Texas is just one of many Local Councils of COG in the United States. The Texas Local Council was granted provisional status during Merry Meet 1994, in Malibu, CA. Our Lady of the Trinity and Diana's Retreat were the two founding covens.
Texas became a full-fledged Council with the addition of Circle of the Unicorn at Celebration of Summer, 1995. We now have covens from the Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin areas and solitaires (from Texas and Oklahoma). We currently meet bi-monthly from January through October for local business meetings. The local council has sponsored UEA several times and participates in public rituals, Pagan Pride Day, and we have a representative to the Thanks-giving Square Interfaith Organization.
We are looking to expand the Council to include covens in many of the other larger cities in Texas. Problematic is the more than 267,000 square miles of Texas – more territory than New England, New York and Pennsylvania combined. Consequently, the difficulty arises of how best to serve the needs of those not residing within reasonable travel time.
One favorable aspect is that we have corresponded with many seekers that are so committed that they are willing to drive five or more hours once a month for classes or gatherings. We believe that kind of dedication is indicative of powerful potential for CoG in Texas. Our ultimate intention is to have two or three strategic regional councils. We were privileged to hive off Live Oak Local Council in 2003.
The Texas Local Council is honored and privileged to have had several National Officers:
- Monica Granath, Co-Second Officer 2003-2004
- Barbara Doyle, Publications Officer 1995-1997, 2001-2003, National Second Officer 1997-1998, Co-Second Officer 2003-2004, Acting Recorder 2001-2002
- Chuck Peart, National Correspondence Officer 1998-2000, Co-Publications Officer 2001-2003, Co-Second Officer 2000-2001
- Bryan Lankford, Co-Second Officer 2000-2001
- Charles Mars, PIO East/Central for the board year 2000 - 2001
- Gaelen Ananat, Correspondence Officer 2001-2004
- Rhys Eavan, Correspondence Officer 2007-2008
An Overview of the Covenant of the Goddess
The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) is one of the largest and oldest Wiccan religious organizations. Wicca, or Witchcraft is the most popular expression of the religious movement known as Neo-Paganism. It's practitioners are re-inventing what many believe are ancient Pagan practices of pre-Christian Europe and adapting them to contemporary life. The result is a religion that is both old and new, traditional and creative.
Witchcraft: A Spiritual and Ethical Overview
Witchcraft is a life-affirming, earth- and nature-oriented religion which sees all of life as sacred and interconnected, honors the natural world as the embodiment of divinity, immanent as well as transcendent, and experiences the divine as feminine and masculine. Like the spiritual world view and practices of Native Americans and Taoists, Wiccan spiritual practices are intended to attune humanity to the natural rhythms and cycles of the universe as a means of personally experiencing divinity. Rituals, therefore, coincide with the phases of the moon, the change of the seasons, solstices and equinoxes and days which fall in between these known as cross-quarter days such as May Day and Halloween. This calendar of celebrations is referred to as the Wheel of the Year. Most Witches consider their practice a priest/esshood, akin to the mystery schools of classical Greece and Rome, involving years of training and passage through life-transforming initiatory rituals.
Witches within CoG agree on an ethical code known as the Wiccan Rede, "An it harm none, do what ye will," which honors the freedom of each individual to do what she or he believes is right, but also recognizes the profound responsibility that none may be harmed by one's actions.
Code Of Ethics
- An ye harm none, do as ye will.
- Since our religion and the arts and practices peculiar to it are the gift of the Goddess, membership and training in a local coven or tradition are bestowed free, as gifts, and only on those persons who are deemed worthy to receive them. However, a coven may expect each of its members to bear a fair share of its ordinary operating expenses.
- All persons have the right to charge reasonable fees for the services by which they earn a living, so long as our religion is not thereby exploited.
- Every person associated with this Covenant shall respect the autonomy and sovereignty of each coven, as well as the right of each coven to oversee the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical development of its members and students in its own way, and shall exercise reasonable caution against infringing upon that right in any way.
- All persons associated with this Covenant shall respect the traditional secrecy of our religion.
- Members of this Covenant should ever keep in mind the underlying unity of our religion as well as the diversity of its manifestations.
- These ethics shall be understood and interpreted in light of one another, and especially in light of the traditional laws of our religion.
Organization and Activities
The Covenant is an umbrella organization of cooperating autonomous Witchcraft congregations and individual practitioners with the power to confer credentials on its qualified clergy. It fosters cooperation and mutual support among Witches and secures for them the legal protections enjoyed by members of other religions. The Covenant is non-hierarchical and governed by consensus. Two-thirds of its clergy are women. The Covenant is coordinated by a national board of directors. Many of its activities are conducted at the regional level by local councils. In recent years, the Covenant has taken part in spiritual and educational conferences, interfaith outreach, large public rituals, environmental activism, community projects and social action, as well as efforts to correct negative stereotypes and promote accurate media portrayals. Its clergy perform legal marriages (handfastings), preside at funerals and other rituals of life-transition, and provide counseling to Witches including those in the military and in prisons. The Covenant also provides youth awards, sponsorship of college and university student groups, and legal assistance in instances of discrimination.
The Covenant’s participation in the 1993, 1999, and 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions marked high points in our efforts to gain the respect due our ancient religion. Further work by Deborah Ann Light and Don Frew in the interfaith path allows us to continue as contributing members of the world’s community of faiths.
The Texas Local Council supports and hosts public rituals for each of the 8 Sabbats honoring the Wheel of the Year, twice-monthly Wicca 101 classes for the public, monthly Mythology classes for the public, and the annual festival, United Earth Assembly held each October, also open to the public. Public education about who we are and what we do has been a major focus of our Local Council under our present First Officer, Rhys Eavan. See our Events and Services page for more information on all that we offer!
Purpose
The Covenant of the Goddess was founded in 1975 to increase cooperation among Witches and to secure for Witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other religions.
Local Councils
A Local Council is a smaller branch of the Covenant, consisting of at least three member covens of at least two different traditions, in reasonably close geographic proximity to each other. The Local Councils meet at least twice a year and usually more often. They may choose to initiate independent projects, sponsor local festivals and workshops, and generally work together for common goals close to home.
Credentials
In order to be eligible to receive Credentials as a Priestess or Priest, a person shall:
1. Be an active member of a coven which is a Full Member of the Covenant.
2. Have been "confirmed" to taking on the full commitment to the requirements of that coven's Tradition of our religion.
3. Have undergone at least a full year of active training for the ministry of that Tradition.
4. These credentials shall remain valid only so long as the person remains an active member of a coven which remains an active member of the Covenant.
In order to be eligible to receive Credentials as an Elder, a person shall:
1. Satisfy 2) and 3) above.
2. Have undergone an additional full year of active training.
3. Be fully able to form a coven, admit members, and train them in the tenets and practices of that Tradition.
These credentials must be renewed each year.
For more information email CoG@TXCoG.org.
Veteran Recognition
The Covenant of the Goddess recognizes and appreciates the sacrifice that members of the Armed Forces make in defending our country and the freedoms we enjoy in the United States. To that end, the Covenant would like to award our active, inactive, and retired Military with a Covenant of the Goddess Order of the Pentacle Certificate. Applicants must apply for Order of the Pentacle through Circle Sanctuary and then submit the following to first@cog.org to receive a CoG certificate:
- Name
- Rank
- Service Branch
- Service Dates
From the Circle Sanctuary site:
Order of the Pentacle is a veterans association of Wiccans and other Pagans who have served and/or are serving in the US Armed Forces, and who have the Pentacle as their emblem of belief.
The Order of the Pentacle was formed on Veterans Day, November 11, 2006 to support equal rights for Wiccan/Pagan troops, veterans, and their families. The Order of the Pentacle actively supported the Veteran Pentacle Quest, which, after a decade long struggle, culminated in success on April 23, 2007 when the US Department of Veterans Affairs finally put the Pentacle on its list of emblems of belief that can be included on grave markers the VA issues to honor deceased veterans.
For more information email CoG@TXCoG.org or first@CoG.org.