Merry Meet,
Im fairly new to this group and tried looking all over for a link or passage on covens, but i havnt had much luck.

Im writting a story and its based along the medievil time fantasy, i've read some books that describe the initiation of witches into the coven as apprentices through tests, basic tests of power of the elements, through to advance levels in particular elements.

I was wondering if any one knew how it actually goes about, i my self not being a part of a coven makes it hard for me to know procedures and can only learn from my reading, being so isolated from pagan communities.

Also when an apprentice is accepted into a coven it is typical in fantasy story books for them to receive a ring to acknowledge their rank as an apprentice, is a moonstone a significant stone to the coven? or is it just a favourable stone for story tellers to use.

Any sort of help that any one can give is much appreciated

Blessed be and Merry part

Hi Pagan Princess,

Not to burst your bubble...but please don't write about things you do not understand. There are many, many people writing about our way of life, that have no business doing so. As of a result of this, the general populice is mis-informed about our spiritual path and all it means to us on a VERY personal level.

May I suggest reseraching and living the life before attempting to write a book about such a subject.

I realize you have stated that it is about medieval Covens. In reality, they did not appear as you are desiring to depict. The Craft as we know it today, was re-invented by Gerald Gardner in the 1950's. Read in the downloads section the books written by him, (in the Pagan/Wiccan section) and you will have a better understanding.

Also go to Witchvox.com and ask your question there....you will get an understanding of the magnitude and seriousness of the topic you are trying to delve into.....not for the faint of heart. Many of the rituals and things you are desiring are still, to this day, sacred and not for the public eye.

I wish you well in your venture, just PLEASE....make sure you are quoting your facts correctly. Non-Pagans writing Pagan-oriented books is a BIG pet-peeve of mine. For thru ignorance grows intolerance....

www.witchvox.com
http://www.geraldgardner.com/

Blessings Bright and Dark,

Merry Meet,
Thank you for your posts,
Im deeply sorry for not doing an intro of some sort, and it is because that i dont know, that i asked, i ment no dis respect, yes i am a solitary, the reason i wanted to know is because i wanted what i wrote in my book to be as relevant as possible, i understand that many people dont respect the pagan path and it's way of life, but i was hoping to get some insite from this forum, and the reason i havnt replied to the forum earlier is because i havnt had time to log on, i still dont know how this place works, but if im not wanted here then i'm more than happy to leave, im sorry for any hassle
Blessed be

Merry Meet Bear,
it is quite alright, i understand where your comming from, i can see how u would feel, some random person barging in and asking questions of something as deep as this, i am sorry though, and i finally figured out where the intro section was, im sorry i didnt do it earlier, but i didnt know where t was, but ive found it now and made my intro ^^

My book is Fiction, im not writing the ways of the coven or anything, and it is fantasy genre, i write it for the simple satisfaction of letting my imagination run wild and my love of writing, but the reason i asked about the coven was because ive read soo many different accounts of it in various fiction books, i didnt want to write a version i just made up, in case i offended anyone, but i guess asking the fact was much more effensive, again im sorry

Blessed Be

I agree that if it is a work of fiction then it doesn't matter if the coven is like a real coven. That is what makes it fiction. However, I get the feeling the reason your looking for information is to make things sound more believable for your readers. Is that correct?
All good works of fiction have a thread of reality in there. However, you can read books on building your own coven (I think one is called Coven Craft..although I may be pulling that out of my ass..lol). You don't necessarily have to get that information from those that are in covens and still have that information in your book. As well as other elements of Paganism in there.

If you write your book correctly the fantasy will blend well with the reality and people reading it will go along for the ride. Which is why Bradley is such a fantastic writer. She takes elements of truth (land, etc.) and blends it with myths that most people are familiar with and then embellishes where it needs to be.

Be prepared to write and rewrite your story often. Sara Douglas (another great author) suggests writing your first draft then put it aside for a couple of months and then go back and re-read it. You will notice the parts that don't make sense and/or fit together well that way. Along with other grammar issues and spelling.
Then have someone that will be totally honest with you read through it. Make sure they know and understand that you want honest feedback, even if it is negative. If they say "This doesn't make sense" or "This part sucks"..listen to them. While not everyone will like your type of writing or are actual critics, the person you choose could possibly be your audience so you need to actually listen to what they say and work with it.

Good luck with this endeavor. It is an amazing but hard journey.
ladyalpha (writer of children stories)

Thanks everyone for all your great advice, i can see this is going to be a long journey for me to eventually finish the story, whether i publish it or not is a different case.

I am not writing for a career, my career path is firmly set in health science, i wanted to write this book for the enjoyment, as i child i have read so many wonderful fantasy stories, and have had soo many ideas, this may sound silly but i think i was about 11 or 12 when i wrote a plot, wich is now the base line of my present story, last year in yr 11 english our teacher asked us to write the first chapter of a book, and it was my childhood storlyine that decided to use i changed soo many things about like characcters and so on, i realised then how hard and wonderful it is to create your own world, your people, what kind of government and so forth, even looking back on the story now, i can see i need to add something or take something out the learning process as a writer as well as a person is well worth it.

Through my reasearch for my book i can see my self learning so much aswell, and i thank you all here for helping, i can clearly see this is not just a group it is a family within the beautiful walls of this castle, thank you for welcoming me as if i were your own

Blessed Be

Thanks,

I checked out your portfolio it looks great

Thank you for your warm wishes,
Im glad that you rembered those pleasant times, and who else can be as honest as our teachers, who strive so hard to help and teach us,
Blessed Be

I have something to add. Do not dwell on finding the perfect words the first time through. Get lost in your world, and character. Put yourself in their shoes, and ask yourself the questions like what would this character do in this situation. If you dwell on finding the perfect wording the first time through, you will rarely get a finished story. When I write, I start with an idea, and develope what I think should happen, but usually the story has a different idea as to how it will unfold. I am not telling you how to write, just telling you how I do it. Writting is what brought me back to the craft about 8 months ago. I wanted to write a fictional book on witchcraft, but not the harrypotter type witches that most ppl think of. I wanted to write about the reality of witches in a fiction setting. I did tons of research, most of which will not be mentioned in my book because it is too personal. Those wishing to follow the witches path needs to do the research to gain the level of depth and understanding necessary to follow the path. As was stated by others, if it is fiction, have fun with it and do what works for the story. I do not write my stories, that stories choose me to tell them.

Blessings,
ShadowDragon

Thanks ShadowDragon, for your advice,
I can see we write similar, i usually have an idea, of what i want to happen, but as i write i let my imagination take over and what i have as a finished darft is much better than my original plan, i dont fuss too much on wording since my spelling is shocking.
For my english last year i wrote 16 pages hand written draft for my first chapter and had 4 re drafts, the eventual product was 8 typed pages, and now that i look back at it i still have so much i can add to it, and re draft yet again.
It has been fun though, and i do wish to research and learn alot more as i write this book, time is the only problem though since this is my last year of schooling and my exams count soo much i have to put the writing on hold and try and research as much as i can in my limited time, but this site is fantasic soo many wonderful things to read and learn.
Thank you for all who made this site soo fantastic
Blessed Be