australia really.

Here are my final tips for finding a Coven or group of people to work with spiritually.

• Don’t rush it, it took me ten years to find my tribe.
• No one, not even if they are the grand poobah of Wicca has any right to invalidate your practice, your connection to the divine, in any way you choose to have a relationship with it. Self initiated or coven initiated, solitary or coven working, it is all legitimate.
• Trust your instincts