Coven Coven A coven usually refers to a group or gathering of witches. The word "coven" remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promoted the idea, now discredited, that all witches across Europe met in groups of thirteen which they called "covens". 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 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
A Discovery of Witches elements of this novel sprang directly from Harkness' own life: she has spent many hours engaged in research in the Bodleian Library, and in the course of her own research, Harkness discovered an ancient—and long-lost—book of spells, the Book of Soyga. "A Discovery of Witches" first achieved attention from publishers at the 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair. It was then published by Viking Press for a North American release in February 2011. The novel was commercially successful, debuting at number two in Hardcover Fiction on the "New York Times" Best Seller list, and number eight on the "USA Today" Best-Selling Book