Three Facets of Samhain

It’s difficult to imagine that Samhain is just around the corner, especially when you take into consideration the boiling hot weather we’ve been having over the past few days (114? Really?!?). It’s only about a month away. Our Samhain comes from the Celtic cultures, and their holiday celebrating the end of summer. Here in southern California, we’ve experienced Samhain in a variety of temperatures- from comfortable mid-upper 70s, down to the 40’s. Samhain tends to be the one sabbat each year where the weather is completely unpredictable. By Samhain, the night’s have visibly grown longer, and it gets dark much earlier. Samhain is a dark and spooky time of year, and this holiday has three main facets.

At Samhain, it’s believed that the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. This makes Samhain a perfect evening for ancestor honoring and worship, as well as communication with other spirits, and the fae. Our modern customs of Hallowe’en evolved from old Celtic traditions. Jack O’ Lanterns used to be carved out gourds with faces carved in to scare aware spirits from darkening ones doorstep. In old times, one used to dress up in costumes to blend in with the dead that they believed literally walked the earth on this night. It’s also believed that this evening is the best time of the year to do divination. One of our covens’ traditions for Samhain is to include an ancestor altar with photos and mementos from those who have passed, in addition to our ritual altar.

In the agricultural harvest cycle, Samhain is the third and final harvest holiday, the meat harvest. Thankfulness is one theme of this facet of Samhain, much like at Lammas/Lughnasadh- the first harvest of the year- for grain, and Mabon/Harvest Home, the second harvest- for fruit. During Samhain, the animals were slaughtered, and their meat treated so that the people would be able to survive the cold winter. Many people celebrate this part of the holiday by making sure meat is part of the post-ritual feast, particularly pork. While several people in our coven are vegan/veggie, I usually try to bring a pork dish to our coven potluck for the meat-eaters, for traditions sake.

The third facet of Hallowe’en is found in the Wiccan theological cycle of the God and Goddess. At Samhain, the God dies, to be reborn at the Winter Solstice- in ritual, this also can be tied up into the first facet- the thinning of the veil. Some Pagans believe this to be the beginning of the new year. This tends to be the most popular and biggest ritual of the year in most Pagan groups, and while it can be very emotional (depending on the central focus of your rite), it can also be a very joyous occasion.


Colors correlated with Samhain include black, yellow, orange, silver, gold, white, purple and red
Foods associated with Samhain include: meat of any sort (especially pork), fruits (especially apples), root vegetables (coming from the ground makes root vegetables especially perfect for Samhain, as they are associated with the underworld, and death), pomegranates, and nuts

I’ll be writing a future piece on ideas for your Samhain ritual, and stay tuned for some recipes perfect for your post-circle feast.

September's All-Coven Meeting: Kitchen Witchery

Our inner court meetings are all about housekeeping, and ritual planning. Our dedicants join us for our all-coven meeting, where inner court sisters take turns presenting workshops. Last month Aislin presented an awesome workshop on archetypes, and we worked them into astrological charts for ourselves. This month, Beth presented the first part of her Kitchen Witch workshop (she wants to do a second part), and we worked with herbs. Each sister made a cooking oil, a tincure and a sachet- it was a really fun, hands-on workshop.

Dedication- Autumn 2010

This past Saturday night, we were blessed with two new dedicants, Kyla and Chelsea. They dedicated to our coven during a beautiful dedication ritual, and we already can feel the energy they add to our coven family. Blessed be!

Lughnasadh 2010

I haven’t been able to get my photos off of my phone and onto my computer- still, I wanted to write a short blog about our Lughnasadh ritual. We had our open Lughnasadh ritual a few weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon, and it was a blast! Our friends and family were all invited, and we had about 25 people there, including spouses, and children! Prior to the ritual, all were invited to make Corn Dollies, which were then blessed in the circle. Traditioanlly, corn dollies were made with the last sheaf of wheat harvested. The wheat was fashioned into a dolly or other symbol, and then kept safe, ensuring a plentiful planting in the spring.

 

The main theme of the ritual was the First Harvest, and as part of the first harvest, we asked everyone to bring one vegetable. During the circle, we raised positive energy and sent it into the vegetables, which were later made into soup by our resident kitchen witch, Beth. We had a sumptuous potluck feast, with everything from dip to cheese, to dates, to sweets, and of course, bread- a staple of any Lammas/Lughnasadh circle! We thank everyone who made it out for our circle, and we hope to see you again at our open Yule celebration!

Aislin Elevated to 2*!

Last night, Aislin was elevated to second degree! She's worked very hard to earn it, and is looking forward to her journey to third degree. Congratulations, Aislin!

(Lughnasadh photos + post coming soon)

Maiden Announcement (July meeting)

With the departure of Blood Rose, the maiden position had been vacated. Aislin has since been promoted to this position. Congratulations, Aislin! She led a wonderful workshop on archetypes at last nights all-coven meeting. We gained some serious insight in regards to ourselves, as well as each other. Besides her awesome workshop, we also went over plans for next weeks Lughnasadh ritual, and some of our upcoming plans.

June Esbat 2010

Last weekend, the moon was full and we had a partial eclipse. Though we were unable to view the eclipse from our location, the energy always is just a little different from your average moon. We took this opportunity to say good-bye to our sister Rose, at least for now.

We are planning on opening up our outer court this fall, and as part of that our Lammas / Lughnasadh ritual will be open to friends and family. Below are some photos from our circle.

OPEN EVENT: Lammas/ Lughnasadh Celebration 2010!

As one of our friends, we invite you to join us as we celebrate the beginning of the harvest season! This is the first of two rituals we'll open to our friends this year.


The summer is heating up, fruit is beginning to ripen on the vine, warm summer winds warm our faces and our hearts. It is the time of the First Harvest.

The harvest season is celebrate in three festivals- the grain harvest at Lammas/ Lughnasadh, the harvest of fruit at Mabon, and the meat harvest at Samhain. In ancient times, the corn and wheat would be harvested at Lammastide, the last sheaf sacrificed- rather than being taken to ill with the rest of the corn, it was instead crafted into a corn dolly to keep safe, so that next year’s planting would be successful. This time of year was a turning point for the ancient Celts, as the month of August would bring the Tailtean games. The Tailtean games came about as an homage to Tailte, mother of the Celtic god Lugh. He created these funeral games to celebrate her passing, rather than mourn her death. These games originally lasted 15 days. In Wiccan myth, the God is getting older, as he moves slowly toward the end of his life cycle.

Lughnasadh is the time for take a moment and reflect upon what your hard work has yielded this year. What are the fruits of your labor? Have your plans borne any fruit at all? It’s also a good time to change your path if needed- you can sow new seeds to create a new outcome, if what you’ve planned didn’t come about.

This year, we are opening our Lughnasadh ritual up to our families and friends. We will be focusing on our harvest, and in doing so we’ll be asking everyone to bring a vegetable for a soup we will be making. The gate will open at noon, and ritual will start at 1:20 PM. Prior to ritual, you may craft a corn dolly from husks of corn to be blessed in circle. In circle, we’ll be imbuing our vegetables with energy, and we’ll make offerings to Lugh and Demeter. We’ll have potluck snacks, and the soup made with our charged vegetables will be served as dinner around 5:30 along with bread. We’ll play some games, make new friends, and celebrate the harvest together!
What to bring: a vegetable (list of possible veggies to be posted at a later date), a potluck dish (either something for dinner, or an appetizer/snack), any offering for Lugh or Demeter that you’d like to make.
What to wear: coven sisters will all be in white dresses, feel free to either wear white or black, or dress in the colors of the harvest if possible.
 
For more information contact Ivy at barefootwitch at gmail (dot) com.

Change to the Bylaws (Participation)

A change to the Coven Bylaws was unanimously voted into effect, effective today, 6/15/10. Previously, the amount of participation expected was listed as 75%.

We have decided to change that for our dedicants, and increase this to 85%. We've done this for many reasons, one being that as a dedicant, one should be making it to all coven events anyway, as we have the entire year already planned out in advance. This is how we get to know one another to make sure that we're a great fit for one another. Also added in the amended bylaw, an participation expectation of 100% for all dedicant classes (though make-up work may be substituted at the discretion of the teacher). This was something that we've always talked about, but was never in writing. Now it is. This doesn't mean that if one fell behind the participation percentage, one would be automatically removed from the coven, but it does lay down the expectation, and yes, if one constantly misses gatherings or classes, one would eventually no longer be part of the coven.

----------------------------------------------

Whereas the reference to participation once read like:


II. Attendance and Meetings

a. Each member of the coven is expected to participate in 75% of meetings, events and activities, including training and studies.

b. Meetings will take place approximately three times per month. Estimated meetings will include Sabbat Celebrations, Full Moon Esbats, sporadic New Moon training evenings, and a meeting/ social night.



It will now read as:
II. Attendance and Meetings

A: Initiates

1. Each initiate of the coven is expected to participate in 75% of meetings, events and activities, including training and studies.

2. Meetings will take place approximately two-three times per month. Estimated meetings will include Sabbat Celebrations, Full Moon Esbats, Training, and/or meetings and social gatherings.


B: Dedicants

1. Each dedicant of the coven is expected to participate in 85% of all assigned meetings, events and activities, and 100% of all dedicant classes. Make-up work may be accepted in lieu of a class, at the discretion of the teacher.

2. Dedicants may be invited to Sabbats, Meetings and other open activities, approximately two times per month. Class schedule will be assigned in advance.

June Meeting

Once a quarter, we have an all-coven meeting that is purely social, and this month was our planned social meeting. We had our first pool party of the summer, ate snacks, grilled hot dogs, drank water and wine and forged friendship with our dedicant, Claire. The water was finally warm enough to swim... it's almost summer!

A sister departs...

One of our sisters, Blood Rose, has been on a sabbatical from the coven since the birth of her second child. She has decided to leave the coven for now, and hopefully, when her sons are a little older, re-join. Blessed be, sister... we'll miss you and your energy (now I have to be on the hunt for another earth ;).

May Meeting 2010

Our inner court meeting was fairly interesting- we heard lots of shouts and sounds coming from the house behind our covenstead. Later on, it turned out the police came, guns drawn, searching through the house for someone. Another interesting thing: we found that a hummingbird had made its nest in a hanging buzzard on the patio where we meet. We discussed our plans, including plans for our upcoming open events, as well as the idea of another former sister re-joining our family.

We'll be hosting an (open to friends and family) Lughnasadh celebration uring the day on 7/31, and we're planning a campout (open to our friends) on 8/20-22. So, save the date if you are interested! Our next dedication (and classes) will be in late August or early September.

During our all-coven class, Rayne presented a workshop on Chakras, and then we worked out some needed dateshifting for our July meeting- we were able to make it work out for everyone. After that, we all got some wine, and Aislin worked through our astrological charts.

We also decided a date for our Giant F***ing Jewelry Party that will showcase the talents of our jewelry crafting coven sisters- 7/10. If you like jewelry, you'll be able to come and take a look at the jewelry creations of a few jewelry artists with very different styles.

Next months meeting, we'll be working on a coven project, our dedicant will be working toward completing her dedicant project, and two of our sisters will be out of town. We have SO much going on, its so exciting!

Fun Photos

A few photos from our recent photo shoot.


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Rayne's Beltane Photos

Below are Rayne's photos from Beltane!


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Beltane Camp 2010

This past weekend, we gathered in the hills of Central California for our annual retreat. This year, we decided to go camping at Lopez Lake, known for it's wildlife. Though the arrival of all the sisters was relatively staggered for reasons beyond our control, we still had a lot of fun, and we relaxed our souls under the bright spring sun! We were unable to do some of our planned activities, but things happen for reasons beyond our ken. Like the long walk to the bathroom. Uphill. Both ways. And the night got pretty chilly... but we had a lot of fun! Mirth, merriment and bubble blowing were definitely on the agenda.

Below is a slideshow of some of our photos- more to come!


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Meet and Greet

Last Saturday, we had a meet and greet, inviting women who have expressed interest in joining us. We talked about our group- what we are (structured, hierarchal, casual, fun-loving), and what we aren't (cliquey, drama, patriarchal, Judeo-Christian). We went over our dedicant process, attendance expectations, goals and rules that are very important to us.

Women from the SoCalSisterWitches social group joined us afterwards for a rockin full moon party and self-appreciation and love ritual.

It was so much fun, and was wonderful to see new faces and meet new prospective sisters. We'll probably have an open circle in the early-mid summer to give our aspirants a feel for how it feels in one of our ritual circles, and then begin classes for those who feel like they want to dedicate themselves to our group.

Ostara 2010

Ostara 2010 was so much fun! Below is a slideshow of some of our photos from our ritual. Ostara is a celebration of the Spring equinox... we did this by cleansing, consecrating and planting some plants and creating our coven garden. :) And then of course, we had a potluck!



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January Esbat and Imbolc 2010

Our first esbat of the year went wonderfully! We recieved a few unexpected gifts from the Goddess, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Imbolc was also great - our focus was kindling the spark of hope we have deep within us.  We honored Brighid, and began our ritual with a procession with our Brighid in her bed. Beth taught us how to make candle lanterns and we used them during our procession - so much fun! Of course it was followed by a potluck including Rayne's famed hummus pinwheels, roasted butternut squash, "lamb" in phyllo, BBQ "meat"balls, cookies, and tasty cake! Even though it was rainy, we had a backup plan and it all worked out amazingly.

We hope your Imbolc went well, and that Brighid kindles the spark of your hopes within your heart! Blessed be!

Imbolc/ Ostara Newsletter is Up!

Plenty of fun articles, recipes, poems and crafts to read!

Several times a year, we part of puts together a newsletter with articles, recipes, and more! Below is the link to our Imbolc/Ostara newsletter with fun articles, information and more. If you have some extra time, feel free to check it out and comment if you like! :)

We've decided to go green/virtual, and so no wordsearch or crossword this time- wasn't able to figure it out for this issue- next issue for sure, though!

Here's the link- http://ctmnewsletter.blogspot.com/

Yule 2009 Photos

Here are the photos from our open Yule circle this year!



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Yule 2009: Brumalia/ Yule

Our sixth annual open circle was a success! We had a wonderful Brumalia-themed wine tasting Friday evening, and had our sunrise circle come the morning- photos to be added soon!

Dedication 11/09

Let it be known that Claire and Mariana dedicated to the coven, November 14, 2009!
Blessed be!

Rayne Moves to the Inner Court

Let it be known that Rayne is now part of the Inner Court once again!

New Website Design!

Our website has now been redesigned/updated- to link to posts here on the blog.

http://www.freewebs.com/twilightmooncoven

Our Coven Family

Lady Ivy Artemisia
Inner Court Member- High Priestess
Third Degree

Lady Ivy Artemisia is the High Priestess of the Coven of the Twilight Moon. She has been studying the craft since 1996, and has been working within groups for years. She experimented with energy raised online within a small, close-knit online coven in May 2001 and published an article on online covens in New Witch magazine, and was also mentioned in the book Cyberhenge: modern Pagans on the Internet by Douglas E Cowen.

In 2004, the online coven was dissolved after she joined a local eclectic coven in 2003. Initiated as maiden in this medium-sized group (Temple of the Four Elements), she was elevated to high priestess after the sitting high priestess was diagnosed and was dealing with many medical issues. The members of that coven disagreed with one another in regards to the direction, function and purpose of the group.

Ivy decided to let that group dissolve and start a new coven, one rooted locally with like-minded Wiccan sisters who wanted to build a tradition. Coven of the Twilight Moon was born in April of 2004, the first ritual- Litha. Since then, many sisters have found their path have taken them away from the Coven of the Twilight Moon, and many new sisters have found their way to the coven. She believes that through sisterhood, a common vision, worshipping the gods and love- happiness can be found for those who open their hearts.

Her personal interests include magickal herbalism, sacred crafting, gardening, and healing. Ivy is also a Reiki II practitioner.

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Aislin Lumina
Inner Court Member- Maiden
Second Degree

Aislin has been practicing Wicca since Litha 1997 when she dedicated herself to the Goddess. She helped form a group in Boston called the Boston Pagan Alliance in 2000. She has practiced solitary as well as with an informal group in Boston made up of members from the Boston Pagan Alliance. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2004, she sought out a new coven to join and found the Coven of the Twilight Moon. She dedicated herself to the coven in fall of 2008 and was initiated into 1st degree in August of 2009. She is currently working toward her 3rd degree.

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Beth
Inner Court Member
First Degree- Water

Beth has been a practicing witch for years. Her practice includes magickal herbalism, and kitchen witchery, and usually bakes the cakes for the 'cakes and ale' portion of our rituals.

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Rayne Poppy
Inner Court Member
Second Degree

Rayne was originally one of the coven's founding members. After a lengthy leave of absence- and an out of state move- she's found herself back in the coven. She helped create a strong foundation years ago, and it's partially that familiarity that led her back to our circle.

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Blood Rose
Shadow Sister
Twilight Tradition Initiate- Second Degree

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Lea
Shadow Sister
Twilight Tradition Initiate- First Degree


Lea has been Wiccan for a total of about 4 years, though she's only recently rejoined this path once again after following a different road for a few years. Lea is married and a mother of two children (so far). She is a kitchen witch, for the most part, and is interested in healing magick.

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Raven Gypsy Willow
Shadow Sister


Raven is a Pagan mother of two wonderful boys who grew up and is currently living in Southern California. She started on my spiritual path over 20 years ago. Surprisingly, when she was told by her BIBLE teacher at Whittier Christian High School, "You need to find your path" and found an article about Ellen Cannon Reed. There it began. Sje started off studying Wicca (Scott Cunningham ~an AMAZING resource) and as her knowledge grew and she started studying other Spiritual paths, and now considers herself an eclectic Pagan. Wiccan with Buddhist flair, as her great friend Brti says. She believes that knowledge is power and she reads and absorbs from all aspects. She hopes that with this group, she can share what she has learned as well as learn from the group.

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Caliq
Shadow Sister

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Cella
Shadow Sister

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Wiski

Shadow Sister

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Hayley
Shadow Sister

Hayley is a strawberry-blonde Aquarian, with an Aries moon, and a Capricorn rising. She is a master's student in Women's Spirituality at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. She lives with her Capricorn boyfriend, David, and in my free time she watches TV, reads lots of different things, writes poetry, starts and never finishes novels, and sings songs. They live in Long Beach, but they've yet to walk on the shore.


(IC wave 1= earth, 2=water, 3=fire, 4=air, 5=spirit)

Dedicant Petition

Click here to download the petition (its a Word document). Send it to Ivy Artemisia at barefootwitch at gmail dot com.

Interested? Here's the Membership Process

We are currently accepting petitions for Outer Court membership. We accept new members eat different times in the year, though you may turn your petition in anytime.

To join us, you must first meet the following requirements:

1) You must be 18 years of age and older.
2) You must be free of chemical illegal drugs.
3) You must have at least a basic knowledge of Wicca and Witchcraft.
4) You must be of an open mind, kind hearted and unjudgmental.
5) You must be within driving distance of the La Mirada and Silver Lake area.
6) You must be able to attend at least 85% of all meetings, classes, events, rituals and workshops.
7) You must have internet access, for most correspondance will be online.
8) If you have a mental illness, you need to be on medication

Joining a coven is a big step and a commitment, and should not be taken lightly. Take some time to think about it, and make sure that it is the path you wish to take.


Here is an overview of our membership process:

1) Download the petition, fill it out and send on to barefoot witch @ gmail dot com (eliminate the spaces and the dot should be an actual dot, and all that). Its in Microsoft Word, if you need it in a txt file, email Ivy, and she'll send it to you.

2) If we believe that you may make a good match with our coven, the High Priestess will ask you some more questions and will schedule a meeting(s) with you. You may also meet with other members of the coven, or active dedicants. An alternative may be a meet and greet, which may include other prospective dedicants.

3) If we seem to fit eachother well, you will be invited to an open ritual and/or a social event.

4) If everything still seems to fit well, you will be invited to dedicate to the coven at a dedication ritual. While one does dedicate onesself to the coven, the dedicant is free to leave at any time, if she feels like it is not a good fit, after all. The members of the Inner Court also is free to ask the dedicant to leave the Outer Court, if they do not feel like a good fit will be possible.  Dedication does NOT guarantee initation.

5) After all classes are completed, Outer Court members may be invited to join the Inner Court, and if so, will be initiated into the coven at next open esbat, or sabbat.



Keep in mind: Outer Court members will be expected to come to open esbats, all sabbats, Dedicant Classes, all coven meetings, and most 'official' social functions. Outer Court members will not come to inner court meetings, working rituals, closed esbats and some inner court trainings. Outer Court members will be invited to most camping trips and festivals. Outer Court members are expected to contribute dues (Sliding scale $5-20 a month). Dedication does NOT guarantee initation. It's more like a trial period, to make sure it will work out. We enjoy our family dynamic, and while we are open to embracing new family members, we want to make sure that they are OUR family.

Requirements: Dedication and Initiation

Requirements for Dedication into the Outer Court

Must be accepted into the Outer Court
Must write a dedication oath for the dedication rite
Must be ready to accept and follow the bylaws of the Coven of the Twilight Moon



Requirements for Initiation into the Inner Court (initiation into the first degree of Wicca in the Twilight Tradition)

Must currently be in the Outer Court
Must be invited by the Inner Court to initiate
Must have a good grasp of background knowledge of Wicca and Witchcraft (ex: completed the W101 classes)
Must acquire a black robe and a white summer dress or robe
Must write a new dedication oath
Must be ready to advance their studies, and be ready to study toward their second degree

Dedicant Expectations

Our dedicants are expected to be nice people, and drama free. We avoid a cliquey atmosphere. We aren't judgemental,and we don't put down other religions. In addition to attending Wicca 101 classes, and participating in Sabbat rituals. The following explains some facts about our coven family. If you want to dedicate, you will be expected to adopt these values.

Our group is:

• Loving and caring towards others.
  
• A group of women who share the same views and ideas.
  
• A group that wishes to continuously grow through learning.
  
• A group that follows our path, and embraces all traditions and takes from them to form our coven tradition.
  
• A group that is NOT dominating, and allows freedom of thoughts and ideas.
  
• A group of women who are committed to the worship of the Goddess and the God.
  
• A group that is willing to help others, including outside of the coven.
  
• A group that understands their limits and asks for help whenever needed.
  
• A group that always has free will and judgement. No one is required to do anything they are uncomfortable with.
  
• A family of Sisters that can call upon one another in times of emotional distress, sadness, or basic need, without fear of judgement or rejection.
  O
• pen minded.
  
• Free spirits.
  
• Magickal people who also honor the Earth and the Elements.
  A
• group that supports continuous growth in the person�s own spiritual journey.
  
• Sensitive to other people in the group regarding their belief systems and spirituality. No Wiccan is the same as another.
  
• Advocates for the Craft, through ritual and spellwork, or being out of the proverbial �broom closet� and educating others.
  
• A group that embraces diversity and change.
  
• A group of women who take responsibility for our actions
  

Dedicant and Initiate Training

Dedicant Training

Dedicant training takes place in a series of weekly beginning Wicca classes, casually referred to as Wicca 101. These classes may be open to other women who aren't dedicants, and these classes are a requirement for initiation. These classes teach Wicca from our perspective, and include homework. Even if you have taken Wicca 101 before, you must take our classes.

Regarding W101 and Homework

I wrote the following after a student complained about having homework.

You might know most of what we are learning in Wicca 101 already. But its very important that you keep an open mind and be ready to try new things. Part of being in a coven is learning the tradition, even though it probably differs from your personal tradition. From altar set-up, to ritual outline, to who you honor in your personal practice, our rituals will not mirror them exactly. This doesn't mean that you can't practice your personal tradition. It simply means that while in group, you'll be practicing our tradition. You'll be expected to learn how we do things in our Twilight Tradition... from casting and sealing the circle, to calling quarters, to evoking the gods... you will be learning our traditions. This also doesn't mean that your input means nothing... our tradition is alive, and is ever-changing and building. As an initiate, we all contribute to the creation of rituals, classes, etc.

Part of being a witch is facing challenges. It might be difficult or even uncomfortable for you at times to learn some of the things that we are teaching, or even to perform part of the ritual. Just like it may have been difficult to get up in front of everyone and do the consecration, it might be difficult to practice casting and sealing circles in front of your coven sisters.

It's going to be tough to switch from doing things YOUR way to doing things OUR way. But its important that you face those challenges. Even the small changes can take getting used to. For example, in my personal practice, my altar faces east. In the coven tradition, the altar faces north. Just that small change took a while for me to get used to. Here's another example: say that you might have problems visualizing details, and instead see vague colors or shapes. Well, if we were doing a working ritual that depended on a detailed group visualization, it would be important that we all visualized the same thing. Therefore, it would be very important for you to be able to visualize details.

Another challenge that you may face (especially in Wicca 101) is becoming bored. As a student/dedicant of the group, you may already know a lot of what's being taught. You are only as bored as you let yourself be. And if you let yourself become bored, then you may miss something that you don't know. I'm constantly learning new ways to look at things as I teach the Wicca 101 class. Its not boring, it's all important.

The homework given in W101 is a chance for you to challenge yourself. We don't assign homework so that you can spend a couple distracted minutes writing down the least amount of stuff you can to float by. You choose to be here, and we expect you to be challenged- if you already know a good deal of what we are teaching in Wicca 101, then its your responsibility to challenge yourself with the homework. For example, let's take the homework where you must research a specific tool, for example. If you already know everything there is to know about the cauldron, then choose a lesser known tool, like the boline. Or, research the lore and myths that involve the tool. We try to make the homework as open-ended as possible, to suit all knowledge levels. This is a chance for you to become more knowledgeable, a chance to be motivated to dig deeper into the basics of Wicca.

One of our main focuses is education, especially spiritual education. We believe that we are always students. Even while rehashing the basics, there is always an opportunity to learn. We should always be reading a book on the craft, even in our busy lives there is always time to read. Put it in the bathroom. Everyone spends some time in the bathroom... may as well read. :) If you are initiated into our coven, you will find that our degree system is a self-paced program, where you are expected to read, write, practice, learn and do challenging work in order to progress. We are all about constant learning.

Initiate Training

Initiate training is self-paced, in addition to classes taught by sister coveners. We have a 3 degree system, and it is self paced. It should take a year from 1st degree to 2nd degree (every sister is expected to get to 2nd degree), and then it can take anywhere from a year to several years to reach 3rd degree.

Meetings and Rituals

Coven Meetings
The coven meets monthly on a saturday evening. The Inner Court meets alone for 2 hours, and then both courts come together for a 2 hour meeting. These "all coven" meetings include classes ran by initiates, craft nights (where everyone brings something that they are working on), social evenings, or game nights.

Coven Rituals
We circle together for sabbats and esbats. Sabbats are open to both Inner and Outer Courts and are held on a Saturday (usually evening) close to the sabbat. Esbats are Inner Court only events and are held the evening of the full moon. All meetings and rituals for the year are laid out in advance in the december of the previous year. All members are expected to attend all events (no less than 75% attendance).

Why Women-Born Women?

Coven of the Twilight Moon is restricted to women-born women only. Does this mean that we are prejudiced towards (non women-born) people who identify as women, or those who are transexual or transgendered? No, not at all!

Women who grew up as girls have had different social experiences than women who didn't grow up as women. These societal pressures and other experiences of growing up as a women aid us in relating to one another, and also give us common issues and challenges to overcome. Also, many times the energy is very different between women born women, and women who weren't born physically female. Just because a group doesn't allow non-women born women doesn't mean the group is prejudiced- it just means that the group has a focus that is exclusive to women-born women.

Just as a Greek Reconstructionist group has a focus that is exclusive to those who are interested in Greek culture. Celtic Recons would have to find another group that fits their needs.
We understand that its tough to find a group that fits ones needs, and many of the tight-knit covens are exclusive to one group or another (ie; gay men).

There is a group for everyone, and if you can't find one, start one- there are probably people in your situation (age/tradition/gender/etc) who are looking for a coven, too!

Coven Structure and Roles

Groups of Members


Initiates- Coven members who have been initiated into the Coven/Tradition

First Degree- degree that you achieve during your first initiation
Second Degree- degree elevation after a depth of learning, able to teach
Third Degree- degree elevation to the priesthood
(Initiates are expected to work toward their second degree, but having reached that level, initiates can choose whether or not they want to train toward the priesthood)

Dedicants- Coven members who have dedicated themselves to the Coven, but not yet initiated

Aspirants- Aspiring coven members who have not yet dedicated themselves to the coven, interested parties

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The Court System

Membership is made up of two courts, the inner court and the outer court. Both courts are expected to contribute dues ($5-20, sliding), collected at the monthly meetings.

Outer Court
The outer court is made up of dedicants who are interested enough in the coven to commit to participating in 75% of coven gatherings. Members of the outer court are invited to Sabbat and open Esbat rituals, social events and beginning classes. Some outer court members may be invited to more advanced classes. Outer court members will be assigned a sponsor, who will help the dedicant, including mentoring and answering any questions about the coven or religion. Outer Court members will dedicate themselves to the coven during a Sabbat or open esbat ritual, or possibly during a ritual with that express purpose. Outer Court members are referred to as "Aspirants,"until they dedicate themselves to the coven. Once they have dedicated themselves to the coven, they are referred to as "Dedicants."

Inner Court
The inner court is the group of initiates in the coven. The inner court meets regularly to discuss coven business, and are included in advanced and specialized classes. The inner court works on advancing their degrees.

The combined number of people won't exceed 15.


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Coven Officers

High Priestess- leads rituals or designates the leader, coordinates day-to-day coven business and finances, makes decisions after getting everyones opinions, or organizes votes (usually polls on the yahoogroup). Acts in the best interest of the group.

Maiden- is the HPS back-up and assistant, fills in for HPS when HPS is absent or unable to fulfill her duties

Scribe- takes notes at meetings and coven events, posts on forum, also maintains coven calendar and coven history

Bylaws (Tradition and Coven)

Tradition Bylaws
11/10- clarified verbiage


I. Introduction
a. The Twilight Tradition of Wicca was created in the year 2004, on the 22nd day of April as a not-for-profit tradition of Wicca dedicated to bringing practitioners together to practice Wicca creating a new, lineaged tradition.
II. Core Values of the Twilight Tradition of Wicca
a. The core values of the Twilight Tradition of Wicca (henceforth referred to in this document as the Tradition) are as follows:
i. Honor polarity- honor both the Lord and Lady
ii. Celebrate the eight sabbats of the wheel of the year
iii. Celebrate the full moon esbat each month
iv. Honor the structure set in place in these bylaws
v. In magick, heed the Rede
vi. Utilize the Wiccan ritual structure
vii. Honor the tradition in the tools and altar

III. Organization and Structure of Covens within the Tradition
a. Covens in the Tradition shall be structured and organized as follows: The coven shall exist of the Officers, Inner Court and Outer Court.An additional congregational group may be created at the discretion of the individual coven. All potential coven members shall be over the age 18.
b. Degrees of Participation
i. Guests: Interested people who attend open events and meetings
ii. Aspirants: People who are interested in becoming a member of the Outer Court
iii. Outer Court Members/ Dedicants: People who have filled out the application, been accepted as a Dedicant , but have not been Initiated as an Inner Court member, denoted by a black cord
iv. First Degree Initiates: Initiates that are beginning their course of study of Wicca and Witchcraft in the Coven, denoted by a green cord
v. Second Degree Initiates: Initiates that are advanced in their studies and/are in training to become High Priestess status in the Coven, denoted by a green and gold cord
vi. Third Degree Initiates: Initiates who have received High Priestess Status in the Coven, denoted by a white and gold cord

IV. Membership within the Coven
a. Membership within the Coven may be terminated at the High Priestess (or Initiates) discretion at any time, and without warning. This includes any of the following reasons: endangering the coven and/or its members, outrageous behavior, alcohol and illegal drug intoxication during ritual, illegal chemical drug use at any coven event, putting the coven in a poor light within the community, untreated mental illness, or conflict/issues within the coven.
b. There will be two courts within the Coven within the Tradition, the Inner Court and the Outer Court
c. The Inner Court shall consist of all Initiated members of the Coven
d. The Inner Court shall discuss most matters of program planning and activities, finances and budgeting, networking and outreach and all other basic coven matters
e. Initiates are expected to heed the Wiccan Rede, and act in accordance to the principles of the religion of Wicca
f. The Outer Court will consist of members that have dedicated, but are not initiated
g. The High Priestess shall be the main facilitator of the coven, in her absence, the Maiden shall assume the position of the High Priestess. If the Maiden is absent, then another officer member shall step in.


V. Offices within Covens of the Tradition; the Officers and Elders Council
a. The officers and elders council consists of the Coven officers and is established to work on policies and discuss administration issues. Offices will be filled, and additional offices may be added as seen fit by each individual coven of the tradition. HPS of each coven will be responsible for filling those offices, and will take under advisement opinions set forth by the other officers. These officers will form an elders council. There may be positions created by the HPS that are not offices such as special coordinators and Sponsors.
b. High Priestess
i. Responsibilities will vary, but may include:
(1) Chairs the Inner Court
(2) Responsible for spiritual counseling and growth of the Coven
(3) Establishes policies for the Coven
(a) Policies may not circumvent nor contradict the Bylaws of the Tradition
(b) When a Sister Covens policy is found to conflict with the Bylaws of the Tradition, the Bylaws of the Tradition shall take precedence
(4) Coordinates training
(5) Leads rituals or designates the leader
(6) Keeps Coven Book of Shadows with help from Scribe
(7) Appoints officers
ii. The High Priestess shall be assisted by the Maiden, or the Inner Court
iii. If the office of High Priestess is rendered vacant by death, retirement, or other reason, the Maiden will step into the office with the approval of the Inner Court. If the Inner Court disagree, a new High Priestess of at least second degree will be decided upon or the coven will be dissolved. If there is no Initiate of the second degree, an acting High Priestess will decided upon, and the Inner Court will actively seek a new High Priestess.

c. Maiden
i. Responsibilities will vary, but may include:
(1) Assists the High Priestess with rituals and other tasks
(2) Assists in teaching
(3) Provides spiritual counseling
(4) Assists in the administration of the Coven
(5) Serves as an example to the rest of the Coven in her participation, ethics and spiritual principles
(6) To be a resource to the coven, especially in her knowledge of lore
(7) To aid in setting up and taking down of the ritual area
( To act as High Priestess when High Priestess is absent
(9) Collects Dues

d. Scribe
i. Responsibilities will vary, but may include:
(1) Keeps minutes at meetings
(2) Handles correspondence
(3) Keeps general records of projects and activities
(4) Keeps written record of Coven history


VI. Grievances
a. If an Initiate or Dedicant has a grievance with another Initiate or Dedicant that interferes in the participation of ritual or other coven activities, it may be resolved in the following manner:
i. The Initiate or Dedicant should first schedule a meeting with the person(s) with whom she has a grievance, to attempt to resolve the issue. This meeting should take place on neutral ground. Participants may request the presence of the High Priestess or other Officer to act as witness.
ii. Neither party will talk, state, write, e-mail, or post publicly any view, opinion, hearsay about the grievance.
iii. If the grievance can not be solved by the aforementioned method, than the person(s) with the grievance should schedule a meeting with the High Priestess or the Inner Court to attempt to find a resolution
iv. No records of these meetings shall be kept, save to record that the meeting took place, the names of those who attended, and any decisions rendered.


VII. Disciplinary Actions
a. If a coven member breaks any of the bylaws or is found to cast the Tradition, the Coven, Wicca, Paganism or Witchcraft in a poor light, she may be subjected to the following disciplinary actions
i. High Priestess may schedule a meeting(s) with the Initiate or Dedicant to resolve grievances or issues
ii. Initiate or Dedicant may be asked not to attend rituals until grievance is resolved
iii. Initiate or Dedicant may be asked not to attend any coven activities until grievance is resolved
iv. Initiate or Dedicant may be asked to leave the coven

b. Disciplinary actions taken by the Coven will not include the removal of an Initiates degree. Initiation is a state, which, once conferred, may not be rescinded.

c. Any Initiate or Dedicant who has been asked to leave the Coven, or banished from the Coven may not claim membership in the Coven.

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Coven Bylaws

I. Core Goals of the Coven of the Twilight Moon (also referred to as Twilight Moon Coven or the Coven in this document)
a. Practice our craft in the Twilight Tradition of Wicca
b. Honor the Gods
c. Strengthen the bonds of our sisterhood
d. Education of our circle sisters, as well as the community

II. Attendance and Meetings

a: Initiates
1. Each initiate of the coven is expected to participate in 75% of meetings, events and activities, including training and studies.
2. Meetings will take place approximately two-three times per month. Estimated meetings will include Sabbat Celebrations, Full Moon Esbats, Training, and/or meetings and social gatherings.

b: Dedicants
1. Each dedicant of the coven is expected to participate in 85% of all assigned meetings, events and activities, and 100% of all dedicant classes. Make-up work may be accepted in lieu of a class, at the discretion of the teacher.
2. Dedicants may be invited to Sabbats, Meetings and other open activities, approximately two times per month. Class schedule will be assigned in advance.

III. New Membership and Outer Court
a. To become a member of Coven of the Twilight Moon, one must go through the procedure outlined below:
i. Outer Court Process
1. Prospective Outer Court member will fill out application online, and send to High Priestess
2. Prospective Outer Court member will attend an interview with the High Priestess and/or Officer(s), where a set of questions will be asked. Several meetings may be scheduled, dependent upon availability. If all Initiates attending the meeting agree, she will be accepted as a Outer Court member (may be online, via email, or in-person)
3. Each Outer Court member may be assigned an Inner Court sponsor dependent upon membership in the coven. The sponsors responsibility will be to make sure that Outer Court members questions are answered, and to be a liaison of sorts from the Outer Court member to the Inner Court.
4. Outer Court members will be expected to come to esbats, sabbats, wicca 101 classes, and social functions. Outer Court members will not come to regular coven meetings, working rituals, and in-coven trainings. They MAY be invited to camping trips and festivals. Outer Court members are expected to contribute dues.
5. Outer Court members may be invited to join the Inner Court after completion of mandatory classes and projects. Initiates will discuss the candidate for initiation, and dedicant may be initiated/dedicated into the coven at next esbat. HPS may overrule this if she feels as though the member would be a detriment to the group dynamic.
6. The combined number of members of all groups within the coven will not exceed 15
b. Petitions
i. Petitions for the Outer Court may be accepted quarterly, each Greater Sabbat will be a cut off date for petitions. There may be other dates where the Outer Court will open for new members, and there may be periods of time that the Coven remains closed to any new members.

V: Shadow Sisters- A Circle of Congregants
a. Participation
1. Membership in Coven of the Twilight Moon’s congregational circle, Shadow Sisters, is by invitation only, and may be made up of friends and aspirants
2. Shadow Sisters are invited to attend most sabbats, all-coven meetings and other rituals at the discretion of the Inner Court
3. Participation is not mandatory, however if a member does not attend events for 4-6 months, her membership within the Shadow Sisters may be terminated
4. Membership within the Shadow Sisters may be terminated at any time by the HPS


VI. Special Requirements for Participation within Coven of the Twilight Moon
a. If one is diagnosed with a mental illness, one must be taking medication for said mental illness
b. One must be free of illegal chemical drug use during their membership in the coven
c. One may not be dedicated to another coven while dedicated to Twilight Moon Coven
d. One must be born a woman to take part as a dedicant within the coven, though open events will be open to those to identify with any gender



VI. Colors, Dress and Coven Symbolism
a. The main colors of Coven of the Twilight Moon are black, white and purple. Coveners will dress in black robes during the fall and winter seasons, and will dress in black or white dresses or other lightweight ritual garb in the summer
c. The coven symbol is a fleur de lis

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is the outer court?
The bylaws define the Outer Court (OC) as �Outer Court Members: People who have filled out the application, been accepted as a Dedicant and received a sponsor, but have not been Initiated and Dedicated as an Inner Court member.� Each dedicant/outer court member may receive a sponsor, a person within the coven who can answer any questions about the coven, the tradition, etc.

Who chooses my sponsor?
The HPS chooses the sponsor based on a few factors, including relationships, experience, interests and energy.

Will I be initiated?
As an outer court dedicant, you will be expected to participate in a dedication ritual at an esbat, dedicating yourself to the coven and your sisters. If it happens that you are asked to join the inner court, you will then be initiated into our coven and the tradition.

What is expected of me?
You are expected to dedicate yourself to the coven and your sisters. In doing so, you are expected to come to all esbat and sabbat rituals. (A few esbats may be inner circle only) You are also expected to come to social events and contribute dues monthly on a sliding scale $5-20. For example: 75% attendance is mandatory. If your attendance falls below that, a discussion with the High Priestess will be required. In addition to the in-person meetings, you will be expected to check into the online forum, at least once every few days. You are expected to act as a participant at ritual, and may be asked to help take down or put up the altar.

What about training?
You will be invited to join our Beginning Wicca classes that will take place weekly. Also, you may be invited to a few advanced classes depending on your experience, interests, and other factors.

How many degrees are in the Twilight Tradition?
We have three degrees. When one is initiated into the Inner Court of the coven, she receives her first degree. In order to receive the first degree, one must have some background knowledge of Wicca. One then works toward the second degree, gaining lots more background knowledge, as well as knowledge of catalysts, spellwork timing, etc. Once one receives her second degree, she is ready to train for the third degree, the priestesshood, if she chooses. Once the initiate earns third degree, she is rightfully are able to use the title �Lady,� and will probably hive off a coven of her own. The degree program is mostly individualized, self paced study using a working book of shadows compiled by Ivy, though when training for the third degree, there will be meetings with the HPS to train in counseling, group dynamics and other work.

We are an eclectic-traditional Wiccan coven. What exactly does that mean?
The term "eclectic Wicca" is widely used nowadays and can be used to mean the practice of anything that isn't in the traditional sense. Most traditional covens work with the Gods of just one pantheon. Many traditional covens stick with one ritual pattern, a few set ways of raising energy, and follow a set of practices that are never wavered upon.
The term "eclectic Wiccan" is tough to define. If you are too eclectic, and aren't really following most of the Wiccan traditions, then you really aren't Wiccan anymore. (even if you DO follow the rede). So it's a fine line to be trod.
Our "eclecticness" pulls from our willingness to honor Gods from different pantheons, and our willingness to explore different ways of ritual and magick. We will have a usual "ritual outline" that follows the traditional Wiccan outline, but we will be open to different types of ritual. We will be open to different ways of raising energy and be willing to be serious during times where we need to be serious, but open to laughter when we need that as well.
Sometimes eclectic groups tend to be disorganized and not really serious. That's not us. We are serious about our religion, we are serious about our craft, but we know how and when to let loose and have fun! :) We are traditional in our ritual structure, our hierarchy, our officers, and our degree structure.

What should I wear to ritual?
In the colder months, all black. The Inner Court will be in black robes, so if you want to wear a black robe, that�s great, otherwise black clothing that you can move comfortably around in.In the spring, and summer, we change to white ritual garb.

About the Coven

Coven of the Twilight Moon is a traditional-style eclectic Wiccan coven in Southern California. We use the qualifier "traditional-style" eclectic Wicca, because there are many "eclectic Wiccan" groups out there who do not follow many of the tenets of Wicca as we percieve them. Over the years, eclectic Wicca has seemed to take on the meaning of "everything goes." We practice the craft of Wicca in the spirit of the tradition. While, we are not of British Traditional lineage, we believe in the polarity of the God and Goddess, we use the Wiccan ritual structure, we believe the law of return, and abide by the Rede.

We honor the moon in esbat circles, and celebrate the eight holidays of the wheel of the year. Our coven is structured, hierarchal and all initiates contribute to circles, gatherings, lessons and fun. That being said, we are eclectic. We honor God/dess(es) from different cultures, we aren't afraid to try new things in circle, and we add to our structure, rituals, classes and sisters- in order to further our growth as individuals, as a magickal group, and as a family.

Most of us are out of the broom closet, for the most part. We may not shout it from the rooftops, but we do take photos and post them online. Also, we are all women-born women, and our practices focus on education, inner growth and sisterhood.

Our Calendar

Photos from Pagan Pride Day!

Here are a few photos from Pagan Pride Day...

Click here for more!


And a photo of Aislin and Azi (Rose's son)

Samhain 2009

On Friday night, we had our Samhain ritual. We honored our ancestors in a ritual circle, wrote letters to our loved ones, and read aloud names of those who have passed. We traveled along a lit path and enjoyed our time together. Following circle, we had a WONDERFUL including Rugala, Pasta Salad (Vegan), Pork Pastries, Baked Potato Soup (Vegan), Lasagna (Vegan- never would have guessed theres no meat nor cheese), Peanut Butter Balls (Vegan), Pumpkin Doughnuts (Vegan), and Spinach. Yummy!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS! :)

Our New Scribe

Let it be known that Aislin has volunteered to be our new Scribe!

Pagan Pride Day 2009!

We attended Pagan Pride Day this past weekend, and we had so much fun! We sold our handcrafted items, and we made more money than we have in years past. This was the fifth year we've vended at this event, and it was the perfect day! Photos will come later. I took some video, and I'm going to try to post these as well! :)

Rayne (Re)Joins Outer Court

Let it be known, that Rayne, a 2* in our tradition has (re)joined our Outer Court. This happened weeks ago, but only had time to post about it now. :)

Night of a Thousand Goddesses 2009

We invited a few people to this open event. Among them, two sisters interested in joining our group we able to join us for this evenings event. Each sister put together a presentation on a goddess, and presented it to the rest of the group, in a sacred circle. This culminated in an awesome energy raising, and a wonderful, yummy potluck, as well as our traditional fire! Photos are in our photobucket.

Last Weekend

Aislin and Beth- Initiates!

Let it be known that tonight, Aislin and Beth were initiated into the Coven of the Twilight Moon! Blessed be, sisters!

Night of a Thousand Goddesses 2009

Save the Date!
Coven of the Twilight Moon presents- Night of a Thousand Goddesses
The Evening of August 22, 2009
Silver Lake, California

What happens when women come together to share knowledge and connect with the Goddess? Magick happens!

Night of a Thousand Goddesses is an event where each participant has the opportunity to educate and enlighten other sisters in the Pagan community. Each sister may bring and create an altar to a Goddess of their inclination, and share the story of their Goddess, as well as do an evocation, an offering, lead a meditation or chant, or any other Goddess focused activity. We usually cast a less formal circle than usual and create sacred space to begin the event, and then go around the circle, where we can explain our altar, tell our Goddess’ story, and lead our activity. Participants don’t HAVE to lead an activity, but it’s really great if most do.

This is the second time we’ve done this community-oriented event. After circle, we’ll have a potluck, and time to look at everyone’s altar. There will also be extra candles available, if one would like to light candles at any of the altars.

This event is women-only- no men.

This year we’ll be having it at Aislin and Beth’s home in Silver Lake. You can find a few photos from our previous event at - http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a268/twilightmoon/NOATG/

If you are interested, send an email to Ivy at barefoot witch@gmail.com (no spaces) :)

Lughnasadh 2009

This year, for Lughnasadh/ Lammas, we celebrated the first harvest by making corn dollies and geting rid of bad habits. Sadly, Aislin couldn't make it, and we missed her dearly. We also had a guest at this ritual, Rayne, who is a 2* in our tradition, and who used to be in our coven.

July Esbat

Esbat last night was nice. We connected with the element of water, and felt refreshed afterwards! :) The moon was high and bright and beautiful!

Midsummer Incense

Grind and mix the following together:

• Lavender (LOTS!)
• Rose Buds
• Marigold
• Mugwort
• Copol
• Elder
• Thyme

Photos from Litha!

Photos from our Midsummer celebration have now been posted! http://s368.photobucket.com/albums/oo126/twilightmooncoven/Litha%202009/
Click to see more!

Litha 2009

This Litha, we partnered with another circle for ritual, and it turned out fabulous. Our circle centered around self-love, and it was a great experience. After the circle, sangria was consumed, our potluck feast was eaten, and we had a little bit of drumming. Aislin taught us all a wonderful chant she learned on a Midsummers evening long ago. Pictures to come!

Elemental Chant

Chorus:
Behold, there is magic all around you
Behold, there is magic all around you
Behold, there is magic all around you
Awaken, rejoice and sing.

I am the air within you,
I am the breath of life within you,
I am the breeze blowing through you
I am all that I am

*chorus*

I am the fire within you,
I am the spark of life within you,
I am the flame burning through you,
I am all that I am.

*chorus*

I am the water within you,
I am the well of life within you,
I am the wave moving through you,
I am all that I am.

*chorus*

I am the earth within you,
I am the force of life within you,
I am the ground beneath you,
I am all that I am.

*chorus*

Tomorrow is Litha!

This weekend is Litha and we're so excited to host a sister circle for Midsummer! We'll post photos this weekend! Hope everyone has a great Solstice festival!

Samhain and Imbolc Photos!

These have been posted in our photo album... more Ostara and Beltane to come! I'll post a bit about Beltane once I get the photos... :)

Here are a couple from Imbolc:







And a few from last Samhain:

Coven Meeting 4/18/09

This recent weekend, we had our coven meeting and it was really nice. We did a few of the energy exercises described in my recent blog, as well as one that Aislin had tried before. In addition to being fun, it was really good to practice moving our energies around within our bodies, and from one person to another.

Energy Pushing Exercise
Aislin said that she thinks that this exercise might be in Penczak’s Inner Temple book.

One person is the ‘pusher,’ the other is the ‘receiver.’ Both parties stand facing one another and they might close their eyes to improve their concentration. The pusher begins to direct energy toward the other person with the intent to push the receiver, making her lean back. The other people act as observers, as both pusher and receiver will probably have their eyes shut.

This was a great exercise. We switched partners throughout the exercise, which was my original plan- but time really flew by quicker than expected- so we’ll have to do the other exercises next time.

We also discussed our plans for Beltane! :)

Ostara 2009

This years Ostara ritual was led by Bloodrose- who did a great job! Our theme was the growth that spring brings, and our preritual activity is obvious if you look at the above picture. Lots of fun!

Imbolc 2009

Well, Mother Nature changed our plans for Imbolc. Our original plan was to "create" a well, and tie clooties to the trees around it, as well as include a processional lit by many candles. But Mother Nature had other plans in store for us. Rain. And more rain. And still more rain. So, inside we went. Instead of our dressing of the well, we created Brighids crosses.

The rest of the ritual went as planned. We blessed and consecrated flower bulbs that we will soon plant at Ostara. We chose the Iris, because of its association with the Fleur de Lis, our coven symbol. We honored Brighid, and we enjoyed a kitty guest in our circle. Pictures will be posted this week!

Dedication (Aislin and Beth)

Let it be known that Aislin and Beth have dedicated themselves to the Coven of the Twilight Moon! Blessed be, new (official) outer court sisters!

Prayer Beads

Tonight, we had our February meetings. We went over our goals for this year, and how we will try to achieve them, as well as introduced our monthly theme aspect. Each initiate will take a turn researching and presenting about a goddess- her lore, activities, and more, and this will also tie into our esbat rite. We're really excited and looking forward to this. Tonights discussion was about personal practices, and devotions. Our craft this evening was the creation of prayer beads. We each created a set of prayer beads that were personal to us, and then, also created a small elemental mala for each sister. Pictures are uploaded here!

New Yule Pics Posted

New Yule Pictures have been posted!

http://s368.photobucket.com/albums/oo126/twilightmooncoven/Yule%202008/

Festival of Lights

Invocation to Brighid

Great Lady Brighid!
Daughter of the Dagda,
Wife to Bres,
Exalted One,
She who makes her home at Kildare,
Bright Fiery Power!
She who inspires poets and writers, hearth Mother,
She who honors, Heals and promotes the family,
Patronness of the arts, and smithcraft,
Bright Maiden!
Come to us tonight!
As we honor you on your festival day!

Mistletoe- Not Just for Kissing

Mistletoe- Not Just for Kissing
(from our 10/06 newsletter)
by Ivy Artemisia

Did you know that Mistletoe- one of the holidays most inspiring traditions- is really a parasitic plant named for bird feces?

Mistletoe grows on hardwood trees, such as oak and apple trees. It’s parasitic, and as it grows, it thrusts its roots into the bark of the tree. While this rarely kills the host tree, mistletoe sucks nutrients and water from the host tree and uses this to further its growth. The berries of the mistletoe are eaten by birds, who then deposit their droppings on the branches where they’ve feasted, thus ensuring the cycle of life of the mistletoe plant. Actually, the name “mistletoe” is derived from the Anglo-Saxons. Their word for dung was “mistle” and the word for twig was “tan.” “Mistletan” was Old English for Mistletoe, and that reminds us that it was named for the bird droppings.

Bird crap aside, the Druids believed the mistletoe plant was of divine origin. In serious Winter Solstice rituals, druids would lead long processionals through the forest, until they came upon mistletoe growing on an oak tree. The head Druid would cut the mistletoe away from the host tree with a golden sickle. It was then caught upon a white linen cloth and was not allowed to touch the ground. The Druids believed that this plant was able to cure illness and other maladies and gave it the Celtic name “uile” or All-Heal. They also believed that it was a fertility plant, given to them by the Gods. You can still find All-Heal in many herbal shoppes, though it is poisonous and can cause stomach issues and it may even be fatal.

In rural Sweden and Switzerland, people believed that in order to get the full potency of mistletoe, one had to collect it in a special way at a certain time. The sun had to be in Sagittarius, and the moon must be waning. Also, the mistletoe had to be shot or knocked down and caught before touching the ground. It was also believed to protect against witchcraft and sorcery and was used in counter magic, in order to counter curses and hexes.

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe most likely came from the associate of the plant with the Scandinavian cultures. Frigga, a Norse Goddes,s had taken the oath of every person and plant that they would not harm her son, Balder. All, except the mistletoe plant- she thought it too young, small and inconsequential. Loki found the mistletoe and, steering his hand, convinced Balder’s blind brother, Hod to heave the mistletoe at Balder. The dart of mistletoe went through Balder, killing him instantly. Frigga’s tears turned the red berries of mistletoe to white, and with his mother’s kiss Balder was restored to life. Frigga was so grateful that she declared that anyone who walked under mistletoe shall be bestowed upon them a kiss.

Mistletoe is one of the most revered and holy plants of the ancients. Transcending cultures and geography, this herb is known for its powerful healing and harming properties. So, next time you kiss someone under the mistletoe- remember just how powerful the herb above you might be.

Yule 2008

We had a beautiful sunrise Yule circle this year, and welcomed friends and family to it. It was held in Silverlake at the home of two of our sisters, and we welcomed the sun and the new year. Click the photo above to be taken to a few photos (more to be uploaded this week).

Pagan Pride Day!

We had a blast at PPD this year, and made a decent amount of money for our group. :) Click the photo below to be taken to the album- there are lots of pictures!

Looking Forward to October...

Sabbatical...

... seeing as there has been no activity on the blog for sometime, I feel that its necessary to mention that we as a coven are taking a short break in order to rest, regroup and then re-manifest in the early fall.

Our classes are postponed until that time.... and we should be resuming classes in late August/ early September.

Willow's Departure

Let it be known that Willow's sabbatical has come to a close, and she has made the decision to leave our circle to find her place on a Dianic path. We will miss her, and we appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that she has put forth on behalf of the coven. As one of the founders, she's been instrumental in getting us to where we are. We will miss you, Willow, and we wish you the best of blessings as you pursue your path.

February Esbat 2008

This Wednesday night circle honored Brighid. On Her festival day we created candles, and it took much longer than expected. So, we honored Her on this moon, and asked for her blessings. We have an Imbolc tradition, and we continued this tradition at this circle. Here are a couple photos from this circle. Click here for a few more pictures.

Craft Night

We had a craft night last night- our first for 2008. We tried some new things with polymer clay. Some came out good... some not-so-great. Click here to see the rest. :)

Rose

Be it known that Nahimana has taken a new Craft name- Rose.

Yule 2007

Every year we host an open ritual for Yule. The number of people involved, the venue, and theme usually changes, but two things stay the same. We invite our family and friends and we have a great time! This year, we hosted a sunrise circle at a local park. We got a permit that stated that we were allowed to use candles- very exciting stuff. :)


Here are two pictures... one of our altar before the sun rose, and one of our friends after the ritual! For more pictures, click here!

Exciting News!

In February 2008, we will be opening our Wicca 101 classes up to all women who are interested in taking them. This is the first time that we've done a thing like this, but we are very excited about it. These "Open circle" sisters will be taking the classes along with our Dedicants.

That being said... we are also opening our Outer Court to those who are interested in dedicating to our coven (which will entail extra classes, meetings, ritual attendance, social events, fun, laughter, etc. :). We will be hosting a small gathering and orientation for both aspirants (sisters interested in joining the coven) and for open circle students on January 26, 2008. If you are interested, feel free to email Ivy at barefootwitch at hotmail dot com.

Have a great day!

November's Rune Workshop/ Esbat

Blessings to all who might be reading this during the beginning of holiday crunch time!

I just wanted to share what we did last weekend at November's meeting. Willow led an awesome rune workshop, and we made runes out of glittery fimo clay. They all turned out fabulous! Here is a picture of Nahimana's runes.





If we keep this up, we'll have a cupboard full of handmade tools. :) Our full moon ritual, led by Willow ended our really late evening.

October Meeting

During this months meeting we created scrying mirrors that we will use in our Samhain circle. We had a lot of fun creating them. :) Chants we also on the agenda, and we learned a few new ones- including one that we will use at this months esbat.

Mabon 2007

Here is a movie that I created (my first little movie) using the photos from Mabon.

Well, less than three days have passed since the bubbly toilet incident, and today I got some bad news. Willow posted today on our forum that the rec room has flooded. How sad! The condos on that whole side of the building got flooded. Oh wait... did I mention that it was sewage?! Gross!

I'm going to quote from the post that Willow posted at our coven forum:

The rec room got FLOODED last night. With sewage. All the condos on that side of the complex got flooded last night. (Makes me wonder about the bubbing toilet.) people have had to pull up flooring and everything. They had to pull up the carpet in the rec room and tear holes in the walls to prevent molding. The city also brought in industrial heaters to dry everything out. SO, the rec room is out of commision for a while. However, this cloud has a silver lining. Once everything is dried out and re-dry walled we will have brand new carpet.

So, sad for the condos and the rec room, yay for new carpet. I'm glad we put everything in plastic boxes. I bet we'll have to get a new altar table, though. I'm hoping that everything will be fixed by our open circle for Yule, I'll keep this blog updated!

Fun With a Toilet

Well, I was trying to decide whether or not to post this, but I decided to, anyway. We were sitting around, chatting, and the toilet started bubbling. So, I grabbed my point and shoot, and shot video. Of course, it stopped immediately. But it was still funny. So, I wanted to post us being silly girls. Please ignore the dirty toilet. We are blessed to meet in a community rec room, and we've used almost every cleaning product to try to get that sucker clean.

So, after the sceeery bubbling, I tried to flush it and it wouldn't drain properly. It was funny. TO us, at least.

Pagan Pride Day 2007

This year is the first year that we didn't vend. Actually this is the first year that I've BEEN to PPD and not been stuck in a booth. It was magic!

Really, having a booth is great- its a great way to make money, but last year we barely made our booth fee back. Last year there were a GRIP of people, and a LOT of booths. This year there were less booths, and less people attending. Last year I spoke with a few vendors, and they were having the same problem recouping their booth fee, and many people didn't return to vend. Quelle bummer! We remarked repeatedly that we were having much more fun NOT vending. However, we were missing out on what used to be our biggest fundraiser of the year, and the opportunity to let people know what we are about.

Its a bummer, but the booth fee is kind of steep for organizations wishing to vend to benefit their organization. It may only be $50, but if you are just selling handmade crafts, it takes awhile to even make back the booth fee. A few years ago, there weren't as many booths as there are now, so consumer competition wasn't as fierce.

Anywho, we had a lot of fun! Click the picture below for more pictures taken there!

We say goodbye...

.... to Azure, may she find her path. She leaves on good terms, of course, and she had better come to Yule. Or else! We'll miss you Azure...

Coven Retreat 2007

Well, this hasn't been updated in some time. We've all had a lot going on lately.

Me (ivy)- Planning a wedding
Willow- Student teaching
Azure- School/ finals
Nahimana- baby and new job

So, we've all been hard pressed to make sure we all have time together. We took a weekend out of our busy lives and took a retreat. This took place of our annual Pacific Circle campout. Because it takes SO long to get ready for camping, then you camp, then it takes forever to clean up. So. We decided to get a hotel room for the weekend, cook, hangout, spend quality time, go to medieval times, and just chill. We were so grateful for a dishwasher, a real stove, AC and a pool. ;)

So many things went wrong at the hotel, really. Enough for me to actually write a letter. I'm very upset that I haven't recieved a response yet. But... I'll just move up the food chain, I guess. Anyway- we had a lot of fun... I'll be posting a few pictures.. and maybe if I can figure it out, I'll post a little video I took at the hotel. The PITA about posting the pictures, is that I have to resize and re-up all the ones I wanna post. Poops!

ETA: Peektures!