I'm so very happy to see this thread remains active. Ruth, you are the "thread" that binds here.

So many have stopped in and in between the fun are some excellent tid-bits of knowledge.

Krimsa, I liked your additions and anoasis had a great idea to create a daily holiday and then Ruth began with explanations of each day of the week.

Also, JB I was impressed with your two new additions to the cards as well. Nice!

I'll keep popping in, though I may not say much, just imagine me here sort of catching up and enjoying the company in my silence.

CHAT ON

Our current deck, (not for sale) can be seen at this address below. The images are copyright protected and we can't use them for our new deck as we intend to sell it.

http://www.springfieldcolorado.com/tarot2012/

Let me know what you think.

The one we are working on now is top secret until we get it copyright registered.

JB

Thank you! I figure more people are reading than posting, and that is perfectly okay! I appreciate your being here.

OMG! Those are beautiful! Interesting choice using Pope JP2 for the Heirophant. It definitely sums up my interpretation of that card. Please keep me updated on your progress. I bookmarked the page as I want to go back and study it more closely.

Its not just one page. It is a 5 page website. If you go to the bottom of the page you can see the other suits.

In our new deck we are not using the pope but an older figure in a robe that represents the knights templar and dawns a red Celtic cross and white robe. He stands in a cathedral and welcomes two new member knights who are on their knees in front of him.

Almost all of our new cards will be different from this deck on this site. But they are even better. After we finish we can say that we designed two complete tarot decks.

JB

Does anyone have a coven and if so, how many members do you have and what do you do?

I don't know if I would call my group "a coven" or not, but we get together and read tarot cards and talk about the Law of Attraction and the creative techniques.

Sometimes we have a guest who wants a reading. There are two in the group who have a finely tuned "sixth sense" and sometimes get information from friendly spirits or visions.

We talk about "remote viewing" and the creative process. We eat popcorn or strawberries dipped in chocolate on special occasions.

We each have a hand made tarot deck designed by me and my friend Darla.

JB

I have a coven, it's where I bake my cpizza.

Yes, I am in a coven, but we just call ourselves "The Girls". I will have to see if there is an actual definition of the word coven. We study together and do a ritual every month. We don't do rituals for the Sabbats, we just party.

Do you consider yourselves witches? Witches are those with covens. So, if you do, I would say that you are in one.

By Forest Butera (I have no idea who this is, but it's a pretty good essay)

Ideally, a coven is a group of like-minded people who come together with the understanding that there is strength in numbers and any organization is only as strong as its weakest link. What a coven is, most of all, is a “group mind”. A coven is a group of people who have worked hard to achieve rapport so that the focus and flow of every ritual comes naturally to the entire group.

With that in mind it is necessary for each member of a coven to understand that self-confidence, sincerity, ambition, and absolute honesty are critical characteristics of a dedicated witch. While even the most traditional coven allows for some differences in belief, there is absolutely no room for personal agendas which do not serve the interests of the entire coven.

A coven provides a platform for sharing craft-related experiences, working together to raise energy for magic, group meditations, spiritual growth, and enlightenment.

Coven membership (Dedication or Initiation depending on the tradition) is not something to be entered into lightly. One must understand completely, the rights and obligations of members of the coven at all the various levels. If there is ever any question as to what those rights and obligations are, the priest or priestess should be consulted personally as soon as the question arises.

It may take many years to find the right coven. Some people choose to work solitary for many years before considering coven membership. Some may work with several covens of various traditions before finding one that feels right. One must trust the gods to lead him or her to the right teacher when the time is appropriate for both student and teacher. And even then, there are no guarantees that the student/teacher relationship will last forever. Some people have many teachers over the course of time, gleaning valuable information from all. Your job as a member or prospective member of a coven is to be honest with your self and leaders of the coven, and to trust the gods to guide you along your chosen path.

We joke about being witches only because other people have labeled us that for being tarot card readers. We even call our meetings "Our witches meeting." But it is all in fun. It is just a label.

Prayer is done in churches and it is no different than casting a spell for something. It is making a request of God or the universe. We make our requests to the universe and visualize what we ask for sending it to the "thinking stuff" that Wallace D. Wattles talks about. We are into positive thinking and visualization techniques and increasing our vibrations towards opening our sixth sense. We each have somewhat different world views.

All in all, the meeting energizes us and motivates us to achieve the things we want and to solve our personal problems and give each other support in our daily lives.

JB

Then your group is not a coven. Which really doesn't matter one way or another as long as it gives you what you need.

That is awesome thanks!

Our coven started with just myself and my good friend who together we designed a tarot deck.

We offered to give tarot card lessons and got a call from the third member. As it turned out, we all had a deep family connection we had not realized. My aunt was best friends with my best friends aunt and she was married to the third members father. In addition to that connection, my mother was the third members very best friend. It was as if they had brought us together on purpose.

The next two members are my sister and her daughter. So we are very close and just like a family.

JB

According to your definition it looks like a coven to me.

"What a coven is, most of all, is a “group mind”. A coven is a group of people who have worked hard to achieve rapport so that the focus and flow of every ritual comes naturally to the entire group. "

Our group mind is very strong. We are all on the same page, yet we allow for our differences and our individuality.

According to the definition in the dictionary you would be:

coven
One entry found.

coven




Main Entry: co·ven
Pronunciation: \ˈkə-vən also ˈkō-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English covin agreement, confederacy, from Anglo-French covine, from Medieval Latin convenium agreement, from Latin convenire to agree — more at convenient
Date: circa 1520
1 : a collection of individuals with similar interests or activities <a coven of intellectuals>
2 : an assembly or band of usually 13 witches


However, the modern usage would indicate to others that you are practicing witches. So, it depends on whether or not you practice witchcraft. Divination alone is not witchcraft. Most religions practice some sort of divination (like Tarot) but don't practice witchcraft. I think you should call yourself whatever makes you feel comfortable. But, people will believe you are practicing witchcraft if you use the term coven.

Looks like you would be a coven according to that definition. Just not a coven of witches.

What is your definition of witchcraft?

We definitely don't call ourselves wiccans.

We study and practice the Law of Attraction and the creative techniques. We have done a few spells.

JB

Our protection Prayer

We are the tarot magicians
We all have our chosen missions.

We call upon our higher selves to enter these proceedings
Only friendly family spirits are privy to these readings

We send Energies of gratitude
with loving joyful attitude

And welcome those who brought us together
And to those who aid us in our endeavor.

Our path is clear before us
Family spirits hear our chorus

We are here to plant the seed
You always give us what we need.

Thanks to these divine conventions
We fulfill our true intentions.

This is our circle this is our center,
Protect this place and all who enter

so be it
so it is.

I only said you weren't witches because you told me that you only use that term jokingly. I interpreted that to mean that you do not consider yourself a witch. I'm sorry if I misunderstood you.

Ask 10 different witches what witchcraft is and you'll get 10 different answers.

I understand. I guess it would depend then, on what people consider a witch to be.

I can say that we do not consider it to be a religion and if Wicca is like a religion, or if they worship the goddess, then we are definitely not that.

So I guess it would depend on what a person thinks a witch is. LOL

I, personally, do not believe witchcraft is a religion. I know some Christians who practice what I call witchcraft. Here is a basic definition that I go by. My opinion only.

:Witchcraft today may be seen as the sum total of all a Witch's practices, including but not limited to: spellcasting, divination ("fortune telling"), meditation, herbalism, ritual and ritual drama, singing and dancing to raise energy, healing, clairvoyance and other psychism, creative mythology, and more."

The biggest difference to me between someone who is clairvoyant or practices divination and someone who is a witch is the ritual aspect of it. All witches that I know of use ritual and view their powers as coming from themselves and the earth's energies. Deities are called in by some and not by others.