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.

Spellbinder

Spellbinder may refer to:

Spellbinder (DC Comics)

Spellbinder is the name of three fictional characters that appear as supervillains in comic books published by DC Comics. Versions of the character have appeared on the animated series Batman Beyond and The Batman.

Fictional character biography

Delbert Billings

Spellbinder (Delbert Billings) first appeared in Detective Comics #358 (December 1966), and was created by John Broome and Sheldon Moldoff. He was a painter who used optical illusions and hypnotic weapons to commit crimes.

Delbert was a forger of pop art who decided to put his talents to use as a supervillain. He created the Spellbinder identity, designed hypnotic weapons, and assembled a team of henchmen. He ran into Batman during his first robbery, but hypnotized the crimefighter into believing he was involved in an entirely different situation, as his gang made their getaway. This ploy worked twice, but on his third robbery, Batman was able to overcome it and send him to jail.

After leaving prison, Spellbinder faced off with Superman in Superman #330 (1978). Using a miniature turntable, he was able to create sonic blasts that would make targets more susceptible to his hypnotic suggestions. The addition of a shock absorbing chin-guard to his helmet protected him from being knocked out by Superman, and special lenses protected him from hypnosis by the Man of Steel. He was finally defeated when his own sonic blasts were echoed back on him (rendering him unconscious). This issue also revealed how Superman uses sub-conscious hypnosis (heightened by the Kryptonian lenses in his glasses) to successfully disguise himself as Clark Kent.

List of Marvel Comics characters: S

Sabra

Sabre

Sabre I

The first Sabre was a former knife thrower named Paul Richarde until he was selected by Modred to oppose Black Knight. Paul Richarde was given an armor, an animated gargoyle. and Mordred's Ebony Dagger (the weapon with which Mordred had killed the first Black Knight). He was defeated by Black Knight after his horse Aragorn kicked the dagger from Le Sabre's hand.

Sabre II

The second Sabre is a mutant super villain. His first appearance was in X-Men #106. Young and reckless, Sabre was chosen by Mystique to join her new Brotherhood of Mutants, though never actually participated in any missions. He had the mutant ability of super speed, and took the name of the deceased Super Sabre. It is unknown if he continues to serve Mystique behind the scenes, or if he even retains his powers after Decimation. Hyper-accelerated metabolism augments his natural speed, reflexes, coordination, endurance, and the healing properties of his body.