Coven

A coven or covan /kʌvən/ usually refers to a gathering of witches.

The word "coven" remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promoted the idea, now much disputed, that all witches across Europe met in groups of thirteen which they called "covens".

Neopaganism

In Wicca and other similar forms of modern neopagan witchcraft, such as Stregheria and Feri, a coven is a gathering or community of witches, much like a congregation in Christian parlance. It is composed of a group of believers who gather together for ceremonies of worship such as Drawing Down the Moon, or celebrating the Sabbats. The number of persons involved may vary. Although thirteen is considered ideal (probably in deference to Murray's theories), any group of at least three can be a coven. A group of two is usually called a "working couple" (regardless of their sexes). Within the community, many believe that a coven larger than thirteen is unwieldy, citing unwieldy group dynamics and an unfair burden on the leadership. When a coven has grown too large to be manageable, it may split, or "hive". In Wicca this may also occur when a newly made High Priest or High Priestess, also called 3rd Degree ordination, leaves to start their own coven. Wiccan covens are usually jointly led by a High Priestess and a High Priest, though some are led by only one or the other. In more recent forms of neopagan witchcraft, covens are sometimes run as democracies with a rotating leadership.

Coven (film)

Coven is a 1997 black and white direct-to-video horror short film directed by Mark Borchardt. The making of the film was documented in the 1999 award-winning independent film American Movie. It was shot with local talent around Milwaukee.

Sales and distribution

Coven was largely funded by Mark's uncle Bill Borchardt's savings with the understanding that Mark must sell 3,000 copies in order for Bill to make his money back. However, Bill died shortly after the release of Coven. Bill, along with Mark and an assortment of friends and neighbors, star in the film. The movie was sold through his website www.northwestproductions.com (now defunct). By 2004, Borchardt sold 5,100 copies of "Coven" at $14.95.

Plot summary

The film introduces Mike (Borchardt) as a writer struggling with a lack of artistic productivity. To deal with the pressures he feels from within and without, he escalates his abuse of alcohol. One day when faced with overwhelming deadlines, he takes a large quantity of pills with alcohol resulting in an overdose and hospitalization. When Steve (Tom Schimmels) takes notice of Mike's increasing volatility and isolation, he confronts the defensive writer. Steve shows genuine concern for his friend's self-destructive behavior and intervenes. The film suggests by lack of others at the intervention that Steve may be the only friend Mike has left. Steve suggests a support group with whom he has been affiliated and after gaining some perspective, Mike joins them. After becoming a part of the group, he comes to realize that the group has a deeper occult agenda and use extreme, sometimes supernatural, tactics to "help" new members remain clean and sober.

Coven (band)

Coven is an American psychedelic rock band formed in the late 1960s. They had a top 40 hit in 1971 with the song "One Tin Soldier", the theme song of the movie Billy Jack.

Coven was composed of vocalist Esther "Jinx" Dawson, bassist Greg "Oz" Osborne (not to be confused with Ozzy Osbourne), guitarist Chris Neilsen, keyboardist Rick Durrett (later replaced by John Hobbs), and drummer Steve Ross. They are recognized as being the band that first introduced the "Sign of the Horns" to rock, metal and pop culture (as seen on their 1969 debut album release Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls.

History

Dawson and Osborne, after playing together in the group Him, Her and Them, formed Coven with Ross in Chicago in the late 1960s. In 1967 and 1968 they toured, playing concerts with artists including Jimmy Page's Yardbirds, the Alice Cooper band, and Vanilla Fudge. Dawson began and ended each Coven concert with the sign of the horns. Coven signed with Mercury Records and released their debut album, Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls in 1969.

Livewire (DC Comics)

Livewire (Leslie Willis) is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. She first appeared in September 1997 in Superman: The Animated Series "Livewire". Her first appearance in the mainstream comic books was in the publication of Action Comics #835 (March 2006).

Fictional character biography

DC Animated Universe

Leslie Willis was once a popular and controversial Metropolis radio shock jock. No one was immune to her venomous words, not even Superman. She took cynical joy in attacking him during her broadcasts. Among her audience, Lex Luthor enjoyed listening to her.

One evening during a severe thunderstorm, Willis was hosting a rock concert in honor of her anniversary working at the radio station in Centennial Park in downtown Metropolis. Ignoring her producer's warnings about the storms, the public safety concerns of Metropolis authorities, and the changeable skies, Willis demanded the show go on.

It was at about that time Superman showed up to help the police. Willis' fans showed support for her by throwing stuff at the Man of Steel, when suddenly, lightning struck the stage, setting it on fire. When Superman pushed Willis to safety, she was struck in the process. The lightning ran through a wire on stage which Willis then stepped on, shocking Willis and changing her appearance.

Harbinger (comic book)

Harbinger is an American comic book series published by Valiant Comics about a group of teenage super-powered outcasts known as Harbingers.

Harbinger initially featured writing and art by Jim Shooter and David Lapham. After Acclaim Entertainment purchased the rights to the Valiant catalog for $65 million in 1994, the characters were rebooted in Harbinger: Acts of God to make them more easily adaptable to video games. They continued to appear in many Valiant titles, most prominently the Unity 2000 series. Harbinger was one of the best selling Valiant titles with total sales in all languages of over five million comics.

Publication history

Harbinger debuted with Harbinger #1 in January 1992.

In 2008, Valiant released Harbinger: The Beginning, a deluxe hardcover collecting the first seven issues. Harbinger: The Beginning reached #2 on Amazon.com’s graphic novels sales charts and within the top #300 of all books sold on Amazon.

In June 2012, Valiant Entertainment relaunched the Harbinger title as a new ongoing series, written by Joshua Dysart and illustrated by Khari Evans.

Wellington High School (New Zealand)

Wellington High School is a co-educational (since 1905) secondary school in downtown Wellington, New Zealand. In 2005 the roll was approximately 1100 students. It was founded, as Wellington College of Design, in the 1880s with the intention of providing a more appropriate education for the Dominion than the narrow academic training provided by the existing schools. It is the first co-educational secondary in New Zealand. It is one of only two schools in Wellington (along with Onslow College), and one of only a few New Zealand secondary schools that doesn't have a school uniform.

Many of the current buildings date from the 1980s and are in the neo-brutalist style pyramidal roofs.

History

Wellington High School, and the institutions from which the current school evolved, have a significant place in the history of public education in New Zealand. It was founded in 1886 by Arthur Dewhurst Riley as the Wellington College of Design. In 1891 the school became Wellington Technical School. It moved to its present site on Taranaki Street from Mercer Street in 1922. Riley was a pioneer of technical and vocational education in New Zealand and his views influenced the Manual and Technical Instruction Act of 1900.