Coven vs. Solitary Practice: Understanding the Benefits and Drawbacks of Joining a Modern Witch Coven

There is a coven of modern witches located near our town, which has gained quite a bit of attention in recent years. The coven consists of a group of individuals who practice witchcraft and engage in rituals and spells together. While some may view this as purely a form of entertainment or a fad, others take it quite seriously and see it as a way to tap into their spirituality and connect with the earth and its natural energies. The coven is open to anyone who is interested in joining and respects the beliefs and practices of the group. They meet regularly to perform rituals, celebrate holidays and full moons, and exchange knowledge and experiences. It is important to note that their practices are not evil or harmful in any way, as witchcraft is often misunderstood and associated with negative stereotypes.

When someone mentions the word "coven," you might envision thirteen black-clad, pointy hat-wearing witches dancing around a fire or cackling around a cauldron. I'm not sure that was ever the norm, but even if it was, times have changed. And covens have changed with them.

After all her followers but Dollie were hanged, Mercy gathered outcasts from the outskirts of Salem her children to counter Mary Sibley and the Elders. During the years when Wicca was the most common form of group Witchcraft practice or at least the one you were the most likely to find if you went looking , covens usually followed specific outlines.

It is important to note that their practices are not evil or harmful in any way, as witchcraft is often misunderstood and associated with negative stereotypes. Those in the coven embrace their craft as a positive force in their lives, using it to promote healing, personal growth, and connection with the world around them. Whether one believes in witchcraft or not, it is interesting to see how this ancient practice has evolved and found a place in the modern world.

The Many Faces of Women Who Identify as Witches

My first encounter with the figure of a witch in popular culture—apart from those in kids’ movies like Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” and M-G-M’s “The Wizard of Oz,” or in books like Tomie dePaola’s “Strega Nona” and Roald Dahl’s “The Witches”—was in a campy scene from Oliver Stone’s 1991 bio-pic, “The Doors,” depicting Jim Morrison (played by Val Kilmer) and one of his lovers, a Wiccan witch (a character played by Kathleen Quinlan, and based on the rock journalist Patricia Kennealy, who reportedly married the singer in a Celtic handfasting ceremony, in 1970). In the flickering light of dozens of candles barely illuminating a high-ceilinged chamber, the two peruse an esoteric sorcery tract in the nude, snort cocaine, slit their wrists with a dagger, drink each other’s blood, and have wild sex to the shrieking strains of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”

More than a quarter century later, the often paradoxical grab bag of clichés tied to the contemporary figure of the witch is not that far off, I think, from those shown in Stone’s movie. The witch is often understood as a mishmash of sometimes contradictory clichés: sexually forthright but psychologically mysterious; threatening and haggish but irresistibly seductive; a kooky believer in cultish mumbo-jumbo and a canny she-devil; a sophisticated holder of arcane spiritual knowledge and a corporeal being who is no thought and all instinct. Even more recently, the witch has entered the Zeitgeist as a figure akin to the so-called nasty woman, who—in the face of a Presidential Administration that is quick to cast any criticism as a “witch hunt”—has reclaimed the term for the feminist resistance. (This latter-day witchiness has often been corralled to commercial ends: an Urban Outfitters shirt bearing the words “Boss Ass Witch,” say, or the women-only co-working space the Wing referring to itself as a “coven.”) The muddled stereotypes that surround witches nowadays are, in the end, not so very different from those used to define that perennial problem: woman.

In her portrait series “Major Arcana: Witches in America,” which will be shown at the ClampArt gallery, in Chelsea, beginning October 4th, the photographer Frances F. Denny seeks to explore the figure of the contemporary witch beyond the cultural chestnuts that have shrouded and obscured it. In the course of the past two years, Denny, who holds an M.F.A. in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design (where I taught her for a semester a number of years ago), has travelled in California, Louisiana, and along the East Coast, taking the portraits of dozens of women who identify as witches. Her subjects are of diverse age, social class, and ethnicity, and practice a range of rituals, often drawing on “mysticism, engagement with the occult, politically oriented activism, polytheism, ritualized ‘spell-work’ and plant-based healing,” according to Denny’s exhibition notes. Among them are “self-proclaimed green witches, white witches, kitchen witches, hedge witches, and sex witches.” The series as a whole aims to avoid easy formulas and, instead, to exhibit the heterogeneity and individuality of modern-day witches, Denny told me recently, adding, “I’m not pinning these women down.”

In one photograph—“Randy (Plainfield, VT)”—a grandmotherly woman is standing in a lush green meadow, wearing a flower-sprigged sack dress, her hair arranged a bit girlishly in tousled white ringlets. In one hand she casually clasps a pair of divining rods, while in the other she holds up a pendulum, her gaze raised toward it, her lips upturned in a slight, self-possessed smile. In another—“Kir (Brooklyn, NY)”—a young, lithe woman is dressed in tight black jeans and a tank top, her booted feet planted firmly on a city street, a large, inquisitive-looking tabby cat on a leash at her side. And in “Shine (New York, NY),” a statuesque black woman, posed against a wall of ivy, is dressed in an elaborately embroidered coat, gazing piercingly at the camera. These subjects are all self-identified witches, and yet that fact would not be immediately or necessarily obvious to the uninformed viewer. When she first started the project, Denny read a book by Margot Adler about witches, in which the late journalist and Wiccan priestess argued that “witch” was not just a word but “a cluster of powerful images,” Denny said. “So I thought, I want to make this cluster of images.”

Denny asked the women she photographed for the series to wear an outfit or bring along an item that they felt would represent their practice and identity as witches, and some of the portraits do answer more readily to our expectations of what a witch might look like. More than one woman wears a voluminous cape; some subjects’ fingers are crowded with ornate, sculptural rings, and others’ makeup is goth-y and exaggerated—lips crimson, eyes dramatically shaded. They brandish mysterious implements—a crystal ball, a bow and arrow, a wooden staff; one woman reclines, entwined with a snake—and most are dressed in black. Still, Denny said, it was important for her to make portraits that diverge from the ways she had seen witches typically photographed. “In what I saw out there, there was a lot of low lighting, and a lot of use of colored gels, usually purple or green. There was an immense theatricality,” she told me. In her photographs, Denny used natural light whenever possible, and the women are posed straightforwardly, facing the camera. Like other portraitists, such as the contemporary Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra, or the twentieth-century German master August Sander, Denny captures her subjects suspended delicately between performativity and naturalism. These self-identified witches are positioning themselves before us, fully conscious of our eye, and Denny is allowing them a lovely three-dimensionality.

Mab: "You've come here to kill me?" John Hale: "It would be within my right to do so. The code of the hive is clear. But, no, we have agreed to spare you. I would allow nothing else. Still, to the issue at hand. He will interrogate you." Mab: "And I will give him nothing. I will swallow the blackened pill before I betray the cause." — Departures Mary Sibley: "If there is one thing you should take away from this conversation, child, it's this. You are in my hive, I'm your Samhain, and you are an Essex witch. You can not hide anything from me." — The Wine Dark Sea Countess Von Marburg: "I will admit you're impressive for a common Essex witch." Mary Sibley: "Has our hive not survived when so many others have perished?" — The Wine Dark Sea Countess Von Marburg: "Your strength is also your weakness. You are, as you said, a hive filled with lovely, little bees, but no true queen. You are, in reality, mere sister drones, little, meek equals whose power is shared. Why? You're like the foot of a pyramid. But you will make a fine and mighty base for one more naturally designed to rule." — The Wine Dark Sea Cotton Mather: "My father was the very scourge of witches in the old country not only in Old Essex, but also in Germany. There, he stopped this tribe of Germanic witches, led by this ancient pagan siren that he sent back to Hell. He often told me that was his proudest moment." — Ill Met by Moonlight Sebastian Von Marburg: "O’ brothers and sisters, gathered here from every dark place on the Earth. We have so long been orphans of the great gone gods, but no longer. Our Father has come home. Their God is dead or lost in senile slumber. But not ours. Our God, their devil, is alive. Awake. And now, finally, he’s here." — After the Fall Dark Lord: "What tribe of witches is so exalted that they will not bend the knee before me? " Good Mother: "The Essex witches, my Lord. It is we Essex who brought you forth to walk the earth again." — After the Fall

The coven of modern witches nearby serves as a reminder of the diversity and richness of spiritual beliefs and practices that exist in our society..

Reviews for "From Kitchen Witchery to Green Witchcraft: Exploring Different Paths Within Modern Witch Covens"

1. Sarah - ★☆☆☆☆

I was really excited to join the coven of modern witches nearby, but I was sorely disappointed. The community felt exclusive and unwelcoming right from the start. They claimed to embrace diversity, but I didn't feel like I fit in at all. The meetings were full of cliques and it was difficult to make connections with anyone. The leadership also seemed more focused on their own personal agenda than fostering a supportive and inclusive community. Overall, my experience with this coven was disheartening and I would not recommend it to anyone seeking a welcoming and inclusive witchcraft community.

2. Mark - ★★☆☆☆

While the coven of modern witches nearby did have a lot of potential, it fell short in several areas. Firstly, the organization and structure of the group were lacking. The leadership seemed disorganized, and often meetings would start late or not happen at all. Secondly, there was a lack of clear direction and focus within the coven. It felt like each member had their own individual interests and goals, which made it difficult to form a cohesive community. Lastly, I found the group to be overly cliquish and exclusive. It was challenging to integrate into existing social circles and truly feel like part of the coven. Overall, I was disappointed by my experience and would recommend exploring other witchcraft communities in the area.

3. Jennifer - ★★☆☆☆

My time with the coven of modern witches nearby was underwhelming. The members were often disengaged and the meetings lacked structure and purpose. It seemed like everyone was there for their own individual reasons, rather than working towards a collective goal. It was difficult to form meaningful connections with others in the coven, which left me feeling isolated and disconnected. Additionally, the leadership seemed more interested in showcasing their own knowledge and abilities rather than fostering a supportive and inclusive environment. Overall, I didn't find the experience fulfilling and would not recommend it to others seeking a genuine witchcraft community.

4. Michael - ★☆☆☆☆

I regret joining the coven of modern witches nearby. The group was highly disorganized, with meetings frequently being canceled or rescheduled last minute. There was a lack of clear communication from the leadership, which made it difficult to feel involved and included in the coven's activities. The overall vibe of the group was also off-putting, with a sense of elitism and superiority among certain members. It didn't feel like a welcoming and supportive community, which greatly hindered my desire to be a part of it. I would advise anyone considering joining this coven to look elsewhere for a more organized and inclusive witchcraft community.

Witchcraft and Spirituality: Exploring the Deep Connection Between Modern Covens and the Divine