Coven of The Silver Wolf
(as adopted by Coven of The Silver Wolf, Lammas 1993)
Your High Priest(ess)
In the Magic Circle, the words, commands, and every wish of the High Priestess and Priest are law, as they are the earthly, living representatives of our Gracious Lord and Lady. Furthermore, they were elected to serve in this position by you and the Brothers and Sisters of the Coven. Any act of disrespect for them is not only an act of self-disrespect, but also of disloyalty to fellow Coveners.
Be ever mindful of the Wiccan Rede, "An it harm none, do as thou wilt." This is the basis of the law, of all actions by the Wicca, both individually and collectively.
1. The Law was made for the good of the Wicca and in cooperation with the Gods, for theirs is a love born of partnership. It's purpose is to guide the Wicca and help them in their troubles.
2. The Wicca should give due Honor & Respect to the Gods and obey Their will. As the worship of the Wicca is good for the Gods, so worship is good for the Wicca. For the Gods love and respect the brothers and sisters of the Wicca.
3. It is necessary that The Circle, which is the temple of the Gods, should be duly cast and purified that it may be a fit place for the Gods to enter. And the Wicca should be properly prepared and purified to enter into the presence of the Gods.
4. With love and worship in their hearts, they shall raise power from their bodies and minds to give power to the Gods, that THEIR will be manifest in the Earth for the good of all. For in this way may man have a communion with the Gods, for the Gods cannot help mankind without the help of man.
5. The High Priestess and High Priest shall rule their Coven as the representatives of the Goddess and God.
6. The High Priestess and High Priest shall be elected from qualified initiates within the Coven for a year and a day. The High Priest and High Priestess will share equally the responsibilities and duties of supporting their Brothers and Sisters in their worship and service of the Craft and The Lord and Lady.
7. Though they wield power in the governance of their Coven, let the Priest and Priestess ever mind the source of their authority which resides in those so governed! Let each Coven be governed with justice, mercy and love.
8. Many feel that we must celebrate our Sacred Mysteries in secret and others find this secrecy unnecessary for worship. Therefore, none but the Wicca and the dedicated students may be present at a circle where confidential Coven Business is transacted, or Magic worked by the coven. Exceptions to this law may be made, but only by a 100% consensus of Coven members present.
9. It is unlawful to speak (whether for good or for ill) of another Coven or any member of any Coven to any Cowan without first obtaining direct permission of the subject individual or Coven to do so.
10. No individual may speak ill of any other coven member to anyone except the High Priest or Priestess; except it be in said individuals presence.
11. Failure to maintain the ANONYMITY of Coven members that desire it, is an offense against the Love and Trust within the Coven and MAY be dealt with by expulsion of the offender, to be decided upon by secret ballot amongst all members of a Coven.
12. PRIVACY of Coven matters will be maintained. Coven business will remain within the Sacred Circle, unless permission is granted by all individuals concerned for discussion outside the Circle.
13. The Governing Officers will heed all complaints of all members and strive to settle all differences among them.
14. But it must be recognized that there will always be people who will ever strive to force others to do as they will, let them be guided to lead in the spirit of Friendship, Ethics and Brotherly/sisterly Love. And as they often have good ideas, such ideas should be talked over in council.
15. Any interpersonal conflicts will be settled between the members involved. The HP &/or the HPS will mediate as necessary.
16. If any Brother or Sister have anything against any other Brother or Sister, they will not bring any bad feelings or ill-will into the Sacred Circle with them as it is far better to miss a Circle than to violate the principles of Love and Trust pledged to the Lord, Lady and Coven when entering the Sacred Circle.
17. If there are any who come to the position where they will not agree with their Coven-Mates, or if they say: "I will not work under this High Priest or Priestess." And as it has ever been the Old Law, to be convenient for the Wicca to avoid disputes.
18. Therefore any of the Initiated may claim to found a new Coven if qualified to serve as High Priest or Priestess. If unqualified, they may do so under the supervision of one who is qualified.
19. Anyone qualified to do so, and wishing to form a new Coven shall tell the Elders of their intentions and the Elders will, where practical, come to their assistance in this endeavor.
20. Members of the old Coven may join the new one when it is formed, but if they do they must utterly avoid the old Coven for at least a year and a day.
21. The Elders of the old and new Covens should meet in peace and brotherly love to decide on formal relationships between them.
22. Each Coven should remain separate and autonomous and not share membership. Though all may, if the Elders agree, meet for the Great Festivals, if it be truly in peace and brotherly love.
23. But splitting the Coven oft means strife, so for this reason various Laws were made of old, and heed must be paid to the dangers of dissention.
24. If you would keep a book of notes, a diary, or a "Book of Shadows" let it be your own, you may let Brothers and Sisters copy what they will, but never let the book out of your hands and never keep the writings of another, and always credit sources for materials used.
25. Each Coven will keep its own records and "Book of Shadows" which will remain in the custody of the elected High Priest and High Priestess, and remain distinct from any personal documents belonging to them.
26. Fully initiated members of the Coven of the Coven may be granted access to this book, but the security and safety of this book will always be THEIR responsibility as long as they shall hold that office.
27. The Coven may own a set of Consecrated Ritual Tools, and respon sibility for them will be the same as for the Coven Books, though this responsibility may be delegated to the person holding the office of Summoner (or equivalent).
28. Each individual initiate is encouraged to have their own set of privately owned Ritual tools, but this is not mandatory.
29. Never boast of Craft membership nor ever use you membership to threaten, nor to say you would wish ill of anyone.
30. If any person, not in the magic circle, speak of the Craft, use the utmost discretion and never violate the ethics of the craft nor the privacy of any.
31. None shall use the Art in any way to do ill to any, except in self defense.
32. All may use the Art for their own advantage, or for the advantage of the Craft, only if you are sure you harm none.
33. But ever let the Coven debate this at length. Only if all be satisfied and none be harmed may the Art be used.
34. Never bargain or cheapen any item acquired for use in the Craft, whether for Ritual or "magical supplies" (candles, incense, etc.)
35. 'Tis the old Law and a most important of all Laws that no one may do anything which will endanger any of the Craft, or bring them into violation with the law of the land.
36. In any disputes between the brethren, no one may invoke any Laws but those of the Craft and Rede. Or any tribunal but that of the Priestess, Priest and Elders.
37. It is unlawful for any to cast any suspicion on any of the Brotherhood or speak of any real meeting place where any abide.
38. Remember the Art is the secret of the Gods and only may be used in earnest and never for show or pride, or vain-glory.
39. It has been found that practicing the Art does cause a fondness between aspirant and tutor, and it is the cause of better results if this be so. But if for any reason this be undesirable, it can easily be avoided by both persons from the outset firmly resolving in their minds that if any such ensure, it shall be that of a brother or sister to one another, or parent and child.
40. Because we know differing names or representations are but expressions of the same divine principles and forces, we require our members to never mock the names by which another honors the Divine, even though those names be different from and seemingly less expressive than the names and god/dess forms used by our Tradition (for to the members of another Tradition, using it's names, ours may easily seem equally less expressive).
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