This book delivers. It's written primarily as a guide for a High Priestess. It describes in detail the life cycle of a coven, what kind of rules a coven should have, how dicipline works, how advancement in the circle works, and which rituals typically require people to be naked.

She describes and suggests some common sabbat rituals, as well as an initiation ritual and a few other coven rituals. She talks a lot about the level of secrecy that should be kept about you coven. If you want to start a coven this is probably THE BOOK for you to read. It's also informative if you want to join a coven. As far as information on the craft in general, there is some great stuff on the sabbats, however this isn't really a great book to read if you are "just curious about witchcraft"

As a pleasant surprise, I found that Kate West is quite probably the almost all practical author on Witchcraft you could find. She deals with the effects of real life on the Craft on how these2parts of your life can effect each other. (While many authors tend to simply mention that the craft will make you more confident in your daily life.)

A really great book, and I plan to read another book by the author.

Reading the book, you do get a great feeling about her passion. The material covered in her book is no nonsense and is rooted in traditional English Witchcraft. No fluff bunny material here, or new fangled junk. Her book is concise, with the details spelled out and she covers the material well.

Ething is here to begin and maintain a great, solid working coven. The material covers background history, what witchcraft is, how to start a coven and keep it in a great order. She explores personal reasons for starting a coven, basic coven rules and how to develop them. There is discussion about traditional degrees, what they constitute and how they were meant to work. The task of finding membership is covered in a wonderfully put together overview of the different kinds of members you will find and how to deal with them. A Rite of Initiation is supplied as an overview of how it is done in traditional covens and it can also be used as a blueprint for adapting it to your own situation. The Wheel of the Year is explored as well as the Full Moons or Esbats. Ritual is discussed in relationship to how a coven is based around these important events. Both indoor and outdoor rituals are covered and again, Ms. West is detailed in her coverage of these.

Ms. West covers the mundane workings of a Coven as well. She Comes with working together to establish basic rules that apply to your coven, the unavoidable paperwork and establishing training for the membership. She also explores the overall life cycle of a coven, covering such considerations as Daughter Covens, new and lost membership, "Boom and Bust" and how to be a great Covenor.

A lot of information is packed into this book. There is a glossary in the back of the book, and as well as a endorseed reading and contacts section. Ms. West is delightful to read, supplies a great solid background based on personal experience, and has organized the information well in this book, making it easy to follow.

Anyone who is considering forming a coven would do well to include this book in their list of materials they should cover and consider for their own personal information as well as for the benefit of their coven. And if you already have a coven this is another great reference book for your group. There are too few books that cover coven life as well as this1does and should be considered a must have for your reading list as well as your library shelf.