I quite often carry out what i would call rituals in my garden this is normally either to give thanks or for celebration of various events.I always go with my intuition and have always come away from the experience feeling good about it.

My question is do you think solitary rituals are as valid as a group ritual ?
In my mind its the intention and focus at the time of performing the ritual that is important rather than the amount of people present,but i sometimes wonder if doing this on my own is as valid for some reason i cant quite fathom

It's valid if you're doing it for the right reasons. If you're doing it because you feel you should and worrying that you look a right berk all the while, it's probably not but that goes the same for group ritual too.

Everything comes down to intent in the end.

hi ,no i never feel a berk when im doing it and i do it because i want to and it seems the right thing to do

Its valid if it feels right.

If you are doing it because you think its what you should be doing as opposed to what you feel, then no, like Esk says its a nonsense. You're doing it for the look of the thing and nothing ever works that way.

But... from what you have said, it sounds valid to me. It sounds as if it comes from your heart.

I tend to find solitary work more rewarding than group work, because I like rituals where all those gathered are of a like mind

Other than that, I think Xalle and Esk summed it up perfectly. if you come away feeling rewarded and happy, then you're probably doing it right.

i always feel happy with what i have done and i would say it comes from my heart,so i should just get on with it and enjoy it i think thanks for the replies they have helped to clarify things for me

I work with a coven, but also alone when the need arises. And before I joined the coven I was solitary for many years so have experience of rituals both alone and with groups.

Either one is equally valid as far as I am concerned, there is nothing wrong with working alone and there is no reason why one person can't focus their intent just as well as a group - in many cases it is often easier, depending on what the ritual is for

I work with the coven because I choose to, and because we all share a similar mindset, so we work well together. But I will still always hold rituals by myself when I want to, depending on what I think is most appropriate.

It sounds to me like you are doing just fine, as has already been said if it comes from your heart and you are happy with what you are doing, then it is definitely valid

Have only ever worked one group ritual and it was rewarding, but much prefer solitary rituals, and they work fine for me.

i think thats what i was trying to say in my original post but it wasnt clear enough,i was worried that me on my own wouldnt be as effective as far as focus of intent goes ,it makes sense to me that the more people you have the more focused the intent,but i suppose that isnt always the case and i also see the sense in thinking that if my focus and intent is true then it is just as strong and as valid as a group,im glad i asked now because it was niggling me

Your individual focus and intent is just as effective, if not more so than group work simply because it's just yours and yours alone. Within a group there could be questions to whether someone was as focused as you were, or focusing on the right thing. You KNOW whether you have focused properly or not.

Not saying group work is less focused, but it can be. Both have their good and bad points.

For me personally, it doesn't make any difference except to say it depends on what I am doing. Some of the (for want of a better word) 'bigger' rituals, I would rather do in a group setting, as there are others to watch your back. On the day to day basis, solitary is fine and I do a lot solitary, much more than a group setting. However, i also fall back on the group for certain things and they are never set, just when we feel like it. It works well for me, so I just go with the flow There are advantages to both in my book
Aronwy x

I don't think it makes much difference except that, if you're trying to get the gods' attention, the more voices you have, the louder you can shout.

Sometimes one person thinking very clearly with focus on their intent can send out a message just as affectively as a group working together. Yes there's strength in numbers but there is also a clarity and stillness to the voice of one that a group may not have. Harnessing energies can be done alone but can leave you feeling exhausted afterwards in my experience because it requires more of the solitary practitioner to raise that much. Both are equally valid and effective in their own right. I think it just depends what you are doing at the time, the occasion and how you feel most comfortable and work best. For me I do a bit of both depending on circumstances.

BBs LL

tbh i prefer working alone as when i get nervous i get clumsy, i put 100% into my workings , i wouldnt have the confidence to be in a group working id prob naff it all up, if i make a mistake working on my own its a case of oh well i made a mistake where as in a group setting id be mortified n i couldnt concentrate properly before hand ,i guess its personal choice as long as it feels right to you,then its valid

One of the important things with my own spirituality is building community, and so I love any opportunity to get together with people for rituals My personal work tends to be much less structured (I rarely cast a circle and the like) so it's nice to do different things. Often the group rituals I've done have been where each person is getting there own thing from it (along a certain theme, for example on the festivals) but using the group as supporting energy. For me, sharing the conection you feel in a ritual with other people is a great experiance, and having people you love and respect around when you do magic and ritual adds depth and texture to what you're doing and is a great experiance

I like to do things on my own as I have a terrible memory and I would not to look stupid if I got things wrong. I also find that I can concentrate on the things that are important if I am on my own I have just spent 10 minutes watching the wind swirl the leaves in my garden which I find quite spiritual

snap i too have a really bad memory ,it drives me nuts to be honest,if i dont write things down they dont get done,talking of watching the leaves swirl i got caught in a massive shower of oak leaves while waiting for the bus on Monday there must have been hundreds of them,i had the urge to twirl around in the road but was too scared in case anyone saw me

I'm a very solitary worker myself and don't have any wish to work in a group. Probably just because I'm not really a people-person and previous experience with group work has not been pleasant. But I've not found the result affected by being alone. If anything, the concentration I can put in without distraction is beneficial to me.

Hedgepig.

i wouldnt rule out working in a group myself,i think it would be useful and interesting to compare the two,i would need to gain a lot more knowledge and confidence first though,if its just me pootling around in my garden or the local woods its not to bad if i come a cropper ,but i wouldnt want to do that in a group and affect others ritual

i also agree ,ive never thought of it like that before,im just presuming every one knows why they are doing the ritual in the first place ,but havent taken account of the fact that all the people present will be interpreting things in their own slighty different way,mind you im always in two minds about everything so one of them could be focusing on something else

I was raised where the ladies would come to the house each month and they would have a great time with lots of laughing, music and dancing. Since I left my parents house, I have mainly worked on my own, plus I chose a different path to the one I grew up with. I met with a local group and thought I would learn more and become like my parents and their friends. The group I was with was very arguementative and there was a lot of back stabbing and bitching going on all the time, which made it difficult for me to concentrate on the rituals. They also performed rituals in a different way to how I was taught, when I asked why, I was told never to question, to just do as I was told. I was very unhappy and left the group behind. I could never 'connect' to the mindset of the group, and felt that I was failing in everything I tried to accomplish. Since then, I have continued to work on my own, I am focused and I know my intent, so I feel as though I have accomplished something and feel happy about that. I do work with a friend every now and again, the feeling is similar to that with which I grew up, comfortable and secure. The teamwork is fantastic, but unfortunately we can't work together all of the time, because we are both really busy people and finding the time is getting difficult. Going from my personal experiences, if you are happy, go for it, whether you work alone or with twenty other people, just be happy and be safe xx