Within our Tradition, the Algard, initiation and participation in the Coven, even at a distance, is required to be a member, to be an Algardian Witch. In other traditions too, such as the Alexandrina or even the Gardneriana at the beginning of their stories. Today we see a different scenario, with many solitary Witches belonging to different traditions. Covens are groups of Witches who practice the same tradition, a school, a family of Witches. They are generally composed of 13 members: 1 High Priest, 1 High Priestess, and 11 Neophyte/Wiccan initiates. But it is possible to find covens with more or less members, and with slightly different structures. In the Algardian Tradition we follow the tradition of 13 members in total in each coven and each of these covens is independent to create their own laws and hierarchical and/or democratic structures as best they see fit, we have one where right below the priests are the oracles of coven, people who have developed skills in prediction, prediction and general planning of ritualistics.
The biggest mistake today is that a Witch needs a coven to be a witch, which is a hugely wrong idea. And the truth is that today covens are not that practical, they are few, scattered or found only in the major capitals where there are a greater number of Witches, and even so still little frequented due to the new busy and competitive lifestyle in which we live today. Solitary or mixed practice is more attractive for this reason, and can be practiced more frequently and fluidly. In addition to Covens, there are also Circles of Witches, which I see more often and which work very well, they are groups that get together for the big Sabbath celebrations, they can be fixed members or more commonly they are rotating. They are good to maintain a solitary practice with their rituals, but have a way to socialize with other Witches in times of celebration.
But is there a difference in solitary and group practice? It even exists, it is quite common that during rituals, spells and other rites of a coven, tasks are divided among the members according to their hierarchical position and personal abilities, and everyone works together towards the final achievement, like a play. The solitary practice, on the other hand, would be you playing all the roles, it can be a little complicated at first, but by organizing the time well and reordering the script, the final result achieved is exactly the same.