Thursday's Toolbox: Solitary versus Group

There are many paths and ways to being a magical practitioner these days.  You can follow a path that is based on ancient Kemet (Egypt), Greece, and many more.  There are paths that are created for those that work more Ceremonial and Hermetic magic and everything in between.

One can practice either solitary or in a group. There are benefits and drawbacks for both and neither one is better than the other. In fact that seems to be the popular topic for the past couple of weeks in the world of blogs.

I asked a few solitary practitioners on why they are solitary and what they enjoyed about it.

The most common answer that I got was the freedom to express themselves without having someone peeking over their shoulder and judging their actions.  Being solitary gives fluidity to their practice and their view of things

Being solitary frees one from having to worry about bruising fragile egos of those around them. You do not have to worry that someone is going to grow so self important that they start to treat others in the group as extensions of themselves and almost as servants rather than partners and valued members of their group.

When you are the only one you never have to worry about if people are going to show up for something.  You don't have to worry if someone else is on the same page with the ritual you are preparing.

The drawback is that you can get stuck in a rut working only on your own.  You may not get exposed to ideas or energies that can help you expand your practice.  One runs the risk of becoming stagnated and stunted in their spiritual growth by not working with other people.

The extreme opposite end of the spectrum is working in a coven. Just as working solitary, there are many benefits and draw backs to working in a group.

A coven can offer motivation to work.  You know when there will be events or rituals and you have an invested interest to go.  They offer lessons and formalized classes where you can work with someone and if you get stuck a mentor can to help you navigate the lessons.

A coven can help raise energy that you may otherwise not be able to raise.  A coven allows you to build up a tradition that can be passed down.

The biggest drawback of a coven is getting a group of people on the same page.  We all know how difficult it can be to get a group of people to all agree on one thing. In- fighting and egos can sometimes get in the way and this can cause implosion.

A happy medium between the two is having is having a working circle. A circle gives someone the flexibility of working solitary but the group dynamic of working with other people when you want.  You can still have your way of doing things but when your needs coincide with others you can get together and raise even more energy.

There is no right or wrong way. Some people will spend their whole lives solitary and others will find a coven and stay.  Of course these scenarios might very well flip flop. I was solitary for years, and then I found a really dynamic group of people and built a circle that has all the beginnings of becoming a coven. Explore, mingle, make friends, go to events and build your contacts.  At the end of the day it is more about if you are doing your Great Work than worrying about being solitary or coven minded.