COVEN 1658 operates in a 'Traditional' sense, instead of after the degree system characteristic in Wicca. This is because we are not Wiccan.
Instead, we have a 'covenstead' which is the 'headquarters' where the High Priestess and/or Hierophant operate from, write this blog, make decisions about what to teach, make decisions about other educational things, and so on.
We Initiate Witches world wide through our written information, given through this blog - FOR FREE.
We offer information to our Witches so they can learn how to acquire and use their magic for the purpose of benevolence and healing.
Covens that originated after 1950 are specific to offering 'degree' systems of learning, where the student has to 'earn' his or her levels of knowledge. Often times, earning a degree in Wicca costs a seeker money to take their course.
Lots of people want to know what these Wiccan degree systems teach. In brief, here is the 'run down' of many Wiccan degree systems (but not all):
1st Degree - History of Witchcraft from a Wiccan perspective, resting on Gerald Gardner's perspective, which has been heavily questioned by scholars for many reasons. Required reading in a 1st Degree Wiccan system often includes reading requirements: books by Gerald Gardner, or Margaret Alice Murray, as well as more modern Wiccan writers who follow the Gardnerian Wicca philosophy. Because the basis of their philosophy centers on what Gardner taught, the entire philosophy of these writers may be said to stem from Gardnerian Wicca. but Gardner did not necessarily follow Traditional Witchcraft, instead incorporating modern ideas in his establishment of the religion of Wicca, as well as borrowing ideas from non-Wiccan and non-Witchcraft fraternal organizations of his own era. This is not to invalidate Wicca, but only to point out the differences between Wicca and Traditional Witchcraft. A person seeking to become a Wiccan may, in some cases, be asked to read and study these many texts on Gardnerian philosophy for one year and one day, before becoming initiated into the 1st Degree of Wicca. Because Wiccan history post-dates (comes after) Traditional Witchcraft, a Traditional Coven of Witchcraft can not possibly teach the Wiccan philosophy as their own history or ideal. Instead we can only mention Wicca as a diversion away from a much more lengthy history of what and who we really are and have been going back in time several centuries. When Wicca is viewed against several hundred years of Traditional Witchcraft, taking us back to the Burning Times, the modern movement of Wicca, which originated in the 1950's is very brief. Further Wicca teaches several things that were never taught at all in any philosophy of or related to Traditional Witchcraft (for example, Wiccans are taught that Witchcraft can only to be regarded as a religion; this is historically inaccurate). We can not realistically teach things that have nothing to do with us as Witches, or to teach about a movement that took some of our teachings and went in a different philosophical or religious direction than we have always been directed in. This is what 'their' first degree is often (not always) about. We cannot teach this because it does not pertain to us. And when we look back in history we must study the Witch Trial Era in Europe, the British Isles, and North America as our primary focus, for our kind of Witchcraft is Celtic, British and Germanic, exclusively. Although we acknowledge that other forms of witchcraft exist around the world, our only focus is Celto-British, which must include Germanic, since the Anglo-Saxons (Germans) came into England and had influence in the culture prior to the Witch Trial Era, bringing with them their own ideas about our craft. Of course we also study backwards in time to discern much about the Bronze Age people who lived in Celtic and European lands. This discipline of study of our own people will continue to expand as more knowledge is discovered by archeologists. But our main knowledge comes from our own Traditional knowledge base as well as the court record confessions of accused witches - what they did, what they claimed to have seen or done, who accused them and why, and so forth. These people reveal, in their accounts, the types of things they did in many cases, and while it is a well known fact that they did not worship the Christian Devil, even though they may have been forced to confess such, they did explain much about what they actually were doing, or others disclosed what they had observed them doing. These historical accounts are very important to us, for they help us to continue practicing as we always have.
2nd Degree -
How to actually practice Wicca is then disclosed to an initiate of Wicca in their 2nd year. This includes setting up and celebrating for all eight of the Sabbats (Feasts), understanding how the pantheon system of many deities that are important to them can be understood, how to worship the Lord & Lady properly according to the Wiccan faith, as well as what should take place at a Full Moon Rite in the Wiccan religion. As you can see, Traditional Witches cannot teach this, since it simply does not pertain to us - remember that Traditional Witchcraft is 'not' a religion; hence teaching our students to believe in or worship something is not our duty. We are not against our students embracing a religion of their own choice, we just don't teach them to do this. But because Wicca is a specific theology, with defined deities, as compared to Traditional Witchcraft, which is a philosophy that focuses on the Art, Science, Vocation and Culture of Witchcraft as a discipline, the two are very different. Traditional Witches are not interested in the religious aspects of Wicca (Witches may indeed be religious, but this may not pertain to the practice of our craft as an official stance); rather we are interested in how to use energy to make positive transformation in every day life 'no matter what our religion is'. Let's change the subject for a moment. Suppose you sign up for a college art class. Every week, you go to the class where other students meet together. These students learn from a teacher, and as the class wears on, different students discuss how and why they are using certain art techniques to make their paintings come out the way that they do. The students learn from one another about the particulars of one student's techniques as compared to their own, while also learning the formal aspects of art from the teacher. But no one is learning religion. Yes, art can be spiritual, and it certainly has been used to depict very specific religious activities in many cultures, but it does not necessary have to be about religion, although it can be. Witchcraft is like this - it is an art, a science, a vocation and a culture. It can be 'religious' for you if you want this. But as a formal teaching, it cannot be, because to many other people with different beliefs also want to know how this art works and are willing to share what they have learned. For Witches, the 'highlight' Feast is on October 31st - Samhain, also known as Halloween. And do you know why it is called Halloween? For one siginificant reason - our own Scots-Irish ancestors brought this feast to American shores in the 1600's and then again in the 1800's, and 'they' called it this. This is 'our' feast. Yes, the Catholic Church may have instituted that name (Halloween) over our original name (Samhain), but for us it is all the same. Yes there are 8 Feast Days in the 'Wiccan Wheel of the Year', which really is a combined Feast system of the Celts and the Germans, and because the Celts and the Germans 'converged' in central England culturally, we honor these dates. But we recognize that historically, these days were cultural, not religious, and that everyone in Elizabethan England kept these days, not 'just witches' - EVERYONE celebrated these days...everyone! These are Celto-British Feast days that track the planting and harvest seasons, and made wonderful cultural feasts for the entire community, hence this is 'our' CULTURE. We LOVE these feast days, but we don't emphasize them as 'religious'. Instead we invite everyone from EVERY religion to celebrate these wonderful Celtic Feasts. Here is our list of these dates and their meanings 'for us':
HALLOWEEN - (10/31) - Feast of Final Harvest; End of the Celtic Year: Trick-or Treating
SAMHAIN - (11/1) - Celtic New Year; Ancestor Memorial: Memorial Supper for our Ancestors
YULE - 12/21 to 12-25 - Feast of Light; Birth of the Sun/Son: Yule Tree, Yule Log, gift exchange
IMBOLC - 2/1 - Feast of Seed Time & Germination: Uncovering the hidden/wrapped foods
OSTARA - 3/21 - Feast of Sprouting: Easter Baskets, Formal Dinner
BELTANE - 5/21 - Feast of Flowers: May Pole, Decorate a May Bush with Fairies & flowers
LITHA - 6/21 - Feast of Fruit: Strawberry Feastival
LUGHNASADH - 8/1 - Feast of Grain & Wine: Sharing of quick breads and Fruit beverages
HARVEST HOME - 9/21 - Feast of Ingathering: Celtic Thanksgiving Feast
ESBAT- Monthly - Feast of the Full Moon (Initiation and/or Re-empowerment Rite for all Coven 1658 Witches and their tools): Share refreshments, hold a lecture or demonstration, study a book together
While Wiccans have specific rituals they perform at these dates, Witches may or may not, depending on the particular Coven or individual. COVEN 1658 uses these Feast Times exclusively as true holidays, where we invite others to gather with us for seasonal foods, decorations, gift exchanges, spell casting and divination practices, and the wearing of Celtic Garb (not our normal black gown type vocational wear, but rather, festive clothing from our Celtic culture.)
This information is often what the 2nd Degree entails in some Wiccan groups.
The 3rd Degree in Wicca often focuses on teaching an individual to run their own group, such that when the original group becomes to big, it can split (they term this split as 'hiving off'). When a new group of Wiccans form, they need a person to be responsible for it - to hold and lead the meetings, and someone who knows how to conduct the rituals important to their group. But this 'ritual system' at feast times is a modern institution. Traditional Witches have not usually had such ritual attached to our workings. We gather to feast and enjoy our culture, and spend the rest of the year working at our vocation - Witchcraft, the art and science of spell crafting, casting and divination. Thus the 3rd degree is also not pertinent for us. Because we don't have intricate worship rituals associated with the Celtic Wheel of the Year, we look forward to the wheel turning towards another holiday - a feast when we gather to make merry. It is us, the Traditional Witches, who originated the phrase 'Merry Meet', and we meant it. As far as holding a feast goes, most people know how they hold a holiday at their own home. Just as you would at any holiday, decorate your home for the season, plan a special meal, invite in friends and family, exchange special gifts having to do with the season or the feast's meaning, and if needed, cast a spell or use divination (or not). And finally, wear Celtic attire. The holiday is as specific as your family makes it. A lot of people 'need' a central focal point for their celebration, because most people are used to a large decoration such as a Christmas Tree as the main focus of a major holiday. Wicca has answered this need by directing their members to decorate an altar, which is a religious structure. We of course, don't mind if you do this as well, it is up to you. But for 'us' we instruct to set up a main decorative object on your entry way table that pertains to the holiday in question. For example:
Halloween: Any Halloween decorations and candles you like, Trick-or-Treating, Autumn foods
Samhain: Pictures of your immediate ancestors, and things they enjoyed, which the family can share in their memory, a festive meal of the favorite foods of your ancestors
Yule: A decorated Pine Tree, wrapped gifts, filled stockings, and a festive meal
Imbolc: A clear glass bowl of flower bulbs that begin to sprout; Foods that are 'wrapped' such as Asian Spring Rolls, Burritos, anything wrapped in a wonton wrapper. any kind of filled dumpling. the idea is to wrap a surprise food up in an edible wrapper in the same way a seed is wrapped under the ground - this helps us see the potential of the unsprouted seed as it begins to germinate; its also fun to be creative with this, and shows us how our undiscovered creativity needs to 'sprout'
Beltane: Decorate a (fake) willow tree with pastel 'Christmas' lights, Fairy ornaments, flower garlands, and beautiful insect ornaments such as butter flies, dragon flies, lady bugs and so on. In the old days, people competed for prizes on their decorated May Bushes, and often whole communities helped decorate the May Bush; Setting up a May Pole and doing the traditional 'dance' around it until it is fully wrapped. If you can not set up a large one, try to set up a miniature one; You can even decorate a cake with a miniature May-Pole, or create spinning 'toys' that depict a May Pole. Spring time foods are served at this time.
Litha: Where would anyone be without a summer Strawberry Festival? Invite friends over and ask them to bring their favorite Strawberry dessert! Remember that what you planted is now coming to fruition. Making summer lanterns of any kind is especially appropriate now.
Lughnasadh: The Celtic hero, Lugh is honored on this day, and his story is retold. the Sharing of bread and fruit beverages is appropriate to celebrate the first harvests of grain and wine, as well as fruits and vegetables that come in in bounty from the summer garden.
Harvest Home: The Celts Celebrated this version of "Thanksgiving' in September. If you are more comfortable waiting until American Thanksgiving in November, that's just fine. The sentiment is the same. You may also wish to celebrate this lovely holiday twice. Set a formal table, invite guests, ask everyone to bring a harvest themed potluck dish, dress up and enjoy a wonderful day of togetherness.
Gift exchange is always appropriate at any Celtic Feast Day, but not necessary, depending on the finances of the family. And small gifts are just as nice as large one. Because families may not be able to put on a 'Christmas' type holiday every 6 weeks, it is perfectly fine to give only one small gift to each family member, or exchange cards, or promise to do tasks for one another. Try to make your gift giving meaningful, and related to the holiday's theme in some way.
So as you can see, the things one learns in the religion of Wicca just don't pertain to Traditional Witchcraft practices; we do 'other' things than Wiccans do, and we always have.
How do we regard the advancement of our member Witches, if not by 'degree'? Instead of giving out degrees, COVEN 1658 regards member Witches by year of affiliation. While the High Priestess and/or Hierophant make decisions about how to teach the particulars of our magick, the members do not have to worry about attaining to greater and greater degrees, or doing so in a particular number of months or years. Instead, your 'degree' is the number of years you are affiliated with COVEN 1658. Thus, one would refer to him or herself as a 1st Year Witch, 2nd Year Witch, 5th Year Witch, and so on. In a way this is a very good means to describe one's self in our Coven. While individuals can learn a lot in a degree system, there is always much more to learn beyond that, and no real way to express your status beyond the reference of '3rd Degree' in such a system. But in COVEN 1658, your knowledge grows along with your years of learning, and thus a 15th Year Witch knows a great deal more than a 4th Year Witch. This means of calculating your knowledge and experience helps you monitor your progression in learning about our Craft as you carry on through time.
Our Witches are quite welcome to hold meetings in their own home when they are comfortable to do so, and not based on their status or knowledge. If you have an open heart and a gregarious personality and want to learn along with others, your home is a privilege for COVEN 1658 to be represented in. Because leadership is something that some people learn best by doing, we don't mind if you 'jump right in' and just do it. On the other hand, if you don't want to ever work with a group, or don't like the idea of leadership, you never have to do this either. And, if you don't get along with someone (which often happens in any group), you can always continue on your own at your own home, and at your own pace, without fearing you will 'miss' something. Sometimes, life is so busy, that it's hard to be faithful to attend a group, and during those seasons of your life (which may last longer than just a year) you should keep learning on your own. We just want you to be comfortable and happy on this journey with COVEN 1658.
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