Most people who call themselves Wiccan today have never been initiated into a coven and never will be. They are not lesser for that, and there is a great deal they can do.
When Gerald Gardner wrote, the only way into the Craft was through a coven, and there were only a handful of covens in the country. That has not been true for half a century. Books made it possible for people to practise alone, and the great majority of Wiccans now do. Some would like a coven and cannot find one. Many prefer to work by themselves, and would not join a coven if one met next door.
As an initiatory coven we are sometimes assumed to look down on solitaries. We do not. This page says honestly what a solitary witch can and cannot do, and offers some advice of the kind we give to people in our own outer court.
What is open to everyone
Almost everything that matters.
- The gods. The Goddess and the God are not the property of any tradition. Anyone may honour them, speak to them and listen for an answer.
- The moon. Anyone may keep the full moons. See esbats and the moon.
- The year. Anyone may keep the eight Sabbats. See the Wheel of the Year.
- The circle. Methods of casting a circle have been published by reputable authors for more than fifty years, and a solitary may use one or compose their own.
- Magic. The principles are set out on the page about magic, and they do not depend on numbers.
- The ethic. The Rede binds a solitary exactly as it binds a coven.
What only a coven can give
It would not be honest to pretend that nothing is missing.
- Lineage. A solitary is not a Gardnerian, or an Alexandrian, and should not say that they are. Those names describe an initiation received from another person. See lineage and initiation.
- The rites of the tradition. The oathbound material is not available outside it. Published versions exist, but they are partial, and working an initiation rite from a book is not initiation.
- Company. There are things that a group can do and one person cannot: the polarity of priestess and priest, power raised by many, and above all correction. A solitary has nobody to tell them when they are fooling themselves.
Against that, a solitary has freedoms that a coven witch does not. They can keep the festivals at the true moment and in their own way. They answer to nobody's timetable. And they are safe from the worst hazard of covens, which is other people.
A first year
If you are beginning alone, we would suggest spending a full turn of the year on the following before you buy anything or call yourself anything.
- Watch the moon. Know its phase every day without looking it up. Go outside at each full moon, whatever the weather.
- Keep the Sabbats simply. On each of the eight, go out and see what the land is actually doing where you live. Bring something of the season indoors. Light a candle. Eat something that is in season, and be glad of it.
- Find a place. Choose somewhere out of doors that you can reach easily: a tree, a stretch of river, a corner of a park. Visit it every week for the year and learn it thoroughly.
- Learn to be still. Sit quietly for ten minutes a day, attending to your breathing. It is dull, and nothing else in the Craft is possible without it.
- Read. Begin with history, so that you know what you are joining. Our bookshelf suggests where to start.
- Keep a book. Write down what you do, what you notice and what you dream. This is your own book of shadows, and in a year's time it will be the most useful book you own.
None of this requires equipment, and all of it is the real thing. A person who has done it for a year knows more of the Craft than one who has spent the year collecting crystals.
Self-dedication
Many solitary witches mark their commitment with a rite of self-dedication. It is not an initiation, and it confers no lineage and no degree. It is a promise made to the gods in one's own person, and that is no small thing.
There is no fixed form, and it is better made by you than borrowed. The following outline is offered as a starting point.
- Choose a night at or just before the full moon, after at least a year of practice.
- Bathe, and dress in something clean and plain.
- Go to your place out of doors if you can, or prepare a quiet room. Light a single candle.
- Acknowledge the four quarters and the elements, in your own words.
- Speak to the Goddess and the God. Say who you are. Say what you intend: to honour them, to keep the festivals, to learn, and to harm none. Promise only what you mean to keep.
- If you wish to take a name for your work, say it aloud for the first time.
- Share bread and wine, or whatever you have, and pour some on the earth.
- Give thanks, put out the candle, and write down what happened.
If you later seek a coven
Solitary practice and coven membership are not rivals, and a good many initiates spent years alone first. If in time you find that you want what a coven offers, the years will not have been wasted. A seeker who already keeps the moons and the Sabbats, who has read the history and can sit still, is exactly what a High Priestess hopes will walk through the door. Our advice on looking is on the page for seekers.
And if you never do, you will be in good company. Doreen Valiente, who did more than anyone to shape the Gardnerian rites, spent her last years working quietly with one partner, and published a book of rites expressly for those with no coven. She thought the gods would hear them. So do we.