Not quite a year ago I decided to offer a Wicca 101 class  here in Sonoma County.  Its focus was “generic British
Traditional Wicca.”  Not Gardnerian
or any other particular British tradition, but one in harmony with their basic
approaches. For me, the test of a tradition is:  Do the Gods come?  This link gives you an outline of what our class covered. 

Beginning at Mabon, we met for almost a year, and my students
got ever better at what they were learning.  Some sections we covered in a week, some, particularly the
more experiential that occurred later, took many weeks to do well.  When the class ended many wanted to
continue as a coven.  

Some older Pagans in our community were also interested in
forming a working coven.  They had
been solitaries for some years, and missed the energy of good circles, although
they were wary of the internal politics that is the bane of many groups.  Being older, they’d endured these
problems, and did not want to return to them.

I arranged a meeting between both, enabling them to get to
know one another and see if the interpersonal energy “jelled.”  We ranged in age from the 20s to the
70s, but that did not seem to bother anyone.  Our gathering was a lot of fun, and we decided to do a
genuine Full Moon ritual this month.

Last week we did, and it was wonderful.

We are also trying something not the norm in BTW
traditions.  Because so many are
practitioners of long standing, and because my students are so good at what
they do, we are creating a far more explicit consensual framework than is
usually the case.  No permanent
high priestess or high Priest, with that role being open to anyone the group
recognizes as qualified on a flexile basis. 

For those of you out there who are able to teach such a
course and wishing you had a group to work with – here is a wonderful way to
maybe get there.  Offer a basic
introduction within your own tradition, if not oath bound, or an “outer court”
if there are elements you are not at liberty to divulge to non-initiates.  You will learn a lot simply by teaching
others, and after it is over you may have come together enough to try your
hands at a real coven.  If not, a
number of people will have learned a lot about Wicca – or whatever tradition
you practice.

I am now trying to decide whether I have the time and energy
to offer another “101” course this fall, for I am planning a long fall trip but
want to begin either before Samhain or after Yule.