Nestled in the woods, 25 miles outside of Spokane, WA, is a beautiful and magical place called Glenconey (pronounced “Glenn Cunny”), the covenstead for The People of the Woods. The covenstead is a 6,000 square-foot, one-level home, sitting on 20 acres of land - comparable to a large warehouse. When you enter, you are usually greeted by a kitchen table full of coven members and the HP, Greybeard, and HPS, Maeve (pronounced “Mave”). They are all smiles and hugs, enjoying wine, cheese, snacks, and each other's company. Posted on the front door are the “rules of Glenconey” and they are as follows:

1. As far as possible, do what you really want to do.

2. Don’t get arrested, or, if arrested, don’t get convicted.

3. Remember the great things: beauty, pleasure, joy, power, and love.

4. No yelling

5. Strive ever to be soft and cuddly.

When you look around the large home, you will see stuffed animal bunnies everywhere. You will also see all the magnificent witchy things here and there. It is a big, open space, but none the less,it is comfy and welcoming. This is our home away from home, our family of “bunnies,” our coven brothers and sisters.

When I decided to join a coven, I was ready to join forces with other like minded folks after practicing on my own for a while. I googled “Spokane Covens” and the People of the Woods website popped up as the top search. I went and looked at their website and was instantly impressed. It was so informative and easy to navigate. I highly suggest visiting the page because it is not only about our coven, but it has information about Wicca in general including Terms and Definitions, the Wiccan Rede, The Wiccan Laws/Ordains, pictures, suggested reading list for each degree, etc. I was intrigued and enchanted all at once and after reading the whole website, I decided this was the place for me. I emailed them to show my interest and was instantly contacted via email by Greybeard.. We set up a time and place to meet in person.

They like a small little pizza place in the college town right outside of Spokane, WA and about 10 miles away from their covenstead. When I walked in , we spotted each other right away. How could I miss the man with the long grey beard, twinkle in his eye, donning a black hat and no shoes! (Think of Odin meets the Oak King/Holly King). Next to him was his wife, Maeve, a beautiful lady with salt and peppered hair, a big smile, and standing up to greet me with her famous hug. When I hugged this woman, I knew I was home.

Fast forward to a few years later, and I am working on my second degree, we have a coven of 12 members (when I started, there were 6 of us), and these coven members are my family. But what makes our coven so great? Well I could go on and on and on, and this article would turn into a novel, so I’m going to start from the beginning of The People of the Woods, and how we became the bunny coven we are today (Yes, I will get to why we are the “bunnies”).

The People of the Woods began formally on Yule, 1995 in Los Alamos, NM. Original members included High Priest Greybeard who had previously been High Priest of Our Lady of the Woods coven with High Priestess and author Amber K. Greybeard was also First Officer of the Cimarron Local Council of Covenant of the Goddess (COG). Greybeard was a friend of Pete Pathfinder Davis, whom he had met at COG councils. The initial High Priestess had previously been High Priestess of a Wiccan coven in Jemez Springs, NM, called The People of the Mountains. She was also a Lakota Sioux medicine woman. Maeve had been practicing eclectic witchcraft with an unnamed women's group near Santa Fe, NM. Another member made 4 total. They combined names of their two prior covens to create The People of the Woods. Their oldways.org web site began in 1997. By then Maeve had become the High Priestess.

By 2000, The People of the Woods was holding regular rituals in Albuquerque, NM, incorporated as “The First Congregational Church of the Old Religion, Inc.,” grown to around 10 members, and sponsored a 3-day midsummer camping retreat called Freedom Fest. In 2004, after some time there in the Land of Enchantment, our elders, Greybeard and Mauve, moved for job reasons to the small college town of Cheney, WA. The coven diminished in NM thereafter, and the incorporation expired. In Washington State Maeve and Greybeard found the land on which they would build the remarkable Glenconey covenstead.

I asked Greybeard when the notion of starting up a coven locally in WA entered their minds. He replied, “We thought about it, but nobody asked to be a member. We hosted Meetups for 3 years, and did other outreach, but never met suitable people who wanted to participate with us. Maeve was very busy teaching and working on tenure at her job. Perhaps not enough energy left over to devote to the coven. The Gods did not send us any members. Then, in 2013, our annual I-Ching reading was all about teaching, and suddenly we had people wanting to be members.” The People of the Woods Church of the Old Religion was reborn!

Once people started coming, they came rapidly. The coven, People of the Woods, began to get more recognition via it’s website and listing on The Witches Voice. In 2014, the coven became affiliated with the ATC, and what a wonderful connection to have! We have participated in the ATC’s Hekate's Sickle and Spring Mysteries. Some of our members are involved in the ATC’s online Wiccan seminary. The coven trains its members to become Initiates of the Craft, Priest and Priestesses. Our coven offers 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree initiations. As our elders have told us and others, our coven is hard to get into (due to lots of sacrifice and studying) but easy to get out of, meaning they do not stand in the way if you decide to leave. We also have family-friendly gatherings on the Sabbats, and closed circle gatherings on the Esbats.

One of the things we as a coven celebrate that no other coven celebrates is “Freedom Fest” in place of the 4th of July. This was a tradition carried over from the New Mexico coven in which we not only honor the freedom of our country, but also personal freedoms that are important to our Pagan ways, such as sexual and religious freedoms. There is always food, fun, workshops, and much more at this and many of our events. Wine is our staple beverage, and laughter and love is our language.

The term “fluffy bunny witches” was coined in the 1980s to describe wannabe witches who won't spend the time and work to learn, or who may not like to practice the dark side of things. Our elders decided to take back the bunny term and make it our own. We are a coven of bunnies, always cuddly and lovable, but yes, we enjoy the dark side as well. As Greybeard says “we like enlightenment and endarkenment” (My devil bunny tattoo was one of things my HPS noticed at our first meeting. She knew then, I was right for the coven!).

Our coven practices British Traditional Witchcraft, but we also incorporate many other traditions. Just recently, we did a Stregheria themed Full Moon ritual. Stregheria is a type of Italian Witchcraft in which they worship Diana the Mother, Lucifer the Father(not the Christian Devil) and Aradia the chosen daughter. This ritual not only opened up our eyes to other practices, but was also incredibly powerful and unique. One of our second degree Priests teaches a class on Ceremonial Magic each week for those who are interested. We have done trance journeying, scrying, meditations, worked with Artificial Elementals, worked powerful spells One of our coven members requested a spell to get more business at his job, so we did a spell for him, and a week later he had so much business, he was working up to 16 hour days 7 days a week! (Be careful what you wish for!)

Our coven members have so many unique talents. We have members who talk to those who have passed. We have members who can read another person’s energies immediately. Some have visions of magical beings, other are just really good at making you feel at ease and comfortable. And those famous hugs by Maeve? I suggest all of you experience that phenomenon.

The drive out to our covenstead is a magical happening in itself. Being out in the middle of the woods, literally, as you leave the small conservative college town behind you, you begin to see more and more trees, nature, animals, and scenery. It is a lengthy drive, but worth it. All members of the coven (and non members) agree that there is a portal of sorts you enter about a couple miles inward, in which you feel the change. You feel you have left the mundane world behind, and are entering a vortex of sorts. It is hard to put in words, you just have to experience it for yourself.

I remember my first drive out there to begin our 5 week discussion series (held for those interested in becoming a dedicant). I just kept driving and driving, further away from civilization, going to a place in the middle of nowhere, and thinking to myself “What am I getting myself into… I really must trust these two to be going out where there is no cell phone coverage.” Oh yeah, did I mention, you lose all cell phone coverage out there. You literally “disconnect” from the city and are in a magical place full of enchantments and mysteries.

Practicing that far out is a necessity at times though due to the conservative small town values of Cheney, WA, home to Eastern Washington University. We need to be careful about our privacy at times and how we are looked upon by the locals. We’ve never had an issue. Maybe while stopping in town before or after ritual to gas up the car, some of us wear our pentagrams and I am sure the attendants look at us as if we are from another world. (I’m used to getting looks like that though, so it doesn't really bother me). The covenstead allows for us to frolic in the woods in our robes (and skyclad if we really wanted to) and be the fabulous witches we truly are. It has an indoor circle that comfortably holds all 12 members and an amazing outdoor circle with a cauldron/fire pit in the middle. Our favorite place to hold rituals is outdoors due to the silence of the night, except for the soundtrack of coyotes and cows and other things making noises galore. (Bats flying above our heads as well) During a Samhain ritual, when talking about death, we heard a pack of coyotes killing their prey in the distance. It was eerie, yet beautiful at the same time. To have all this nature at our fingertips is really a blessing, and makes our circles that much more powerful.

We are not all alike, but together, we walk our paths. Sometimes we disagree on political views or personal views, and sometimes there are hurt feelings or misunderstandings. That is what happens in any family, but when we practice in circle together, we truly see the Divine in all of us, and our circles are no less than mystical happenings. Our energy vibes well together and brings us together even closer, strengthening our bonds.

Being part of this coven has changed my life for the better. The love and the laughter, the tears and the pain we have all shared with one another is what makes our coven unique. We truly support one another, we call each other out on things, and we hold each other accountable. We try very hard to practice what we preach, and Greybeard and Maeve truly allow each of us to expand out into the Pagan Community and share our gifts with others. They teach their little bunnies to hop away from the coven and be free thinking and loving and sharing. I could not ask for anything more from a coven and I am honored and proud to be a bunny of The People of the Woods!!

To find out more about our coven, please visit our website at http://www.oldways.org/ or our FB page The People of the Woods.