Many times, what a seeker can find just doesn’t work for him or her. Perhaps the group doesn’t have the right focus. Perhaps they meet too far away, or the classes are on an evening where the seeker has a prior commitment. Perhaps the teacher they’ve chosen doesn’t respond reasonably promptly to questions, or there’s a personality conflict. Whatever the reason for being dissatisfied with the choices out there, seekers both new and experienced will often decide to form their own group.
This article will cover some advice for folks who’ve decided to start their own group or coven (whichever label you prefer). Although I’m not the High Priestess of my coven, I’ve been involved with the group since before they formally hived from their mother coven. I’ve also accumulated a lot of experience with group dynamics from my participation in Science Fiction fandom. Trust me, I know my stuff. At the end of the article, I’ve listed a few resources you may want to check out for more information.
The first thing you’ll want to decide is what type of group you’d like to form. Study groups, for instance, are made up of folks who mainly research topics and discuss what they’ve found. Social groups just meet up to hang out. Neither one of these options require everyone to be working on the same path as a coven would. If you decide to form a working coven, you’ll want to all be on the same page, whether you’re all Eclectic Wiccan, Kitchen Witches, or whatnot. Be advised that if you want your group to follow a specific path, it should be a path they can viably follow. Don’t decide to become a Gardnerian coven if you don’t have any members who have previously been trained in a Gardnerian coven, for instance.
The next thing you’ll want to do is establish a chain of leadership. Who is in charge? What is the process for making a decision or complaint? How will the responsibilities be divided? Again, this will depend on your type of group. Leaders of social groups will probably only have to decide when and where the group will meet. Leaders of a working coven will have more responsibilities. Determining how decisions are made is also a must. Will things be done by consensus? Group majority? Or will the leader make all decisions?
