For many Witches, who tend to view themselves as ‘right brained,’ psychic and creative, the realm of computers reeks of calculus, and other ‘left-brain’ activities. Computers are intimidating at first, but the world of cyberspace is a wondrous environment, and, in my opinion, the new frontier of spiritual growth and exploration. Many of the traditional tools are used in the cyber coven – but there are a few extras that are necessary. For example, JaguarMoon (my cyber coven) uses a black-handled athame in our cyber rituals, which is a traditional tool, but we wield it within IRC (Internet Relay Chat), a completely modern environment.

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Generally speaking, one of the most basic activities of a magickal group is the performance of ritual. In the following essay, I will attempt to describe for the newcomer to cyberspace how it is that we hold rituals and do magic on-line, at least in my tradition.

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Most people of a religious (as opposed to spiritual) nature engage in a variety of rituals to create a deeper, personal, connection with the Deity, nature, the spiritual realms, or ‘just’ the simple rhythms of the turning seasons. For those of us online, the execution of these rituals has taken on a different aspect, which I will explore throughout this essay, but our needs remain the same.

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A recent conversation with the members of a Pagan Clergy list led to a long discussion about the ethics of teaching and practicing magick online, particularly in the case of Traditions with a history of being transformative and initiatory (like Wicca).

The world of online magick is not quite 20 years old, having begun in the ‘good old days’ of Compuserve, when BBSs were the primary mode of transmitting information. Rituals have been held online as early as 1985, and participants have reported amazing results, akin to those found arising from physical rituals. Online covens (which may also be called ‘temples,’ ‘groves,’ or ‘circles,’) however, have not been able to last that long. There are only two cyber covens in still existence from 1997, and those are the earliest I can find record of.

So, online magickal teaching has quite a bit of history to it, but stable online groups do not. For the seeker, there is a great deal of gray area in which to fall, and potentially become damaged, or at least misled.

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