by D. Anderson

Created on: July 24, 2009

Coven: the very word can stir up strong emotions in a person. For non-pagans it can be a word to fear or loathe; for those new to pagan paths it is a word shrouded in mystery; long-term practitioners might view it as a word filled with rules and regulations. To me, coven means comfort and family.

Before hearing about Gaia's Wisdom Coven (name change from Gold Horizons) I would probably have said no to a coven. My path is very flexible and I don't want to be told how to practice, that what I am doing is wrong or be stripped of the freedom to express myself. Already in life we (as a society) act a certain way depending on where we are: professional at work, dutiful children to our parents, we have public roles and roles as parents but all we really want is to do is get in our private role to kick off our shoes and scratch our body parts. With a path that is often kept private from the public and sometimes family, the last place anyone wants to lose their freedom is in a coven.

Not only that, but it can be hard to find covens in many towns and I seriously thought that if a coven did exist in my area it would be by the "over-the-top" people who design it more like what is seen in Hollywood horror movies. I did have a few friends I hung out with and we did spells, learned together, talked, ate and laughed. We were family-friendly because we all have children, but it was literally just a couple of moms with similar beliefs who hung out together. When the hostess of the get-togethers moved, the group stopped meeting (there were only 3 of us).

I was on my own again with practicing, aside from involving my children, and figured it would just stay that way. Until I received a message from a then acquaintance (now a friend) through Witches Vox (www.witchvox.com) about a local coven named Gold Horizons. Knowing the couple who was starting the group was a huge deciding factor so the girls and I found ourselves attending the first basic class in April 2009. We were immediately hooked and have attended almost every class, every meeting, every Sabbat. My twelve-year old goes just for the fun events and my eleven-year old and I are going through the classes; we are both working on 1st degree levels.
The group is up to about twenty members with fifteen regular attendees. It is family friendly (we have four children members); we are taught basic paganism with no specific path; we are a diverse group of ages, backgrounds and beliefs; and we have a variety of classes such, kitchen

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>