Deborah Blake - Circle, Coven, & Grove: A Year of Magickal Practice

CIRCLE, COVEN, & GROVE

by Deborah Blake

Circle, Coven, & Grove

Deborah Blake

2014 by Deborah Blake.

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in anywritten, electronic, recording, or photocopying form withoutwritten permission of the author, Deborah Blake.

Dedication & Thanks

To Blue Moon Circle - my friends, my sistersand my inspiration. You are the family I chose, and I thank theGoddess every day for your presence in my life. Without you, thisbook would never have existed, and my life would be a much poorerplace.

To my family - who always accepted me nomatter how far I differed from the norm. If I hadnt been born tothis family, I would have chosen it anyway. Very specialthanks to my mother, who took time away from her own writing toedit this book (even sending back three chapters in a day from theRV when my last-minute rush interrupted her vacation). Thanks formaking me look good!

To Jennifer Kemper, my first teacher and HighPriestess, who started it all by inviting me to Samhain in thepark. I will never forget how I felt when I stepped into that firstcircle. Thank you for showing me the path, and sharing all that youhad learned.

To all those with whom I have practiced thecraft along the way, to Caere and Katy for healing and wisdom (andmy beautiful HPS dedication ritual), to Ellen for never-endingfriendship, cat-sitting, snake wrangling, scrabble andmiddle-of-the-night panicked phone calls, to Terry (my littlekumquat), to JC for being my go-to guy, to Ellie and all the gangat The Artisans Guild who let me play hookey from my real jobwhen I needed to finish writing - you all contributed to makingthis book possible.

To Elysia, my first editor, always a joy towork with. Thank the gods for that eerily empty desk! (Timingreally is everything.)

And last but not least, many thanks to my twobiggest fans: Jennifer Holling-Blake, daughter of my heart, and mygrandmother Jeanette (Germambie) who always believed in me. Okay,okay - are you happy NOW? Many Bright Blessings to you all!

Circle, Coven & Grove

The 2014 Introduction

Once upon a time - okay, it was SpringEquinox of 2004 - I started what would turn out to be one of themost amazing and rewarding endeavors of my life. After spendingfive and a half years studying and practicing under my first highpriestess, I came to realize that as much as I had enjoyed my timewith that group, it no longer suited my spiritual needs, and that Ineeded to take my magickal practice to the next level. I dedicatedas a high priestess myself, and then waited another six monthsbefore starting my own group: Blue Moon Circle.

During my first year leading the group, Iwished many times that there was an easy book for beginner covens.You know, something that had rituals for new moons and full moonsfor each month, plus the eight sabbats that make up the Wheel ofthe Year. And maybe some helpful hints for how to start and managea coven, some ritual etiquette guidelines, study suggestions,things like that. I did find a few very cool books on covenseventually, but none of them were exactly what Id been lookingfor.

After Blue Moon Circle had been practicingtogether for about a year, I was thinking about this quandary, andsuddenly a voice in my head said, You should write that book.

A Big Voice. Have you ever had one of thosemoments when you just knew the gods were talking to you?When I couldnt shake the idea, I realized that this was somethingI was supposed to do. So I did it. (Hey - it is never a good ideato argue with the gods.)

I wrote up an outline and the first fewchapters, and I sent the book to Llewellyn Worldwide, because theypublished many of the Pagan and Witchcraft books I liked the most.Acquisitions editor Elysia Gallo wrote back and said, I love it!Send the whole manuscript! And the rest is history.

In 2007, Circle, Coven & Grove: A Yearof Magickal Practice became my first book to come out withLlewellyn. It was followed by Everyday Witch A to Z in 2008,The Goddess is in the Details (still my favorite, and themost popular of all my books, with 5 printings to date) in 2009,Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook and Witchcraft on aShoestring in 2010, Everyday Witch Book of Rituals andits companion eBook A Witchs Dozen in 2012, and TheWitchs Broom in 2014. (As I type this, I am working onrevisions for a follow-up book for The Goddess is in theDetails, called Everyday Witchcraft, which will be outin 2015.)

But as sometimes happens, the sales of this,my first book, werent quite high enough for the publishing companyto justify another print run, so as of 2013, it officially went outof print. Luckily, I was able to get the rights back, so I couldreissue it myself as an eBook.

Of course, thats not quite as simple or aseasy as it sounds. I had to have someone design a new cover, sincethe old one (along with the back cover copy) still belonged toLlewellyn. Fortunately, I was able to commission the lovely MickieMueller to do it. She had just finished creating a number of trulygorgeous illustrations for The Witchs Broom book, and whenI asked her if shed be willing to take on the task of coming upwith the new cover, she jumped at the chance.

I also needed some help converting the oldmessy manuscript (which was still in the form of over 20 individualchapter files on a disk, since that was how Llewellyn had wantedthings turned into them, back in the dark ages) into a shiny neweBook. For that, I went to my pal Sierra, who often helps me outwith research and various tasks which are beyond my relativelybasic computer skills. Thank goodness for friends with talent.

Of course, a lot has happened in the yearssince I started Blue Moon Circle and began the journey that ledfirst to a book, then to a career as an author, and now, fullcircle, to this moment. Blue Moon Circle itself has gone throughmany changes and transformations, as is normal for a group full ofeclectic Witches, but remarkably, we are still practicing togetherin perfect love and perfect trust. There are some old faces andsome new, but all of them are a part of the magick, and my lifewould be a much poorer place without them. (Also, my books would bea LOT shorter, since many of them are based on our practicetogether!)

Elysia Gallo is still my editor, and now alsoa friend. Ive embarked upon a new career writing fiction, with anew publisher (Berkley), although not surprisingly, my protagonistsin these first few novels are witches. But a piece of my heartstill lives in this book, the one that started it all.

Although the book was originally designed tobe used by groups, Ive gotten many notes from readers over theyears saying that it also worked well for solitaries, as well ascircles and covens at every stage of their existence. I hope thatno matter how you practice, Circle, Coven & Grove willadd a little magick to your life.

I wish you blessings as you walk your path.Thanks for letting me be a small part of it.

Deborah Blake

March, 2014

Table of Contents

Circle, Grove, Coven - there are probably asmany different ways to practice magic in groups as there aregroups. And as with all else in Wicca, there is no one right way,just what is right for you. Covens tend to be more formal andorganized than circles and groves, but this can vary greatly fromgroup to group. What doesnt change is the commitment and intentthat all Pagans bring to the practice of magick, and the benefitsthat can be derived from focused and inspired magickal work.

No matter whether you are a Gardnerian,Alexandrian, Green, Celtic or Eclectic Witch, there are two basicstyles of practice: solitary and group. Many solitary practitionerspractice witchcraft entirely on their own, either by choice orbecause there is no group available to them. Thankfully, there aremany books out there to help the solitary, on every level frombeginner to advanced.