The "Coven of the Blue Star", established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1975 by Frank Dufner,[1] gave birth to both the name and the original membership of what would eventually become the Blue Star tradition. In 1980, on its membership application to the Covenant of the Goddess, the coven described itself (with tongue in cheek) as practicing "Great American Nontraditional Collective Eclectic Wicca". Early hives from the original coven spread throughout the New York metropolitan area.
Tzipora Klein (née Katz), who had joined the coven in 1977, and with her then-husband Kenny Klein, left on a folk music tour after the 1983 release of their cassette Moon Hooves in the Sand, which contained Blue Star liturgical music. The music tour facilitated the spread of the tradition throughout the United States, as the couple helped to found new covens while on the road.[2] In 1992, Tzipora Klein would publish Celebrating Life: Rites of Passage For All Ages through Delphi Press. Kenny Klein published The Flowering Rod: Men, Sex and Spirituality in 1993, also through Delphi Press.
As new covens were formed, it was common practice to include the words "blue" or "star" (Raven Star, for example, or Wolf Star) in the name, but this practice is less observed nowadays. Some groups have used references to stars (Nova Grove, for example, or Polaris Coven), but some simply choose the name that inspires them (Compass Rose, SummerOak, or Braided Stream).
In 1991, members of StarFire Coven introduced the Tradition in Ireland. In 1997, the Guild of the Swan Weavers introduced Blue Star in England. In 1998, the Tradition was introduced in Canada by Devyn Christopher Gillette of BarleyMoon Coven.
Despite the inevitable disagreements and friction that will develop in a large, diverse, and widely-spread group, a remarkable sense of community and closeness obtains between members of the Tradition, to the point where annual convocations are often referred to as "Family Gatherings."