Wicca Covens

by Judy Harrow

Provides information on covens, including what they are, how to find one, and how to form one. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806520353
• ISBN13: 9780806520353
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Citadel Press
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The actual rating this book deserves is 4 1/2 stars...

because the title of the book is not actually what the book is about. A better title would be something like: Group Dynamics In Wiccan Covens And How To Deal With Interpersonal Conflicts In A Wiccan Coven.The part of this book that includes an evaluation of how dangerous a given group is was quite funny. Turns out that the the mainstream religions are far more "cult-like" than Wicca. So when you tell someone you're a Wiccan and they tell you that you belong to a cult, give them a copy of the evaluation form in this book, and watch 'em squirm, at least if they evaluate their own religion honestly! This book is an absolutely essential book for coven leaders, and members, to read. Along with Covencraft by Amber K, which IS about the nitty-gritty, day-to-day stuff on how to start, organize and run a coven and Inside A Witches Coven by Edain McCoy, which is a wonderful book in helping a person decide if they should join a coven or not, these three books contain invaluable information.I cannot stress enough the need to find out everything you can about coven life before you decide to join or start one! Speaking from personal experience, when everything is working being in a coven is of the best experiences a Witch can have. When everything is not working out, being in a coven is one of the most painful experiences a Witch can have.These books will make you think of things you would probably not have thought about on your own. Don't be naive enough to assume that all Witches will act ethically and kindly all the time, lest you end up sifting through the wreckage of a group you helped found!All three of these books should be in any coven's library! Thank Goddess I found them and the three of us are who are left are now in the process of rebuilding our group.

Resource Material

If you are in a coven, read this. If you are thinking of joining a coven, read this. If you are thinking of starting and/or leading a coven, use this book to beat yourself about the head and shoulders with! Seriously, Judy's contributions to the pagan community are many. She has a counseling website that is amazing, but this book is hands-down the best on this subject. She has absolutely "been there, done that" and I am sure her T-shirt is old, too.Running any group is difficult, but when you throw religion into the mix... it is threetimes as difficult. It hits you mentally, spiritually and physically. Harrow's book is like having an elder friend to turn to when times get rough. She goes into group dynamics and interpersonal relating as well. My copy will probably have to be replaced because I know I am wearing it out.

The psychology of running a coven

Wicca Covens, by Judy Harrow (of Proteus Coven), is not a step by step book on how to set up a working group, study group, or coven, whatever the subtitle may imply. What it *is* is a book of coven dynamics, psychology, and all the other messy parts of running and being in a coven, that you hope you will never deal with, but you will.Judy Harrow has a background in psychology and human relationships, and that is the main focus of the book. It covers a great deal that will be needed by anyone working in a group with the strong personal ties that any religious and work group will form. Most of this book covers how to deal with loss, with growth, what kind of parent/child or teacher/student relationships may form, and how to deal with them. In addition it covers some magical and practical matters such as: picking the right kind of group for you, finding a working method you can work with, and the drawbacks and advantages of different styles of leadership. The sections on dealing with the coven member's problems, the press, the public, the prima donna, and other chronic issues, will be useful to any member of any coven.The book is drawn mostly from the personal experiences of the author, with comentary on "how to handle problems" and "what happened to me" from several other coven leaders and elders. Many times the disagreements of these sources about how to handle particular problems, what to teach in what order, etc. is just as informative as when they agree. Many of them contributed ritual, prayers, and other liturgy which are scattered through the book.I would suggest this book as an *addition* to Amber K's book "Covencraft", which I recommend for more of the 'nuts and bolts' of forming a coven or working group, and which I consider a required book to read before trying to form a coven. These two books together would form a very useful set of books on any coven leaders shelf.In the interest of fairness, I must state that I know a few of the pagan leaders quoted in this book, and consider several of them to be close friends; I have tried not to let this bias my recommendation of the book.

Should Become a Classic Text of Its Field

Wiccan High Priestess and professional counselor Judy Harrow has contributed a long-needed and valuable book for the Wiccan community. In a lucid, articulate style that makes her book a pleasure to read, she draws on her many years of expertise in both fields to provide a textbook for spiritual groups that operate within a small structure. Her grasp of the dynamics of group work is formidable, and explained in a format that is accessible to any non-professional. She offers many valuable pointers for group leaders--such as defining the important difference between pastoral and psychotherapeutic counseling, and how to avoid overlap--as well as defining possible pitfalls and offering commonsense solutions. The book is enriched by the voices of her students, many of them coven leaders today. I'm a professional counselor myself, and would highly recommend this book to anyone working with small groups of any kind. Bravo, Judy!

A Wonderful Book by One Who Was There

This is a long-needed book about coven leadership - not Magic Power of Witchcraft, not spells to make you Goddess of the Office, and not another rehash of the Atlantean Grandmother Tradition of Sacred Memory.What makes WICCA COVENS a particularly powerful book is that Judy was =there= almost from the very beginning of the New York NeoPagan scene. She speaks and writes from over two decades of experience as a priestess, healer, and facilitator. I am seriously looking forward to spending many many hours with this book, but I wanted to rave about it now. I'm convinced it will save a lot of people from making painful mistakes, both in seeking out a coven and in running one.I guarentee this is one book that will be on Bast's reading list.--Rosemary Edghill