Today’s post is inspired by question number one in this list.

The interesting thing to me whenever I encounter this question is that it strikes me as somewhat of a false binary. I believe it is possible to be a witch in a coven and still have a solitary practice along-side that. In fact, I do not think I know any witch in a coven who does not also work and explore their Craft alone.

It sometimes feels that those who do not have any sort of group work at all assume that covens actively forbid their members from doing any solo work. Or if coven members do solo work, maybe those who have never been in a coven assume that the coven dictates how their members do even their solo work.

I was a member of a coven — in fact, I helped found it — for over nine years. Joe even eventually joined that coven. We both also had our private practices, which differed in many ways from our coven rituals. It was healthy for us because we were both led to explore aspects of the Craft that the rest of the coven was not interested in. So we did coven things when we got together with the others and did our own own studies and work when we were on our own.

I think that part of the real coven vs. solitary divide is an extension of the training with initiation vs. self-taught divide. Traditionally, covens have been about passing down a specific tradition and form of witchcraft, whereas solitary practitioners — and I myself spent nearly a decade practicing solo before I was ever part of a coven and have been part of no coven that offered formal training or initiation — tend to be self-taught. So I think many self-taught solitaries think of joining a coven as being forced to give up or trivializing what they have learned so far.

Experience and conversations with members of those traditions often seen as the most staunch tells me that this is not true. No one can take away what a self-taught witch has learned on their own. And their is value to that. It’s just often different — no better or worse, merely different — than what you might learn from a teacher and/or coven. And the two can exist side by side. If one wants them to, of course.

As for the question, I currently have no coven. Joe and I are working on putting together a framework for the two of us to practice together. And maybe someday that might become the basis for us to form our own coven. But that’s just a distant dream. Assuming it ever comes to fruition, I suspect it is years away.