Hail and Welcome to Sylvan Circle!

Picture:  Sylvan Circle's altar for Fall Equinox, 1998

At Sylvan Circle, we believe each soul that incarnates is significant to the Web of Life, and all of the Web is made better through the fulfillment of each soul's highest potential. As a Wiccan religious coven, each member makes a conscious choice and commitment to this belief and its goal of assisting each other to our highest and best. This is our most heartfelt vision. Our coven requires an atmosphere of trust, honesty and caring, for we are a family of siblings, dedicated to the development of each other through spiritual experience, our assistance, and the worship of the holidays. For those whose highest potential entails the development of leadership through the clergy, we offer traditional degree training.

Sylvan Circle is a Traditional Wiccan coven of equals. The founding members of Sylvan Circle were all clergy (second and third degrees) trained and initiated in Traditional Celtic Wicca. In forming the coven, the members acknowledged the importance of every member to the vision and establishment of a family coven. They chose to eschew power-over tendencies in Traditional Wicca by letting go of the hierarchical structure and empowering all in the creation and maintenance of the coven vision. They put their teachings and experiences to use within an egalitarian structure that allows for diversity, creativity, freedom and respect. They called this tradition “Reformed Traditional Wicca” or  “Reformed Celtic Tradition”.

Each member of Sylvan Circle is considered vital, as an organ is to the functioning of the physical body. Therefore, we make all administrative decisions by consensus. All decisions are made at group meetings where all can discuss ideas, concerns, and opinions in open forum. In consensus, each member has an equal vote, as well as veto power. To this end, all rules and requirements are available in writing to all members. They contain checks and balances so that all are truly equal and no member can be "more equal” than others.

In ritual, we wear robes and use traditional circle casting. Instead of cords of rank, we each wear coven cords of braided leather to symbolize our equality. Only in spiritual training decisions and degree ceremonies are degrees invoked.

Simply put, Sylvan Circle is a family of siblings, designed to empower each other to the betterment of the Web of Life, through the application of traditional teachings and Wiccan worship.

As every tree is an essential part of the forest, so is every member an essential part of the circle.

Picture: A close-up of one of the pentagram apple pies we baked for Fall Eq, 1998.