The following 'Bylaws' are established for providing a secure
foundation for the Establishment, Structure, and Operation of the Wiccan Clergy
within Coven and/or Circle for the perpetuation of the Wiccan Religion, Traditions
and the Teachings of the Wiccan Religion and of the Wiccan and Neo-Pagan Peoples.
Section
I - Statement of Purpose
The Bylaws have been created for the following purposes:
- To provide a safe and supportive environment for free religious expression
and beliefs of the Wicca and other Neo-Pagan Peoples.
- To identify,
develop, and train 'Caring and Competent Clergy and Teachers' to serve the
Wicca and Neo-Pagan People by means of the 'Wiccan Clergy' and their 'Traditions'!
- To establish policies and procedures for the Wiccan Clergy to bring
the Wicca and Neo-Pagan Peoples together and improve on the relationships of
existing Traditions.
Section
II - Clergy
I present, {Name of Initiate}, as having been Initiated according
to the Old Ways to the (Number} Degree, teaching in the form of the {Name of
Tradition} Tradition according to the Traditions of the Wiccan Religion and
the Wiccan People! I, {Name of High Priestess or High Priest} of the {Coven
or Circle} of the Third Degree, and of the {Name of Tradition} Tradition as
a member of the Wiccan Clergy, do hereby declare, before Goddess and God, that
{Name of Initiate} is hereby duly appointed {Priestess or Priest} of the {Name
of Tradition} Tradition, and is fit to represent the Path, Circle, and Craft
of the Wiccan Clergy and the Wiccan People!
Ideally, both the High Priestess and the High Priest shall be Initiates of
the Third Degree in the Wiccan Clergy and Traditions of the Wiccan People. However,
at a minimum, either the High Priestess or the High Priest must be a Third Degree
initiate of the Wiccan Clergy.
- The High Priestess and High Priest
shall be responsible for overseeing rituals and meeting the spiritual needs
of the Coven and\or Ritual Circle and its individual members as he or she sees
fit.
- The High Priestess and High Priest and the Council of Initiates
shall be responsible for establishing policies for the Coven and\or Ritual Circle,
and for making these policies known to the Wiccan People!
- These
policies may be peculiar to the Coven and\or Ritual Circle, and may be either
oral or written policies at the discretion of the High Priestess and the High
Priest and the Council of Initiates.
- New policies shall neither
circumvent nor contradict the Bylaws of The Wiccan People; Whereas if a conflict
is found to exist between the Bylaws of The Wiccan People and the Bylaws or
policies of the Coven and\or Ritual Circle, the Bylaws of the Wiccan People
shall take precedence.
In the event that the office of High Priestess or High Priest is rendered
vacant by desertion, death, incapacitation, or retirement of the incumbent -
the remaining incumbent shall select, with the advice and consent of the Wiccan
Clergy of the tradition and the Council of Initiates, another Third Degree initiate
of the Wiccan Clergy who celebrates within Coven and\or Ritual Circle on a regular
basis to assume the office of High Priestess or High Priest.
If
another Third Degree initiate of the Coven and\or Ritual Circles' Tradition
is not available to serve in this office, the High Priestess or High Priest
of the Coven and\or Ritual Circle shall choose, with the advice or consent of
the Wiccan Clergy of the Tradition and the Council of Initiates, another initiate
of the Tradition who celebrates on a regular basis within the Coven and\or Ritual
Circle to perform these duties until such time as a Third Degree initiate of
the appropriate gender is available to assume the office.
In the
unlikely event that the offices of High Priestess and High Priest shall by some
mischance both become vacant at the same time, the members of the Council of
Initiates shall convene and elect by consensus, with the advice and consent
of the Wiccan Clergy of the Tradition, from among the Third Degree initiates
of the Tradition who celebrate with the Coven and\or Ritual Circle on a regular
basis, some individual to assume the office of High Priestess or High Priest.
If it should happen that there are at that time no other third degree
initiates of the tradition who celebrate with the Coven and\or Ritual Circle
on a regular basis, then the Council of Initiates of the Coven and\or Ritual
Circle shall petition the Wiccan Clergy for assistance in resolving the matter.
Section
III - Coven and Circle Structure and Leadership
Establishing a Coven and\or Ritual Circle in accordance with
the Bylaws of the Wiccan People, the Coven and\or Ritual Circle will be set
forth as follows:
- The Coven and\or Ritual Circle shall consist of
the High Priestess and High Priest, members of the Council of Initiates, and
the general members of the Wiccan and Neo-Pagan People.
- Meet
to worship at times appointed by the turning of the seasons and the phases of
the moon according to the ways and traditions of the Wiccan People.
- The
Coven and\or Ritual Circle whom have a High Priestess or High Priest of the
Third Degree of the Traditions of the Wiccan People, and having:
- established and continued ties with the Wiccan Clergy, may divide from a Mother Coven and\or Ritual Circle establishing
themselves as a 'Sister Coven and\or Ritual Circle' with the 'Mother Coven and\or
Ritual Circles' consent!
- established ties with the Wiccan Clergy, yet having
completely broken ties
with their Mother Coven and\or Ritual Circle may petition the Wiccan Clergy to
become formally recognized as a separate Coven and\or Ritual Circle of their
own name and tradition!
The Coven and\or Ritual Circle shall have a Council consisting
of all the initiates of the Tradition and those initiates in other Traditions
whose initiations have been accepted by the Wiccan Clergy, as being equivalent
to an initiation (as provided for in the Bylaws) who attend the rituals of the
Coven and\or Ritual Circle for at least one Season. This Council
of Initiates shall assist the High Priestess and High Priest of the Coven and\or
Ritual Circle concerning matters of policy.
- The High Priestess or
High Priest may appoint subordinate officers from among the Council of Initiates
to meet specific needs as she or he deems fit.
- The High Priestess
and High Priest shall convene meetings of the Council of Initiates on a regular
basis, but no less often than quarterly, and shall report on said meetings to
the Wiccan Clergy.
- As a matter of courtesy, non-members of the Coven and\or
Ritual Circle who are initiates in Traditions other than those of the Coven
and\or Ritual Circle, may be permitted, at the sole discretion of the High Priest
or High Priestess, to attend meetings of the Council of Initiates in a nonvoting
status for the purpose of training and education.
Initiate members of the Council of Initiates shall be responsible
for conducting the business of the Coven or Ritual Circle, under the supervision
of the High Priestess and High Priest, as follows:
- Initiate members
are encouraged to attend meetings of the Initiates Council to assist the High
Priestess and High Priest of the Coven or Ritual Circle.
- Initiate
members shall teach the methods, traditions, and customs of Coven or Ritual
Circle to their Dedicants within the Tradition.
- Initiate members
are expected to regularly contribute to the teaching lore of the Tradition.
- For a dedicant to be initiated in the Wiccan Clergy, he or she must
complete the curriculum set forth by the Council of Initiates in the Tradition
for the degree in which he or she seeks initiation, and must fulfill those requirements:
- The prospective initiate must demonstrate ritual competence during
a ritual conducted by a member of the Council of Initiates, or by a member of
the Wiccan Clergy of the Tradition, to the satisfaction of those initiates of
the Tradition present who hold a degree equal to or higher than that for which
the person is studying.
- The prospective initiate's name must be
brought by his or her teacher before the Council of Initiates, and receive by
a two-thirds majority vote, of those initiates holding a degree equal to or
higher than that for which the person is studying, for approval of Initiation.
- For Initiations in the Third Degree, the prospective initiate must
also be approved and Initiated by the High Priestess and High Priest of the
Tradition, and be presented to the Wiccan Clergy as an Initiate of the Third
Degree!
- Celebrant members of Coven and\or Ritual Circle, who have
been initiated in another Tradition may seek to have that initiation accepted
by the Council of Initiates as being equivalent to an initiation as outlined
in the Bylaws of the Tradition.
Active Dedication is not required of celebrants for attendance
at the rituals, but may be required for the use of the Covens properties at the
discretion of the High Priestess and High Priest of the Coven!
- Dedicants
who attend rituals with more than one Circle on a regular basis must petition
the High Priestess and\or Priest of the Coven, to waive (inactive status) all
or part of their activity to the Coven and\or Circle other than the one which
they primarily attend, or on whose Council of Initiates they sit.
- All dedicants of circle or coven must be of legal age .
The celebrant shall make her or his intention to study for
Initiation clearly known to an initiate of the Craft:
- The initiate
shall bring this information to the Council of Initiates of their Circle or
Coven, who may then accept this celebrant as a Dedicant.
- Upon acceptance
the Dedicant shall be assigned a teacher from within the Council of Initiates
of the Circle or Coven, who shall then supervise the Dedicants training toward
Initiation.
- The teacher shall be opposite in gender to the Dedicant,
and may be neither a member of the Dedicants immediate family nor a person with
whom the Dedicant is romantically involved.
- *A review of the Laws,
Bylaws, and Tradition of the Circle or Coven, and the Traditions of the Wiccan
People, shall be covered during the first formal lesson unless the Dedicant
already holds a degree within the Tradition.
A celebrant shall be defined as anyone who regularly (at least
quarterly) attends the Coven or circles rituals, including dedicants and initiates
of any degree. All celebrants must be legally adult, unless they
are in the company of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s).
Any person who wishes to attend a Coven as a guest must present
that desire to an initiate of the Coven. The initiate will arrange for the prospective
guest to meet with the High Priestess and High Priest of the Coven - the High
Priestess and High Priest may designate a member of the Council of Initiates
to meet with the prospective guest in her or his place.
- The prospective
guest must meet with the High Priest and High Priestess, or with his or her
representative, at the least 24 hours prior to the time of the ritual which
they wish to attend.
- The High Priestess and High Priest, or his
or her representative, has the right to deny attendance of a guest at any ritual
or activity of the Coven and/or Ritual Circle to any person who makes such a
request.
- No person who is not legally an adult shall be allowed
to attend Coven and\or Circle ritual or activity, unless in the company of,
and with written permission of, his or her parent(s) or legal guardian(s).
- For Festival rituals or events that are tradition-wide in nature, as
opposed to being sponsored or conducted by an individual within their own 'Coven'
or 'Tradition,' the procedure for obtaining approval to attend as a guest must
meet the requirements set forth by the Festival Coordinator who will have been
appointed by the Wiccan Clergy to represent the Wiccan People!
Section
IV - Behavior, Grievances, and Discipline
All members of the Coven or circle shall conduct themselves
in a manner in keeping with the Wiccan Rede: "An it harm none, do as ye
will", in accordance with the tradition it is just that Wiccans should
deal with one another in a spirit of " Sacred Love and Trust."
All members of Coven and\or Circle are expected to conduct themselves
in a manner in keeping with the Essence of the Laws, the Bylaws, and the Traditions
of the Wiccan community. Furthermore, each individual present within
Coven and\or Circle is governed by the 'Tenets of the Wiccan Redes', the spirit
of 'Perfect Love and Perfect Trust,' 'The Laws of the Craft,' and the policies
of the 'Initiates Council and the Wiccan Clergy!' Misconduct and inappropriate
behavior will not be tolerated on the part of any celebrant, dedicant, or initiate,
as well as:
- The use or possession of illegal drugs at or in connection
with rituals or activities.
- Forcing or coercing another individual
to participate in sexual activity against his or her desires, or to consume
mind-altering substances against his or her will; or requiring complete or partial
nudity of any individual against his or her will; or obtaining consent to any
of these by deception or misrepresentation, or under color of authority or rank,
regardless of the circumstances under which these actions take place.
- Any deliberate action directed toward another individual that is calculated
to cause injury, harm or pain; be it hysical, mental or emotional, where it
is clear that the member in doing so has acted inappropriately, out of proportion
to the circumstances, or in abuse of his or her discretion.
- Any
member of Coven or circle who violates the standards outlined above shall be
subject to disciplinary action and possible banishment!
Any celebrant member of who has a grievance which cannot be
either set aside or resolved in accordance with the traditions of the Wiccan
community, and which interferes with her or his participation in ritual may
request that the grievance be resolved in the following manner - If:
- The celebrant has a grievance such that he or she feels unable to honor the
traditions of the Wiccan community, (for example, if he or she is unable to
stand in Coven in a spirit of "perfect love and perfect trust" because
of the grievance), then that celebrant shall not attend rituals until the grievance
is resolved.
- The celebrant with the grievance shall first schedule
a meeting with the person(s) with whom he or she has a grievance to attempt
to find a resolution. The meeting shall take place on neutral ground. The participants
may request the presence of an initiate who is not currently the teacher of
any of the parties involved to act as a fair witness.
- If the grievance
cannot be resolved by the aforementioned method then the celebrant with the
grievance shall schedule a meeting with an initiate to attempt to find a resolution.
If the celebrant is a dedicant, the initiate with whom he and she should meet
shall be his or her teacher.
- If a resolution cannot be reached by
the aforementioned method, the celebrant with the grievance should schedule
a meeting with the coven or circle's High Priestess or High Priest to attempt
to resolve the grievance. Another initiate shall act as a fair witness to the
proceedings.
- If a resolution cannot be reached by any of the above
steps, the grievance shall be brought before the Council of Initiates, who will
reach a final decision on the matter. If the grievance should involve persons
from more than one coven or circle, then the matter will be decided by the Council
of Initiates!
- No records shall be kept of any of these meeting(s)
save to record that the meeting(s) took place, the Craft names of the persons
attending, and any decisions which were made or actions which were taken.
If the Council of Initiates collectively have a grievance
with a celebrant(s) such that they feel unable to honor the traditions of the
Wiccan community, the celebrant(s) involved may then be requested to refrain
from attendance at rituals until the grievance is resolved. Grievance procedures
may include:
- A representative
group of the Council of Initiates shall meet with the celebrant(s) in question
in an attempt to resolve the grievance. This group shall include,
but is not limited to, the High Priest or High Priestess of the Coven and\or
Circle, the teacher(s) of the celebrant(s) involved, and another initiate to
act as a fair witness.
- The celebrant(s) involved may choose to veto
the Council of Initiates choice for a fair witness and a location. In either
case another choice must be provided to the celebrant(s).
- The celebrant(s)
may use this veto no more than twice each for either the fair witness or the
location.
- Alternatively, the celebrant(s) may suggest a fair witness
or location to the Council of Initiates, which need not accept the suggestion(s).
- In the event that the celebrant(s) and the Council of Initiates
cannot come to an agreement on a fair witness or a location, the celebrant(s) may request
to meet with the full
body of Initiates before the Council of Initiates
- The celebrant(s) involved shall have the right
to bring witnesses with them before the Council of Initiates.
- If
a resolution still cannot be achieved, then the Council of Initiates will make
a final decision based on the information provided by the celebrant(s), and
testimony of the witnesses of the celebrant(s). In all such cases, the decision
of the Council of Initiates shall be final.
- As in the case of individual
grievances, no records shall be kept of any of these meeting(s) save to record
that the meeting(s) took place, the Craft names of the persons attending, and
any decisions which were made or actions which were taken.
Disciplinary actions may be imposed by teachers appointed
by the Council of Initiates on their Dedicants, by the High Priestess and\or
High Priest of Coven or Circle on the celebrants of their Rituals, or by the
Wiccan Clergy of the Tradition on any celebrant of the Tradition.
- Celebrant(s) may be asked not to attend any Coven or Circle rituals until
the grievance is resolved.
- Dedicant(s) and\or Initiate(s) may be
asked not to participate on any but the basic celebrant level until the grievance
is resolved, or for a period of time determined to be appropriate by the Initiates
Council.
- Disciplinary actions may not include the removal of an
initiate's degree. Initiation is a state which, once conferred, may not be rescinded.
- Any action imposed by a teacher on a dedicant must be presented
to the Initiates Council immediately.
- These actions may not be decided
on until the next meeting of the Initiates Council. If they are not approved,
the actions must be withdrawn.
- The Council may choose to appoint
a new teacher for the dedicant should they consider it appropriate.
- The may also impose disciplinary action on the teacher in question should
they feel that the measures imposed on the dedicant were beyond the scope of
the teacher and dedicant relationship.
Section
V - Banishment
Only the High Priestess and High Priest of Circle or Coven
can Banish either a celebrant, dedicant, or Initiate from attending any ritual
or activity, but shall not presume to exclude them from non-Wiccan rituals or
activities:
- The celebrant who has been banished will be reported
to others of the Wiccan Clergy, giving just reason for such action - so that
he or she may not claim current membership in their Circle or Coven, although
he or she may continue to refer to himself or herself as an initiate if such
a degree has been conferred upon the individual.
- The Wiccan Clergy
are to tell members of Coven or Circle concerned about the celebrant(s) banishment,
that the person in question is no longer a member of Coven or Circle in good
standing by order of the High Priestess and High Priest.
Section
VI - Fee's and Donations
This Section is designated for Organizations, Churches, Institutions,
or Schools requiring fees or set donations for Tax purposes only. Otherwise
if there are no donations or fees required, than they will be considered a nonprofit
organization!
- Celebrants are expected to pay a monthly donation,
as set by the High Priest and High Priestess, and approved by the Council of
Initiates.
- Donations shall be used by the Coven and\or Ritual Circle
to fund the renting of ritual space, the purchase of ritual supplies, and the
purchase of books or other materials for a library.
- The High Priest
and High Priestess will insure that an adequate record of monies received and
expended on behalf of the Coven and\or Ritual Circle is kept.
- Expenditures
outside of the regular operating expenses of the Coven and/or Ritual Circle
must be approved by the High Priest and High Priestess of the Coven and/or Ritual
Circle
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Fees and Donations