covin

Coven derives from Scots English covin or cowan, meaning a gathering or assembly for a secret purpose, from Old French covine (an agreement, a band of conspirators), from Latin convenire (to come together). The word was used in Scottish legal records in the sixteenth century for any secret group, but it was the Scottish witch trials that gave it its specific meaning: a group of witches who met to worship the Devil.

The idea that witches gathered in groups of thirteen comes from Scottish witch-trial testimony. At the North Berwick witch trials of 1590-91, accused witches confessed (under torture) to meeting in groups to plot against King James VI. Margaret Murray, an Egyptologist turned folklorist, popularized the idea of the thirteen-member coven in her 1921 book The Witch-Cult in Western Europe. Her scholarship has been largely discredited, but her image of the coven persists.

Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Wicca in the 1950s, adopted Murray's coven structure. A Wiccan coven is led by a High Priestess and/or High Priest, ideally has thirteen members, and meets for eight sabbats (seasonal festivals) throughout the year. Gardner's Wicca gave the word its modern meaning: not a conspiracy of devil-worshippers but a spiritual community of nature-worshippers.

The word 'coven' has expanded beyond witchcraft. A 'coven' can describe any close-knit group, especially of women: 'my coven of best friends,' 'a coven of artists.' The word has been reclaimed from its accusatory origins and repurposed as a term of intimacy and solidarity. The secret group that was once feared is now embraced.