Witches on campus, Black Squirrel Coven starting up

Kent Wired – by Emily Powell

Interested in the practice of magick, witchcraft, or just being a part of a group of open-minded individuals? This semester marks the first that Black Squirrel Coven has been on Kent State’s campus. It is the first official coven on campus.

BSC is a group of like-minded individuals of all types who come together to practice magick, or an umbrella term encompassing the supernatural, charms, spells, rites and incantations, have discussions and perform activities. The organization has a wide variety of religious backgrounds, including various backgrounds of Paganism, witches and Wiccans.

Nyx Leach, president of Black Squirrel Coven, has been working hard toward finalizing the organization and creating awareness of the group on campus. “We started Black Squirrel Coven last semester but are officially getting on our feet a little more this semester,” Leach said.

The Coven meets Friday evenings at 7 p.m. in Bowman Hall Room 221. The meetings consist of a safe space for members to practice together with informative schedules along with informational slideshows for members to download to stay up to date.

The meetings are open to anyone interested in witchcraft. “As long as you practice the craft or are interested in learning about it then it’s available to anyone who is interested in that world on religion,” Leach said.

The group is actively looking for new members to join the coven and describe the organization as a place where every member is treated with respect regardless of religious background.

Members described the group as a family that offers a sense of community on campus. By using an online communication forum, Discord, members keep in contact on meetings and frequently plan hangouts and lunch outings.

BSC members are also working on a website and use RemindMe to share flyers for events and for updates on organization fairs. By keeping in contact outside of meetings, members have been able to form strong friendships.

Leach also described Black Squirrel Coven as “a small family who is always getting lunch or dinner together; I’m pretty sure since the coven I haven’t eaten alone on campus.”

The organization promotes self-learning, allowing members to be themselves and participate in group discussions. “It is all a very open craft; there’s no one way to do it,” Leach said.

The weekly meetings are open to all and further events are in the works for the organization once they become more established on campus. Future events may include tarot card readings and rune readings as a way of fundraising or spell jar making.

Emily Powell is a religion reporter. Contact her at epowel18@kent.edu.

Kent Wired