You may start a coven when there isn't anything else local and yet there are many local Pagans. Or, you might start a new coven when it branches away from an established coven.

Starting a coven of your own is not something you should take on by yourself. Don't try starting a coven of one, that's not a coven, it's a solitary. Also, you will need help, other view points, sources of knowledge and experience too.

Narrow down a focus for your group. This is very important if you are in an area where there are already Pagan groups (covens, circles or casual groups). If there isn't an existing group for Pagans you still need to start with a focus, a statement of purpose. It's not so easy to be completely open, in spite of good intentions it doesn't work so well in practice.

Decide how the coven will be run and managed. How many members will the group be limited to? How will requests to join be handled in the future? Should everyone be initiated and what will the initiation be? Will there be rank (including a High Priestess) or will it be casual? Will the group meet once a week or once a month? Will the group have extra gatherings to honour the Pagan holidays? Will the group raise money for causes? There are endless small and large things to decide and talk about.

Choose a leader. Even if the group is casual someone will need to start rituals, open and close circles and so on.

Choose a place and time to meet. Consider available transportation: bus, parking for cars? If you meet in a public place get permission from the owner/ manager, don't assume it will be ok. If you meet at someone's home who brings the goodies, if there are goodies being brought?

Walpurgis Night is the English translation of Walpurgisnacht, one of the Dutch and German names for the night of 30 April, so called because it is the eve of the feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess in Francia. In Germanic folklore Walpurgisnacht, also called Hexennacht (Dutch: heksennacht; literally "Witches' Night"), is believed to be the night of a witches' meeting on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, a range of wooded hills in central Germany between the rivers Weser and Elbe. The first known written occurrence of the English translation "Walpurgis Night" is from the 19th century.

via _[Facebook The Male Witch](https://www.facebook.com/TheMaleWitch/)

First you may try to debate the point that mice do believe in God. But, if they did, there would be signs of their worship. I don't see mice building monuments, fighting holy wars, etc. I've never seen one pray, as far as I could tell by human standards. There may be a mouse god, but if the Christian (or any human version of a god) god were real wouldn't mice also believe, pray and worship. Or, do you think mice don't have a soul they need to save?

Many people may not care what mice do or do not believe. They are small rodents after all. Pestilence. Laboratory animals and pets spinning wheels for human amusement.

But, of course, mice matter. They are one of god's creatures. Even as an atheist I still think of mice as one of the little creatures on the planet.

So why don't mice believe in God? A God, any god?

Don't they need protection and help? Or are they really just alone on the planet, responsible for their own actions and uncared for and unknown but almost every other creature?

I don't think mice know there is a god. No one has ever told them god is an option. They just go about their mouse lives, oblivious to all the benefits they could have if they just worshipped god. What has god ever done for a mouse? Could it be such a vicious circle where if god only knew and the mice only knew... they could be so much better off. But, they've just never been introduced. Although, god did create the mice, right?

So does god just not care about the mice? In all this time god just let the mice go on, not knowing how much better they could be if they just knew there was a god who would offer them eternal life, shinier souls, angels, heaven and of course... demons, devils and hell.

The poor mice. Maybe all of them are just being shipped straight to hell because they don't worship or believe in god.

Someone really should do something about this. Save the mice!

Well, I will think more about it all. Right after I check the mouse trap under the kitchen sink.

"In spite of the many books which have been written on the subject in recent years, most people still seem to regard witchcraft as being mainly a matter of casting spells or gaining psychic powers. They find it difficult to regard it as being a religious faith."

-Doreen Valiente

Quote found on: Messages in the Moonlight

I haven't written much about Wicca and Paganism for awhile. I got settled in and knew my own thoughts and just left it at that. But, I feel good to be posting ideas and sharing them. I left (maybe too many) comments on a YouTube video What is Wicca?.  I liked the video and found a lot of people asking questions as I read the comments. So, I began adding replies. Here they are, without the original question, but I don't think that will make a big difference.

I  enjoyed your video. I've been Wiccan for about 30 years, always solitary. We follow pretty different paths but the core of your feelings about what what Wicca and Paganism are very much mirrors the way I have always felt. It comes from within yourself, it is very individual but based on caring for the world and the planet and putting effort into them. Saving our home, in a nutshell.

I did think it was odd when you began speaking about Wicca as a way to feel better about death. For me it is about appreciating life and death is just part of that cycle. I just turned 50 a bit more than a month ago and time/ age is on my mind more than ever before really. But, I don't worry about what happens so much as not wanting the journey to end.

Anyway, I don't believe in spellwork because at some level it seems to be against harming none. To make a change which effects someone else (which even changes to yourself will effect others) is in some way causing harm. The spell part of Wicca has always been mildly aggravating to me because it does get abused, like a get rich quick scheme rather than people taking responsibility, putting in the time and learning how to get what they need without a crutch, or gimmick or just expecting the world somehow owes them a favour.

Too much commenting now. But, I did say "Thank you!" out loud when you said Wicca not all about spells. I do wish more people would look past spells and see what really is here and inside themselves. What real power they have without gimmicks, tricks, etc. 

About Covens

That's pretty much why I never joined a coven. I would have had to compromise what I feel and believe in so I could fit into what the consensus of belief was with the group. I call myself an Earth Witch but I'm also an Atheist. I'd never be able to fit into any coven and people in covens would not like or accept what I feel/ believe.

However, I do think the weakness of Paganism as a religion is not having a consensus of beliefs. It leaves us without a firm identity in common and we do be come a target of other "organized" religions and their believers. Pagans in covens stand together almost like Christians because they do have that agreed upon system of beliefs and expectations. So, in that way it isn't a bad thing.

About Meditation

Meditation is kind of like prayer in the way it can focus your mind on what is important and help you pull your energy together to accomplish whatever it is you choose as your goal.

About the Masons

The masons are really cool. I think that's part of what makes me really appreciate rocks and old buildings.

About the Inverted Pentagram

Make your own decision. I feel strongly against the inverted pentagram and ouija boards. You're bringing something into your life which you may not want.

For Someone Who has Lost Track

Work on making yourself stronger and happier. You can't help someone else, or yourself, if your own life is at a low ebb. Spend time with people who are positive and strong so you can learn to be positive and strong too. You have to actually look in the direction you want to go. Great advice for driving a car and steering your course through life too.

About Pagan Books

I especially like reading from Doreen Valiente and Marian Green. Also: Practical Solitary Magic Paperback by Nancy B. Watson. Keep reading, make notes about what you find and feel and what you really believe in and connect with. I even wrote notes in my books. It felt strange to mark them at first but then I began to feel I was making myself at home in the pages.

About Fitting Into Wicca

Don't try to make Wicca right for you. It's not like joining a special club. Read about religions, faiths and beliefs and find what you actually connect to. You will connect somewhere and it will be right for you when you find it. Don't stress about finding it or being Wiccan. Wicca should suit you - not the other way around. Hope you understand because it can feel so wonderful when you discover the right fit for you - even if it is not Wicca.

About Choosing Wicca When Parents Don't Agree

Essentially Wicca is about appreciating life and nature. Your parents can hardly think you are going to hell or be upset if you spend more time outdoors and have those qualities. Christians are supposed to care about life and nature too. Don't upset your parents with Wicca - that's not the point of it. When your life is more your own then you can do more things on your own and in your own way. Don't make Wicca a dividing wall. You can be Wiccan if you want to be and you don't have to prove it to anyone by flaunting it or buying stuff or even having rituals. Keep it to yourself and experience it without the extra trimmings for awhile. No harm in that.

Probably arrogant to quote yourself, but sometimes I like to remember what I thought at the time and how I said/ typed it.