There are many reasons why someone might begin looking for a coven. Perhaps you have practised on your own for years, celebrated the cycles of the Moon and Sun, cultivated a personal relationship with the Gods, and still feel a wish to share that path with other people. Or perhaps you have only recently encountered the Craft and are trying to understand why someone would seek initiation or membership in a Tradition. Although our stories differ, what we do with this interest deserves careful reflection.

When I published Bruxaria Solitária, I devoted a lesson to finding a group. Even then, I believed that no Witch needed to undergo initiation merely to demonstrate that their religious experience was legitimate. I still believe this, just as I continue to recognise the extraordinary value a Tradition can have for those who wish to learn and work within a particular system passed down by other initiates. Yet this choice involves real people, commitments and responsibilities that become part of our existing lives, and some measure of communal living.

Consider what we tend to imagine when we hear the word coven: ancient names, rites celebrated by moonlight, knowledge passed down from generation to generation, priestesses and priests gathered around an altar. There is beauty in these images, and many correspond to genuine aspects of initiatory life. But coven members must also buy supplies, prepare the room, wash the chalices, coordinate schedules, answer messages and learn to live with their differences. There are unforgettable meetings and difficult meetings, moments of profound communion and occasions when members are simply tired. The same circle that welcomes deeply intimate religious experiences also brings together human beings with very different qualities, limitations and histories.

I have observed that some of the difficulties seekers encounter arise from the distance between the community they imagined and the one they actually find. That does not mean abandoning their ideals or accepting every circumstance as inevitable. Rather, the choice needs to mature as they come to know a particular Tradition, coven and the people who make it up. If we wish to share the Mysteries, it is reasonable to want to know with whom we will share them.

We should also remember that the process of evaluation runs in two directions. A coven has both the right and the responsibility to get to know those who wish to approach its work. Different groups have different natures, approaches to training and interests. In covens belonging to wider Traditions, initiating someone also brings that person into a community larger than the coven itself, involving responsibilities at several levels. Seekers, in turn, have an equal right to ask questions, observe and decide whether those people and that path correspond to what they are looking for. Initiation should not be won by performing the part of an ideal candidate, nor received as a reward for obeying in advance someone we barely know.

I have been involved with Neopagan groups and initiatory communities for more than fifteen years. I currently lead Speculum Lunae, a Gardnerian Wiccan coven, and my background also includes academic training in Psychology and Religious Studies. I write this handbook from the intersection of these religious, clinical and academic experiences, which have allowed me to observe different aspects of the search for a spiritual community and the human relationships that develop within it.

In the following chapters, I invite you on a journey that begins before contacting any coven. We will examine your expectations, consider what Traditions and lineages are, research communities, prepare conversations, observe communal life, and understand the commitments that need to be clear before making a decision. At the end of each chapter you will find a practical tool consisting of reflective exercises or private records to support your own evaluation of possible groups.

One final piece of guidance: do not expect all your questions to be answered at once. Some knowledge becomes available only through experience; other matters legitimately belong to the secrets held within the circle. This handbook, however, is not intended to discuss the Mysteries themselves, ceremonial techniques or the development of psychic powers. We will consider the more ordinary, worldly aspects of joining a community—precisely the aspects that are so often neglected. While a group’s liturgical or ritual details may remain veiled to a seeker, the conditions of your own participation, your personal limits and the responsibilities expected of you must be sufficiently clear for an informed choice. The wisdom we seek in the Craft is also expressed in the ability to recognise what we know, what we do not yet know, and what we do not wish to surrender to other people.

May this handbook help you ask better questions. And when the time comes to knock at a community’s door, may you do so with the curiosity of someone who wishes to learn and the dignity of someone who knows that they, too, have a choice.

Flávio Lopes
On the Eve of November, 2026