Welcome to Gaia! ::

So, I'll soon be 18: woot!
Anyways, now that I'll finally be of legal age, I can go out and look for a Coven. Obviously I still have some time left :points to signature: but I want to know if I should start reading any specifc material? And advice on looking and searching for a coven is greatly appriciated!

^//^
Thank you very much Sir! :Salutes:

With a wild guess that you're seeking a Wiccan Coven, some of the following responses include copied and pasted text from my Wicca thread on the PathWays subforum. If you're seeking another type of Coven, you can probably disregard much of this!



In my humble opinion, books are always good, but as for specific material... Nah!



First of all, realize that finding the right Coven can take many years. Even if there's one next door to you, they may not advertize and they may not be accepting students right now. Be patient and keep putting your intentions out there in your local Pagan-friendly community. Talk to folks in local metaphysical bookstores and spiritual shops. Go to open circles. You might even try checking Online with Witchvox.com or Amberandjet.org. If you find a Wiccan who is not accepting students or who lives too far away from you, go ahead and talk to them anyway. Chances are that they know somebody who knows somebody. Be polite. Word does get around. Also, realize that you may have to do some serious communting to get to your Covenstead. Some people have to drive long distances, travel out of state, take a ferry, or do other amazing feats to become part of the Wiccan clergy. Remember, Catholic priests go to seminary. The Wiccan priesthood is just as serious a comittment.

It's very important to verify lineage. Real Wiccans will expect this and will admire you for taking this bold but necessary step. Don't worry, they won't feel insulted! The first step in verification is to ask your potential Initiator(s) who will vouch for them. They will give you the contact information of other Wiccans who are willing to have their contact information given out to Seekers! Don't be alarmed if they don't give you the name and address of their Initiator. Maybe their Initiator isn't down with that kind of thing. Contact the people and verify your Wiccan's story.

The next step is to get independent verifications. That means that if you already know a Wiccan, even if they live far away from the Wiccan you've found, you can contact your known Wiccan and ask if they can get anyone to vouch for your found Wiccan. Your known Wiccan will be able to go through the proper channels to find a vouch. If you don't know ANY Wiccans anywhere, then you can try joining a list like Amberandjet.org and posting something like "can anyone vouch for a [insert Trad here] Wiccan in [insert state here]" and wait for responses. You'd be surprised how many independent vouches will come out of the woodwork! Also, this will get easier with time as you get in contact with verified Wiccans who can route your questions quickly to the appropriate people. NOTE: Getting no vouches for a person on A&J is just as suspicious as if you were to get negative comments about a person on A&J. Keep digging for answers. Don't take silence as assent. Run, don't walk, from a person who has earned no positive vouches from valid Wiccans.

Start with just a Pagan coven first! There might be public, open circles in your area that you can drop-in upon and explore when you feel like it!

It has it's merits.

It also has it's flaws as it asks for so much subjective imput.

For example, Catholicism would rate pretty far on the chart- and if something as harmless as that scores so high- what chance does a small coven have?

I also have an issue with some of the built in "idealism" in the system. Little things that ding a group a few points here and there can add up fast.

As with anything, use common sense and follow your instincts 3nodding