This is a theoretical question based on a phone call I had this morning. Due to having been the contact person for Eastbourne Pagan Circle a couple of years ago, my phone number is 'out there', and this person had found me in Pentacle Magazine. At first I thought they wanted to join EPC, but it turned out they didn't even live in the area, but in Kent.

The problem was that they were being hounded out of their accommodation, recently broken up with partner, feeling magically 'low' and wanted to find a coven who would help get the neighbours off their back by doing a working. They said they were fully initiated to the third degree in an Alexandrian coven but had lost touch and were looking for a local coven who would help.

I'm afraid I had alarm bells ringing all over the place, and I suggested that from what I knew, covens would be reluctant to jump in cold and do a working with someone they had no relationship with. The person replied that in their old coven, such help would have been offered to strangers.

Not knowing any suitable covens anyway, I said I couldn't help. I did ask if normal channels were being followed. Apparently court cases were in the pipeline.

To me, even if I were in a coven, I would find such a request difficult to take up. You never know all the circumstances, particularly if it's a stranger. Is this the sort of thing covens do? Would your coven get involved? Would you get involved? And if so, why?

I know little of covens, what I do know is based on personal (outsider) experience and hopefully not representative of covens as a whole, their dynamics and what they get up to.

What I would ask myself is why, if this person is already a member of a coven that will happily help out any old passing soul, did they not put their efforts into finding a way of contacting them rather than trawling classifieds for random strangers? Something a little amiss there I think.

Alarm bells BIG TIME.

Any calls out of the blue which are short on reasonable requests but insistent on info. , especially from someone they don't know could be ANYBODY. It may even be someone looking to do a personal witch-hunt or who knows what.

If they are fully initiated then they have people everywhere who could help them. The fact that they didn't know this little fact is a bit dodgy to say the least.

Put it into the 'You've won a trip to Saturn for FREE! category and ignore it.

Marto- who always has a de-listed phone number

Yep.

And why, if they are initiated then they will surely have not insignificant means of magickal self-reliance - so why not do something themselves?

Damn fine point! I have this visual of the 'Underachievers Coven' wandering about the country side waving their pedigree papers and stopping pagans on the street to ask directions to the nearest group

Marto

Good grief Julai, there's so much about that that has alarm bells and wee red flags waving over it, its like a parade!

Esk and P make excellent points.

I cant speak for covens but if I got that phone call I'd run a mile.

My spider-sense says it's a journalist.

Sounds very dodgy to me an all.

very dodgy.

i dont buy the whole thing about being 3rd and having loist contact with a whole coven.

anyone, someone who has made it to 3rd should be able to look after themself by now.

Run for the hills!
BM
xx

I agree, someone who has earned their 3rd degree should be more than capable of looking after themselves and not need to go ringing strangers to ask for magical help. I also find it highly unlikely that someone who has stuck with Wicca long enough to reach their 3rd would just 'lose touch' with their coven and not know of any others in the area, they should know of enough of them to go somewhere for help if it was needed.

I can only speak for our coven, but we would certainly not get involved in doing any magical work for a complete stranger - and this story would definitely set huge alarm bells ringing, I wouldn't go anywhere near it.

Does sound dodgy, doesn't it?

There are, I know, a couple of folk out there who are Witches on a commercial basis - so obviously they would on occasion get approached by complete strangers to do a working and would have some sort of process in place to ensure the bona fides of the potential customer - if only to make sure that said customer is actually truly in need of magical rather than some other sort of professional help.

Never heard of a coven doing that sort of thing though.

gwyn eich byd

Ffred

A journalist - I never thought of that! I had 'crazy person' going round in my mind through most of the conversation. So it's not the sort of thing covens do then - helping out strangers? I suspected as much.

Oh ho. This sounds like a try on. I wouldn't go for a journo myself - there are enough nutters out there with enough knowledge to try to sound convincing. I used to be "Dear Auntie PF" for a few years, handling this sort of mail and you wouldn't believe some of the stories I've heard - this is very mild.

Properly initiated Wiccans are plugged into a network. Gods, I know enough bloody 3rd degrees just by having worked in the PF long enough. Even as a 1st degree I knew that requests went out on the network along the lines of "X wants to attend Y event/join Z coven and claims to be a 3rd degree Gardnerian/Alexandrian. Anyone know this person? Anyone know their lineage?"

If you're a real 3rd degree you'll have known so many people you can't just fall out of touch. Covens meet up with each other; Wiccans get together at events. A coven doesn't work in isolation from every other Wiccan. There are pan-European get togethers, so it's not even just a matter of the UK network.

Also properly lineaged covens, unless there has been some major beef between them, can usually go to their parent coven. If not the case, they usually are linked to other covens in the area.

She sounds like a fruitbat. Normally I wouldn't give magical help to either strangers or people that I kind of know. It's backfired on me in the past too many times. People say they want help but then they get scared and before you know it they are walking around with rosary beads and stuff....

The only people I would help are good friends that I know aren't total nobrashes when it comes to magic.

Getting into a ritual with someone is binding your luck with another for that endevour. It's not something to be entered into lightly.

Tell 'em I will do it for a grand. Upfront, and I am 4th degree.

Only one thing to say, this whole request thing smells!

yeah send them to Jape!!!

Ermn, no. If s/he's an initiated 3rd degree whatever and his/her training were any good they'd have no trouble sorting out their own mess. Tel 'em to run a web search in their area or find their local moot - though I wouldn't have wasted my breath getting that far.

Julia, PM me of thread if you prefer, but is this person my end of the Kent? As we've had problems with a local group.

Q

Heehee What a nice way to put it. And yes, I agree.

I'll do for £999.99, plus exies of course

LOL

Sounds like this person wants to find a Magical "Hit Man" to me

oh now there's a thought. magical hitman for hire. mmmmm might give this some thought

can you imagine me turning up in my dressing gown and a wand that would be enough to scare anyone off. might be a money spinner though anyone want to be a magical hitman drop me line.

as for the person in question Julai. sounds like best to let them go off on their own crooked path

Damn that sounds juicy....

I was wondering if it was someone who'd fought the bit out with the local group and had been thrown out so they were having to go elsewhere.