Why is it so hard to start a coven? OR is it really that hard to start one?

" Xwitch made a suggestion that it hard to get into a coven. I think this would be somewhat true and depends on where you live. e.g., I would love to be able to organise a study group/coven in my local area, I thought about doing flyers or a mail box drop advertising as such but then I feel that I would get phone calls or emails from negative people and/or a mole might get in, kinda like what we get in this group, and a heap of other factors that have turned me off it completely. Mind you though I have gotten a flyer in my mail box about a local churches bible study group so I see it as a huge unfairness on us as Wiccans that we still have to hide away even with all the laws protecting us."

I have decided to address one of these today on a public forum because I want there to be MORE Pagan/Wiccan/Witch groups not less. But for that to happen, I need to share in a bigger way how to start your own coven.  FIRST, let me state there are not "all of these laws out there" protecting you as a Wiccan unless you decided to get organized and get a Legal 501c3 Religious organization license.  For you to think that your coven will be protected is naive, study the law and all of the cases and you will see time and time again the odds are stacked against you.  You live in a world where people understand Church, Temple, Worship center but they do not understand "coven/circle/grove/backyard".  So if you think that forming a coven will protect you and your buddies from "discrimination" and that you can do anything you want and sue then think again...that is not the way the law or the world works.  This is why after years of leading covens my husband and I banded together and organized and formed a legal 501c3 Wiccan Church  with a whole bunch of other fabulous folks (Wicca is protected Pagan and Witch are not).

IF however, you want to form a coven with people because you have a sincere desire to learn, to grow, and to practice magick with people you enjoy then you have the RIGHT reason to form a coven.  So first I would advise you to sit still and figure out WHY you want to form a coven.  If it is for POWER POWER POWER or because you are Lonely then DO not form a coven those are not good reasons.  NEXT, what kind of coven do you want it to be?  Do you want it to be a women's only group?  Do you want it to study the Celtic path?  Is it eclectic?  Hellenistic? etc.  Do you know anything about these areas?  IF not, then be honest and say I want this to be a coven for people that are new to the path and want to learn together. DO NOT( and I repeat this do not) call yourself a Highpriestess if you have no experience on the path; give it time you will grow into that role the Goddess truly initiates her own and you will know when that "title" is right for you. Priest and Priestess we all are, but Highpriestess or Highpriest is earned.

This is the tricky part...are you starting the coven alone?  If you are then you have to decide are you going to be the leader?  Would you rather it be a leaderless group? If there is a leader will it be just you or are you going to share that responsibility oh and HOW WELL do you know them?  Where are you going to worship, a park or your back yard?  Do you want to have a bunch of people worshiping in your home but you have no control over what happens?  If not, then you do not want a leaderless group worshiping in your back yard.  (BTW I love how people say this alot because I do not believe in leaderless groups, whomever founded it and whomever home it is at is the leader and if who founded it and the house used to do it are owned and run by two different people there usually are issues that arise I am sharing this from alot of experience. Because truthfully we humans like boundaries, rules, leaders, and struggle with control all of us do.)  

What kind of rules do you want to have?  Yes, Covens have rules, like you have to study with us for three months before we decided whether we want to take you on or not.  OR you are only a first degree after a year and a day and we initiate you.  Oh yes, what kind of initiation will you have? What kind of mission will your coven have?  Or you all going to do things to help each other, help the library, what about the food bank, etc?  How will you dress?  Will you wear robes, wear street clothes, etc?

HOW many people do you want in your group?  Remember the more people it seems the merrier but if this is your first time the more people who share energy the more you have to get them to mesh, get along, and be in sync and this is so much harder than it looks on the surface.  WHO or HOW are you going to pay for all the rituals?  Cakes and ale, herbs, resins, stones, incense,  altars, altar cloths, God and Goddess statues, cauldrons, sage sticks, all of these things cost money...so how are you all going to pay for this?  When I first started we all rotated this together one week I provided candles the next the sage and incense, etc.  HOW often are you going to meet?  Every week thus every moon cycle, every new moon, every full moon, only dark moons, etc...THIS is important for if you do not meet enough the bonds are not there and the group falls apart.  IF you meet to soon you burn out and then the group also falls apart.

HOW long do you want the coven to work?  Would you like to re-address it every year?  Every three years?  How will you know when it is done...I am not saying you will have the answer to all of these going in, but if you think about all of this BEFORE you try to form a coven then you have a leg up and might be able to make it work.  Because, let it be stated here that leading, organizing, and running anything is hard work so if you work 40 plus hours and have many other obligations (like many children and a high maintenance marriage or full time college) starting and running a coven is NOT for you!  Being in one, now that might be more your speed and for Goddess sake if you cannot run one and know it please be nice to the person that is sacrificing their time, home, and energy it is a HARD job; respect them!

NOW after you have done all of these things, and have decided you have the time and energy and money to do this thing and know where you are going to meet then what?  Advertise.  Yep, you heard me, advertise.  Do it on Facebook say I am forming a group, and send me an email if interested.  PUT up flyers in the coffee shop, or occult store, or at the New age place, or at your local Wiccan church. Twitter it if you want! Once again have them email you if interested not call you. DO NOT advertise your phone number that is a mistake!

WHEN they email you send them back a list of questions that answers for you why they are interested, what their experience is, and if they have psychological issues, or drug and alcohol addictions (yes, please ask this sure they can lie but you will be surprised how many will be honest and you don't want to start off with people that might not benefit from this spiritual path due to psychological issues or addiction issues).  Read the emails, screen them, pick your favorite then call these people back and set up an appointment to meet them face to face!  Make sure it is in a open area like a coffee shop and go meet them and talk and see how you feel about them.  IF you like them set up a date for a future time and get together again, do this until you feel comfortable and add people as you go...and then VOILA!  You have the startings of a coven anything more than three is just that...!

NOW see it really is not as hard as you thought?  It really is more common sense than you realized?  Of course it is.  IF you feel a need or a calling to start a group, then please do so...if it does not work out then so what you tried.  If it does work then WOO HOO you are on your way to growing together!

GOOD LUCK, and GODDESS BLESS.  My email is revsonyamiller@gmail.com if you need any further advice or help in this area for that is what I am here for.  

 

She is feeling so poorly she is barking like a seal...

It happens, no matter how good you eat or bundle up or how many vitamins you take every now and then you are going to get a cold and a cough.  If you were raised like I was, your parents could not “afford” to take you to the doctor every time you got a “cough”.  So, it became essential here in the south that remedies were discovered, and tried out that were cheaper than a doctor’s visit and you knew would do the trick. This is where the tradition of tinctures, potions, and syrups truthfully came from.  Even the Europeans that brought them here were bringing over recipes that were "proven cures" for illnesses.  Unfortunately, depending on the region you lived in here in the States what you knew in Ireland, Scotland, or England to work did not work here in the red clay soil areas.  The same herbs were not prevalent. 

So our ancestors who were transplants and fresh of the boats, had to hurry and a scurry and make "new remedies" and tinctures, and syrups that worked to get rid of a cough.  Traditionally we all know licorice root will work, slippery elm, cherry bark, marshmallow root, cinnamon bark, and fennel root. I do not know about you I am not going out to the woods with a basket and a knife and looking for these herbs and digging them up. I could find them I am sure, and I know what they are used for but I do not have the time in my modern urban life to go digging and rooting in the soil.  I live in the biggest city in the state of Tennessee going to the woods would mean my local park or driving to the country; and I really do not have the time for either with a infant and a church to run. 

So how do I still make our own homemade witch remedies today living in the 21st century?  How could we (yes all of us witchlings) take the general idea and make them more relevant and up to date? You make a new recipe, you find a new cure.  You use the same principles that your old mamaw cooked up and add a new dash of this, and a splash of that, and dig your ingredients out of the bins of your local grocery store!

If we, as Pagans, Wiccans, and Witches do not progress with the times and continue our art then it will be lost.  Not because the old recipes are not as prevalent as they once were but because they have become irrelevant in our modern techno savvy age.  This is why it is so important that once one of us discovers or brews up a new concoction that we share it and tell each other how easy it really truly is.  I like potions that you can use on all the members of your family and would not be ashamed to share with co-workers and strangers.  Because, though people do not come to my back door in the middle of the night because they are scared the neighbors or preacher might see them I do still get emails, text messages, and various phone calls from people who want to know.  Heck, the other day someone posted openly on my facebook wall for a tea during the flu season! 


Now, I know you were all probablly expecting me to write about Samhain today; but today I am wrestling with a cold.  So I am writing what is on my mind, and what I am doing in my daily life...cooking a cure, to bottle and put up for the winter! 

You can use this on a small infant that is six months old or older.  I would not try it on one younger because of digestion reasons.  But for adults it is a wonder!  I have changed the ingredient of molasses or honey or sugar to Jaggery because it is organic and exotic and I like the name!  Seriously though, most people down here would make it up without the sweetner and I need a little bit of sugar to get the bitter down if you do not…then you are a much bigger witch than I...me I need that spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down    :)

First, I want to explain what Jaggery is (nope we Southerners did not make this word up), then I will share my recipe, then a few sources you can buy it at!  Good luck, share it’s success with others, but most importantly get rid of that cough!


Jaggery (also transliterated as jaggeree) is a traditional unrefined sugar used throughout South and South East Asia.

Origins

Though "jaggery" is used for the products of both sugarcane and the date palm tree, technically, the word refers solely to sugarcane sugar. The sugar made from the sap of the date palm is both more prized and less available outside of the districts where it is made. Hence, outside of these areas, sugarcane jaggery is sometimes called "gur" to increase its market value. The sago palm and coconut palm are also now tapped for producing jaggery in southern India. In Mexico and South America, similar sugarcane products are known as "panela" or "piloncillo".

Jaggery is considered by some to be a particularly wholesome sugar and, unlike refined sugar, it retains more mineral salts. Moreover, the process does not involve chemical agents. Indian Ayurvedic medicine considers jaggery to be beneficial in treating throat and lung infections; Sahu and Saxena found that in rats jaggery can prevent lung damage from particulate matter such as coal and silica dust.

Jaggery is used as an ingredient in both sweet and savory dishes across India and Sri Lanka. For example, a pinch of jaggery is sometimes added to sambar, rasam and other gravies which are staples in India. Jaggery is also added to lentil soups (dal) to add sweetness to balance the spicy, salty and sour components, particularly in Gujarati cooking. Jaggery is also molded into novelty shapes as a type of candy. Other uses include jaggery toffees and jaggery cake made with pumpkin preserve, cashew nuts and spices. Jaggery may also be used in the creation of alcoholic beverages.

Jaggery is also considered auspicious in many parts of India, and is eaten raw before commencement of good work or any important new venture.

Muzaffarnagar District in Uttar Pradesh has the largest jaggery market in India, followed by Anakapalli of Visakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh. These are the biggest and second biggest in the entire world.
In Myanmar, jaggery, known as htanyet, is harvested from toddy palm syrup. In central Myanmar and around Bagan (Pagan), toddy syrup is collected solely for the purpose of making jaggery. The translucent white syrup is boiled until it becomes golden brown, and then made into bite-sized pieces. Htanyet, which means "toddy lick", is considered a sweet, and is eaten by children and adults alike, usually in the afternoon along with a pot of green tea. It has been referred to locally as Burmese chocolate. Toddy palm jaggery is also sometimes mixed with coconut shreddings, plum puree or sesame, depending on the area. This type of jaggery is also used in Burmese cooking, usually to add color and enrich the food.
It is a rich source of iron due to the process involved, using iron utensils.
Besides its uses as a food, jaggery may also be used to season the inside of tandoor ovens.

OTHER Names for jaggery:

(in alphabetical order of the name)

• Bella in Kannada
• Bellam in Telugu
• chakkara in Malayalam [made from palm wine]
• Gaur in Gujarati
• Gud in Hindi and Punjabi
• Gul in Marathi
• Gula Melaka in Malaysia
• Gur in Bengali and Assamese language
• Hakuru in Sinhalese
• Htanyet in Burmese
• Panela and piloncillo in Latin America
• Panocha or Panutsa in the Philippines
• Rapadou in Haiti
• Sharkara in Malayalam [made from sugarcane]
• Valle Bella in Tulu
• Vellam in Tamil

If the Cough is related to a seasonal fever , then prepare a ginger tea with following ingredients .

5 dried Peppers (you know those small kind you saved from your garden? you can buy them at the store and broil them on a shallow pan in the oven then grind them, or you can buy them in the organic section already dried in a bag no joke!)

1 pinch Dried ginger or 2 spoon ginger powder

3 cloves 

1 pinch cumin seed 

1 cube Palm jaggery.
Boil the jaggery in one cup of water which will melt it. Then just grind the above ingredients and boil it with jaggery water. Give this syrup like any cough syrup,  1 tsp for your little witchlings, and 1 Tsp for your big Pagans, 3 times a day.

Where can you buy Jaggery?  Why at any local Indian food store of course!  However, if you live in a small town and have no merchant store of that type, try these online sources:

http://www.indianfoodsco.com/Submit/Jaggery.html

http://www.tajagroproducts.com/new%20index.html