Question of the Day: Teen Covens

Some of my friends and I are considering forming our own coven. I initiated myself into Wicca about a year ago after studying it for a few years, and I have friends who are interested in it, too. They sort of look to me as a leader since I've been studying Wicca longer than them. The thing is I'm not a High Priestess and my friends and I don't know any High Priestesses (or Priests). My mom also won't let me join a coven or school where I can study and learn enough to get to that rank becuase she says a lot of creep-os pretend to be Wiccan.

I was wondering what your opinion was on someone who's not a High Priestess/Priest starting a coven, especially if that person is a teen.

First of all, I encourage you to listen to your mother on this one. While the vast majority of Wiccans are perfectly decent people, there are those out there who have used positions of power within a coven to get favors from members, particularly if they're young. No respectable coven of adults will accept a minor without parental consent, if at all. There's just too many dodgy morals involved.

Second, a coven is generally a small, tightly knit group of people with very similar beliefs and work together toward spiritual goals. Everyone generally has responsibilities within the coven, including attendance to gatherings. People often find their covens be second families to them. The leaders of covens have generally been involved with Wicca for many years and have developed organizational skills as well as spiritual ones.

As a teen, what you and your friends are probably forming is something closer to a study group. You're still figuring out exactly how you relate to Wiccan beliefs and how ritual might address your needs. Since you've been studying longer than your friends, they may look to you as a teacher and leader of sorts, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Calling yourself "high priestess", in my mind, is unnecessary. Of course, within your group they can call you whatever they want, but I'll tell you from experience that when teens publicly claim to be high priestesses, older Wiccans tend to roll their eyes at the notion.

So my suggestion is form a group, study together, work together, whatever you and your friends find is most beneficial. There's no need to describe it as a coven. As you all get older and more experienced, its quite likely that at least some of your friends will grow tired of it and give up (that was my experience as a teen student of Wicca). Also, friends are likely to simply move away as your college years loom. The remaining members, if any, may or may not eventually find it appropriate to form a proper coven, at which point it would make more sense to to elect a high priestess from among you. Or you may find an existing coven that you fit well with and from which you can continue to learn, if you're lucky.