Russia today is going through an interesting renaissance period of pagan spirituality. Of course, representatives of the reconstructed Slavic paganism - the unions of various Rodno-faith communities - express themselves most vividly about themselves. However, against their background, ideas of other neopagan cults are spreading more and more. Increasingly, for example, they are talking about Wicca - a specific religion of witches, which is represented in our country by several communities, many solitary practitioners and a lot of sympathizers, mainly among young people.
Religion Wicca
Wicca is a religion of neopagan orientation with a great emphasis on magical practice. Her spirituality is based on the veneration of nature, personified in the person of the Great Mother Goddess. Often accompanied by a subordinate, and sometimes equal, horned god, correlated with the horned god of archaic cults. For these reasons, many Wiccans often claim that Wicca is a modern successor (sometimes it is claimed that it is also a direct successor who emerged from the catacombs) of the cult of the Mother Goddess of the ancient tribes of primitive society. Thus, they claim to be adherents of the oldest religion in the history of the world.
The emergence of Wicca and the first witch coven
The historical value of the arguments in favor of the antiquity of Wicca is low. The official date of birth of this teaching is 1954, although, of course, many of its ideas were in the air of the esoteric world long before that. It is also fair to note that in their theology and practice, Wiccans really partially reconstruct certain ideas and forms of prehistoric cults, while at the same time actively synthesizing them with ancient, medieval and modern traditions. Gerald Gardner was a Wicca popularizer, with whose name the first Wiccan coven of witches, New Forest, is stationed in England.
Wicca Currents
Wiccan theology is not bound by a strict dogmatic creed. The priority for her is the veneration of femininity in the person of the Goddess, most often the triune Mother, correlated with nature. The concrete content and understanding of Wiccan spirituality differs from community to community. The most traditional are the directions of Gerald Gardner and Alex Sanders - the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions, respectively. Against their background, the Faerie, Dianic, Celtic and other branches are actively developing, which unite both solitary - single practitioners and covens - organized communities.
Organization of Wiccan Communities
The local association of witches in Wicca is called the circle or coven. The coven is essentially a community of Wiccan believers. As a rule, such associations are administratively independent from other similar groups (even within the boundaries of one tradition). They represent the only component of the Wiccan community, along with which there are many enthusiasts who profess and practice Wicca alone.
The difference between the coven and the circle in Wicca
Sometimes you can find a distinction between the concepts of “circle” and “coven” in Wicca. According to one explanation, the coven is the entire totality of Wiccan believers locally united in one community. It includes priestesses, priests, practicing initiated members, and students who are just preparing for initiation. The circle unites in itself only the inner core of the trained and dedicated members of the full coven. But it should be noted that not everyone adheres to such an interpretation of concepts, introducing other systems of differentiation.
The first Wiccan witch coven in Russia
In Russia, the term "coven" has also gained popularity with the development of Wicca. This happened quite late (compared with the USA and Europe, where Wicca was already a familiar traditional religion at the beginning of the 21st century). After the first single practitioners appeared on the territory of the post-Soviet space, a community gradually began to form, within which organized communities began to take shape. Finally, the first witch coven in Russia was officially registered by the authorities of the Republic of Udmurtia in Izhevsk. It was called the Coven of Willow Hollow. Today, there is the Wiccan Union of Russia, under the patronage of which there are many other organized Wiccan groups. The main ones - and, by the way, the most numerous - are located in ... Moscow and St. Petersburg!
Coven structure
The structure of the coven is conditionally hierarchical in nature. The hierarchical principle is expressed in the fact that the leading ritual and administrative role is concentrated in the hands of the high priestess of the coven. If, along with the goddess, they honor the god, then the priest often shares the management of the community with the priestess. They, respectively, personify the divine powers of the goddess and god. The conventionality of hierarchy is that, firstly, not all covens have adopted a similar organization scheme - some advocate the absolute equality and electivity of the high priestesses and priest in each particular ritual. Secondly, many groups, even those with permanent sovereign witches, are by no means in a hurry to delegate administrative powers over them.
This Wicca differs from many other older religions, whose sign is a clearly defined structure of hierarchy and governance. Since the principle we are considering is alien to the principle of centralization on an administrative or sacramental basis, and each coven is a group independent of other Wiccans, the developed hierarchical structure is superfluous for this religion. In any case, if it is present in any community, it is more likely as an exception to the rule.
Witches covens outside Wicca
Although the word “coven” is most often used today in conjunction with the Wiccan religion, it is not Wiccan from the very beginning. In general, in English, a coven is any organized group of witches and sorcerers, or even just a community of witches, gathering for witchcraft festivals and rituals known as covens. Therefore, a coven, in fact, is any group of persons organized for ritual purposes who position themselves as witches. Next, we discuss how and when this term appeared.
Etymology of the word "coven"
This term comes from the Latin verb convenire, which translates simply as “assembly”. However, in English he acquired an additional meaning - “mirage”. The pre-Indo-European basis of this word is believed to reflect the idea of a person's belonging to magic. From this came, in particular, the English word witch - "witch".
The history of the term "coven"
The history of the term is rooted in the Middle Ages. Judging by the available historical and literary data, this word very early began to be endowed with a special ritual connotation. So, for example, it was often used to refer to a meeting of thirteen people - no more and no less. Mention of the word "coven" in this vein has been known since the twelfth century. A little later, when Europe was captured by a wave of witch hunts, this concept began to be used as a working term to refer to the underground organization of witches and sorcerers.
Some prominent personalities of the Middle Ages, defining covens as witchcraft communities, did not ignore the second meaning of this word. What is meant? In their opinion, witch covens and organized covens did not actually exist, but were mirages created by devilish forces in order to mislead people. This view was held, for example, by the bishop of Chartres, John of Salisbury.
Over time, however, the belief in the reality of nightly witchcraft gatherings grew stronger, both among the people and in the upper strata of secular and spiritual power. People began to seriously talk about the underground covens of witches, and civil and church courts began to pay special attention to cases concerning their exposure. A body of witness testimonies began to form, and after them the confessions of people caught in witchcraft. The oldest of these documents in Europe dates back to the first quarter of the fourteenth century. It mentions an Irish coven of thirteen witches, led by Alice Keater. This was the first case in Ireland, during which a man was burned on charges of witchcraft.
A little later, starting from the sixteenth century, belonging to the secret organizations of witches was the usual point of indictment of any inquisitor. In this case, the Coven might not exist at all, but this accusation was standard, because most often it was assumed that the witch was acting in conspiracy with a group of other persons bound by an agreement with the devil.
By the eighteenth century, when the Vedic processes in England had subsided, the use of the term “coven” in legal practice came to naught. Around the same time, the process of promoting occultism began to gain strength, the peak of which occurred in the nineteenth century. And already in the twentieth century, when they talked about the revival of witches, the concept of coven again came into circulation. Finally, a group of members of the Golden Dawn magic order, led by the already mentioned Gerald Gardner, entered into an alliance with several folklore scholars and practitioners of witchcraft within a certain family tradition, thereby forming the New Forest coven. Ultimately, this led to a surge in interest in the European Vedic tradition. Although, in fairness, it should be noted that not all historians tend to trust Gardner's stories about the appearance of this collection. Some claimed that he simply invented it.
The coven of the northern witches in Russia as an example of the commercialization of the concept of “coven”
Against the background of the spread of Wicca and witch organizations, the term “coven” is becoming more popular in the media space. Russia did not escape the fate of the profanation of this religious term, where recently a number of dubious organizations calling themselves this term have made themselves known. For example, The Coven of the Northern Witches. The reasons for this are simple. It is no secret that in our country, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, a rather motley market of ritual and spiritual services has formed, which is a commercial reflection of religious and esoteric fermentation in the minds of citizens. Today there is a slow but sure upgrade of the already formed witch culture to a special witch philosophy, aesthetics and even religion. Moreover, the latter applies not only to Wicca. Of course, organizations appeared in the commercial space to ricochet, calling themselves covens and offering everyone their services for a fee. A vivid example of this kind of organization is one Petersburg coven of witches. Banteyeva Natalia - its founder and leader - the winner of the ninth season of the battle of psychics, which in itself should be alarming, given the staged nature of this television show. After her enchanting victory, Natalya Banteyeva was not taken aback and gathered several people under her protectorate, who formed the so-called Northern Witch Coven. The commercial activity of this community is concentrated in the Wake Up personality development center, which takes the form of a classic service bureau with an esoteric bias. The ostentatious and business-oriented nature of the activity (touring the country; press conferences; paid services put on stream, etc.) puts this coven of witches in an ambiguous position. Banteyeva Natalya positions herself as the strongest psychic in Russia, but, most likely, this is only a marketing move aimed at PR and attracting customers. Unfortunately, there is reason to believe that in many other organizations of the esoteric and spiritual space of Russia, activity is also carried out not for an idea, but for profit.
Witch Covens in Art
From the point of view of art, the greatest role in the popularization of witchcraft covens was played by cinema. Among its other fruits - the famous series "American Horror Story." Coven is the name of his third season, entirely dedicated to the witches of New Orleans. It is also worth noting the cult series “Charmed”, which tells the story of a group of three hereditary witch sisters. The Wiccan coven format was highlighted in the True Blood vampire series. And finally, you can recall “Salem”. This is another modern series. The coven of witches in it confronts church and civil courts. The film is based on the real events of the Salem Vedic processes.