Before you start a Coven... part 2 (New Pagans)

by Ash, Thursday, November 05, 2009, 18:13 (265 days ago) @ Ash
edited by Ash, Thursday, November 05, 2009, 18:49

In addition to group process skills, four other competencies
necessary to the functioning of a coven are: ritual leadership,
administration, teaching, and counseling. In a study group the
last one may not be considered a necessary function, and the
other three may be shared among all participants. But in a coven
the leaders are expected to be fairly capable in all these areas,
even if responsibilities are frequently shared or delegated. Let
us look briefly at each.

Ritual leadership involves much more that reading invocations by
candlelight. Leaders must understand the powers they intend to
manipulate: how they are raised, channeled and grounded. They
must be adept at designing rituals which involve all the sensory
modes. They should have a repertoire of songs and chants, dances
and gestures or mudras, incense and oils, invocations and spells,
visual effects and symbols, meditations and postures; and the
skill to combine these in a powerful, focused pattern. They must
have clarity of purpose and firm ethics. And they must
understand timing: both where a given ritual fits in the cycles
of the Moon, the Wheel of the Year, and the dance of the spheres,
and how to pace the ritual once started, so that energy peaks and
is channeled at the perfect moment. And they must understand the
Laws of Magick, and the correspondences, and when ritual is
appropriate and when it is not.

By administration, we refer to basic management practices
necessary to any organization. These include apportioning work
fairly, and following up on its progress; locating resources and
obtaining them (information, money, supplies); fostering
communications (by telephone, printed schedules, newsletters
etc.); and keeping records (minutes, accounts, Witch Book
entries, or ritual logbook). Someone or several someones has to
collect the dues if any, buy the candles, chill the wine, and so
forth.

Teaching is crucial to both covens and study groups. If only one
person has any formal training or experience in magick, s/he
should transmit that knowledge in a way which respects the
intuitions, re-emerging past life skills, and creativity of the
others. If several participants have some knowledge in differing
areas, they can all share the teaching role. If no one in the
group has training and you are uncertain where to begin, they you
may need to call on outside resources: informed and ethical
priest/esses who can act as visiting faculty, or who are willing
to offer guidance by telephone or correspondence. Much can be
gleaned from books, or course -- assuming you know which books
are trustworthy and at the appropriate level -- but there is no
substitute for personal instruction for some things. Magick can
be harmful if misused, and an experienced practitioner can help
you avoid pitfalls as well as offering hints and techniques not
found in the literature.

Counseling is a special role of the High Priest/ess. It is
assumed that all members of a coven share concern for each
other's physical, mental, emotional and spiritual welfare, and
are willing to help each other out in practical ways. However,
coven leaders are expected to have a special ability to help
coverners explore the roots of their personal problems and choose
strategies and tactics to overcome them. This is not to suggest
that one must be a trained psychoanalyst; but at the least, good
listening skills, clear thinking and some insight into human
nature are helpful. Often, magickal skills such as guided
visualization, Tarot counseling and radiesthesia (pendulum work)
are valuable tools as well.