![[oak]](http://images.meredith.com/bhg/images/garddb/vetlqscl.jpg)
A peek under the veil...
New Oak is a discussion and working group, with the aim of introducing its participants to British Traditional Pagan folklore, customs and practices. Folklore is distinct from myth: in that it tells of our cultural roots rather than a collection of fairy tales or wishful reimagination of some mythical past.
As this will be our third year running the grove the information presented in a fluid, dynamic and open manner rooted in our pre-determined course outline.
- How do I join New Oak?
Students enter the group by application, subject to acceptance. Students may resign from the group at any time within the year, for any reason. Upon completion of the year's work, graduates of the Grove may have the opportunity to petition the local Gardnerian Coven for membership, and will probably have met representatives of several other Pagan Groups. We do not, and will not, offer any manner of correspondence teaching. - How much will it cost?
In keeping with what is custom, the sole charge for membership in New Oak is the participants' own time in attending Grove meetings and in completing homework assignments. The commitment of 21 Thursday nights is in itself a sufficiently high price to pay for knowledge.
We will from time to time ask Grove members to contribute consumable items such as candles, incense, fruit, or fruit-juice; these items will be held by the Grove in common and used in its meetings.
Teaching papers will be provided to the members, in weekly installments. All members share the cost of photocopying. Each set of papers binds in some manner to the work of the Grove at that point in the course outline, as well as to the seasons of the natural world.
With each week's papers a brief introductory theme is provided: this theme outlines the week's work, relates the handouts one to another, and introduces the coming homework assignment. - Who is sponsoring New Oak, and why?
New Oak is sponsored by convenire silentium. We are doing this because it provides a academic and philosophical basis for our coven and its seeking membership, as well as providing standards of accountability for the teaching being done. The Coven provides most of the Grove's teachers and much of its Pagan lore, and will fairly consider membership petitions made by graduates of the Grove, with the caveat that successful completion of the Grove training is an end in itself, and in no way guarantees initiation into the sponsoring, or any other, Covens.
Our hope is that graduates of Outer Grove will know enough about the historical roots and current issues of English Traditional Paganism, that they would be able to make an informed decision concerning possible entry into more active practice of our religion. - What about the Covens?
The sponsoring Coven practices Gardnerian witchcraft in the Kerr-Ashmore lineage of our faith. convenire silentium was founded in 1997, as a friendly hive from convenire bonum in Gloucestershire, England. - Do you have any Internet resources or mailing lists?
You've already found our Web page. Follow the links at www.witchvox.com to learn more about Traditional Witchcraft.
- Who may join the Grove?
Any person over the age of twenty years, of good character and in sound emotional and mental health and reasonably good physical health may petition to join the Grove, with these important exceptions:
- Membership is not open to people who are concurrently apprenticed into another Wiccan teaching group, or who are members of an existing coven. Nor is it open to those who have already received Wiccan initiation from another person.
- We cannot provide child-care at the Grove's meeting-place. Single parents can attempt Grove membership if they have reliable child-care arrangements.
- Some of the homework assignments may entail spending time in parks, gardens or woodlands, and New Oak's meeting space does have stairs to climb. Persons who have mobility restrictions should bear these requirements in mind. The Grove's work entails a great deal of reading and a fair bit of writing. People with glocal delays in this area may find this difficult.
- Despite our best intentions, the Grove's meetings may run late. Although we usually have high hopes of finishing each session by 10 in the evening, sometimes meetings (and post-meeting chat time) have run well past midnight.
- How do I join the Grove?
Interviews and sortilege will take place Ottawa on the evening of Saturday, February 10th, 2007 between 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM.
Please email us at [email protected] for the correct address.
If you are accepted into the Grove, you must be able to attend the first Grove meeting on Thursday, February 15, and all meetings thereafter. In the event that we have more than 13 applicants for Grove membership, we will draw lots for membership, from among all the qualified applicants. Lots, if need be, will be drawn at 10:00 PM on February 13th. - Will I have to swear any vows?
The Grove is not a Wiccan Coven, nor is it an initiatory group, and so the Traditional Craft vows will not be asked or made. However, Grove members will be asked to promise to the following:
- To respect and maintain the confidentiality of their fellow members and of their teachers, including not discussing the Grove's workings with non-participants.
- To refrain from charging money for teaching or using the lore that they have been taught in the Grove.
- And to refrain from identifying themselves as Wiccan initiates, or claiming the status or perquisites of Wiccan initiation, during the year's course of the Grove.
In addition, Grove members will be asked to commit themselves to prompt and regular attendance of the Grove's meetings, including that if an emergency arises, they will make a fair effort to contact their teacher(s) beforehand, to record their absence.
The Grove will operate within a framework of regulations, which will be binding upon all members during their period of Grove membership; applicants must copy the regulations in their own handwriting during the interview evening on February 10th. Please note that these are not the Traditional Craft Laws.
- Will I have to wear a robe or a special uniform?
Comfortable street clothes will do just fine; in deference to the comfort of your fellow members we will ask you to wear clean clothes that are loose enough to allow you to move comfortably and sit or kneel as you please. Women will be asked to wear (a clasp-less necklace of beads, preferably made of natural objects -- this symbolizes the continuity of our faith and of our collective charge. - What about behavioural standards?
We won't dictate your musical preferences, and neither the Grove nor its sponsoring Coven will pass judgment upon your sexual or affectational preferences, so long as they are non-violent, non-abusive, and non-harmful to self or others. People who consider heterosexual metaphors, heterosexuality in general, or members of the opposite gender in collective, to be personally offensive will probably not find much of worth in the Grove's teaching. The Grove's teachers will neither demand nor accept sexual or monetary favours from students, nor will we encourage or condone the use of illicit drugs or other intoxicants during Grove meetings.
If your doctor has prescribed medicines or analgesics, by all means you should use them as needed before and during Grove meetings. You are primarily responsible for your own well being and comfort: ours is not a religion that denies bodily needs. - Will I become an initiate?
No. Working with New Oak will not directly lead to Wiccan initiation. From our point of view, that happens in covens, to which you may have the opportunity to petition for membership following completion of the year's sessions. It is up to the HPS of each coven to determine who is to be initiated, and when that is to occur.
After your Grove year, you will have several options on how to proceed. You might choose to petition to join convenire silentium (which, if your petition were accepted, would entail rites of dedication and Gardnerian initiation), or to enter another Craft or Pagan group (which might or might not entail additional rites of passage). You may also choose to work outside the Traditional Craft model, perhaps to self-initiate and work as a Solitary Witch or Solitary Pagan after your Grove year, or you might form a coven or collective with some of your fellow members and initiate each other after your Grove year.
The non-initiatory nature of the Grove is intended to let it function as a low-pressure discussion group, within which you may explore the folklore and meaning of traditional English Paganism.
Hopefully, after having completed your Grove year, you will have a rich collection of resources from which to work, and you will have had the opportunity to consider whether you would like to enter formal apprenticeship or dedication to eventually become a Wiccan initiate. - What would I need to bring to the first meeting?
Yourself, in a rested and relaxed state of mind; and:
- Two white candles (which will become collective property of the Grove).
- A durably bound, black-covered blank book (lined or unlined as you prefer, at least 6 x 9 inches, 40 to 100 pages).
- At least one pen.
You will be copying materials into your book during the first meeting, and at frequent occasions thereafter. How much you decide to put in your book will be largely up to you, but past experience indicates that you will have no difficulty in filling it.
You will probably want to obtain a three-ring binder of standard size, so as to keep your teaching papers and notes organized; you may need several binders through the year but one will do to start.
You will also want at least one more blank book, in the event that you are accepted into Outer Grove. Expect to do a fair bit of writing... - Can the date and time of the meetings be changed to suit my circumstances?
No. During 2007-2008, the Grove will meet on Thursday nights at 7:00 PM as per the course outline (to be handed out one the first night). If there are sessions in subsequent years, the Grove might meet on the same night, or on some other night of the week depending upon circumstances. Thursday was chosen as the night that would be most convenient for the most people. If you must work or go to school on Thursday nights, do keep in mind that there are other Pagan and Witchcraft training and open groups in Ottawa that do meet on other nights of the week.
We are very serious about the commitment of attendance: what we have to offer, like our faith itself, is not a casual pastime or an amusement that may be enjoyed at option. Please think very carefully about what sort of effort you are willing to put into learning.
This Pagan Grove only accepts new students once a year. Our fourth year begans February 10, 2006. Please do not hesitate to contact us via if you have any questions: [email protected]
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