15 September, 2006

Talaria went on a holiday to Sydney for a week this week. She was sorely missed. While she was away however, she created this website for the Coven of the WildWood. Hopefully, through this website and other means, the Coven of the WildWood's popularity will grow and we will be able to teach those who want to learn the ways of the Old Ones. Having a website means entering a new era for our coven.

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood~

8 December, 2006

Recently there have been few, if any Outer Court members attending circles. At most, we have been having the Dedicants: Gede, Jim, and Claire; and our Aspirants: Brenton and Jenni attending circles. Today however, we organised a rushed circle. Gede was coming straight from work and Claire and Brenton straight from uni. We met at 2.00pm (ish) at the Botanical Gardens and ended up with 10 people in circle: Gede, Jim, Claire, Brenton, Jafar, Aslam, Sarena, Rebecca, Maria, and Venetia. That was 4 people that had never been to a circle before!!! It was amazing. Unfortunately it was a quick circle as a lot of us had other commitments immediately afterwards.

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood~

18 January, 2007

Today started with Anaseidr and Talaria meeting up in Brisbane to purchase a Dedicant necklace for Sabrem’s dedication in less than two weeks time. We also bought a replacement stone for Anaseidr’s necklace and a replacement necklace for Dobhair. In the evening, ten of us: Anaseidr, Talaria, Dobhair, Artu, Sabrem, our newest aspirant Alex, Venetia, Maria, Monique, and the lovely new face of Laura; gathered together to celebrate the New Moon. The ritual can be found here.

 Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood~

7 February, 2007

On 4 February, at Lughnasadh, The Coven of the WildWood accepted a new Dedicant: Sabrem. It was a lovely circle held at Talaria's parents' property North-West of Jimna. The Inner Court of WildWood has been looking into the cost and practicality of becoming marriage/funeral/civil celebrants in the near future. We believe that we will be able to provide needed services for the Pagan community. Lately, attendance at circles has been phenomenal. At one stage we were having circles with only our Dedicants and one Aspirant as regular attendees. Now, we are having at least eight people attending circles each time. We have had two very large circles so far with ten attendees at both. We are always looking to meet new people and help them on their journey, so we are hoping that circles will only get larger.

 Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood~

25 March, 2007

On the 18 March, the Coven of the WildWood invited friends and family to join us in our New Moon rite. Anaseidr was joined by his father and step-mother, Dobhair by his mother, Sabrem by his Mother and sister, and Talaria by her friend Sian. The purpose of the circle was to re-enforce to our friends and family our spiritual ideas and ideals. Interestingly, we ended up with 13 members in circle. It was a very enriching experience.

On 24 March, Dobhair, Talaria and Anaseidr drove to the Gold Coast to participate in an open Mabon circle. We assisted in Circle by playing music to Open, and asperging. We had a lovely time, and have invited many people to join us in an Esbat celebration.

Our next Esbat will be on 1 April, and it has been advertised on WitchVox, so it should be an exciting event!!

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood~

1 April, 2007

Well this afternoon's Esbat circle was awesome! We had a turn out of 15 and one joined us after we had opened Circle for the BBQ (so 16 in all). So congratulations to Megan, Emma, Lizi, Maddie, Neda, Deb and Jarrah for your first-time, and congratulations also to Josh who has decided to aspire with the coven. His aspiration will be performed next circle.
 
The Coven is expanding beautifully and at such an interesting time of the year also. As Samhain is approaching the Dark Tide becomes consolidated and Death subsumes Life in the never-ending spiral-dance of Nature. Generally things to do with flourishing, expansion, etc. are not associated with this time of the year, however that does not mean that our expansion will be doomed, actually more to the point it shows that life is eternal and lives through, perhaps even under the barrenness that Winter inflicts upon the Land. We are reminded to honour the power of the All, the Gods, and of course the seasons, passages and cycles of Nature. With that in mind I hope the members of the outer court and our Pagan allies outside of the coven will have a lovely and deep Samhain, as the inner court will be gathering at James' grandmother's property at Springbrook with a very busy agenda! Two of our current Dedicants (Dobhair and Anaseidr) will be initiated into the priesthood of the WildWood (we have been in training since last year's Beltaine) and become the first initiates of the coven. It will also be our coven's first birthday! Hail to the King and Queen of the Underworld.

Talaria and Nika have volunteered their unit for a costume Samhain party as well, details later!!
 
The Inner Court is also organising to write up a training program for Aspirants to be instructed in the Craft. It will deal with history, lore, mythology, our festivals, the Divine, ritual, spellcraft, energy-raising, trance, and much more! So that should begin soon as well.
 
So thanks everyone for the great work! We have almost been through one cycle. We've come along way from the four guys who gathered at Mt Coot-tha to initiate a coven they had no idea would become such a gem!

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood

16 April, 2007

Yesterday, we had a marvellous circle in the Forest at Indooroopilly. The Inner Court was joined by Aspirants: Luna (Alex) and Josh, as well as some Outer Court Members and some new faces :)

We are planning a Samhain/Happy Birthday party for the long weekend in May. It will happen on Sunday 6 May. Everyone is going to gather at Talaria's house and walk (in costume) to a park nearby. We will be playing traditional Samhain games and generally having fun!

The Aspirant training program has been devised. Aspirant training will be conducted at Study Circles. Post-Samhain, Study Circles will not be open to the public as has previously been the case. They will be by invitation only. Invitations will be extended to Aspirants and selected Outer Court Members. A restricted access web page will be created so that Aspirants are able to revise the activities and knowledge imparted at Study Circles. Access to this web page will be provided to Aspirants and Inner Court Members only.

There will be some other changes after Samhain as well. Post-Samhain, Aspirants will only be required to attend 10 consecutive Circles. There will no longer be a requirement to attend 5 Esbat Circles and 5 Study Circles. Esbat Circles, Study Circles and Lesser Sabbats will all count towards their count.

Love Light and Laughter to you all!!

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood

16 April, 2007

On Saturday night, 13 people gathered to celebrate the First Anniversary of WildWood's Dedication. The attendees were: Dobhair, Anaseidr, Talaria, Josh, Brenton, Laura S, Pria, Jarrah, Millie, Dimmie, Nika, Zach and Nick. On the night we made new friends because we looked weird. Together, we enjoyed a massive feast of: Spinach Dip, Superb Salad, Lemon and Rosemary Potatoes, Apples and lots of Junk food. There was cordial and coke and a myriad of other drinks as well. Millie and Talaria started the Happy Birthday song - good times. Towards the end of the night, a good old game of Spin the Bottle/Truth or Dare began - interesting stuff!!

May your lives be filled with happiness.

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood

9 July, 2007

Blessings~
Well we've begun a new phase. Beautiful, flowing, rhythmic, powerful, inspirational, magickal.
 
One of the Inner Court, Alex, is leaving for Sydney today. So all our best wishes and love to her. We will miss you so much sister.
 
This coming week we will have two circles. Tuesday the 10th of July we will be meeting at Roma St Parklands at 6 pm. Bring your ruggies! And then on the 15th of June (Sunday) we will be meeting once more at Roma St parklands for our dark/new moon esbat. We will be meeting at the cafe at 4:30.
 
James has also put forward the idea of getting together (non-circle wise) this Friday the 13th. Ideas? Perhaps a dinner? Thanks beautiful spirits.

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood

20 August, 2007

What an amazing weekend! From Friday 17 August to Sunday 19 August, five of the Inner Court: Eilan, Anaseidr, Talaria, Damionos and Awen, along with our Aspirant, Laura and Outer Court member, Liz attend the Pagan Awareness Network's (PAN's) A Ritual Experience (ARE) Fire. The weekend provided 98 participants with 6 workshops on the element of fire. The presenters were all amazing. The Coven of the WildWood was received with welcoming hugs and kisses by all attendees and it was beautiful to have our hard work recognised.

We made many many new friends including two Inner Circle members of the Dragon's Realm Coven from Logan, who presented us with an unimaginably priceless gift: a staff for WildWood. We send our blessings and thanks to Jae, Rachel and Keira-Lee for this beautiful gift.

We also met a most wonderful singer and ex-teacher who is helping us put together a CD. We will keep you posted on this.

After the weekend, Talaria, Damionos and Awen have decided to become members of PAN. PAN provides insurance for member's having large open circles and we believe that this will be beneficial to our coven.

Keep your eyes on the PAN website and SpellCraft magazine for details of the weekend and photos will be posted soon!

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood

26 November, 2007

In September, 65 Pagans gathered on the Gold Coast to celebrate Ostara with our coven and the Earthwyrm coven. We were blessed with a glorious downpour which signalled the end of the ritual, and the night was enjoyed by all who attended. It was refreshing to promote and display our coven to the wider community. In the future, Earthwyrm and WildWood intend to collaborate once more.

Study Circles/Aspirant Training is going well. There have been in excess of ten people at most of these circles. We are coming to the end of the program for the year and will restart the cycle of lessons next year.

On the 27th of October we held an Esbat which coincided with the festival of Beltaine. We had 38 attendees, many who came because they were inspired by our Ostara ritual. It went splendidly! We were blessed with azure blue skies and many old friends reunited to celebrate the beloved Sabbat!

Recently, on the weekend past, eight Witches of the Coven of the WildWood attended the PAN Full Moon ritual at Sherwood Forest Park. It was refreshing to not have to facilitate the ritual itself, as we have been busily doing so for almost two years. We will be holding our Litha/Full Moon ritual in association with PAN on December the 22nd.

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood

05 April, 2008

On the 22nd of December WildWood hosted a Litha/Full Moon open circle in association with PAN (Pagan Awareness Network) in the lovely Sherwood Forest Park. The sky was overcast, but the rain held off, and the beautiful full moon came out to bless our rite. There were around 40 participants who took part in the solstice celebrations. The battle between the Oak and Holly King, the spiral-dance and Arione's aspiration were the highlights of the evening. Awen, a Dedicant of WildWood, and Lisa (PAN QLD president) blessed the wine together in an affirmation of our two groups working together.
 
In early January six WildWooders visited Namanga's beautiful property for a craft weekend. We painted, we sang and of course we revelled in ritual. In mid-January five WildWooders attended the Pagan Summer Gathering which is hosted by the Church of All Worlds annually. PSG 2008 was an amazing and power-charged weekend with intense, thought-provoking workshops and a phenomenal Summer Rite. Both Eilan and Awen contributed by holding four workshops altogether. Eilan conducted a Pagan Kids' Ritual, a Drawing Down workshop and a talk on Pagan Priesthood - who we are and what we do. Awen held a shape shifting workshop. We also facilitated the Summer Rite. During the weekend Eilan was brought into the 3rd Ring within the CAW RINGs system and Awen became a CAW member. Many new friends and beautiful memories were made.
 
For Lughnasadh 2008 we held a first fruits feast at Arione's house. A lot of good food was devoured. We also blessed Amy and Venetia as Daughters of the WildWood in a simple ceremony which acknowledges a person's contribution and place within the coven and within the realm of our namesake. Also in a private inner court ritual the coven celebrated the beginning of Awen's priest-training.
 
At the Autumn Equinox we held an open circle, which coincided with the full moon, and we re-enacted the myth of the Mabon child again. We had a circle of around 35 people and an amazing procession through the realm of the five sacred beings who aid Arthur and his knights on their quest to find the Mabon child. We honoured our Crescent-Crowned Goddess as she descended into the Underworld and we also held a beautiful aspiration ceremony for Yaksha.
 
Another highlight recently was our beautiful Molly's blessing as a Witch of the WildWood at our open day which was held in Roma St Parklands. The open day was basically a chance for the inner court to explain our Gods and guardians, our history, our mythos, our court-system, and our tradition and ritual in depth and detail.
 
Also in February we began our new cycle of study circles which we've opened to community input. So far in this series we've had study circles on trance, kitchen-witchery and reiki. EFT, a Kali-Puja, a Hellenic ceremony and Tantra and Western Sex Magick are planned for the next few months.
 
The Coven is very excited about 2008 as we've got our 2nd birthday to celebrate, a workshop to present at the Spirit REW, many circles to be had (both open and closed), Sabbats to be celebrated and the possibility of a WildWood coven beginning in the UK under the guidance of our priest and co-founder Anaseidr.

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood

11 May, 2008

The coven has been immensely busy this past month. Our gorgeous Molly aspired at the full moon ritual in April and we then had the pleasure and joy of celebrating our second birthday (or the beginning of our third cycle) with much frivolity and abandon in costume of course! We’ve had several new people coming along to our open circles, and we’re enjoying getting to know them.

 On May 3^rd the coven celebrated the Sabbat of Samhain with the Earthwyrm coven at Anna’s beautiful place on the Gold Coast. We all dressed as beings of the Wild Hunt and part of the ritual was the drawing down of the Stag-Horned God and the Crescent-Crowned Goddess (the traditional leaders of the Wild Hunt in some cultures) into our priest Ana and our Dedicant Moverin, respectively. They then processed to the circle and blessed the Witches of the two covens. They then led us on a wild whooping and drumming beating the bounds, then back into the Circle to cast and call. Exhilarating! Awen then called upon all the forces, beings and Magick of WildWood to bless Earthwyrm and they in turn blessed us. The wine was blessed and the ancestors were honoured. Old pains and things we wanted to banish from the old year were burnt in the fire and we each drew a tarot card to guide us on our paths. The feast was amazing! And if you go to our Myspace you’ll see some beautiful pictures of the evening. Some of us even camped overnight, going home the next day.

 On May 9^th the inner court gathered to dedicate our aspirant Arione into the inner court. Arione was aspired at Litha, and dedicated at Samhain. Congratulations to Arione! Then we all headed to the ARE (A Ritual Experience) Spirit weekend at Ewen Maddock Dam hosted by the Pagan Awareness Network QLD Inc. Truly amazing stuff! The speakers were inspirational. The rituals were both solemn and joyful! Truly initiatory transformations occurred for many in the coven, and for many of the participants in general. The coven also did the closing workshop which was a spell for building community. To us Spirit represents the unity and wholeness of the four Elements – Spirit is more than the sum of its parts. Therefore we thought casting a spell together would be an effective way of demonstrating our philosophy. Air “opens the way”, Fire “enlivens the power”, Water “channels the flow” and Earth “grounds it!”. Spirit is the catalyst, the point of transformation and the spell itself. It actualises it, brings it from potential into the world of here and now. We did a spiral-dance as well with a white ribbon joining everyone and then both ends were tied to seal the spell. It was a power-charged, fun ritual! We then grounded by playing the much-loved “Wizards, Witches and Goblins” game that Arione created during the weekend J

 Community is a wonderful thing! Let’s craft it together.

Blessed Be

~Coven of the WildWood