Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 7: Covens vs. Solitary Witchcraft
1.5k Plays2 years ago
Welcome back Witches! This week we'll be discussing the differences between Covens vs. Solitary Practice. We'll share what they mean, their benefits and set backs, and some places to find other witches in your community. So get in losers, and lets discuss Covens vs. Solitary Witchcraft.
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Supercast & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft or email us at weredoingwitchcraft@gmail.com. You can support our show through our
Supercast: https://getinloserweredoingwitchcraft.supercast.com
Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/getinwitches
Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
- Ethony. Solitary Witchcraft vs. Coven Work and Finding a Coven. (2016). https://ethony.com/solitary-witchcraft-vs-coven-work-finding-coven/
- The Warrior Witch. Do You Need a Coven. (2020). https://warriorwitchnike.com/covens/
- Youtube:
a. HearthWitch
b. Warrior Witch Nike
c. Ethony
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efTDOMLDcXs
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un_Hraft1bs
- https://www.mookychick.co.uk/health/witchcraft-spirituality/solitary_pagans_and_covens.php
- https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/seeking-witchcraft/id1462656660
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft in the occult, but feel lost somewhere to start? Then welcome to Get In, Loser. We're doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we have learned about the craft. So get in witches and let's debate covens and solitary witchcraft.
Exploring Hendrix Gin Flavors
00:00:50
Speaker
Have you had Hendrix Gen? Yeah. Okay, so they have a line called the cabinet of curiosities and they put out special gens like every season. So they have one that's called lunar that's made under the moonlight with moonwater.
00:01:07
Speaker
Yeah, that was the last one that they did. I bought like three bottles of it. It's also so good. And then the one before that was Summer Solstice, which was super floral and pretty. And then this one is called Neptunia, and it pulls the botanicals of the sea.
00:01:25
Speaker
I am so mad that we were not gin drinkers in America because what the fuck, Hendrix Gin? You can't sell that here. Do they not? We get it from the base, so no. Yeah, because even the one before those, I still have two bottles of it. It's called Orbium. It's really good. It's very herby. Even just their plain, regular gin is really good. Alrighty.
Coven vs Solitary Witchcraft
00:01:54
Speaker
Today we're going to be discussing covens versus solitary witchcraft, what are the pros and cons to both things you should look out for and some advice for where you can go if you're interested in finding a covenant in your area.
00:02:08
Speaker
Now, before we start, I think it's important to kind of clarify what we mean by solitary witchcraft or covens. So what is solitary witchcraft? Solitary witchcraft would be one who chooses to practice their craft on their own, whereas coven or group work would be a group or a gathering of witches who meet regularly. You don't have to be from the same background or practices or same beliefs to be in a coven together. Covens can be eclectic.
00:02:36
Speaker
Some folklore behind covens believe that they have to have 13 members, no more, no less, which is not accurate. And then Wicca is practiced within a coven that has an inner and outer court. They perform rituals and initiations.
00:02:54
Speaker
Yeah, and so usually like if you're researching covens, Wicca is probably going to be one of the most popular coven based practices that you'll find whenever you're researching or just looking into coven work, because Wicca is a religion that uses witchcraft to celebrate their religion. And while there are solitary Wicca practitioners, for the most part, you're going to find Wicca practitioners within a coven.
00:03:18
Speaker
So we're going to have an entire episode where we dedicate to Wicca and we delve into their practices. But for those of you who are interested in learning more right now, as in after this podcast is over, don't stop this podcast and listen to another one.
00:03:35
Speaker
If you are interested, there is an amazing podcast for people who are trying to learn more about Wicca and its health witches seeking witchcraft, and we'll link that podcast in our show notes. It's a really great podcast if you're interested in Wicca specifically. She does talk about other topics related to witchcraft, but her podcast is very informative about being a seeker and trying to get initiated into Wicca.
00:04:04
Speaker
I think it's important too that we know you don't need to be in a coven to practice or to be a witch. While being in a coven can be beneficial in ways, it doesn't make you any less of a witch to practice solitary. Do what works for you and what works for your path. Some benefits of both. For solitary, benefits would be that you get to choose what you do in your craft
00:04:28
Speaker
So it's not like you have to do like group rituals or group spells or anything like that. You're able to pick and choose what you want to do. And then it's much easier to practice solitary today than maybe it was in the past because information is just readily available. You can, you know, join social media groups. You can just search on the internet. There's a ridiculous amount of books on witchcraft out there, YouTube channels, all kinds of things.
00:04:54
Speaker
And then you can also learn at your own pace and practice within your own schedule instead of having to be at a certain place at a certain time to do a certain spell or ritual or
Benefits of Coven Membership
00:05:05
Speaker
whatever. So it's more beneficial for a person that doesn't like to have a very regimented schedule for it. Yeah.
00:05:13
Speaker
It's very flexible. Also, there's a lot of creativity with solitary practices and many eclectic or solitary practitioners tend to borrow elements of different beliefs, such as animism, juridism, heathenism, and neopaganism.
00:05:29
Speaker
practices. So I mean, essentially, it's just what you're comfortable learning, what you're comfortable researching. And you can also be really creative in working with specific deities. And, you know, which is something that you might not have if you were in a coven, which I mean, obviously, in any sort of
00:05:49
Speaker
witchcraft space. You can work with whoever you want to and whatever deity you want to, but I feel like it's probably a little bit easier to do that if you are a solitary practitioner because you're not limited to the rituals that you're doing within your coven.
00:06:05
Speaker
And then some benefits to working in a coven. This is an area where you can get an environment of support. So you're not just out there trying to figure everything out on your own. You can bounce ideas off of each other, or maybe you're having a hard time with something and someone can come and help you through that. So you have that, whereas working by yourself, you don't have the support.
00:06:30
Speaker
Yeah, and oftentimes coven members become like an extended family because you're able to create that deep connection with other members of the coven that you're with. With this, because you're forming these deep connections, this, I have it as a pro and a con, but something that you will experience and probably a lot of coven settings is Skyclad, which is ritual nudity.
00:06:56
Speaker
it can be like we'll talk about the cons of it but as far as the pros I mean that just helps to put everybody I think like on an equal playing field like everybody is vulnerable together and you're developing those deep connections with the other members of your coven yeah I feel like that like the pro to that is like you're saying being on an equal playing field but also like building trust between each other maybe so oh yeah yeah definitely
00:07:26
Speaker
Yeah. And then when it comes to like spell work or rituals.
00:07:31
Speaker
there's sometimes a lot of preparation that goes into these. So being in a coven, you can kind of divvy up the work and share the work in rituals and in space. So, you know, maybe you live somewhere where you don't practice openly with other family members, and you might have to try to like schedule your spell work around people not being home or within using a certain space. And being in a coven allows you a different space or place to practice.
00:07:59
Speaker
practice with people who also practice what you do or believe what you do. So along with this as well, even just beginning a ritual or ceremony can make it easier to get into that ritual mindset. And so I think if you have that space where you're able to share work and share these rituals in this specific space where you have your coven meetings,
00:08:24
Speaker
Even just being in that space, once you've gotten used to it and you've been initiated in the covenant and you're working with that covenant, it can automatically put you in that ritualistic mindset as opposed to because that place is already cleansed. It's not like if you have an altar in your bedroom and you're trying to do a ritual where you have to clean up your whole space before you can get in. Sometimes it takes a minute to get in that ritual mindset.
00:08:46
Speaker
If you're in a coven, sometimes just the act of going to your coven meetings and being around those people can help put you in that ritualistic mindset.
Challenges of Solitary Practice
00:08:56
Speaker
One, not only that, but you're able to share ideas, learn from each other, experience maybe different customs or different practices from other members of the coven that maybe you wouldn't have experienced if you were on your own.
00:09:09
Speaker
And then it can give you structure and motivation, help you getting into that mindset and prepping for it rather than someone like me. I am not very good at remembering to do things. I will completely forget if it's not something that's on my schedule. I know I have to do it this day, this time. Being in a coven where you know we're meeting
00:09:32
Speaker
every other Wednesday or something and you know that you have these things that you have to do so it might help to like motivate you and stay focused. In the same way and even if it's just not even just a coven but just with group work where you have
00:09:47
Speaker
a witchy community where you know, okay, um, on this night, we're going to be celebrating the new moon and we're going to do a ritual. And just having that accountability partner, I think is great because if, when you're a solitary practitioner, like you said, like, unless you have it written down, unless you have already thought ahead and you know what you're going to do, sometimes it can feel daunting or I'm lazy. If I'm feeling lazy or just tired or something.
00:10:13
Speaker
I don't do rituals every time that we have a new moon or a full moon. And I wish that I did. I wish I was that type of a person. And I feel like I might be more of that type of a person if I was involved intimately with either a group or a coven just to have that accountability and to know like, Oh, we talked about this a few weeks ago. I need to get my stuff ready. You know what I mean? Yeah, I saw a meme and it made me laugh because it is a hundred percent meme and it's like,
00:10:39
Speaker
90% of witchcraft is being like, oh my gosh, there's a full moon coming and planning and prepping and then falling asleep before the full moon even happens. I was like, yep. Nothing has been true. Yeah, so.
00:10:56
Speaker
And then with a coven, you can also just find like-minded people to share this with. Whereas maybe you're open about your practice with your family, but they don't practice or they don't follow the same thing. It gives you a group of people to share your craft with. And this is also especially true for those that aren't open with their family and are practicing in the broom closet. So
00:11:21
Speaker
You have other people that also practice that you can just kind of be yourself around and discuss these topics with. Yeah. And then you can also use that as a way to also talk about any sort of rituals that you do or spell work that you do if you see it manifesting in your life or learning about a new topic, having that connection to a group.
00:11:42
Speaker
It's great to discuss it and, you know, have moments where you can brag about how this has been manifesting in your life and just get some insight. And then even just like celebrating, like, you know, if you follow the wheel of the year, sabbats, s-bats, and even like the moon cycle, being able to have other people that also celebrate those things and share that with. Being able to harness a collective energy in your spall work as well.
00:12:12
Speaker
And then obviously with benefits, there's also going to be limitations. So some limitations for solitary witchcraft, it can be lonely and isolating. A lot of times community plays a role in many people's spirituality. So not having a coven to lean on or bounce ideas off of can just be very isolating for a person.
00:12:35
Speaker
This can be especially true, I think, if you're practicing in rural areas or places like the Bible Belt or in the South where it might not be common to see people out of the broom closet, it can feel very isolating.
Issues in Coven Dynamics
00:12:50
Speaker
If you get stuck in your spellwork and a ritual, even just in learning something, like if you're trying to read about something and you're not fully understanding it,
00:13:00
Speaker
practicing solitary, there's no one that you can, you know, bounce that idea off of or talk through something that you're not fully understanding and discuss ideas with. And then it's also easy to get stagnant in your craft if you're practicing solitary when you don't have a coven or a schedule or a regiment to keep you on track. That's totally true. And then, as we mentioned earlier,
00:13:23
Speaker
you do have, I mean, with the advent of the internet that has helped, but there's still some things that I'll research where I feel like I don't completely understand or I need somebody to talk to you about it. And I don't want to go on a Reddit thread. I mean, you can, I mean, and I have before and that's something that, you know, we'll talk about a bit later, but sometimes instead of trying to talk to a stranger on the internet about it, it would be so much easier if I had like a mentor or somebody that I can reach out to. If you're practicing solitary, it can make it very difficult.
00:13:52
Speaker
And we literally today we were just talking about like the whole astrology thing. Like I understand what my big three are and anything outside of that. I'm like, I have no clue. And I know you don't even know who to talk to. You're like, I know some things, but it's a lot.
00:14:08
Speaker
It is that I feel like you could be seriously studying it for your whole life and still not know everything else to know about it. Yep. And then some limitations to practicing in a coven. You have to rely on others who might not be as motivated as you are, or maybe you're the one that's not really motivated and other people are, and you know, maybe there's too much pressure there.
00:14:32
Speaker
So not really like following through with something that can hinder your learning or someone else's learning or ritual or spell or whatever it is. You might not feel comfortable with other members of the group, which that's oftentimes in any group, you're gonna fall into like, you need time to really get to know people before you're comfortable with doing things. And some people you're just not going to mesh with, you're not gonna be comfortable with them ever. So you could run into that.
00:15:01
Speaker
And bringing up SkyCloud again, I've listened to a lot of people talk about SkyCloud too. And it's either, I mean, once you've done it and you've committed yourself into a coven, if your coven practices SkyCloud, then that's just, if you were to be part of the coven, you practice SkyCloud. And that can be a make or break situation for some people. But from what I've heard is that people, you know, they,
00:15:25
Speaker
have a lot of anxiety about it or some people, you know, the people who have anxiety about it, they'll either have like a lot of anxiety about it. And then once they are in this situation, it becomes natural and it's not that big of a deal. But if you're not comfortable with the people that you're around, it's going to be hard to be
00:15:41
Speaker
nude in front of them, even if it's just like, obviously there's nothing sexual about it. It's ritualistic nudity. But if you're not comfortable with that, like that can be very off-putting. Yep. And then of course, like with any group of people, you might run into drama or just like regular toxicity that comes along with just being in a group of people. Like this is something we deal with every day outside of witchcraft, whether it's at your job or it could be your family.
00:16:10
Speaker
you know, toxic family members or drama, that is something that you could run into working with a coven. Spellwork or rituals may be based on a majority vote, meaning that you may not need what's being done, but you're still expected to participate and help others through it.
00:16:27
Speaker
With that one too, I feel like that's a toxic trait that I have. Not that it's not benefiting me, but sometimes, especially if I'm already tired or something and I'm in just a group anyway and we're doing
00:16:43
Speaker
something, not rich, not like witchcraft, but just anything. Sometimes my mind will just kind of wonder and I'm like, when can I go home? Like I'm not fully invested in it. And that's something I've been trying to actually change this year on being more present in that situation. But if that's hard for you, that's going to be difficult, especially if you, like you said, you may not need what's being done. If you're not fully invested in it, it's hard for you to be there for the other people who need it.
00:17:13
Speaker
Well, I also, and I think part of this came from a YouTube video that I was watching. She was talking about how A, sometimes like if it was something that she didn't need, she wasn't invested or other times if it was some kind of ritual asking for something for, you know, yourself.
00:17:32
Speaker
She felt bad asking, like participating and putting it out there that this was needed when it wasn't needed for her. And I was like, oh, I could kind of see that too. She didn't give any examples, but you know, if you're asking for things that you don't need, I get why she would feel that way. Also within coven, something that people may not realize or really even think about is that there are, there is a hierarchy and people may not be familiar with it and
00:18:00
Speaker
depending on where you fall in the hierarchy, the more responsibility you
Commitment to Coven Membership
00:18:04
Speaker
have. And so the hierarchy obviously can change and the words can change depending on what type of coven or group you're associated with. And, but essentially like it can go from anything. It can be in like degrees for second or third degrees. It can be anything from like seekers or initiates, neophytes, dedicants, and it usually ends in
00:18:26
Speaker
priest or priestess or a high priest or a high priestess. And like I have mentioned, you know, the higher up in the hierarchy, there are more responsibility you have. Also with covens, there is a time commitment. So for the most part, unless you are finding a very eclectic group to join,
00:18:45
Speaker
joining a coven is going to be time consuming. You have to first find a coven in your area so that's taking time on your end to search your area and try to find something and then sending out an inquiry and then whether that be through like email or a facebook message something like that and then from there someone will reach out to you from the coven. In my experience
00:19:08
Speaker
whenever I reached out to a local coven here, I'm living, the high priest got in contact with me and essentially it was just like emails gathering information about myself, what I know about the tradition, and possibly setting up time to just meet to discuss more about it. That wasn't even me being
00:19:29
Speaker
initiated into a coven or anything. That's just the very basic and it can take a long time to get to that point where you're in ready to be initiated in a coven in the training process is long. So for instance, the coven that I was interested in joining with the Suffolk Garden area and coven here in the UK and essentially for this coven
00:19:52
Speaker
The training process was two years as a seeker before you can even begin the process of initiation. And during those two years you work on things like meditation, history, path working, and just the ins and outs of the coven. And during this time you'll participate in outer court ceremonies and rituals, the will of the year celebrations,
00:20:13
Speaker
For me, even though I was really wanting to join this coven or even just train with the coven and go through the seeking process, it wouldn't have been a good fit for me because we are only in England for three years. So if I did this whole training process and say,
00:20:29
Speaker
I was ready to be initiated. The coven was a good fit for me. And there was no hiccups in the training that lasted longer than the two years. I essentially will have would have just been able to do the training. I mean, if I was initiated in the coven only be able to practice with them for a year.
00:20:48
Speaker
And that's really sad, like to not have enough time to work with them. But even if you go through the process of training, it doesn't mean that you are going to be guaranteed a spot within the coven. It doesn't mean that you'll be initiated. And a lot of it, you know,
00:21:04
Speaker
goes back to what we talked about previously within this episode of, you know, you may not be a good fit or the cover might not be a good fit for you. You may not get along well with any of the dynamics within the coven, any of the people within your coven that you're trying to be initiated into. And that's fine. Like not everybody's going to get along with everybody else. And it's really about finding that perfect fit. And so you could go through all of the training and not be a good fit for the coven.
Safety in Coven Interactions
00:21:32
Speaker
So with all of that there's obviously still some things that you should be aware with and then also like trust your gut when you're going into these situations if you're deciding to join a coven. So maybe for the first time or the first couple of times take a friend with you and then make sure that someone knows where you're going if you don't.
00:21:52
Speaker
say, hey, I'm going to go, you know, even if it's like you're in the broom closet, I'm going to go meet with some new friends. If you don't want to say, I'm going to go meet with a new coven, but don't just go somewhere by yourself without letting someone know where you are or taking someone with you. Exactly. And
00:22:08
Speaker
don't go to someone's house that you do not know the person. A high priest or a high priestess is never going to invite you to their home or their personal space to get to know you because if you think about their people too, oftentimes this first meeting after exchanging messages and deciding
00:22:28
Speaker
Whether or not, you know, you would be a good fit for the initiation process. Oftentimes that first meeting is done in a public space so at a coffee shop or a park or someplace like that because they don't know you either and you could be a safety risk to them they could be a security I mean you just never know and like, right, you never.
00:22:48
Speaker
know if you're going to meet up with somebody and it's not going to be a safe situation. So don't, if somebody is inviting you to their home to meet you for the first time and you've never met them before, do not go. No, I watched too many crime documentaries and listened to too many true crime podcasts too. Exactly. I feel like I immediately know.
00:23:09
Speaker
And then don't do anything that you're uncomfortable with. Something that I came across, it was someone was explaining their experience with covens and how long it took them to find a coven that they were actually comfortable with. And she was talking about how one of the first covens that she sought out, everything seemed normal in the email and like text exchanges. And then like you said, don't go to someone's house for the first time. They asked her to come to their house with
00:23:39
Speaker
the whole coven like made her very comfortable saying like the whole coven is going to be here and we just want to get to know you and she showed up and it was just a dude who was letting her know to join the coven she would have to do some like sexual ritual with him and she was like I
00:23:55
Speaker
got the fuck out of there. It's like, oh, thank God, because that could have ended up a very scary situation. So don't go alone. Don't go to someone's house and don't do something that you're uncomfortable with. And that can come down to the sky-clad stuff too. If upon first meeting, they're wanting you to come to their house and then just strip off all your clothes without getting to know you or this being a normal
00:24:20
Speaker
situation. Don't do that. That is absolutely terrifying. You're never going to be asked to perform ritual nudity while in the outer court, while you're a seeker, before you've been initiated into a coven.
00:24:38
Speaker
And if you are asked, run, like get out of there. You're going to end up in a documentary. Yes. And they're going to be like a cult situation. Literally. And they're going to say, I mean, this is sounds terrible. We shouldn't be making jokes about it, but you have to kind of make a joke out of a terrible situation, but kind of dark situations to make them seem like, okay.
00:25:05
Speaker
They're going to say, she lit up the room when she entered. She had an amazing personality. No. Or you're going to be one of the people that are like, this is how I got sucked into a cult and lost three years of my life. Again, I watched too many of these documentaries to be that person. You're not getting me.
00:25:24
Speaker
Right. Same. Yeah, same. And then something else to be wary of, especially now with like social media and TikTok and like Facebook groups, if somebody is charging large sums of money for education, for COVID membership, like it's okay to pay for education, just
00:25:44
Speaker
Be mindful of the amount that you're being charged or the amount of money you're being asked of and only do what you're comfortable doing.
Avoiding Scams in Witchcraft Communities
00:25:52
Speaker
This is something I've seen recently, like within the last couple of years. There's actually a very popular Facebook group. It's a witchy Facebook group. It's run by two women.
00:26:02
Speaker
But to even join the Facebook group, you have to pay them hundreds of dollars. And their whole thing is like, oh, we're going to kick you into the next mind shift of your life. And somebody was like, have you seen this group? And I was like, no. And I went and looked at it and I was like, that's a scam and a half.
00:26:20
Speaker
like they charge hundreds of dollars just to join the group like I want to say like $350 it was just to join the Facebook group that's not even for the classes they offer or anything so be aware that those things are out there there are scammers that take advantage of
00:26:39
Speaker
someone that's trying to learn about something in the witchy community. Oftentimes, covens will have a small coven membership due, and these are mostly to help pay for the herbs or candles or even just refreshments or renting a space if you guys use a neutral space. That's okay, but just be aware that there shouldn't be hundreds of dollars being asked of you to be part of a coven.
00:27:08
Speaker
Exactly. And unless it's like an in-depth like school, you know, like obviously people should be paid for their work if they're teaching you something and it's like, you know, a long process or something. But if it's just to join a coven or just to join a Facebook group, you should not be having to pay large sums of money.
00:27:29
Speaker
Yes. And also along this vein as well, I've noticed this a lot on Instagram, where with social media, it's very easy for scammers to create false Instagram accounts and steal pictures and information of other witchy personalities or witchy influencers, I guess. And so I've seen where I've had
00:27:52
Speaker
certain accounts try to follow me on Instagram or they will send me messages and reach out to me to try and basically try to ask me to pay them for a reading. I mean, obviously any medium or tarot reader or anybody that is legit, they are not going to reach out to you. And oftentimes, literally every time this has happened to me, it's been a scam account of somebody else's account where
00:28:22
Speaker
They've taken their information and they're trying to get unsuspecting people to pay them money essentially. So it's not even the actual influencer that's created this account. It's somebody stealing their information and trying to scam other people. So just be very mindful of that. They change like one letter or they add like an underscore or something in the name so that it looks very legit.
00:28:45
Speaker
but it's not them kind of thing. And plus who, like, if we're being honest, because I've gotten some of those before too, the messages are very crunchy. It'll be like, hey, beautiful, I got a good vibe from your profile. I'd love to do a reading for you. I'm just like, go away. No one asked for this.
00:29:04
Speaker
Exactly. No. Yes, please just go. Yeah. So now that you know what the difference between practicing solitary or practicing as a coven is, should you choose to find a coven, where do you
Finding Witchcraft Communities
00:29:17
Speaker
go? How do you find other witches or peers or mentors or just a coven in general? Some
00:29:24
Speaker
examples would be social media groups, which we've discussed. So just search for groups that you're interested in. Like I know for myself, my husband and I are pagan. And so I just literally in the search bar on Facebook, just typed in Illinois pagan. And there's a bunch of like local groups. I joined a couple, kind of felt them out and then stuck with the ones that I liked. So it's like, it's as simple as just searching social media for something like that. And you can do that on any platform.
00:29:52
Speaker
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, you can find local groups that you're interested in. Yeah. And even just outside of social media, just Googling can be a great resource too. So for me, that was how I found the nearest cabin, garden area and coven to me. I didn't find them through Facebook. I found them through Google. And then there's also a Facebook group. I can't remember what the name of it is. There's a Facebook group called
00:30:22
Speaker
Gardenarian Wicca Seekers and Initiates and that group is amazing. If you are very interested in Wicca and you want to join the Gardenarian tradition, you can go to this Facebook page and they have a pinned listing or I think it's like a pinned post where you can go and essentially search for local covens in your area.
00:30:46
Speaker
And what's cool about it is the admins of that page, they have vetted all of the listings of local covens and in people's areas. And so they will pretty much, it's kind of like a system where they vouched for that coven. They know that that coven is legit. They know that they're not going to be asking like astronomical fees or any sort of crazy sex rituals or anything like that. So
00:31:10
Speaker
If you're interested in that, that's a really great resource as well, but also like I said to just Google searching and trying to find something in your area is a great way to find not just covens but just resources or events that are out there.
00:31:26
Speaker
Also, metaphysical shops. That is a wonderful resource. So if you have a metaphysical shop in your area, usually the owners of these stores are tied into any sort of local witchy or pagan groups.
00:31:42
Speaker
If you go in there, they might even have information on local events of what's going on in the area, know about any sort of meetups, or they might know who to point you to if they don't know about any covens or group works or any events that are coming up. They might be able to know somebody who knows somebody and that'll be, that's a great way to establish a community. And then I personally, I've never used Tumblr.
00:32:07
Speaker
ever. I've never even been on tumblr. So tumblr comes up a lot in a lot of the research that we've been doing on all of these topics and they'll use tumblr for you know whether they're doing their own research if they're trying to reach out to other people in the witchy community. I've never used it so I don't even know what it looks like to be able to say if it's like easy to use or whatever but that is a resource that comes up quite often I feel like. And then another one is discord. I do use discord
00:32:37
Speaker
you
00:32:38
Speaker
more for gaming stuff, because I'm a giant nerd, but Discord has groups for literally everything. My husband is in a Discord community with people that he games with, but they don't use, they use like this specific channel just for everyday life to check in on each other, to share recipes or whatever. It's hilarious, but also cute. Meetup. I have looked at this website. It is very easy to navigate, but it depends on whether or not there's something in your area.
00:33:07
Speaker
Oddly enough for St. Louis, there's nothing. I think there would be more. It's a pretty big city. Yeah. So there's like one group that gets together pretty regularly to study together, but it's like not, they literally just get together and study like books. They don't do anything else outside of that.
00:33:26
Speaker
patron sites like Supercast, which is what we use, or Patreon. Those are, you know, if you join a membership, a lot of times you get put into a community of like-minded people that also are in the same group as you, whether it's like for this podcast or someone's YouTube channel that you really like to follow. So you can get a witchy community on a patron site like that, and then YouTube channels.
00:33:52
Speaker
just find one that kind of fits your craft and your style of learning. And a lot of times the creators for those channels will also have an area that they have a witchy group with. I know one of the YouTube channels I follow, she has a Discord group for her like subscribers and stuff. So you can join that and just openly discuss things or talk about the things that she's teaching on her channel. Those are just a few.
00:34:18
Speaker
Well, I think that pretty much wraps it up.
Episode Conclusion and Future Topics
00:34:21
Speaker
Again, as we mentioned earlier, we will have a whole episode on Wicca if you're interested in pursuing that or wanting to learn more about Wicca as a religion. But as far as solitary versus coven work, that is pretty much all we had today.
00:34:42
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. You can find our source material for this episode linked in the show notes. If you loved this episode, we would be forever thankful if you leave us a five-star review on wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you really love the show and want more Get In Loser content, check out our Supercast link provided in the show notes or search the Supercast website for Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft.
00:35:06
Speaker
There you can purchase a membership to our podcast and obtain exclusives like getting episodes early, shout outs on the show, access to our Ask Me Anything forum, our monthly newsletter, a promo code for merchandise, and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at Get In Witches or email us at weirdoingwitchcraft at gmail.com. Check us out next week where we will sit down and discuss witchcraft on a budget. Until then, blessed be witches.