First a little background: Vela Grove is a group working in the Blue Star Tradition of Wicca. Blue Star was founded in 1975 and is a tradition with over 200 initiates at this time, mostly in the United States, but with some of us in Europe as well.

We are considered by many to be a British Traditionalist style of Wicca (BTW), which means that we are lineaged and have a specific liturgy we work from which has been around for a while and from which we don’t vary dramatically unless we have good reason. We utilize an Inner and Outer Court structure, like most BTW covens. Our Outer Court, or Grove, consists of seekers (those working towards dedication), dedicants (which are our laity) and those who are working towards initiation.

Blue Star is known for a few things, one of which is its emphasis, at the Outer Court Level, on worship, not on magical workings. There is more magical working in the Inner Court, but most still find that we are more of a religious group than one that spends a lot of time doing spells. We are also known for our use of music in ritual, our welcoming attitude towards children at appropriate rituals and our love of good food.

In Blue Star, it can take years to become initiated and join the Inner Court and even longer to get to Third Degree. At a minimum, a person should expect to take at least a year or two from Dedication (a rite of passage in which you declare your devotion to the Gods and your intention to study with Vela) through Neophyte (a preparatory stage to Initiation) to First Degree Initiation.

Many students elect to stay Dedicants for the rest of their lives, or at least for years, being lay people. They just don’t hear a call to initiate, becoming part of the clergy. This is another way in which Blue Star is unusual in the world of traditional wicca. We strongly feel that the lay people are critical to the longevity of our tradition. We do offer a number of classes that help expand knowledge of Blue Star and Craft to our laity without expectation of their proceeding to initiation.

If you’re still interested, after reading this, the process of being considered for entry into Vela is as follows:

At the bottom of this document is a link to our questionnaire. Please fill it out. We will review your information and arrange a phone call for discussion. If that works out then a meeting will be arranged at a public space. If things click we will issue you an invitation to one or more of our gatherings so we can meet you and get to know you a bit. Attendance at our gatherings is at the direction of the group’s leaders You may be invited to a single gathering at a time. If the leaders decide that you fit in with the group, then they may issue you an invitation to continue attending our gatherings.

If you wish, you can ask for a teacher at any point after our invitation to continue. Grove Membership is limited to those who are at least Dedicants.

Blessings!

Teazel (3rd Degree Initiate and High Priestess of Vela Grove)

If you want to inquire into Vela membership, feel free to fill out our form. You can also contact us.