IN THE MAJORITY of Witchcraft traditions there is no way that an individual can operate—membership in a coven is mandatory. Most traditions have a system of degrees of advancement not unlike those found in Freemasonry and other secret societies. With such a system it is necessary for a Witch to advance, within the coven, to a particular degree before being able to even cast a Circle. In order to initiate others, it is necessary to attain the highest degree. As a First Degree Witch they can join with the rest of the coven in worship and in the working of magick but can do nothing alone.
Such a system is all very well, and those involved seem quite content with it. But it seems to me that an important point is being overlooked. Back in the “old days” of the Craft, there were many Witches who lived at a far distance from any village or even from any other people at all. Yet these were still Witches. They still worshiped the old gods and still worked their own magick. That, I feel, was as it should have been . . . and as it still should be. There are one or two traditions, today, that do subscribe more directly to the old ways. In the Seax-Wica, for example, there is not the dependence on the coven situation; there is the reality of the Witch alone.
The main point here is that you should not be excluded from the Wicca for such a reason. Just because you do not live anywhere near a coven; just because you do not know of anyone else with similar interests; just because you are an individualist who does not care to join with others . . . these are not reasons why you should not be a Witch. So let us look at Solitary Wicca.
What are the main differences between being a coven Witch and being a Solitary?
What of the Witch alone? Does one have to belong to a coven? No, of course not. There are many lone Witches, who believe in the Craft deities, who have great herbal and/or healing knowledge, who are to all intents and purposes Witches.
Anatomy of the Occult
Raymond Buckland
Samuel Weiser, N.Y. 1977
1. With a covener, the rituals are performed by a group of people; several (principally the priest and/or priestess) playing the parts. As a Solitary, you do everything yourself.
2. The coven meets in a large (usually nine feet in diameter) circle. The Solitary has a small, “compact” circle.
3. The coven uses a “full complement” of tools, depending on the tradition. The Solitary uses only what she or he feels she or he needs.
4. Coven meetings must, to an extent, be held when most convenient for the majority. The Solitary can hold a ritual whenever she or he feels like it.
5. A coven draws on all its members to build a cone of power. A Solitary has only her or his own power to draw on.
6. A coven has a wide variety of knowledge and specialties. A Solitary has only her or his own knowledge and specialty.
7. A coven is usually fairly set in its ways. A Solitary can change with her or his moods.
8. A coven ritual can become almost a “production” or pageant. A Solitary ritual can be the barest minimum of words and actions.
9. A coven must attune itself as one. A Solitary is one.
There are many other differences, of course, but these are enough to illustrate the point that there are both advantages and disadvantages to being a Solitary. Generally speaking, there is much more flexibility to being a Solitary, but there is also a more limited store of knowledge and magickal power on which to draw. Let me elaborate on the above points.
1. As a Solitary, you do everything yourself.
You can write your own rituals, just for you. But you can also adopt and adapt coven ones. As an example of what can be done, here are some of the rituals from this book (Erecting the Temple; Esbat; Cakes and Ale; Clearing the Temple), suitably modified. You can do the same sort of thing with most of the others. Compare these with the originals as you go. The following rituals have been written with a female Witch as practitioner.
Erecting the Temple
Wiccan rings the bell three times, facing east. She then takes the altar candle and lights the east candle from it, saying:
“Here do I bring light and air in at the east, to illuminate my temple and bring it the breath of life.”
She or moves around to the south to light that candle.
“Here do I bring light and fire in at the south, to illuminate my temple and bring it warmth.”
To the west:
“Here do I bring light and water in at the west, to illuminate my temple and wash it clean.”
To the north:
“Here do I bring light and earth in at the north, to illuminate my temple and build it in strength.”
She moves on around to the east and then back to the altar. Replacing altar candle, she takes up her athame and goes again to the east. With point of athame down, she traces the Circle, directing her power into it. Returning to the altar, she rings the bell three times then places the point of her athame into the salt, saying:
“As salt is life, let it purify me in all ways I may use it. Let it cleanse my body and spirit as I dedicate myself, in this rite, to the glory of the God and the Goddess.”
She drops three portions of salt into the water, saying:
“Let the sacred salt drive out any impurities in the water, that I may use it throughout these rites.”
She takes up the salted water and, starting and finishing at the east, walks around, sprinkling the Circle. She then goes around again with the thurible, censing the Circle.
Back at the altar, she drops a pinch of salt into the oil and stirs it with her finger. She then anoints herself with it, saying:
“I consecrate myself in the names of the God and of the Goddess, bidding them welcome to this my temple.”
The Witch now moves to the east and, with her athame, draws an invoking pentagram.
“All hail to the element of Air; Watchtower of the East. May it stand in strength, ever watching over this Circle.”
She kisses the blade of the athame then moves to the south, where she draws an invoking pentagram.
“All hail to the element of Fire; Watchtower of the South. May it stand in strength, ever watching over my Circle.”
She kisses the blade and moves to the west and draws an invoking pentagram.
“All hail to the element of Water; Watchtower of the West. May it stand in strength, ever watching over my Circle.”
She kisses the blade and moves to the north, where she draws an invoking pentagram.
“All hail to the element of Earth;
Watchtower of the North.
May it stand in strength,
ever watching over my Circle.”
Kissing the blade, she returns to the altar, where she raises her athame high.
“All hail the four quarters and all hail the Gods!
I bid the Lord and Lady welcome and invite that they join with me,
witnessing these rites I hold in their honor.
All hail!”
She takes the goblet and pours a little wine onto the ground (or into the libation dish), then drinks, saying the names of the gods.
“Now is the temple erected. So mote it be!”
Esbat
Witch: “Once more do I come to show my joy of life and reaffirm my feelings for the gods.
The Lord and the Lady have been good to me.
It is meet that I give thanks for all that I have.
They know that I have needs and they listen to me when I call upon them.
So do I thank the God and the Goddess for those favors they have bestowed upon me.”
Then, in her own way, she gives her thanks and/or requests help. She then rings the bell three times and says:
“An’ it harm none, do what thou wilt.
Thus runs the Wiccan Rede.
Whatever I desire;
whatever I would ask of the gods;
whatever I would do;
I must be assured that it will
harm no one—not even myself.
And as I give, so shall it return threefold.
I give of myself—my life; my love— and it will be thrice rewarded.
But should I send forth harm, then that too will return thrice over.”
Here the Witch may sing a favorite song or chant, or play an instrument.
Witch: “Beauty and strength are in the Lord and the Lady both.
Patience and love;
wisdom and knowledge.”
(If the Esbat is taking place at either the Full or the New Moon, then the appropriate segment is inserted at this point. Otherwise, go directly into the Cakes and Ale ceremony.)
Cakes and Ale
Witch: “Now is it time for me to give thanks to the gods for that which sustains me.
May I ever be aware of all that I owe to the gods.”
She takes the goblet in her left hand and her athame in her right, and slowly lowers the point of the knife into the wine, saying:
“In like fashion may male join with female,
for the happiness of both.
Let the fruits of union promote life.
Let all be fruitful and let wealth be spread throughout all lands.”
She lays down the athame and drinks from the goblet. Replacing it on the altar, she then touches the cake with the point of the athame, saying:
“This food is the blessing of the gods to my body.
I partake of it freely.
Let me remember always to see to it that aught that I have I share with those who have nothing.”
She eats the cake, pausing to say:
“As I enjoy these gifts of the gods, let me remember that without the gods I would have nothing.
So mote it be!”
Clearing the Temple
Witch: “As I came into my temple in love and friendship, let me leave it the same way. Let me spread the love outward to all; sharing it with those I meet.”
She raises her athame high, in salute, and says:
“Lord and Lady, my thanks to you for sharing this time with me.
My thanks for watching over me;
guarding and guiding me in all things.
Love is the law and love is the bond. Merry did I come here and merry do I part, to merry come again.
The temple is now cleared.
So mote it be!”
She kisses the blade of her athame.
2. The Solitary has a small, “compact” Circle.
There is no need for the large, coven-size Circle when you are working alone. One just large enough for you and the altar is all you need . . . probably five feet in diameter would be sufficient. When Erecting the Temple, you would still walk all around this Circle to “draw”it with your athame, and to sprinkle and cense it, but for addressing the four quarters you need only turn and face the directions, from your place behind the altar. When working magick, it is easier to build up power in a smaller Circle and it is generally a “cosier” feeling.
3. The Solitary uses only what she or he feels is needed.
You probably will not need as many tools as a coven uses. You may decide to use no more than your athame and a censer. It is up to you; you have only yourself to please. Do not forget that you do not have to follow all the rituals in this book exactly, or even those as outlined in #1, above (see #8, below, for more on this).
Examine as many traditions as you are able. See what tools they use and why (it seems that some groups use some items without really knowing why they do), then decide on which ones you need. You will find traditions that use broomsticks, ankhs, wands, tridents, etc. You may even decide to add something that no one else uses—the PectiWita, for example (a Solitary tradition, as it happens), use a ritual staff, which is not found elsewhere. Do not add something just for the sake of having it, or just to be different. Use something because you need to use it; because you feel more comfortable with that particular tool than with another or than without it at all.
4. The Solitary can hold a ritual whenever she or he feels like it.
A coven meets for the Sabbats and Esbats. The dates for the Esbats are fixed at the most convenient times for the majority of members. As a Solitary, you can have an Esbat whenever you feel like it. You can have Esbats three or four days in a row, or go from New Moon to Full Moon without one at all. It is up to you and how you feel. If there is a sudden emergency— perhaps a healing that needs to be done—you can get into it right away. You do not have to desperately try to contact others before you can get to work.
5. A Solitary has only her or his own power to draw on.
When working magick, a coven generates a lot of power. Working together, the total power of the whole far exceeds the sum of the parts. The Solitary can do no more than use the power she or he has. This is a fact and should be accepted. It is one of the few drawbacks to being a Solitary. But this does not mean that nothing can be done! Far from it. Many Solitaries do a great deal of excellent work, drawing only on their own resources. A good parallel might be seen in boat-racing, or sculling, where you have teams of eight oarsmen, four, two, or single rowers. All propel their craft equally well. The only difference is the greater speeds attained by the boats with the increased numbers of oarsmen.
6. A Solitary has only her or his own knowledge and specialty.
In a coven there is an accumulation of talents. One Witch might specialize in healing, another in astrology, one in herbalism, another in tarot reading. One might be an excellent toolmaker, another a great calligraphist; one a winemaker and/or seamstress, and another a psychic and psychometrist.
As stated, the Solitary has only her or his own knowledge available. This, then, is another disadvantage but, again, one that must be accepted. There is certainly no reason why, as a Solitary, you should not be in touch with others (Wiccans and non-Wiccans) who are astrologers, tarot readers, herbalists, etc., and to call upon them for help and advice when needed. It is just that you do not have them readily at hand there in the Circle with you, available at all times.
7. A Solitary can change with her or his moods.
A Gardnerian coven rigidly follows the Gardnerian rites. A Welsh Keltic coven rigidly follows the Welsh-Keltic rites. A Dianic coven rigidly follows the Dianic rites. This all goes without saying. Even an eclectic coven will generally settle into rites, from whatever sources, with which it feels comfortable, and will stay with them. But the Solitary is free (freer even than most eclectics, if only by virtue of having only herself or himself to please) to do whatever she or he likes . . . to experiment, to change, to adopt, and adapt. She or he can do elaborate, ceremonial rites one day, and simple, plain, ingenuous rites the next. She or he can do Gardnerian-oriented rituals one time, Welsh-Keltic the next, and Dianic the next. There is tremendous freedom for the Solitary, which I urge you to enjoy to the utmost. Experiment. Try different types and styles of rituals. Find those that are exactly right for you.
8. A Solitary ritual can be the barest minimum of words and actions.
This follows on from #7, above. You can enjoy a true economy of ritual, if you so desire. Let me give you an example of a female Witch.
Erecting the Temple (Alternate)
The Witch lights the four Circle candles from the altar candle and, with the athame, “draws” the Circle, directing power into it. She then sits, or kneels, before the altar and proceeds with a meditation on the elements. (This should be familiarized—not necessarily word for word—so that it can be followed through without effort.)
You are sitting in the middle of a field. There is lush green grass all about you, with a generous scattering of bright yellow buttercups. Some distance behind you, and continuing way off to your left, a wooden rail fence, with other fields beyond it, stretches off to another distant fence, beyond which are more fields leading to the foothills of the mountains that you can see in the far distance.
A very light breeze ruffles the top of the grass and you can feel the wind’s gentleness as it brushes your face. Crickets chirrup in the grass and, from the trees beyond the hedgerow, you can hear the occasional song of a bird. You feel contented; you feel at peace.
A swallow swoops down and soars low across the field not twenty feet in front of you. He wings up and away over the trees toward the distant mountains. A grasshopper lands on your knee, then almost immediately is gone again.
You get to your feet and stroll leisurely through the grass, parallel to the hedgerow. Your feet are bare and the grass lightly tickles them as you move along. You walk over to your right until you are close beside the hedge, then advance along it. Reaching out your hand as you walk, you gently brush the leaves; just catching them with your fingertips as you move along. There is a slight rise in the ground ahead of you and off to the left. You leave the hedgerow and move lightly up the hillock to stand where you can gaze about you at all the beauty that surrounds you.
Seemingly coming all the way from the distant mountains, the breeze you felt earlier is now more steady and you feel it on your face and arms. It gently ruffles the tops of the grass and causes buttercups to nod their golden heads. You stand on the hillock with your legs spread wide, and slowly raise up your arms towards the sky. As you raise them, you breathe in deeply. You hold the breath for a moment, then gradually release it, bringing your arms back down to shoulder level. As you release the breath you sing out the sound, “Ah!” . . . “A-a-aa-a-a-a-a-h!”
The Warrior Queen
l am the Warrior Queen!
The defender of my people.
With strong arms do I bend the bow and wield the Moon-axe.
I am she who tamed the heavenly mare and rides the winds of time.
I am guardian of the sacred flame;
the fire of all beginnings.
I am the sea-mare, the firstborn of the sea mother and command the waters of the Earth.
I am sister to the stars and mother to the Moon.
Within my womb lies the destiny of my people for I am the Creatrix.
I am daughter to the Lady with ten thousand names;
I am Epona, the white mare.
—Tara Buckland
The Lord
Behold! I am he who is at the beginning and the end of time.
I am in the heat of the Sun and the coolness of the breeze.
The spark of life is within me as is the darkness of death;
For I am the cause of existence and the gatekeeper at the end of time.
Lord-dweller in the sea,
you hear the thunder of my hooves upon the shore and see the fleck of foam as I pass by.
My strength is such that I might lift the world to touch the stars,
Yet gentle, ever, am I, as the lover.
I am he whom all must face at the appointed hour,
yet am I not to be feared,
for I am brother, lover, son.
Death is but the beginning of life and I am he who turns the key.
—Raymond Buckland
You hear the sound echo away, rolling across the fields toward the mountains. Very soon the wind returns your call. A brisker breeze springs up and comes rushing across the field toward you. You stand exhilarated, your hands now at your sides. Then, once again, you raise your hands in great arcs as you breathe in deeply. Again you pause, then partially lower them to the louder sound of,“A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-h!”
A second time the wind returns, this time blowing strongly; bending the grass and stirring the hedgerow off to your side. It blows back your hair and feels warm against your cheeks. For the third time you raise your arms to the sky and cry out to the air. “A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-h!” And for the third time the air replies by sending the strong, rushing wind across the fields, bending the grass before it, and swirling up and around your body; tugging your hair back from your face and fluttering the robes that you wear.
As the wind dies you allow your arms to fall to your sides and stand, with head bowed, in the warmth of the sun. Breathing regularly but deeply, you feel the strength of the Sun as it shines down upon you from out of the cloudless blue sky. Slowly you lift your face, with eyes closed, and bask in the radiance that encompasses you. You breathe in deeply, sensing the cleansing fire of the Sun advancing through your body, cleansing and purifying. As you breathe, you feel the vitality building within you, fed by those timeless flames.
You bring your hands up, together, to your chest, cupping them as though holding the very orb of the Sun. You continue raising them, up to your face then on up high above your head. With palms open and upward, you spread your arms and reach up, absorbing the Sun’s rays into your body, this time through your hands and down through your arms. Feel the energies rippling down through your body, down through your legs, all the way to your toes. Feel the fire within you. Feel the fire.
Now you lower your arms and, turning back toward the hedgerow, you leave the hillock and continue on along the side of the field. As you walk, you become aware of a new sound—the sound of a running stream. A tinkling of the waters rushing over and around pebbles and small stones reaches your ears and draws you forward. You reach the end of the hedgerow and see a small wood set back behind it. From out between the trees runs the stream, bubbling and bustling on its way to it knows not where. It curves out and around, to rush off and disappear from view on the far side of the hedgerow you followed.
You drop down to your knees and reach forward a hand to feel the water. It is cold, yet not so cold as to turn you away. The rushing water murmurs protest at the new obstacle and bubbles around and between your fingers, eager to be on its way. You smile and slip the other hand in beside the first. You wriggle your fingers and rejoice in the invigorating coolness of the water. You splash your face and feel the cold droplets trickle down your neck. It is refreshing and energizing. You cup your hands and raise a human grail of divine essence from the stream. You bend and plunge your face into it, to celebrate a catharsis of the flesh and of the spirit. The water refreshes, cleanses, and purifies. It is a gift; a freely given pleasure. You sigh a long sigh of contentment.
Rising to your feet again, you move on along the edge of the trees until you reach the corner of a large, ploughed field that opens out to the left. The soil is newly turned and the scent of it is heavy in the air. You walk out toward the center of the field, breathing deeply and feeling the good clean dirt of the earth between your toes as you walk.
When you finally reach the middle of the ploughed field, you stoop down and sweep up two handfuls of the rich, dark, brown earth. It feels good; it communicates a kinship of nature. You feel a “grounding and centering” of your body, through your feet, into the earth. It is a sense of coming home, or reaching that which you have long sought.
You lie down on the earth, between the furrows, eyes closed, and face toward the sky. You feel the gentle breeze blowing over you and luxuriate in the warmth of the Sun. Away in the distance you can just make out the tinkling of the stream as you absorb the energies of the Earth. Your spirit soars and rejoices. And, in so doing, you have touched of all the elements.
You can see that the “things said” and “things done” are all in the mind. You may well feel comfortable doing all your rites in this way, though I do urge you to at least cast your Circle physically.
As a preliminary to the meditation, above, you might want to reread the section on meditation in lesson seven. Also, I would suggest incorporating the breathing exercises given there, including the imagery of the white light.
For such a guided meditation, you might like to record it on tape, ahead of time, and then play it back to yourself in the Circle.
9. The Solitary is one.
This can be both an advantage (chiefly so, I feel) and a disadvantage. An example of the latter: if a Witch happens to have a very short temper and has been badly used by someone, she or he might possibly be driven by thoughts of revenge. The Solitary might be tempted to overlook the Wiccan Rede, rationalizing her or his thoughts and feelings in some way. Unless she or he can get all of the other coven members, however, including the priest or priestess, to feel the same way that she or he does, the Witch can do nothing she or he might later regret. Far more likely is that the coven would calm her or him and bring the problem into perspective. The Solitary, on the other hand, does not have this “safety catch.” She or he must, therefore, be constantly on guard and always carefully and closely examine the situation before working any magick, giving special thought to the Wiccan Rede.
But, on the other side of the coin, the Solitary does not have to make any compromises in anything she or he does. The Solitary is one with herself or himself and is automatically attuned, with no disharmony or distraction.
So the Solitary Witch is indeed a reality. Do not let anyone tell you that, because you do not belong to a coven and because you were not initiated by someone (who was initiated by someone who was, in turn, initiated by someone . . . and so on, ad nauseum), you are not a true Witch. Tell them to read their history (and ask them who initiated the very first Witch?). You are a Witch and you are so in the fine tradition of Witchcraft. May the gods be with you.