the Rede of the Snowe Valleye Coven

Senan again. I decided that in honor of our initiation night, I would post our... hmm... they aren't so much rules as the criteria for members. We also have some general information like our maximum amount of members. I suppose you'll understand once you've read it, so go do that now.

Maximum Amount of Members

After a quick look at numbers and their symbolism, we decided that nine is the best maximum number. Three is the number of joy, growth and creativity and is representative of the Mother Goddess in many aspects. Any multiple of three strengthens the power of three considerably, multiplying three on itself seems incredibly powerful. It's still a one-digit number and it's fairly small, yet ridiculously powerful, and there's also the belief that whatever magick is put into the world by a Witch or a Coven it comes back threefold- again, you're multiplying three by itself, so nine seems like it's near infinitely powerful. That is our maximum number. It can certainly be less.

The Criteria:

There six keys to being a good Witch and Coven member: Love, Honor, Trust, Secrecy, Belief and Goodness.

Love of yourself, Love of your Sisters, Brothers, and your Coven, Love of the Earth and her Children, and Love of peace. When you Love unconditionally, you can open yourself to the true magick of the Universe and that is what is most important.

With Love comes Honor. No secrets in the Circle whether they have to do with magick or not. Honor not to put Magick upon those who do not want it, or (in the cases where protection is needed but explanation and permission cannot be given,) the ability to Honor your Sisters and Brothers and ask their advice.

Trust in your Coven, Trust in the Goddess, Trust in Nature, and Trust in the Magick are essential. If a Witch does not Trust in ther Coven, The Lord and The Lady, the Magick, Nature or themselves, then negative energy is brought into the circle, which can lead to disasterous results. Love and Trust don't banish fear, but they should enable your actions by comforting and encouraging your heart.

This goes into Belief. Honestly, hopelessly, fully and truly believing that there is Magick in the world puts out the energy of Love and Trust into the Universe and the Magick within you wakes up and wants to be used.

Secrecy is fairly plain: Covens are still scoffed at and looked down upon and it is unadvisable to put that sort of negative energy into your heart or let it be put there by others who don't believe. It's not anyone's job to convince other people what is and what isn't, but it is our duty to our Coven and to ourselves not to allow our mind and our spirit to be deterred from our Belief, Trust, and Love.

Finally, we have Goodness. Goodness is more a desire to put the other aspects into the Universe. The desire to protect them that need it, and confront them that need to be confronted-not neccessarily cast upon, but coaxed into Love.

We believe that these are the criteria and abilities to look for in a Sister and try to cultivate in ourselves as well. It's tradtion that a Witch study with a Coven for a period of time before being initiated into the Circle, and when choosing new potential members, rather than looking for the flowers of these aspects, we look for the seeds.

Initiation:

There are two phases of initiation: Test and Passing. The Test phase can be taken every six months until a Witch meets our criteria. It is a combination of written questions and answers to get a good grasp on each potential member as a person. The Test is given in phases, where the requirement is to successfully complete one before moving onto the next.

After the Test phase of initiation, it is safe to consider the Witch our Sister in the Circle. The Passing should be to demonstrate her abilities. She should have been with us for a fair period of time and have studied on her own as well, so this will just be testing her ability to brew, chant, channel, charm and things like that. After the Passing Phase of the initiation comes the actual ritual, which is to be done on the New Moon.


Meeting Places and Times:

When it's warm outside, we meet wherever we can easiest be outside during the Witching Hour. When it is cold or the weather is unforgiving, we either alternate or go where it is most convenient. Part of loving Nature is loving Change and Inconsistancy, and  meeting where the Coven determines best for the time is the smartest way to go about it. The same goes for time. Having a set meeting time or frequency can provide pressure that put bad energy into the Circle. We make a point to meet officially three times a month during the Waxing, Waning, and Fullness of the Moon, but if schedules conflict and we have to meet at different times or less than three in a month, then we should make up the lost meeting with an extra when time allows. In short: a minimum of 36 official meetings per year. In the event of a vacation or the like, meetings can be scheduled around it or depending on the number of missing Sisters, gone on without. If Sisters happen to be together in whole or in part, and decide to Practice, then by all means, they should do so, but any advances or happenings should be recorded in each sister's Book of Shadows. Likewise, if the Coven as a whole just isn't feeling the magick, then there isn't a problem in that. The general rule of the Coven regarding meetings is thus: Autumn usually comes in October, but if it comes in November or September instead, or doesn't come at all then nothing can be done.

Focus:

The focus of the Coven is simple and follows the Six Aspects. There is a combination of studying and practice and spellmaking that is all done for the good of our Sisters and the good of the World. Before each meeting, each Sister should make it plain if she has any ideas on what should be accomplished, and the Coven should consider which needs should be met first. If no particular spell or brew is in mind, then it can be a study or a meditation meeting- whatever the Sisters decide.

So there's that. Please make a note that this is subject to change, but there will be some notification if change occurs.

Perfect Love, and Perfect Trust,

Senan and Keava

Tonight!

by Senan.

Good morning! (Or afternoon... it's almost noon here in Alaska.) Tonight we are having our first ritual. It'll be a combination of a semi-traditional Candlemas (we're a little early, but that's ok,) ritual and (quite importantly,) our initiation ritual. I'm excited. Keava on the other hand, got  zero sleep last night and has a bunch of other stuff to do today as well. (Bridal shower anyone? Not her's it's for a family member.)

Anywhoo, just an update letting the zero people who read this know what's up tonight.

Lovlovelove,

Senan

Senan Brinaglenn: A Brief History.

by Senan.

I was born in Washington State to a man and a woman who were far too young for a child. Fortunately, they seem to have done a good job- at least that's what they say. Both of my parents were originally from Alaska, so naturally when they split two years after I was born, that's where my mother took me. My father followed about a year later, and thus commenced the long series of back-and-forth living that I've grown accustomed to.

I've lived in Alaska for fifteen years this March. It's probably where I'll die- but who knows? Maybe by the time I die we'll have colonized Mars. It'd be cool to die on Mars. Anyways- I love Alaska- most of it is untouched, we have several million more lake than the Land of 10,000 lakes (not to mention some pretty BA rivers,) and the Midnight Sun is already starting to get into shape. In January. Which means the sun sets at five instead of four.

Keava and I attended the same elementary school. In the third grade we were both short, her with poufy mushroom-hair and me with my long (waist-length!) hair that was so ridiculously straight I could have killed you with it. It wasn't until fifth grade that we finally became friends (that's Keava's story, not mine- I'll leave it to her,) and that was given a break when Keava moved to the Midwest to live with her mom. Fortunately, she's mildly crazy and Keava was living back in The Last Frontier less than six months after leaving it. It was about that time that we became interested in the Craft- to no avail. We hadn't quite mastered the Internet, and had no interest in telling our parents why exactly we wanted to purchase books on the Paganism. So we let it go.

Then a few weeks ago (roughly at the same time,) we started thinking about picking it up again but hadn't told anyone- including each other. Keava can tell you her own reasons but mine were fairly simple. I needed a spirituality that could accept everyone. Buddhism was fairly dogmatic for my liking, Catholicism has a whole list of issues that are hardly worth mentioning. I will however, add that the main reason I was feeling compelled not to buy myself a Crucifix was the guilt. The never-ending, ever-rising, huge amounts of guilt that I've seen Catholics carry around with them is ridiculous. Guilt for being attracted to a woman who isn't your wife. Guilt for being attracted to your own wife. Guilt for wanting to sleep in for fuck's sake! What is this? Also: any religion that forces it's clergy into celibacy is asking for trouble. No thanks. Although I'm not saying that all Catholics or Christians are bad- Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King are both some personal heroes of mine, and a large amount of what made them who they are is their connection to God. It's just not for me. Neither I found, was Islam, Hindi, (Hinduism?) any form of Christianity, Taoism, Judaism, (when it comes to religion I do things right, and I'm a huge fan of eating pigs and leaving the house on Saturday,) Mormonism, (again- not a fan of being told what I can and cannot drink, I love caffeine.) or really anything else you might think of. just not my cup of tea, but I wish a full and happy life to those who do find it rewarding.

What draws me to Wicca is that it adapts to the person like a well-made suit. Certainly, there are a few general rules, ("an it harm none, do what ye wilt," take care of your body, take care of the Earth, take care of your Coven, take care of your family, etc.) but those are all things I adhere to. The fact that there are no "Commandments," no Bible except the one you write yourself, and no Devil to blame the bad stuff on, and no capitalized pronouns, (God says so so it is His will,) really attracts me as well. All it really is to me is worship of the higher power's masculine and feminine aspects- the Lord and the Lady- nature, and yourself. It's very love, acceptance, and family oriented, though it's been made clear to me that family doesn't begin and end in blood. Marriage isn't "until death do you part," but more "until our love expires." Divorce isn't encouraged, but if it's what's best for the family, then the whole Coven is behind you with love and support and I think that effing rocks.

This sort of turned into a "Why I Love Being Pagan" entry, but I think that's ok. I'm not posting anything until Keava does her own biography, so until then:

Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet Again,
Senan Brinaglenn.

Nomenclature: pt II

Senan here.

Thought I'd elaborate on the naming process a tiny bit. Keava did a wonderful job at one in the morning- much better than I could've done as I was suffering from sleep. Not really, but I was still a little incoherent. Anyways...

A Craft name (as I failed to explain before,) is usually the name a Witch uses when they're performing Magick or any sort of ritual. A Coven name is most often the name that your Coven gives you (or calls you depending of the tradition.) Oftentimes, your Coven name is chosen for you by your High Priestess, but we believe in choosing your Coven name and your Craft name. The Coven name (as previously mentioned,) has the similar suffix of Glenn. The prefix is yours to choose and in this Coven you don't have to use Numerology to determine it, but you do have to try to make it fit you. In our tradition, your Craft name is the first name you use, and will be how you are addressed. We use the Coven name like a Surname, which is why we have the similar suffix- because we want to emphasize the family aspect of our Coven. So the full name of a member of the Snowe Valleye Coven goes Craftname Covenname. Us Elder sisters plan on just using the Craft name to refer to eachother, while we use the full name for rituals and spells and the sort- and we'll see how it goes when we get a new member. We're a Coven that embraces change, so who knows? I hope I explained this well enough, because I'm so done.

Moving on to the concept of a True name. This one's the special one. For those of us dorks who've ever read Elfquest, it's kind of like a soul-name. For the unlucky one's who don't know what Elfquest is, it's a comic written by Philip and Wendy Pini about a dying race of elves who travel out of their forest into the desert and meet another tribe and the clash and marry and all sorts of beautiful things. The art is great, I'll put some up later. Anyways, in this wonderful comic, each elf has a soul-name. It's a very secret thing very few others know. It's the name that holds your life-force and your power. When you meet your soulmate they learn it in the height of passion- usually coital, but sometimes in a fight. Eventually you learn that two best friends in the comic were in a fist-fight and they locked eyes and traded soul-names. It was a beautiful scene and surprisingly not gay at all.

ANYWAYS- your True name is like a soul-name. It holds your power. There's a story (I'm shortening it,) about the god Isis and her grandfather Ra, who was the only god more powerful than her. She created a snake from his saliva and some of the dirt he walked on and made it bite him, then told him she'd heal him if he told her his true name. Eventually (after a few attempts to mislead her,) he whispered it into her ear on the condition that she would only tell her son and he would tell no one. Ra lived, but Isis now had power over him and was the most powerful God. If someone knows your true name, they can have power over you by using naming spells and other scary things like that, so it's a secret.

That's about all I've got for names at the moment and hopefully for a very long time. I love my name and I'm very happy with it, but my gosh-golly... it's a long process.

Prefect Love,
Senan Brinaglenn & Keava Faolanglenn

...and the Goddess says "Let Them Be Named!"

by Keava.

Hi!

This is the Elder Sister that hasn't been writing. We have finally come up with our Craft names!

After going through what felt like thousands of names and their meanings and using the numerological method described bellow we have finally stumbled upon the names that suit us best.

So with further ado I will be known to you and to other practicers of the craft as Keava (KEE va) meaning gentleness and beauty, Faolanglenn (FAWY lawn glen) Faolan meaning Little Wolf.

For our coven name we decided on the suffix Glenn which means valley. For the prefix we decided to allow each coven member to choose a name of there own liking.

My Coven Sister's new name is Senan (SAY nan) meaning ancient one, Brinaglenn (BRI Na) Brina meaning protector.

Senan will be on tomorrow but for now I'm off to bed.

Goodnight!

Nomenclature

by Senan.

Finding your Craft name, it turns out, is a long and perilous journey into your own mind and personality that takes eons to complete. Also: it's a real pain in the ass. We here at Snowe Valleye Coven have chosen the method given by Mr. Raymond Buckland, author of Buckland's Complete Guide to Witchcraft to procure our names. This involves basic numerology which I will now explain.

First, you must find your birth number. This is pretty easy, as you add the digits of your birth date, month, and year together. Example: If you are born on July 31, 1980 (Like Harry Potter,) you would add 7+3+1+1+9+8+0= 29. After you find your two-digit number, you add those together: 2+9=11. Another two digit number. 1+1=2. Harry Potter's birth number is two.

After finding your birth number, you look for some names. They might be names you like, they might be names that pertain to a characteristic of yours, whatever. Just find them. The hard part is, you might find a name you like, but it's number won't match your birth number. Here's how to find out.

Each letter of the English alphabet is assigned a number from 1-9 as thus:

A=1; B-2; C-3; D=4; E=5; F=6; G=7; H=8; I=9;
J=1; K=2; L=3; M=4; N=5; O=6; P=7; Q=8; R=9;
S=1; T=2; U=3; V=4; W=5; X=6; Y=7; Z=8.

So let us pretend that Harry Potter wants his Craft name to be Merlin. M+E+R+L+I+N= 4+5+9+3+9+5= 35. Here's your two-digit number, which you take and add together. 3+5=8. The number of the name Merlin doesn't match Harry's birth number. Interestingly enough, it matches the birth number of one of the Sisters, so maybe she should choose Merlin as her Craft name? Hmm...

Poor Harry is moving on from the name Merlin. So, let's say he wants his Craft name to be Ron, which is stupid, but whatever. R+O+N= 9+6+5= 20. 2+0=2. Yay! Harry Potter's Craft name can be Ron!

See, it's a long process and it requires quite a bit of attention. We plan on initiating ourselves into the Craft one week from tonight on the 31st of January, just before Candlemas. There is of course, the method of meditation to find your Craft name, (or rather, let it find you,) but we like this method much better, as neither of us have meditation down to the point where we can successfully find our Craft names in a week.

Love and Trust,
The Elder Sisters

Quote of the day.

by Senan.

Keave: I don't think we should have to bring a goal to the Circle at every meeting. It's too much like crappy group therapy.

Senan: I just feel like we won't have any direction if we don't start the meetings with some sort of objective. It doesn't have to be like "Ok, Ammes Wolffeather, would would you like to accomplish in the Circle tonight?" "Oh, I'm not sure Ellsa Salttail, I'd really love not to be allergic to radishes anymore."

This doesn't have to be amusing to anyone else, but it was a conversation held by to two Elder Sisters when first forming the Coven and we derive great mirth from it.

So Mote it Be.

by Senan.

So here we are, two young Witches very new to the Craft, and very eager to learn. We're from somewhere in the incredibly beautiful state of Alaska, but have decided to keep our birthnames and exact locations omitted from this text. Neither of us are ashamed of the Craft, but we have other factors to contend with from ridicule by our friends and family to crazy Catholic mothers who will either try to exocise us or burn us at the stake.

At the moment, we haven't picked our Craft names, which is how we'll refer to ourselves in this blog, so at the moment, we're just the Elder Sisters of the Snowe Valleye Coven. The purpose of this blog is to be of any assistance we can to anyone else new to the Craft by providing some of our tailored rituals and customs that are special to us. Like I said before, we're very new to this, so feel free to offer any advice you think we might need, but keep in mind the rede: "An it harm none, do what ye wilt." If you think we're doing something wrong just because it isn't quite adhering to your traditions, then we politely ask you to remain silent. If you think it affects us in a huge way, then please feel free to speak; but we have absolutely zero intent to harm, and we're choosing to worship in a way that makes us as a Coven (even if it's only two people so far,) feel right.

Now with that out of the way, let us speak a little on us and why we're so special:

We are called the Snowe Valleye Coven becuase, as we said, we are from Alaska where the snowe is quite abundant, as are valleyes as we have so many friggin' mountains. ("Friggin'" said with no offense meant to the Goddess Frig. We recognize you are far older and more powerful than the negative connotation your name has been given by those who don't know better.) We chose Olde English for the spelling of the two first words because a) it's pretty, and b) it refers to the ancientness of the Craft and the elements they refer to. We chose not to use Olde English on the word "Coven" becuase a) it refers to how new our Coven is, b) it looked a little overdone, and c) we speak and write the word "Coven" in reference not always to our own, so we thought it best to adhere to the one spelling.

We are a Coven willing to accept anyone willing to learn and practice the Craft, but will not be considering any initiates for some time. We think it best to get our feet on the ground and initiate eachother first. When it becomes more than a just we, the two of us will be considered the Elder Sisters as we are the founding members. We do not adhere to gender roles that might be traditional such as the High Priest initiating the women, and the High Priestess initiating the men, and we decided together that we will simply refer to everyone as our Sisters or Brothers. We are not a skyclad Coven as Alaska can be very cold even in the Summer and as we project that our future Brothers and Sisters will be roughly our age, they will feel more comfortable in clothing.

In our next post, expect our Craft names and maybe a small aboutobiography from each sister detailing more our history with the Craft, as opposed to our general life story.

Until then, fare thee well and all that potato soup.

The Elder Sisters