Coven or cult? How to tell if your group has crossed the line into dangerous territory

Almost immediately the charges of “Oathbreaker” began to surface, for I had dared to speak out against a beloved elder. Now I was fair game for attack, verbally and magically. This was the beginning of what would later morph into targeted harassment. In the midst of this, my husband mentioned the situation to a mundane co-worker who replied, “Dude, you’re in a cult!”

Into the Faery Ring

Why then, given the volatile history between humanity and faery kind, would we want to pursue a relationship with them? Why not simply follow the cautionary advice of our ancestors and do our best to avoid them altogether? The short answer is, “because we’re Witches.”

Column – How Legit is Studying Magick Online?

Mat Auryn is our guest columnist this week. An initiate of Sacred Fires tradition, Mat lives in New England. Find him at his Patheos Pagan blog, For Puck’s Sake as well as his personal website. As someone who has studied with various traditions and taken many courses on magick over the years both in person and online, I’m constantly asked what the difference is and how it’s possible to learn magick online, especially when it comes to the idea of initiations. While there are a few differences between learning online and offline, it’s important to clear up some misconceptions about learning the craft from a teacher online.