To Initiate a New Member into an Existing Hollow/Coven
This rite welcomes a new member into an existing Hollow, coven or other working community. One thing that I would stress to anyone initiating another into a Hollow or coven is that it is important that the prospective member understand and have time to read over this ritual in advance. Additionally, feel free to make any changes that would fit your community better or make the initiate more comfortable.
Preparation
Perform this ritual at a place of power appropriate to your group (such as a forest glade, crossroads, wild threshold, or liminal space). If held indoors, use a cleared space with room for all to gather.
The ritual space should include:
A shared vessel filled with wine, mead, or a symbolically red juice (for anointing and shared drink)
A candle or lantern to be given to the initiate
A candle/lantern/Witch Light for each existing member (should be lit at the beginning of the ritual)
An offering for the spirits (bread, honey, milk, etc.)
All existing members stand in a ring, holding their lit candles. Leave a gap in the ritual circle for the initiate. The initiate is brought to the edge of the ritual space.
The Rite Begins
The leader or chosen speaker for this ritual asks:
Who comes to walk the Crooked Path?
Who knocks upon the Hidden Door?
The initiate replies with their name (given, chosen, or craft).
The leader presses a hand to the initiate’s forehead (or over the forehead, if preferred) :
Do you come in sovereignty, in secrecy, in sorcery, in strength?
The initiate answers: “I do.”
The leader places a hand to the initiate’s heart (or over the heart, if preferred):
Do you come with will unbroken,
With spirit unbound,
With fate unwritten?
The initiate answers: “I do.”
The Hollow hums or whispers low, surrounding the initiate with unified sound and breath. The initiate is led into the center of circle and the gap is closed.
The initiate kneels. The leader dips their fingers or the tip of a tool into the drinking vessel and marks the initiate’s forehead with a crossmark, saying:
As those before, as those to come,
By root and thorn, by oath and tongue,
By spirit’s mark and witch’s sight,
You are bound to craft and night.
Anointing and Declaration
The initiate is offered a drink from the vessel and takes a sip. This sip represents their personal craft and the personal relationship with witchcraft and spirit that will always transcend the Hollow. The leader then takes the vessel as they say:
Bound not by chains, nor god, nor king,
But by will, by craft, by kin.
No longer blind, no longer lost,
A witch you stand, no matter the cost.
All reply together: “No matter the cost.”
The speaker passes the vessel to the other members, who pass it around. The Hollow members take turns lifting one hand over the drink and whispering blessings as they pass it.
The leader places the drinking vessel back into the initiate’s hands. They then drink again. This sip represents drinking from the shared well of knowledge and experience that the Hollow cultivates. The leader invites the initiate to present the remaining drink as an offering to the spirits (as their first act as a member of the Hollow). The initiate steps to the edge of the ritual space and speaks:
For those who walk where few dare tread,
For those who whisper with the dead,
For those who see, for those who guide…
The Hollow finishes in unison: “A new one walks the path beside.”
The Witch Light
The leader presents the initiate with a candle or lantern and says:
This light you keep, though darkness calls,
Through storm and night, though kingdoms fall.
So long as you hold the spark inside,
A witch you stand, your fate untied.
The initiate chooses a member of the Hollow to light their flame. This can be as a symbolic act of sponsorship or as a previously agreed on binding of the initiate to a mentor within the Hollow. When the flame is lit, the initiate lifts it high.
The Hollow speaks together:
So it is spoken. So it is done.
Side by side. One by one.
The rite is ended. All members quietly leave the space, allowing the initiate to be the last to depart. If desired, this can be followed by a group meal, gift giving, group working or other activity.
To Bless/Dedicate a New Coven or Hollow
Although my framework views the witch as a self-sovereign practitioner, there are also many benefits to group work and building community with other witches. This rite may be used to formally bind a new Hollow or coven of witches, establishing bonds of kinship and mutual commitment among witches who are walking the the same or similar paths together.
Preparation
Come together at a place of power appropriate to your group (such as a crossroads, forest clearing, or a liminal space like a threshold or the edge of a graveyard). If indoors, use any cleared space.
Bring to your ritual space:
A shared vessel (bowl, cup, or drinking horn) filled with a drink to share (such as wine, mead, or a symbolic juice)
Optional: a small cup or drinking vessel for each participant (if sharing a cup is not ideal for your group)
A natural cord long enough for each participant to hold at once; red or black are generally used (for power/blood and mystery/protection respectively, but you may use any color you associate with the ideals of your working group)
A candle for each member, plus one to place at the center of the space (to represent the communal hearth)
An offering for the spirits (bread, honey, milk, etc.)
Ideally, each member should contribute at least one item to this ritual, even if this is only by bringing their own candle.
Opening the Circle
Light the candle at the center of the ritual space. All group members stand in a circle, one hand upon the cord linking them together, while holding their unlit candle in the other. The leader or appointed speaker says[1]:
By hedge and hollow, by scale and wing,
We gather here to bless our Ring.
Not by church, nor book, nor priest,
But by the spirits, stars, and beasts.
Each member lights their individual candle from the central flame and holds it before them. (Once lit, these candles represent the individual wills, minds, beliefs, and practices of each member. These individual candles are kept lit alongside the Hollow’s “hearth candle” as a reminder that, even within the group setting, each witch retains their own personal sovereignty, magical authority, and spiritual autonomy.)
Each person, in turn, speaks their name (given, magical, or chosen) and states their reason for joining the Holow[2]. The leader then fills the shared vessel with the chosen drink, saying:
Bound are we—not by blood, nor law,
But by our will; by craft, by claw.
A Hollow formed, a path now laid,
A Witch’s work shall never fade.
Each member takes a sip and passes the vessel, sealing their place in the circle[3].
Binding the Hollow
Together, raise the cord and hold it aloft, taking care to keep it clear of the candle flames. The leader says:
Thread upon thread, yet woven as one,
Our voices rise, our work begun.
No king nor clergy calls us here,
We speak with spirits, without fear.
Shall we be bound in craft and kin?
All members reply:
“We shall. Now let the work begin.”
The cord is then knotted or braided, symbolizing the binding of the group. It may be:
Kept on the altar
Buried at a sacred site
Burned at a future rite to release the bond
Place the cord to the side.
Offering and Close
A chosen member places the offering at the edge of the ritual space and calls:
For those who walked this path before,
For those who guard the hidden door,
For those who whisper, watch, and guide,
We honor you, side-by-side.
The candles are raised in silence to acknowledge unseen presences.
The leader says:
By night and flame, by word and deed,
This circle stands, this kin is freed.
So long as we will it, it will be,
Bound by craft, by fate, by three.
This can be followed by a feast or communal activity if desired. When all is done, the candles are extinguished. Members depart without looking back.
[1] If you would prefer to make this a more communal experience without an elected leader or speaker, you can assign speaking parts to different participants throughout the ritual instead.
[2] If, for whatever reason, the group feels that this part of the rite would be better scripted than improvised, you can replace the element of personal sharing with a brief scripted statement such as: “I am (name) and I come to the Hollow of my own will, to walk to Crooked Path with my fellow witches.”
[3] For those who do not want to share the drink directly (as a caution or for other reasons), the drink can be poured from the communal vessel into individual drinking implements. This will still have the same effect.
To Disband a Hollow / Coven
This ritual severs magical and spiritual ties between members of a Hollow and unbinds the shared practice. It may be used when a Hollow disbands, whenever its members choose to part ways in peace.
Gather the following tools, adapted as needed:
A central fire or large candle
A cord (ideally one used when the Hollow was first bound together; if none was used, any cord will do)
A bowl of salt and water
A cup of wine or other drink
Graveyard dirt or blessed dirt
A written record of the Hollow’s name and purpose (to be used as a symbolic pact)
Gather in a place of power appropriate to the group practice (a crossroads, a liminal place, or the group’s customary meeting site). If gathering indoors, open a window or door to the night. All members should stand in a ring, hands joined or linked by the cord. The ritual leader (or agreed speaker) lights the central flame and says:
By road and root, by oath and art,
Gather once more, as we now part.
The ring was cast, the bonds were made,
But now we sunder what once we laid.
Each member should lay a hand upon the cord. All speak together:
Once bound by craft and by kin,
Now unmade, we leave again.
No claim, no debt, no bolted chain,
The path divides, none shall remain.
The leader cuts the cord (ideally into as many pieces as their are Hollow members) and drops the pieces into the saltwater. They then take up the written pact and hold it aloft, saying:
No name, no pact, no concord drawn,
No whispered calls at dusk or dawn.
This house is empty, this place is bare,
The spirits take what once was there.
The paper is then burned in the central flame and laid upon the graveyard dirt to finish burning. Once the ashes have cooled, they are mixed with the dirt and scattered at the heart of the circle. If desired, the ashes and dirt may instead be cast to the wind. As this is done, the leader says:
What was raised, we lay back down,
What was called, we send to ground.
No spirit lingers, no tether stays,
The winds shall scatter, the past decays.
Pour the wine or drink into a shared cup (or pour a small amount into individual cups, if preferred). Each member takes a sip and then pours a drop onto the ground (or, alternatively, into an extra bowl if you are indoors), saying:
As this cup is drained, so is our bond.
The ritual leader takes the final sip, then pours the remainder onto the earth as an offering. All members speak together:
The gate is shut, the door is closed.
We part as free folk on the road.
The leader extinguishes the central flame, saying:
The light is out, the thread unwinds,
No step returns, no fate rebinds.
The pact dissolved, the spell unspun,
The work is ended. It is done.
All present leave in silence, taking separate paths. Do not return to the site for one full lunar cycle, if possible. Refrain from using former Hollow tools, symbols, or rites during that time. If any spirits associated with the group and its work remain restless, individual members should perform a banishing or cleansing suited to their needs. If needed, each may also undertake a personal severance rite to fully release any lingering ties.