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TEMPLES, COVENS AND GROVES OH MY!
(c) 1992, Khaled Quicksilver, c/o P.O. Box 32, Stn "B," Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6C3
Circle: Three or more people who gather to work ritual or Craft. Some are ritual only, some worship only, but most do both. The following are all special cases of a Circle:
Grove: Circle usually led by, and under the auspices of, a coven. Frequently eclectic in practice, groves are commonly used as an introduction to the Craft as a whole but not necessarily to any given Tradition. Groves usually don't Initiate. May also be called a Study Group.
Coven: Circle gathering at least once per month (most, however, get together twice a month) for worship and/or magic. Membership tends to be stable with personnel changes being gradual. Normally practicing within a single Tradition, Covens typically have strong group rapport. Most train their members to whatever standard they use. Rites of passage (the "I" word) are the norm.
Temple: two or more Circles, generally at least one coven (the Inner Circle) and a grove (the Outer Circle), the latter being open to the public. Serves the public as a place to worship and/or learn about the Gods with advanced training for those seekers who meet the Temple's standards. I'm on shakier ground here, never having run a Temple, but I see a Circle/Grove open to the general public as essential to the definition, while the strong affiliation to one or more covens is a matter of observation (as is the relationship between groves and covens cited earlier).
A fair number of practitioners do not distinguish among these terms (nor, for that
matter, among Wicca, Paganism & New Age). Feel free to take issue with any of
these definitions, but they are what I have in mind as I write this. Let's take a
closer look at what each of these is and how they tend to function within neo paganism.
A Circle is a gathering of, preferably like-minded, individuals for purposes of magic
and/or worship. None of those gathered need to be of the same Tradition, nor even
Initiate, though it makes for better results if at least some of them are. All groves,covens
and temples are therefore Circles. The reverse, however, isn't always the case since
many Circles do not also meet the criteria for a grove, coven or temple.
A grove, or study group, is a Circle of students learning the basics of neo pagan
(or Wiccan or any of the other subsets of Pagan) worship and Circle techniques. While
normally under the tutelage of one or more Initiates, the members are not necessarily
being trained towards Initiation in any particular Tradition, nor need the tutors
be of the same Tradition(s) as the students (nor even of each other).
Mystery religions, by their very nature, aren't for everyone,nor is any given Mystery
suitable for all Initiates. The grove is a way for potential Initiates to take a
good look at one or more Traditions while learning how to handle themselves in just
about any basic Circle. If this isn't for them, they can easily drop it. If it is,
they can focus on the specific Tradition (or family of Traditions) which seems to
speak most clearly to them (assuming they were exposed to more than one). Similarly,
the tutor(s) can teach basic technique to any serious Seeker without worrying about
an implied commitment to Initiate anyone unsuited to their particular Tradition.
Now lest I be misunderstood here, I'm not suggesting that grove leaders should come
from different Trads. Doing so is likely to produce confused students especially
if such leaders aren't quite clear about differences in accepted practice and in
ritual correspondences, the two places any two Trads are most likely to differ. What
I am suggesting is that the grove might bring in guest speakers from different Traditions
to try to convey why a Seeker might wish to practice in that particular style. Similarly,before
a candidate will be ready for Initiation into a specific Tradition, s/he will need
more than basic technique. S/he will also need a grasp of that Trad's style and
correspondence system.
Groves do not normally do Initiations (they're done by the sponsoring coven, if any),
and tend to be oriented more towards teaching and worship than towards magical practice.
They are also more likely to be fairly open to new members or even the general public
than is the case with established covens, whereas study groups, in my experience
at least, are more likely to be invitation-only. The most effective groves (or study
groups, of course) are under the helpful eye, if not out-and-out sponsorship, of
an established coven or family of covens.
A coven, on the other hand, is a regularly meeting Circle, all of the same Tradition,
at least some of whom are Initiates (and at least one of whom holds Initiatory power
if the coven is to survive or grow). Such a group tends to become very close ("closer
than kin") and is bound by the rules and styles (deliberately non-existent in
some cases) of its Tradition, and by its own, internal, rules and customs. A member
of a coven is normally provided training and, when deemed ready, Initiation or Elevation
by that coven's Priesthood/Elders.
There are also magical considerations which go into the making of a coven which further
differentiate it from a grove/study group, but it isn't my intention to go into them
here. Suffice it to say that they are connected to the closeness and tend to enhance
it. Because the bond is tight, and because a coven generally intends to be around
for a few decades, they're kinda fussy about who joins. The wise Seeker is equally
fussy about which, if any,coven s/he eventually joins. You're not joining a social
club here, you're adopting, and being adopted into, an extended family. And this
time 'round you have some control over who your kin will be!
Neo-Pagan temples are a fairly new phenomena combining many of the characteristics
of both covens and groves. I think that the clearest description of just what they're
about comes from the (draft) Constitution of the Temple of the Lady in Victoria,
B.C.: a) to minister to the Pagan community by way of providing support,education
and sponsoring religious celebrations; b) to establish and maintain a religious
sanctuary and place of worship accessible to all who would worship the Goddess and
the God; c) to provide a seminary for the training of Wiccan clergy; d) to provide
accredited ordination for Wiccan clergy; e) to provide accurate information about
Witchcraft to all who would ask and to engage in dialogue with other religious groups
with the purpose of furthering understanding and friendship between us; and f) to
do other charitable acts of goodwill as will benefit the community at large.
As stated in my definition of temple, above, I consider the provision of neo pagan
(not necessarily Wiccan) religious instruction and services to the general public
to be essential, and provision of community services to the local neo pagan population
highly desireable. To be taken seriously in the wider world, we need to have our
clergy recognized by our government(s), which in turn means that we need to be visibly
providing training and ordination which meets government accrediting criteria (which
can vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction). Such accredited ordination
is most easily administered
through temples.
To address a diatribe current on the Nets, so long as the governments we seek accrediting
from think in Christian terms, then we will have to use Christian terms, carefully
defined to earmark differences in usage, to describe ourselves to them. Sure, there's
some danger of picking up some inappropriate (to Wicca) ways of thinking along with
those terms, but we're more likely to import them with converts who were raised as
Christians. The solution to both problems is the same X clearly understood (by the
tutors above all!) religious instruction. And if a Christian notion isn't inappropriate,
and if it's truly useful, why shouldn't we adopt it? Religious intolerance itself
is inappropriate to Wiccan thought,and I think we should be clearer in condemning
it.
So how does it all tie together? I think that the neo pagan community needs a mix
of solitaires, coveners and templers, along with significant variety among their
Traditions, to remain intellectually and spiritually healthy. We also need umbrella
organizations capable of meeting the needs of each of them, not only for credibility
with governments and the general public, but to spread new (and not so new) ideas
around the very community they should exist to serve. I'll talk more on what I think
this umbrella organization should look like in another article. For now, let's get
back to roles of the different types of Circle.
One of the things that fascinates about the Craft is our teaching that the Gods don't
need a priesthood to run interference between Them and Their worshipers. Nor is this
a new idea. Heroditus recorded with a certain amazement that Persians must call on
a Magus to perform every little sacrifice, whereas among the Greeks of his time,
anyone, including housewives and slaves, could sacrifice at any time, assuming they
had the desire and the means. We have a priesthood because some people feel called
to a deeper understanding and expression of their faith than is the case for many.
And while our Gods don't need Initiated priesthoods, humans find them very useful
both as a source of thoughtful religious instruction and as a ready source of warm
bodies to stick with the administrivia of organizing group ritual.
Despite considerable mythology to the contrary, effective worship, like sex, isn't
something that just 'comes naturally'. It must be learned, and practiced. Groves,
festivals and temples are all good places to learn the fundamentals, assuming you
weren't fortunate enough to learn them at home. They are also good places to socialize
with people who think much the way you do, a deeply seated human need we do well
not to overlook. If your need runs deeper, you will find Priesthood there to talk
to. If your needs prove more mystically oriented, they should be able to arrange
contact with one or more covens, who can in turn, if appropriate,Initiate you into
whichever flavour of the Mysteries they practice.
Different Circle structures serve different needs. None is superior to the other
except to the extent that it serves your needs better. For those of us seeking simply
to express our religious feelings in sympathetic company, whichever form best serves
that expression is all we're likely to need. But those of us who feel called to serve
the greater community will need all of them to achieve the mandate we have set ourselves.
