Coven vs. Cult : Is there a Difference?

A lot of people never truly understand what makes a Coven or when a Coven has crossed into being a Cult, or when something so widely accepted is a Cult in general.

So, let us start with what is a Cult shall we?

The definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous, or a situation in which people admire and care about something or someone very much or too much, or a small group of very devoted supporters or fan.

A definition that I have found to be a bit more accurate is a religious/non religious group that follows a series of strict beliefs, may include worshiping specific deities, and/or following strict specific ideals. May involve some form of brainwashing that their knowledge is correct and that everyone else is wrong, WILL have a hierarchy, and may be lead by one or a small group of Charismatic leaders, and typically will shun those who are ex-members.

As one can see, the second definition given includes any religious and non-religious group/organization, more or less accepted among society. If you were to ask the FBI who they considered a cult, the Catholic Church (or organized religion for that matter) is on that list because it follows most if not all of those specifics. As for Covens, Covens that are really Cults exist more than not due to it being a group who comes together to worship a specific deity, but typically aren't too bad. Then you have other Coven Cults that are very secretive and can become dangerous to both non members and members alike.

Now, not all Cults are bad, heck, by the second definition Buddhism could be considered one as well since it follows a specific set of ideals. It is an organized religion/philosophy, but it would be seen as a Cult for seeking Enlightenment and Peace (though there is a small group of marauding Buddhist monks that are attacking people, but everyone/everything has a minority of extremists).

Some Cults are good calm centers of worship and others you end up being brainwashed and drinking the Kool-Aid. They can range from one extreme to the other, or any bit in between.

Now let’s look at the definition of a Coven from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary shall we.

A Coven is a group of Witches. That simple, nothing special, nothing saying a group that worships a specific deity or anything, just simply a group of Witches.

And I agree with this definition, because you can have a Coven without having to follow or Worship the same specific deities as everyone else in the Coven. Covens were typically brought together so people could gather more energy for a ritual/spell and give it more strength. As they say, there is strength in numbers.

Covens may be filled with people who have many similarities of beliefs or views between each Coven member, but at most you might find set in place are rules or a code of conduct which is more moralistic rather then idealistic or Religious. Covens can be seen as more of a home to many, they are a group of people who found they work well together and will help each other when it comes to major spells/rituals.

What separates a Coven from a Cult is very small and simple, whether or not it is an Organized/Strict Religious/Non-Religious group. That line is so often crossed that when the thought of Coven comes to mind, we automatically think of it as more of a Cult, or vice verse. For those that are both, we may as well just call them Coven Cults.

So all in all, they are very close to each other and many times the line that separates the two is blurred. These are one of those things that are not just Black and White, it’s very much a grey area when deciding whether a Coven is just a Coven, or a Coven Cult, or just a Cult.

As a Warning from someone who is cautious of any Coven, if you are considering Joining or have Joined a Coven, do your Homework, read books, and never take what you are told without question. Many people say that faith is the strongest power a person can have, but blind faith can also lead you down a dark road that you may never come back from. So always question, even to those reading this article, don’t just take my word for this, look into it as well, and question everything. The last thing you want is to end up as one of many faces on a newspaper or a news report of people who have passed.

Signs to look out for when it comes to Negative Cult Activity:

-When a group is controlled by a single version or interpretation of a belief.

-When the group leader(s) are the only ones who have "classified/secret" knowledge of the highest degree.

-An Us vs Them mentality

-Any form of exploitation of members (things that seem expected of them ie. sex being a requirement and/or money)

-People in the group that seem to be focused on recruiting/converting members.

-The Leader(s) finding ways to control your activities and social life.

-Opposing any type of thoughts and/or comments that would disagree with the leader(s) words/beliefs, and will punish those who have such thoughts and/or comments.

-Seeking inappropriate loyalty from the members.

-If members are very zealous and un-questioning of their leader(s) and regards their beliefs to be the absolute truth.

-Group is Elitist 

-The Leader(s) are above all other authority.

-The Leader(s)/group will use shame and guilt to manipulate and control members.

-Being subservient to Leader(s)/group in ways such as cutting ties with family and friends, and/or alter personal goals and activities.

-Members are encouraged and/or required to only live and/or socialize with other members and exclude everyone else.

-The most loyal members will feel there can be no life outside of the group, and will fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.

-Those who have left the group/excommunicated are shunned by members of the group.
-May let those under the age of 18 to join without parental consent or knowing.

For some examples and information on past cults and other signs to look out for, click here and here.

Remember, cults and covens don't always fit stereotypical looks.

Petitions and Do they Make a Difference

Okay, so here are some new thoughts about some things going on, Petitions and whether they actually make a difference or not. I know many out there think that petitions don't effect anyone and that there isn't a point to a lot of them for some reasons, one, you can't change the way people think, two, they are just going to be ignored, three, I'm just one person, I can't change anything. The thing is that these things make a great difference, even if its not immediate and there has been proof of this. I will address each point at a time so I can better explain how these things actually do work.

One, you can't change the way people think. 

While yes this is true, it doesn't mean what some people think is right and should be tolerated/condoned. Such things like hate groups usually come from very closed minded religious people, or people who are just completely ignorant of things and refuse to listen to truth. So just because we can't change their minds, just because we can't change the way people think doesn't mean would should condone the hate and violence many of these people promote. And we may not be able to change the minds of people today, but by not condoning these actions these people take and keep their hate off of the main media/internet networks, we can allow for future generations to gain a better understanding of things and allow them to make decisions for themselves as to what they believe. The less hate and violence is condoned the better for the future generations. 

Now, I am not stupid, I know there will always be some form of hate, and there will be some form of violence, and controlled violence (such as sparring in martial arts, going to a firing range) is something that I am fine with, it allows people to experience things on a level that allows you get stress off of you, and to enjoy the company of others. But out right violence with the intent to kill someone or a specific group of people should never be accepted, at all. There have been two forms of massive genocide that have taken place now because people accepted such things as right. One everyone knows about which is the Holocaust, but the other not as well known and is still going on in one form or another which is the restrictions and massecure of the American Indian people. Many in America and even the government does not see what happened as Genocide, but it was, The Amrican Indians were moved to small bits of land called reservations (kinda like prison camps) and many of the rights stripped from them and they were and still are being discriminated against. Just because it happens doesn't mean it is right and should be accepted.

Two, they are just going to be ignored.

Again, many times this is the case, but usually only in the beginning, there have been many petitions going on about the same exact thing. To a point that they were flooding the internet and many different forums and pages to a point that they could no longer be ignored. Evidence and most known from last year was when Fox News spouted their ignorance on live television, it took a while and many petitions, but the voices of the people were heard and Fox News made an apology. Whether it was sincere or not is a different matter, but it showed that voices of the people can be heard and can make change. Another more recent event was the goings on on Facebook with a page that was called "Witches must die by fire", it took a long while of reports and petitions but facebook finally acknowledged that it was a hate page promoting violence. It was taken down but now the same person who owned that page is back with a new one called "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" and once again the voices from the petitions were heard and it too has been removed. So even if it doesn't happen immediately, and even though it may take a lot more then just one petition, after a point they can no longer be ignored as long as we don't give up and we keep trying.

Three, I'm just one person, I can't change anything. 

Now that is wrong, and I mean, majorly wrong, there have been plenty of people who were at first alone in their actions but had still managed to make a difference, history books are full of those people. Yes it may seem as if they weren't alone because they had so many people backing them, but how did they get all of those people? They didn't just appear and go yeah we will support you for no absolute reason, Each person started alone and had to show why their cause should be supported, it was harder and took a lot more work back then, and the only reason why those people's doings seem so great is because you could physically see the numbers of those who were supportive. On the internet it seems like we are alone, but as long as we start and try, soon enough others will hear of the cause and read about it. Those who agree will sign or support the cause and share it with the people they know and so on and so forth. Its a ripple effect whether in person or over the internet, and over the internet it makes it easier for the voices of the cause to be heard since more people from all over the world can come across it quicker then it would take by word of mouth and media.

The point to all of this is just because it seems hopeless doesn't mean it is, we should always fight for what is right. Just because shutting down forums or pages that promote violence won't change the way people think, it will show that such things are not tolerated. We are all human, we share this one world we live in, it is up to us that we create the world we want our children and grandchildren to be in. Yes, Hate and Violence may never be eradicated from this planet, but unless we continue fighting to stop that and promote peace and acceptance for one another no matter the differences, soon enough, Hate and Violence will be the only thing in this world. 

And I know, this sounds like Hippy talk with the whole peace thing, but I am not a passivist, I am someone who will fight no matter what to make sure this world is the world I want for my son to live in.

Experiences and Life Goings On

So, I know I have been gone for a while now, and I apologize about that, had a lot going on this past month. Okay, so let me start from the beginning.

First off, I have recently have become engaged, and even though we are separated by an ocean, he and I have connected strongly on a spiritual level, more so then I have with anyone else before, and well, I am happy. Its the kind of happy where you don't have to try for it, we just are, even when things have happened that would make us upset, we still always without fail bring each other back to a smile.

Now, a weird event happened some months ago, and when I mean weird, I mean WEIRD, like, to the point where I have never experienced anything like this before. But before I go into that, let me first explain a few things about myself, since Senior Year in High School I used to follow Nyx (Primordial Greek Goddess of Night), but after a while that didn't feel right, I knew I was to follow under a Night deity, but it wasn't Nyx (didn't really match up, my interests lay in Celtic/Scandinavian mythology and practices). One day, about a week before the weird experience, I felt like I needed to see if there was a Norse Goddess of Night (I had looked to see if there was a Celtic one, but none felt right), and that was when I found Nott. As soon as I read the name a shiver went up my spine, it felt right, she felt right.

A week later, my fiance and I were doing a joint meditation (yes, its possible to do over the internet, distance has never been an issue for me with those things), I felt a bond was formed between he and I during and after we were finished. Not long afterwards, we were just talking when this happened -

That mark did not appear on my video feed, but it did on his, he immediately took a screen shot and sent it to me, so no time for him to edit, and, if you look, it appears on both video frames of me.

I was baffled to see this, nothing like this had ever happened to me before, I am used to hearing it happen to other people, the image looked pixelated so I couldn't completely tell what it was, but I had felt like I knew what it was. Weeks passed and I had just stopped trying to figure it out, then after three weeks I was in video conversation with my boyfriend and we were discussing Norse Mythology. Then that got me thinking to look there, I first tried to look up Fenrir symbols because he was one I was always drawn to since I first grew up with the myths, while looking through the images (none were what was on my shoulder) I came across a Yggdrasil image. And like a red wood plank smacking you full force in the face, I realized it was the Yggdrasil.

Then I realized, Nott was my Goddess, apparently, she was not only claiming me as hers, but branded me it seems lol. I felt compelled to honor her and Fenrir (personal reasons for Fenrir) and am now in the works of a tattoo design that I will be having done on the same arm the image appeared.

(Still working on my tattoo design)

Now because of these new events and experiences, I am doing what I can to learn more about the Celtic and mostly about the Scandinavian religions, I feel that this is where I am being shown that my path lies (I have learned to trust such things in the past because every time I listened, I was safe and happy, every time I ignored any callings, I ended up unhappy and something going wrong).

Along with all of this I am trying my hand at singing again, trying to get back into my art, trying to get my Metaphysical Store going, AND the most important, taking care of my son. So I have really served myself a full plate. 

Today's Public Media Views of Witches

Warning, May contain spoilers, specifically about the movie Hansel & Gretel:Witch Hunters.

 Greetings, today I will be talking about how Witches have been viewed through the years as Paganism had started making a come back after years of fear being instilled in the practitioners and forcing them to practice in secret. Most of the references I will be pulling will be coming from movies I have seen and the Hollywood view on them and how they have and are being portrayed. I will also be pulling in some books that I have read as well for references in how they are being viewed.

 When I was a child, like most people, anytime I thought of a witch I always imagined warts, green skin, pointy hats, brooms, and cauldrons, I always thought of them as wicked and evil and ugly, always the villain (Disney didn't help in this aspect either). I never thought there could ever be such a thing as a "Good Witch", that is, not until I first saw "The Wizard of Oz". 

 It took a while for it to sink in, but that movie was the very first that I had seen that even though portrayed Witches as the stereotype, it also portrayed a Witch who was kind, gentle, and beautiful, she looked like a normal human being. This was a very interesting thing to me, later on, I saw Disney's "The Sword in The Stone" where we meet Merlin, a Wizard who was on the side of good and the light. 

 As I started paying attention when I got older, I started to realize in the books that I was reading that there were good magic practitioners and bad magic practitioners, wasn't really till the "Harry Potter Series" that I was introduced to the concept of "Good Witches". It was because of the books I kept finding that changed my perspective on such things, and soon I began to understand that where there is good, there is going to be evil.

 Now, more so in movies then books, I have always seen Witches portrayed as some evil incarnate creatures, usually twisted and ugly looking, but as the years have passed, yes they still show those portrayals, but they have also been portraying Witches as good and gentle and beautiful people. Such movies, and even shows, that showed such things are The Covenant, Practical Magic, Charmed, Earthsea, Wizards of Waverly Place, True Blood, Twitches, Beautiful Creatures, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Lord of the Rings, Matilda (one could consider her a Witch), The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Merlin (both the show and the movie), The Craft, and the most recent I have seen, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunter's.

 Now, you maybe confused about the last one, especially with the name and all, and I will say, when I was watching it I became worried, but, there was a nice surprise at the end. Throughout most of the movie, every time we saw a Witch, they were decaying, ugly, and used their magic for evil, the main story line was that a Grand Witch was going to Sacrifice 12 children, one born under each zodiac, during the blood moon to make their kind unharmed by flame. As the movie progressed I was starting to become unhappy with the movie, but as I am someone who finishes what they start, I continue watching. 

 The surprise that popped up was the final ingredient to the potion, which was the heart of a Grand White Witch, yes folks, they actually brought in the fact that there were good Witches. Hearing this made me happy, the movie showed the good Witches looked like anyone else, nothing special on the outside, they just didn't use their magic to harm others, only heal and defend against the Dark Witches.

 The Dark Witches were defeated, and Hansel & Gretel now understanding there were Good Witches, made sure to specifically hunt the Dark ones, knowing the Good ones were healers and helpers, not ones who harmed and used their powers greedily.

 I feel this movie specifically showed that those who use magic for selfish and harmful reasons would be dark and ugly on the inside, the movie showing this on the outside, while those who used magic for the benefit of others, and to help, are as beautiful on the inside as the outside.

 Altogether I feel that the view and portrayal of Witches is slowly getting better, showing that not all Witches are bad, that in fact, many are good, but to still be careful for there are dangers for any who practice. I am glad to see this change occurring, and hopefully will help set better "stereotypes" for Witches in the future, so instead of people thinking of them as green skinned, grotesque, always wearing black, and covered in warts, they will see Witches as healers, wearing typical clothing that other people wear, and look like anyone else.

A Quick Introduction

Hello, my name is Featherwolf, I am a single mother of one living under my mother's roof. I am going to take part in providing articles and blogs of stories, life/spiritual experiences, personal thoughts/opinions, and understandings as I continue to define myself, my path, my life, and how the people closest to me take part. I hope that the articles I provide are helpful, the style in which the articles/blogs will be written would be that of a Journal and Informative pieces, sometimes thoughts to me that may have no meaning might not be for me, but someone else to read and understand.

Now where should I begin, well, I guess from the beginning, I was baptized and raised as a Catholic in Richmond, VA, United States, though I have always been around the belief of spiritual beings, energy use, and a more alternative way of thinking as far back as I can remember, along with Catholicism I had also been raised with a lot of Lakota beliefs and practices. Around the age of six I started learning how to feel and use energy (energy being in the most simplistic terms on the equivalent of the force), that was the majority of my knowledge, but I never had any real interest in magic, not till after I hit about the age of thirteen when was the time I started exploring other paths, at this time my parents had divorced and Christianity just wasn't filling the gaps and holes I felt, I knew there was more out there that I wasn't understanding. Also at this time my mother took me and my younger brother to a church gathering where it incorporated Christian and American Indian beliefs together. I got more from this but when my experimenting with Witchcraft became known to my mother, it was passed on the one of the two people who lead the service. As usual I was warned against messing around with such things, and I heeded the warning, which as I look back was a very good thing, I wasn't ready to dive into such a world just yet. We continued with the group but I still felt like something was missing, by the time I reached high school I was in spiritual limbo, I was at a point that I was looking into other religious practices trying to feel them out and find the one that felt right.

It wasn't till my sophomore to senior year that I came to realize that a Pagan path would be the direction I was heading, and that Witchcraft would once again play a part in my life. In my Sophomore year in High School I was still at the time attending Richmond Community High School, it's a small school of at most 200 students all together, or at least it was, not sure how its turned out now. It was in, I believe my Geography class, that I was doodling out a design for a symbol to sit atop a staff, at this time, aside from the Pentacle, Triquetra, and the Triskle, I had not seen or associated any other symbol's with Paganism or practices that fell under the Pagan Umbrella. I had drawn out a moon with two crescents facing away from the center moon, now, many of you know this as the Triple Goddess symbol, but as I have stated, I had never explored Paganism at this time and therefore had never seen the symbol. I had always been someone of the night and was always comforted by the moon, because of that was why I was trying to design a staff topper. 

By the time of my Junior year, I had switched schools and started going to Thomas Jefferson High, it was very much like my old middle school, just not as violent so it didn't take much to get used to class movements again. Not too long after starting there I became friends with a very interesting individual, I was still in my goth phase (though I never really left it) and I saw a similarity with him. We became really good friends and not long after we began dating, and not long after I was introduced to his family. They became a second home for me, a place I could go to if my home got a little too stressful, with me being a teenager and someone who was running from my problems, it often did. His sister and I began to bond as she was an artist along with myself, I gave her tips on how to better improve and even showed her a few techniques, we also had a love for books.

One book in particular I had not read before was Marked, the first in The House of Night series, I enjoyed vampires and other fictional books so she let me borrow it and I read it. A little summary of the books, they are a vampire series that is very Pagan in nature, the authors have definitely done research if they don't practice themselves so its not a bunch of mess or fantasized made up practices. The Goddess the Vampires follow is Nyx Goddess of Night. Looking into her story she is a Primordial Greek Goddess, one of the first to be born from Chaos and bring balance to the world. About the point in which Zoey joined the Dark Daughters circle for a ritual and described the pendant that was worn made me freeze. It sounded so familiar and made me look up the symbol, when I saw it I realized it was the exact same symbol that I had drawn the year before. Because of this I took it as a sign and began researching Nyx and even went to a local Metaphysical store to talk to someone about the symbol. I felt because of the connection with the night that I have, and the fact that I had been searching for my path, I had this feeling I was being called out to to look more detailed in the path involving a more Pagan practice.

During my senior year I spent it researching and studying, to understand Paganism and what Witchcraft was all about, I never practiced, never tried a ritual or spell, I just studied so I could get an idea of what I was getting myself into. The more I read the more it felt right for me, and the more I realized that this was what I had been looking for. By the end of my senior year I still continued to study, but I also began practicing, after a while I felt confident that I could start calling myself a Pagan. But I never called myself a witch, I still hadn't fully understood what I felt I would need to understand before I could take on such a title. Events happened that were a cause of my wanting to escape Richmond, my previous boyfriend had passed away and I didn't want to have to deal with the memories, things happened and I was able to move to Indiana. It was a fresh start and a place I could try to better define my path, two of the friends I had made also practiced, and allowed me to better learn what others were about. I had a group I worked with before, I wouldn't necessarily call my old group a coven, but it was similar. I learned a lot more and to also be weary of those who claim great things from themselves, nine time out of ten, they are lying and just want attention. 

After a year in Indiana I moved back home with my mom due to more circumstances that caused me to do so. All this time I had begun to lose the connection I had with the universe and the earth, which in a sense left me blind and fumbling around. After I reconnected I began to understand things and see that there were so many lessons I needed to learn from everything I experienced, my gullibility, my ignorance, the past three relationships and staying blind to my partners shortcomings and not talking to them about problems that were going on. Even though all of what happened ended up with me getting kicked out of my apartment in Indiana, dealing with emotional issues and stresses of my past, losing and gaining friends, and ending up as a single mother because of my lover's blindness, taught me quite a bit.

People aren't always as they seem, and sometimes there is much more hidden than they want you to see. It made me realize I didn't know myself as well as I needed, and that I couldn't truly understand my path until I did. We are all the same and yet different, similar causes lead to similar effects, that doesn't ever seem to change, but the difference we all have is our emotions and our thoughts that lead us to the similar effects. Understanding this has given me a better understanding of myself and others, and in my spiritual path, I have always been a counselor to people, and sometimes even mended broken hearts and showed people there are other ways to things, other answers, I have also come to see that even the basic religious meanings aren't too different either. I feel my path my lead down the road of a healer, but what form of healer I am to take, I am not sure yet, I just know no matter how hard I hide or run, I always end up back in a position to help those that are in need. This is what I have come to understand as I have been lead onto my Pagan path, hopefully more things will become clear to me.

I know this first blog got seriously off topic, but I felt it was best to express what I felt was important to express, and to give you an idea of what these blogs will be like, the rest should be better focused on where I start from and hopefully can better express the journey's and realizations I have come to understand, this is my first time as a article writer and a blogger, so please excuse the randomness and floating of my writing. I hope that some good can come from these and might even help express to those that are unknown of the Pagan Community can see we are people too, simple, basic people who have found what we needed in a different form.