To Initiate a New Member into an Existing Coven or Hollow

In the Hagstone Tradition, a Hollow is a gathering of witches who choose to walk the path together. They are not subjects of hierarchy, but companions in craft. Though the witch remains sovereign, a Hollow offers a place to share knowledge, raise power, and deepen one’s craft. This rite welcomes a new member into an existing Hollow.

Preparation

Perform this ritual at a place of power appropriate to your group (such as a forest glade, crossroads, wild threshold, or liminal space). If held indoors, use a cleared space with room for all to gather.

The ritual space should include:

• A shared vessel filled with wine, mead, or a symbolically red juice (for anointing and shared drink)

• A candle or lantern to be given to the initiate

• A candle/lantern/Witch Light for each existing member (should be lit at the beginning of the ritual)

• An offering for the spirits (bread, honey, milk, etc.)

All existing members stand in a ring, holding their lit candles. Leave a gap in the ritual circle for the initiate. The initiate is brought to the edge of the ritual space.

The Rite Begins

The leader or chosen speaker challenges:

Who comes to walk the Crooked Path?
Who knocks upon the Hidden Door?

The initiate replies with their name (given, chosen, or craft).

The leader presses a hand to the initiate’s forehead (or over the forehead, if preferred) :

Do you come in sovereignty, in secrecy, in sorcery, in strength?

The initiate answers: “I do.”

The leader places a hand over the initiate’s heart (or over the heart, if preferred):

Do you come with will unbroken,
With spirit unbound,
With fate unwritten?

The initiate answers:  “I do.”

The Hollow hums or whispers low, surrounding the initiate with unified sound and breath. The initiate is led into the center of circle and the gap is closed.

The initiate kneels. The leader dips their fingers or the tip of a tool into the drinking vessel and marks the initiate’s forehead with a crossmark, saying:

As those before, as those to come,
By root and thorn, by oath and tongue,
By spirit’s mark and witch’s sight,
You are bound to craft and night.

Anointing and Declaration

The initiate is offered a drink from the vessel and takes a sip. This sip represents their personal craft and the personal relationship with witchcraft and spirit that will always transcend the Hollow. The leader then takes the vessel as they say:

Bound not by chains, nor god, nor king,
But by will, by craft, by kin.
No longer blind, no longer lost,
A witch you stand, no matter the cost.

All reply together:  “No matter the cost.” 

The speaker passes the vessel to the other members, who pass it around. The Hollow members take turns lifting one hand over the drink and whispering blessings as they pass it.

The leader places the drinking vessel back into the initiate’s hands. They then drink again. This sip represents drinking from the shared well of knowledge and experience that the Hollow cultivates. The leader invites the initiate to present the remaining drink as an offering to the spirits (as their first act as a member of the Hollow). The initiate steps to the edge of the ritual space and speaks:

For those who walk where few dare tread,
For those who whisper with the dead,
For those who see, for those who guide…

The Hollow finishes in unison:  “A new one walks the path beside.”

The Witch Light

The leader presents the initiate with a candle or lantern and says:

This light you keep, though darkness calls,
Through storm and night, though kingdoms fall.
So long as you hold the spark inside,
A witch you stand, your fate untied.

The initiate chooses a member of the Hollow to light their flame. This can be as a symbolic act of sponsorship or as a previously agreed on binding of the initiate to a mentor within the Hollow. When the flame is lit, the initiate lifts it high.

The Hollow speaks together:

So it is spoken. So it is done.
Side by side. One by one.

The rite is ended. All members quietly leave the space, allowing the initiate to be the last to depart. If desired, this can be followed by a group meal, gift giving, group working or other activity.