From Solitary Practice to Coven Member and Back Again

My name is Cendriya, and I live in East Anglia in the UK. I have been a practicing Pagan since the late 1980s. Initially, it was as a result of realizing that the Roman Catholic faith of my parents had never felt right for me. It took a lot of exploration, and, to a certain extent surreptitious, reading before I was able to put a name to my religious practice. As with many others before me, I had to overcome the subconscious feeling that my search was inherently wrong. But eventually, I felt able to describe myself as a Witch. I bought my first silver pentacle, and I wore it with pride.  The first Witchcraft book that I bought was Scott Cunningham’s “Guide for the Solitary Practitioner”. I laughed my way through my first ritual, dedicating myself to the service of the Goddess and the God, because it was easier than screaming with frustration. Could I keep my candles alight? Not on your life, but that is East Anglian weather for you. Nonetheless, that ritual marked an official start of my path as a Witch.

But, in those early days, it seemed that all the books that I read, bar Scott Cunningham, seemed inclined towards the need to work within a coven structure. Working as a Solitary Witch was fine, but it was a stop-gap measure. After nearly ten years, having had my fingers burned metaphorically by a couple of encounters, I did find a group local to me, and initially I enjoyed attending the meetings. But the simple fact was that I have a husband and child and a high-pressure job, and attending ‘classes’ which took up a whole evening and did not finish until midnight was a drain, both physically and mentally. That my self-dedication ritual was seen as invalid because it had not been witnessed by others was also a reason for seeing members of that group in a different light. These were some of the reasons why, when it was suggested that another group form, which appreciated the needs of work and family, I joined that group, and was initiated to First Degree.

There is no doubt in my mind that I enjoyed the years that I have spent with that second group, and I enjoyed being able to describe myself as a member of a Coven. But, the realization came that I was evolving, even as the Coven was evolving. More importantly to me, I began to feel that something was missing. So, I decided to take a ‘sabbatical’, and to continue my esoteric explorations on my own, returning once more to the path of a Solitary Witch. I had a lot of questions, and this being the age of the Internet, I made copious use of the oracle known as ‘Google’ in my attempts to find answers to those questions.

It appeared to me that, generally, those who espoused the coven approach as the right approach were quite emphatic that to take a 'solitary' path meant that one chose not to advance and not to develop. It appeared that in order to develop, one had to aspire to First Degree Initiation, and thence to Second and Third, eventually reaching a point when one might set up one's own group, hived off from the original. If one chose to work on one's own, it was because one did not have whatever it was that was necessary to develop or that one had 'shadows' that prevented further development. There was no hint amongst the majority of those sites that the path of a solitary could be contemplated other than from the perspective of 'failing' as a member of a group.

However, those sites that did espouse a solitary path had no hints of failure, of having ‘not made the grade’, even though such sites were hard to find initially. I started reading books that I would not have contemplated in the past, given that they were not ‘known’ Pagan authors. One such book was "The Second Circle - Tools for the Advancing Pagan" by Venecia Rauls (ISBN: 0806525592). Gradually, I found that other people shared those parts of my religious practice which made me feel closer to my Deities, including the freedom of not having to play a role. Other people enjoyed the freedom of a solitary ritual in the fields, using only those things that could be carried in a rucksack. My staff became my main ritual tool – it is portable, and does not look out of place as I walk, even though it is decorated with elemental symbols.  I could wear ritual clothing, if I wished, but there was no compulsion to do so. There were other people out there who could appreciate the problems inherent in trying to lug an altar kit a mile or so into the fields.

Thus I stumbled upon the key realization of the implications of practising as a Solitary Witch. I was not alone. Whilst I may be the only human present during my rituals, I was not alone. Being a Solitary Witch did not mean that I would have to work in isolation. After all, one of the key tenets of paganism is that Divinity is immanent; it is around us and within us. It exists in everything: rocks and trees as well as people. My rituals now could be as simple as enjoying the energy around me as I walked in an ancient wood.

Whilst it is good to learn from those with more experience, on the principle of 'why reinvent the wheel?' there are also benefits in learning for oneself, making one's own decisions and mistakes. The manual that I received following my first Reiki attunement contained several quotes from Gautama Buddha. One of these is "Do not believe merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.". It is all too easy to fall into the comfort of being told how to behave as a Witch, how to act, and how one should present oneself to the world around us. Initially, that level of direction may be necessary. But there is a risk: the feeling that all that is required to be a Witch may become just meeting together once a month for a ritual and little more than that. Provided that you do as you are told, everything will be fine. I believe that no one person can claim to be a source of all knowledge, because that would place their level of knowledge beyond that of Deity. Even so, there have been plenty of people who have tried. What started out for me as an unsettling realization that I was leaving the comfortable environs of a Coven has become an ongoing journey of discovery: of who I am, of what I am and of the freedom that came with that discovery.

One aspect that has been offered as a key difference between a Coven and solitary practice is the energy of a ritual.  Whilst a group ritual raises one type of energy, the energy that I raise in a solitary ritual is no less valid, or less powerful. In fact, two of my most powerful rituals, both of which had distinct magical aims, were solitary. Just because other people do not participate in and witness one's solitary ritual does not make that ritual invalid. Consider if you will other religions, and their practices: a Moslem or a Christian who prays at home is not demonstrating a lesser degree of devotion than those who pray in public at a mosque or church. Why should it be any different for a Witch? It could be argued that if the definition of one's devotion and development along a path requires that others see you practicing your religion, then one may be lacking confidence in one's own practice.

There is one other thing to bear in mind. People change. A group that one joins may not be the same group two years later. It is not a sign that one has failed, or that the other members of the group are at fault. As a species we continue to evolve, even as we continue to evolve through each incarnation. Is it too strange to contemplate that the same evolution may be necessary in the way that we practice our relationship with Deity?

I have been both a Solitary Witch and a member of a Coven. At the moment, I have returned to being a Solitary Witch and am three months into my ‘sabbatical’. I have found that I have become more aware of the meaning of being a Witch, more appreciative of the meaning and implications of immanent Divinity. I may not wear a pentacle every day anymore, but that is as much because I do not feel the need to proclaim my ‘Witchiness’ to all and sundry, regardless of the “Protected By Witchcraft” bumper sticker on my car. The responsibility for living my religion is mine, and mine alone. Returning to being a Solitary Witch has given me that responsibility, and it is one that I am pleased and proud to accept.

Cendriya Seven-Trees