About Us

How we work

It is important to note that whilst Wicca is often described as a fertility and/or sex cult, these definitions are neither true nor reflective of our practice. A true and lineaged Garderian coven does not require nor request sex as part of initiation. The power dynamic between Teacher and Student, and Priesthood and Neophyte are ones which require full and active consent, and our tradition does not require ritual sex.

Similarly, you will often hear about people paying to training within a Wiccan tradition and paying for initiation. Again, this is neither true or reflective of our practice. As a legitimate coven we choose to offer our services as teachers and initiators to the wider community free of charge and as such we do not charge for training or the act of inhalation.

Orthopraxic vs Orthodoxic

An orthopraxic tradition is one which is more concerned with right conduct and practice rather than conformity of belief. This means that there is often a lot of variety between Wiccans around the world and even within a single lineage and coven. The priority of our training group and coven is to provide seekers to explore and develop their beliefs within the Initiatory Wiccan frame, without demanding blind belief in a single understanding of the divine nature of the world.

An Inclusive Craft

As a modern Gardnerian coven we recognise that the polarity spoken of by 18th and 19th century esoteric teachers is not limited to definitions of sex and gender. Instead, we see the use of masculine and feminine / male and female as being convenient expressions of concept used to discuss the dynamic energy and tension between two states of being in the time frame in which they were used and that these terms create an exclusive environment in a modern world. As such, whilst we still recognise the importance of polarity we are a queer and trans-friendly coven, open to exploring how our tradition can become more inclusive. We do not claim to have all the answers but we are open to conversation, within the bounds of our oaths, and exploring pushing the boundaries, of our tradition with respect to the energetics of polarity.

Becoming an Initiate

Wicca is a unique religion in that the priesthood of the Craft is trained to be effective magicians as well as celebrants of the sacraments of the religion itself. The Coven of the Laughing Magpie provides the training to enable seekers to the Craft to become an effective priesthood within the religion, and to adept-hood on the magical levels.