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October 9 through October 15, 2023

Libra energies hit a high note as we move towards a Libra new Moon/solar eclipse on Saturday, and we’ll notice evidence of it the entire week. Pluto will turn direct after 5 months in Capricorn, clearing out restrictions and setting us on a new path to accomplishment. It may take a few weeks before we notice the shift, but rest assured that change is coming! The Moon will cruise through Virgo Tuesday through Thursday, shifting our focus to detailed work, organization, and idealism. Mars will move into Scorpio on Thursday, and though the planet of assertiveness doesn’t always do well in water signs, this two-month cycle will work to unearth soulful longings and intuitive insights that will be crucial to our forward movement in 2024. The Libra Moon on Friday and the Libra new Moon/solar eclipse on Saturday herald more new beginnings, so be sure to make a wish on the new Moon for anything that is dear to your heart. Eclipses come in pairs, and the next one, a lunar eclipse, will occur on October 28th, which will then start a new six-month cycle of focus for us all. Karmic events are likely on Sunday when the Moon moves into Scorpio and sparks our curiosity. Old connections can pop up out of nowhere, and ancient memories are a reminder to pay close attention; anything can happen!

The Everyday Witch’s Coven, by Deborah Blake

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

When someone mentions the word "coven," you might envision thirteen black-clad, pointy hat-wearing witches dancing around a fire or cackling around a cauldron. I'm not sure that was ever the norm, but even if it was, times have changed. And covens have changed with them.

During the years when Wicca was the most common form of group Witchcraft practice (or at least the one you were the most likely to find if you went looking), covens usually followed specific outlines. They were led by a high priest and a high priestess, members progressed through levels like first degree and second degree, and there were formal initiations. Rituals were complicated affairs full of ceremony, and everyone wore robes or some other form of garb.

None of this was a bad thing. I've been to a number of wonderful Wiccan rituals, and my first teacher/high priestess had come from a Wiccan coven and that's how she taught those of us who were in her own group (with some variations). We didn't do degrees or initiations, and when I got to the point where I was ready for my own training as a high priestess, she merely set me a number of tasks to perform in my "year and a day" of preparation, but there is no doubt that my witchy origins were firmly rooted in the Wiccan world.

On the other hand, over the last couple of decades, modern Witchcraft practices have changed and shifted. It is, after all, a vibrant and blossoming spiritual practice—the fastest growing religion in North America. As more and more people find their way to a Witchcraft path, the variety of approaches to working within a group structure has changed and shifted, too.

While there are still many traditional Wiccan covens, the desire for diverse forms of group work, along with the need for more flexible alternatives and the changes in Witchcraft itself, have led to a shift in what constitutes a coven, and a group of witches may look very different today than it did twenty or thirty years ago. Certainly my own practice, and my group's practice, have undergone a number of changes from where we started out in 2004. Here are some ways in which covens may vary.

The Modern Witch's Coven—Variations on a Theme

• Size: While covens didn't have to number thirteen, they were often more likely to be larger groups. These days, a coven can literally be as small as two people, if they practice together on a regular basis. My own group started with three, and has been as large as twelve. These days it is usually five with the occasional guest, but not all of the members can attend every single ritual due to distance and scheduling, so it's not unusual for there to be three or four of us at any given ritual.
• How Often They Meet: The first coven I belonged to was a little unusual in that it started out as a study group, so it met every Thursday night, and we simply celebrated whatever occasion was closest to that night, if there was one. Otherwise our high priestess just taught us some aspect of Witchcraft. My own group, Blue Moon Circle, started out by meeting twice a month. We met for every full moon, and for the eight sabbats, and did new moons in the four months without a sabbat in them. But as our lives got busier and more complicated, we ended up just meeting on the sabbats, and observing the full moons on our own. I know covens that only meet on full moons, and others that gather on any and every lunar and seasonal occasion. This can vary from group to group, and will probably be based on what people want and can manage.
• Who Is In Charge: Some covens still have the traditional high priest and high priestess, but it is just as likely to only have one, or to have the person or people who lead the group use no titles at all. (I no longer do, for the most part. I might lead the rituals, but we're all equal.) Some covens don't even have a leader, and people take turns being in charge of ritual.
• How People Dress: Some covens still wear witchy garb (robes or some other clothing specifically reserved for ritual use), while others don't. Blue Moon Circle used to dress up for full moons and sabbats, but we've gotten more relaxed over the years (or lazier, depending on how you look at it) and mostly just show up in our everyday clothes. The only exception is our yearly Yule dinner party, where we get kind of fancy, but nothing particularly witchy. Again, this is something that the people within a coven can discuss and agree on.
• The Rituals: The formality of the rituals themselves will vary a great deal, too. Some covens still do a long, ornate ritual, including walking in a procession into the circle, casting a formal circle, lighting candles and calling quarters, invoking the gods, and so on. Others, especially groups that meet on a more sporadic basis and have a more casual approach, may just skip that part and just do whatever ritual they have planned. My group used to be more formal before Covid hit, but we were all so tired and frazzled, we shifted to a more laid-back way of doing things and most of the time that's what we've stuck with. It really depends on what mood we're in and what we're doing.

No Wrong Way
The most important thing to realize is that there is no one right way to practice with other witches. Whether you call yourselves a coven or not, whether you meet up regularly or just when people have time, whether you are formal or casual, what really matters in that you treat each other with respect, enter into a ritual circle prepared to do serious magical work, and follow whatever your path is with reverence and mirth.

Witchcraft is, at its best, an accepting and welcoming religion, with something to offer to all those who come to it with an open mind and a willing spirit. If you can find people to share it with, that's just a bonus.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2023. All rights reserved.

I recently met this woman through an internet dating site who seemed really wonderful, but in time, she revealed more and more of what I consider to be a really strange belief system. I'm open to most spiritual paths and lean toward New Age thinking myself, but she is way out there. For example, she believes that if you are totally right with God (she's a devout Christian), nothing bad will ever happen to you; you can take all sorts of risks and will never be harmed. For example, you could walk through a slum by yourself in the middle of the night, and no harm would ever come to you. She also believes that if you're totally right with God, you can live forever - PHYSICALLY. (I'm not sure why one would even want to live forever, but that's beside the point here.) She says you'll actually never grow old and die. I think she's sort of off her rocker, but I'm wondering what you think about these ideas. Thanks for your consideration.

- Randy

Astrea:

I applaud your friend's idealism, but I urge you to take what she says with a grain of salt. It sounds like she needs to study her Bible a bit more closely. There isn't a single phrase in the Old or New Testament that promises absolute safety to anyone. In fact, there are warnings throughout the Bible regarding what happens to people who don't take normal precautions in life.

The Bible tells us to care for our bodies and take care in the decisions we make for ourselves and others. It's filled with tales of people who go where there is danger and what happens to them as a result.

I see what she is saying IN THEORY. She feels that if she is perfect (and who among us is?) she will become like Jesus - but even He was made flesh. The Bible urges us to use common sense; in fact, many of its stories are designed to teach us this very thing.

While I applaud her faith that if she lives a perfect life, she'll be invincible, it's just not true. Walking through a dangerous neighborhood in the middle of the night is something that the Christians I know would heartily discourage as being downright foolish. While we have been given free will to act in our lives as we choose, we are also given the responsibility to make wise choices. I believe God expects us to have good sense and not to take unnecessary chances.

The human condition is frail. Someone who eats themselves into diabetes and heart trouble certainly isn't living any kind of Christian principles, and will end up dying at a relatively young age. Drug addicts who are driven by the need for a fix allow unclean substances to control their lives; they certainly aren't living right either.

Even people who basically take good care of themselves aren't perfect. Some sin with needles and others with a fork, but we all have weaknesses that we try to overcome during our lives. The body functions properly when it's at an optimum weight and level of physical fitness. Taking care of our bodies will lengthen our lives, but nothing is going to make us immortal.

Even when a Christian is right with God, their immortality is promised to them in Heaven - not here on Earth! Eternal Life is sought through Christ's Resurrection and from being the best person we can be. The basics, of course, require us to love one another and do no harm to others. In a perfect world, this way of life would be embraced by everyone, but it's not. That's reality. As a devout Christian, your friend should know the difference between fantasy and reality and find a way to accept the way things are.

*****

Susyn:

It sounds as if your friend has gotten some unusual ideas from her Christian affiliation. Religions of this type do tend to come up with some pretty interesting interpretations of the Bible. They propagate certain edicts that their members are prone to embrace without question and to express with certainty even when they have never experienced these miracles themselves.

I believe just about anything is possible in our world these days, and there are many miracles occurring every day, so I wouldn't rule out the premise that your friend could walk through a slum at night unharmed. However, wouldn't that be testing God?

It sounds as if she's been taught that she can do almost anything in the name of God or Jesus and it will turn out fine if her heart is in the right place. However, the dangerous part of this kind of thinking is her assumption that she is getting these messages from a higher source. I'm wondering about the true nature of whatever is encouraging her to walk dark paths at night.

As for the idea of living forever, I'm all for it if it's a fulfilling, purposeful and joyful life. However, it sounds as if your friend is saying that if anyone dies or experiences misfortune, they simply weren't right with God. As for anyone who is harmed, they must have put themselves in a bad position due to a lack of faith.

What she is forgetting is that because we have free will, there are many choices we make that can bring us misfortune. On an up note, most of those experiences are designed to teach us - not to indicate whether or not we are right with God.

A belief is simply something we hold until life experience teaches us differently. We are all on different paths and exposed to many beliefs, doctrines and assumptions. If we don't do the research, examine our own feelings on the subject, or take personal responsibility for our spirituality, we become as vulnerable as your friend to believing whatever anyone tells us.

When reading the Bible, I've found it much more enlightening to take the words at face value. The same religions that decry metaphysical practices (based on two popular verses in the Bible that are read out of context), conveniently ignore endless chapters and verses that support these abilities as God-given and available to us all.

I would encourage you to stand by your own beliefs, trust your instincts, and if you're so inclined, do some research on your own. Spirit gave us common sense, brains and free will; if we choose to ignore these gifts, we're vulnerable to being misled by all sorts of misconceptions.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.