COVEN 1658

A few years ago, two women at church told me I reminded them of a Witch.  I hadn't heard of such a thing outside of Fairy Tales.  But someone had called me that before...in fact several people had always teased me about being a Witch.  I had always chosen to be a Witch at Halloween.  In fact, I told a friend in the 5th grade that I was a 'real' Witch back in the 1970's.  But this 'witch' stuff...it was just out of Fairytales, right?

Before I get to far in how it came to be that I discovered my place in the Tradition of Witchcraft, I must say that this post is the History of COVEN 1658.   I tried to make it as brief as possible.  Further, my goal in sharing this is to encourage others to become initiated into COVEN 1658 and help me keep this historic, Traditional coven of Celtic, White Witchcraft alive and moving into the future.  Because Traditional, Celtic White Witchcraft is 'not' a religion, but instead an Art, Science, Vocation and Culture, your 'religion', whatever it is, is not 'on trial'.  Our only 'requirement' is that our adherents choose good over evil at all times.  That's pretty much what 'White' Witchcraft is - the choice to use magic for good.  Many people have seen the term 'magic' spelled either as 'magic' or as 'magick', explaining that the term 'magic' represents 'stage magic/slight of hand', while 'magick' represents supernatural transformation caused by spell casting.  But this spelling - magicK - is a modern invention.  When COVEN 1658 began back in the Elizabethan Era, there was no argument over 'how' to spell the term.  We use the term magic because it's traditional.  We are not opposed to spelling it with a 'k' at the end, or using a 'j' in the middle to replace the 'g'.  When we use the term 'magic' in any spelling, we mean 'supernatural transformation by spell casting'.  Although we enjoy slight-of-hand magicians very much, this blog is about witchcraft, not stage magic.  At any rate, this blog will endeavor to teach Traditional, Celtic, White Witchcraft to the reader - what is to be done and 'how'.  Please read on, and enjoy.  Our only goal is to keep COVEN 1658 alive and moving into the future.  Welcome!

I went to the Library and looked into the subject, as well as the book store...and this was when Charmed was still a new show and was a great big craze.  I bought the first season, and was really 'charmed' at how these three young women found out they were witches.  But that was just a television show, after all....

And I'm not one to fall for such 'non-sense'.  I have a degree in English Literature, and a triple minor in Fine Arts, Classics and World Religions.  And I'm a Christian.  I wanted to get to the bottom of the Witch Trial History, and find out what really happened, and find out why people saw this 'witch' stuff in me...

While browsing the web, I found a sight called 'The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft', that had been put up by several professors of history and classics out of Scotland.  They told the real history of Witchcraft on their sight - the historical information that gets lost in the craze of the Witchcraft movement.  While at the sight, I decided to take a gander at the 'names' list of accused Witches, and found my own maiden, sir name listed there, to my surprise! 

The two people listed with my sir name happened to fit right into the genealogy I had been working on, and by some incredible miracle, by some working of 'magic', I discovered that I had indeed descended from people who had actually been accused of Witchcraft!

As I ventured further into this study, I discovered indeed, that I was a descendent.  I had emailed the department from which the study had been done, and the information I gave to them was confirmed as best it could be without the help of a professional genealogist;  I was told there was little doubt about my connection to these people and the Witch Trial era...  It was a 'Charmed' moment for sure! 

I was thankful to discover at this sight that Witches who were accused were NOT devil worshippers, but had only been accused of such by those who were ignorant about what Witchcraft was.  I was also thankful to discover the type of crime my ancestors had engaged in:  holding Witches Meetings, teaching Folkloric information about Traditional Witchcraft of that era, and engaging in the healing of illnesses.  Whew!  These people were GOOD PEOPLE.  What a relief to find this out!

Then I read the court records of how the courts had called 'the whole group' of 'Dunlop Witches' to trial.  This information led me to two conclusions - 1.  that they had been in a group, also known as a 'coven' (a Medieval word that literally means 'meeting'), which confirmed their accusation over the 'whole group';  and 2. That they were called 'Dunlop Witches', relating them not only to the region from which they practiced, but also to their founder, Bessie Dunlop, who had been the first person to be executed for Witchcraft in Scotland, even though she had never used her magic for evil purposes, and had been given her magic directly from the Fairies themselves! 

Her story tells of how a ghost named Thomas Reid approached her on the Night of Samhain (Halloween), when the veil is thinnest and the spirit world can communicate with the mortal world, and gave her a challenge to renounce all-good (her Christian Baptism in her case).  She refused, and thus passed the challenge.  From there he invited her to be introduced to the Fairies, which she accepted.  When she met them they extended their scepter, "The Silver Bough" to her and initiated her into their Magic. 

They told her that she must always use the magic for good only, and that she would temporarily loose this magic should she ever use it for evil.  But if she sincerely turned away from any ill intention or malevolent action, she could easily become re-empowered at the next full moon, just by asking to be re-instated.  They told her it was important for her and her tools to be re-empowered at every full moon, but that instead of bringing all her tools, she could bring one tool - her wand - to represent all the other tools and also to charge all her tools with that wand at a later time after the Full Moon Rite which would re-empower her and her wand.  They also told her that should the initiation process of others ever end, the magic they had given her would also end, and could never be reclaimed.  Therefore, the initiation process was paramount in passing down this special access to the magick the Fairies had endowed Bessie Dunlop with, which they guarded, and kept stored away in the Moon's silvery light.   Unfortunately, Bessie Dunlop did not own a wand. 

She was also told that she could initiate others into this knowledge on any night of the full moon, provided that the initiate fully renounced all evil, including any religion's label or name for such evil.  In other words, the kind of Magick they had endowed her with could never be affiliated with the Christian Devil in any way, or any equivalent being from any religion, philosophy or thought system, including a personal invention of such by any person.  Of course she agreed with them.  When the Fairies left her, she was carried back to her now famous cottage on a powerful wind.  Waking up, she found herself not only with the gift of Fairy Magic, but with a wand in her hand and a besom (broomstick) by her side!  These were her first tools, given to her as welcoming gifts by the fairies. In Coven 1658 Tradition, a wand and a besom are the first gifts an initiate receives upon their initiation into our Coven.

From then on she helped and healed all whom she could with the magic and knowledge the benevolent Fairies had given her, and she also initiated everyone who renounced all forms of evil, beneath the recurrent full moons.  Then in 1576 she was executed for crimes of Witchcraft and burned at the stake.  But her coven lived on through those she initiated, for almost 100 years more.  Then in 1658, 'the whole group' of 'Dunlop Witches' was called to trial - many persons.  Of them, two were the leaders - John Guillieland (the Hierophant) and Violat Guillieland (The High Priestess).  Although John had received injuries due to a struggle against his incarceration and could not think to attempt escape, he and Violat devised an 'unlocking' spell and an 'invisibility' spell to help Violat escape and carry on the knowledge of the coven through initiation, so the magick could continue on.

They knew that if she did not escape, the magic they had been given by the Fairies would lost forever.  At the time of Violat's escape, John and Violat came into agreement to name the Coven after the year of the incarceration of so many of their members, as well as looking at that year as the point in time when they could begin again.  Thus Coven 1658 was born right out of the Burning Times and is an historical Coven - it actually existed prior to and during the Burning Times (and continued on in an unbroken lineage until today).  Violat did indeed escape, and Scottish court records attest to this - listing her as 'fugitive'.  She finished out her life in Londonderry, Ireland, where she kept the first names of all her children off birth certificates, and changed the spelling of the Sir Name for one purpose - to insure that no descendent could ever be related to the Witch Trials again.  From that time on, the information of this Traditional Coven was passed down through hereditary means.  Then in the year 2000, it was given to me, when a family member confirmed what I had found, and determined that it was the right time to give me the position of High Priestess, as a direct descendent of John and Violat Guillieland.  This responsibility to carry on the coven's knowledge and initiation process so the magic would never be lost is central to my task.  In my attempt to do so, I have begun a blog, and may attempt to use Youtube for teaching purposes.

The first thing I would like to make clear is that Traditional, Celtic, White Witchcraft is not a religion.  It is an ART, a METAPHYSICAL SCIENCE, a VOCATION, and a CULTURE.  But it is not a religion.  The religion of Wicca, on the other hand, is a religion that was formulated in the 1950's and is based on some aspects of Traditional Witchcraft;  Wicca has its purpose for those who are drawn to it.  However Wicca, because it is a religion, defines specific tenets of religious and theological belief, and defines deity a particular way.  Traditional Witchcraft lies outside of this scope, and is thus different from Wicca.  Coven 1658 predates Wicca by several centuries.  Further, Coven 1658 is SOVEREIGN - it is fully unrelated to any other individual, group or organization of Witches out there.  It is an organization of benevolent CUNNING FOLK, who use ELEMENTAL MAGICK (the use of energy stored in the 5 elements combined with personal intention through spell work) to help and heal others. 

The second thing I would like to clarify is that Coven 1658 does not require any individual to 'convert' to a new or different religion in order to learn and practice White, Celtic, Traditional Witchcraft with us.  Our only requirement is that those who work with Coven 1658 renounce all connections with evil, including evil 'deities' that are named in any religion, or personal ideal as such.  We have nothing to do with any form of evil or malevolence, and just as history states, Traditional Witchcraft is not and never can be 'Devil Worship' - Coven 1658 is therefore not related to Satanism in any way, shape or form, and never has been. 

Instead Coven 1658 Witches are individuals who are interested in healing and energy work for the promotion of good at all times, using historical Witchcraft practices specific to the combined Celtic, British and Germanic cultures that merged during the history of the English people leading up to the Elizabethan era, going forward in time.  This is an historical standpoint that we continue to follow, as Bessie Dunlop and those who came after her followed - Bessie Dunlop was a practicing Christian, but she also practiced Traditional, Celtic, White Witchcraft to help and bless others - she was one of the CUNNING FOLK, who are historically described this way.  Most people in Britain who were called 'Cunning Folk' were simultaneously Christian AND practiced this traditional form of Witchcraft.  So to all those nay-sayers out there who say "Witchcraft and Christianity  can not be practiced together", our response is that, historically, they actually were combined.  To that end, Coven 1658 exists to keep initiating others with the special and benevolent Fairy Magick that was first endowed to us so many centuries ago, and continue to teach all who are willing to learn, how to practice Traditional, Celtic, White Witchcraft as the Art, Science, Vocation and Culture it is.  Our focus remains on teaching others to use Energy combined with personal intention, to do good for the Divine, Self, Others and the Earth.