From my personal experience I am able to say that being in a coven has brought a wealth of knowledge to my attention that otherwise I would have missed. Joining coves is a great idea!
On-line covens are really much more to do with "socialising" than actual learning. Yes, there are "gems", but also a lot of dross! Nothing beats contact with a real,live coven; or better still a personal teacher.
I was extremely lucky to meet, and become a life-long friend, with a real witch.In an on-line coven one is still only "reading" about the Craft; just as from books!
But I was "shown" the magic! As a small boy I watched the crystals grow. I saw the magic of photography.(And anybody who thinks photography is not magic; don't understand magic at all!)
I was shown all the magic of Nature; as well as reading about it!
I was shown the real meaning of life and death, and the Circle of Life.
That is knowledge that simply cannot be taught merely by reading about it, as in an on-line coven!
However, an on-line coven has its uses as "the next best thing"; so long as one is mature enough to separate the Chaff from the Wheat!
Brysing, I appreciate your comment; But my Coven is almost like a family! Like-minded souls, real people, and a opportunity to learn from others! Whilst I would love to find a real-world coven or kindred, I do feel like I have found the right Coven to belong to. It's a place to share your knowledge, get to know others, and learn for me. For once in my sad life, I actually feel like I belong. I know that is pretty pathetic-sounding.
I think online covens are what you make of them. I don't help people the same way I do in the real world, but after a person has been in the coven for a while and we get to know them, we do offer the some of the same things or opportunities that the people in the real world covens have access to.
One of the most important things we stress in the real world is knoledge of many things and raising our children with knoledge. We have a young reader program coming up in the real world coven and those we know on the online coven are also offered the opportunity to participate and get hundreds of reading books for there children for $25 or less. We also work with them and there local library to bring books to there area. I sent beginner Spanish material out to people the last two years when our coven pushed a second language beginning in kindergarten.
While it isn't like the real world, there can be many advantages given in the real world.
As I said, an on-line coven is the next best thing. And again, has as been pointed out in the above posts, much of it is socialising, and that's no bad thing either!
