Celebrating “The Interdependent Web of Existence”
The seventh UU principle is “respect for the interdependent web of existence, of which we are a part.” For Pagans, that principle resonates strongly. As Unitarian Universalists, we believe in all seven of the principles. We work with our fellow UUs for the respect and dignity of every person, a just, free, and peaceful world, democracy, a free search for truth, and the responsible search for truth and spiritual growth. As Pagans, we have found our “truth and meaning” in the UU principle of the interdependent web of existence. We look to nature for spiritual growth. We celebrate the natural cycles of the seasons, honoring the spiritual meaning of each one in turn.
To do this, we organize rituals and festivities for each of the eight seasonal festivals. All of these rituals are open to the public. It helps if reservations are made, and donations for our events are always accepted. Join us for any of our upcoming celebrations!
A New Turn of the Wheel: CUUPs Schedule for 2012
CUUPs had a wonderful Imbolc ritual on January 21st. We lit a candle to wake the sleeping goddess while also lighting a flame within our own hearts. We took home tulips as symbols of our budding intentions for the year. Now, it’s time to plan for a new, magickal year.
We have dates, but there are still a few things up in the air. We could use a leader for the Midsummer ritual. Also, we’re hoping for a camping adventure at Beltane, which means we don’t currently have anyone to lead our normal Maypole ritual. If anyone would like to lead a Maypole or other ritual for those who can’t make it out to the mountains, we would be happy to lend our materials (including our beautiful Maypole) to them. Just let us know.
Obviously, since the location of the church could change over the year, location and times could also change. With that in mind, here is our schedule for the upcoming Wheel of the Year:
Ostara: Sunday March 18, 1:00 pm. Christine Hernandez and/or her Wicca 101 graduates will host our Spring Equinox ritual.
Beltane: We’re hoping for a Beltane in the woods. Our current plans are to go camping in the local mountains with our friends from the Coven of the Silver Grove. Come for a weekend of adult fun with perhaps a touch of debauchery. This event will require pre-registration. More details to follow.
Anyone who would like to lead a celebration locally, please let Christine know. We have a great Maypole!
Midsummer: Sunday June 24, 1:00 pm. Let us know if you’d like to lead this one!
Lammas: Saturday July 28, 6:00 pm. Christine Hernandez will lead a ritual honoring the sacrifice of the harvest. Make corn dollies and offer them in expectation of an abundant harvest of gifts in your life.
Mabon: Sunday September 23, 1:00 pm. Come and celebrate the vine, the wine, and the harvest in honor of Dionysus. Tim and Brenda Titus will lead a ritual of thanks for the fruits of our labors.
Samhain: Saturday October 27. 7:00 pm (pending confirmation from COSG). Join us for our popular and introspective ritual honoring our ancestors and the Mighty Dead. Once again, the Coven of the Silver Grove will lead this beautiful and meaningful ritual of love for our ancestors. This is a more solemn ritual, open to anyone over age 12. A donation will be requested to pay for our feast and per-registration will be required. Final details will be posted in early October.
Yule: The Winter Solstice Singing Ritual, our most loved event of the year, will return on December 15 at 8:00 pm, followed by a second ritual during Sunday service on the 16th at 10:30 am. Our musical descent into the darkness and rise into the light will once again inspire us all to bring our tender lights into the world.
Imbolc: Assuming that the world still exists ;) our Imbolc/Candlemas ritual will be on February 2, 2013 at 7:00 pm. Brenda and Tim Titus will lead the group in a healing ritual, and we will bless candles to light our way for the upcoming turn of the Wheel.
Imbolc- The return of light to the world
Of all of the eight sabbats, Imbolc (also known as Candlemas) may be the most difficult for modern people to understand. Why do we celebrate the return of spring smack in the middle of winter?
Translating to “ewe’s milk,” Imbolc is the celebration of the very first signs of spring. When ancient farmers noticed that their pregnant sheep were lactating, it was a sure sign that the birth of the new lambs was just around the corner. The sun stays in the sky noticeably longer than it did back at the Winter Solstice, another sure sign of the coming Spring. In a time when families began to starve as the winter cold strangled the production of food, the signs of its icy grip loosening were a very welcome sight.
The themes of Imbolc are the same themes that these ancient agricultural people would have used. At Imbolc we celebrate the returning light, awaken the Goddess that has slept within ourselves and the Earth since Samhain, cleanse ourselves for the coming spring, and seek inspiration for the coming turn of the Wheel. All of this is represented by the day’s most common symbol: candles. Fire lights the way; fire purifies; fire provides the light of inspiration (any UU knows that!).
Fire is also sacred to the Celtic goddess Brigid, the goddess most associated with Imbolc. Brigid rules over inspiration, smithcraft, and all manner of the arts.
Come and light a fire for the sleeping Brigid as she lights a fire to guide your way for the coming year! Our celebration of Imbolc will be early this year: January 21, 2012. The ritual will be a bit more formal than our past few. We will cast a formal circle along with all the other more traditional elements of ritual. Those of you interested in the more witchy side of paganism won’t want to miss this one.
DETAILS:
What: CUUPs Imbolc ritual
When: Saturday January 21 at 7:00 pm (Please arrive at 6:30)
Where: OCUUC Sanctuary
Bring: Something to drink from, a potluck dish to share, and a place setting for the feast. Our potluck will be New Year’s themed: bring something traditionally eaten at the New Year for luck and prosperity (or just bring something tasty).
Wear: Light colors, especially white and lavender.
RSVP: by commenting on this post or join the Orange Coast CUUPs Facebook page.
The Annual Winter Solstice Singing Ritual Returns!
Our most popular event of the year is just around the corner!
The Winter Solstice Singing Ritual has become a much-anticipated annual event at OCUUC for good reasons: beautiful music, a meaningful story, and the inspiring message of spreading light to the world.
This unique ritual is truly different from everything else we do. Celebrating the darkest day of the year and the beginning of light’s return to the world, we tell the myth of Persephone’s descent into the underworld through narration, poetry, and- most of all- song.
The service is powerful, meditative, and joyful.
- Join us in the sanctuary for a special evening performance
on Saturday, December 17th at 8:00 pm. - We also will perform the ritual on Sunday, December 18th at 10:00 am
as the church’s Sunday service.
Come and celebrate the return of light and life to our world!
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Samhain: Descending together into the dark year
The Wheel now turns to the dark time of the year, and we begin to look inward. As the green of summer’s fields turn brown and the warmth slowly fades, we remember that all things die. It is time to search within ourselves, to connect with our lost loved ones, and to honor those who have gone before us.
Samhain is our time to stop and acknowledge the dying land and pay tribute to the dead who walked the land before we did. On October 29, CUUPs will celebrate this revered Pagan tradition with love and respect. Once again, we will be joined by our friends from the Coven of the Silver Grove in a ritual that honors our ancestors and turns our gazes inward, then celebrates the Witch’s New Year with dancing, feasting, merriment, and song.
This evening will be quite different from our other events. It is a solemn ritual, and everyone who attends will be expected to participate. Preregistration is required as we will be serving dinner after the ritual. A $20.00 donation is requested to cover the cost of your meal, ritual tokens, and supplies, but no one will be turned away if they can’t afford to attend. We can only accept attendees age 13 and over.
This event sells out every year, so please register now.
Come and join us for a solemn but joyful evening and celebrate the most powerful night of the year!
When: Saturday October 29; arrive at 6:00 p.m. for a 6:30 start.
Where: OCUUC Sanctuary
Pre-registration: Required. Space is limited. Please send and Email to Christine Hernandez at kitchenwitch2
cs
com.
Cost: A $20.00 donation is requested to cover the cost of your meal, ritual tokens, and wine. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Wear: Black. All sorts of black ritual finery is encouraged: robes, capes, etc.
Bring: Your own place setting for dinner and, if you wish, a picture of a deceased loved one for the ancestor altar.
A Mabon Blessing
We were blessed to have an abundance of both old and new friends at our Mabon ritual last Sunday. One of our largest public gatherings yet, the ritual was led by OCUUC First Couple, Mary and Ted Lundholm.
Mabon is a festival of abundance and thanksgiving, and our ritual focused on giving a little back for all of the blessings we have received this year. Each of us blessed an apple, a symbol of the Goddess, and placed the consecrated fruit into a basket. The basket of consecrated apples was then delivered to the local homeless shelter.
What a great way to tie UU principles into our Pagan faiths!
We were joined by many new friends, including some of the Young Adults. A picnic followed the ritual, and all of the leftovers went with the apples to the homeless shelter. 
As the Autumn descends upon us, let us not forget the blessings of life that abound in this world, and give a little back to those in need.
Blessed be!
Mabon: The Fall Equinox
The balance of dark and light once again approaches. This time, as we descend into the dark time of the year, we give thanks for the blessings in our lives. Come and celebrate Mabon, a time of balance and a time of thanks!
When: Sunday September 25.
Arrive at 1:00 for a 1:30 start
Where: Victoria Vista Park, across the street from OCUUC (which is at 1259 Victoria St.) in Costa Mesa
Wear: Festive Fall colors
Bring: Chairs for sitting out side, a chalice or cup, a picnic lunch, and a dessert to share.
RSVP: By commenting on this post. This helps us know how many participants to prepare for.
Blessed Mabon!
Lammas – The First Harvest
The trees are green and the fields are ripe. As the summer heats up, the land begins to offer its sweet fruits to the world. The crops must be cut, their lives given over so that we may live. The fires are lit and the harvest begins…
Join CUUPs to celebrate the beginning of the harvest season. At Lammas, we celebrate the abundance of the Earth and the sacrifice of its bounty for our lives. We give back to the land that gives so much to us. Then we will eat…a lot.
What: Lammas Ritual, celebrating the bounty of the land. We will weave corn dollies in honor of the crops and offer them back in honor of the Earth’s sacrifice for us. There will be fire and there will be food.
When: Saturday July 30. Arrive at 7:00 pm for a 7:30 ritual
Where: Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church. 1259 Victoria St., Costa Mesa. We will be on the lawn outside the Gillan classrooms.
Bring: A chalice or cup and a potluck dish that celebrates the abundance of the harvest season. Grains, fruit, and vegetables are very appropriate, as is wine and beer, fruit juices, and desserts involving any combination of these things (Except maybe beer. Beer dessert…yuck). This is a celebration of nature’s bounty, so bring lots of food!
Wear: Fiery harvest colors, especially orange and red.
RSVP: To Christine Hernandez at kitchenwitch2cscom
Let the harvest begin!
The Summer Solstice Ritual is Back!
The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans is bringing back the beautiful Summer Solstice Ritual on Saturday June 18 at 7:30 pm.
Written by our own Rayna Hamre, with music led by Amy Tompkins, the Summer Solstice Ritual is a musical rite that celebrates the sun’s strongest day by also celebrating the Earth. We will hear inspiring poetry. We will sing the spiritual music and chants of Abbi Spinner McBride. We will be brought into a deeper connection with Mother Earth and inspired to do our part to help Her heal.
Come and enjoy great music and celebrate the longest day of the year!
Maypoles and Morris Dancers
CUUPs celebrated Beltane on a beautiful, warm spring day. We got into the playful energy of Beltane with a flirty scarf dance. Of course, after all that playfulness, we needed a King and Queen to lead our springtime revelry. This year’s May King and Queen were…
King Bill and Queen Christine
Bill Stoker and Christine Hernandez. All hail Bill and Christine!
Then we all participated in the traditional Maypole dance. Allan Block provided musical accompaniment as we wove the Maypole “up and down, in and out.”
A beautiful Maypole is even better with musical accompaniment
During our picnic we were treated to something special. Rising Phoenix Morris, a Morris dancing troupe out of Santa Monica, came and put on a show for us. They performed traditional May Day sword and scarf dances for us and really put an exclamation point on a wonderful Beltane.
Dancers from Rising Phoenix Morris added to the fun
After lunch, games ensued. Beltane isn’t complete without a game of “weenie in the bottle,” and Brenda won with this excellent move.
Brenda knows what to do with a good weenie
Thanks to Christine Hernandez for organizing, Brenda Titus for building the Maypole, Allan Block for the music, Rising Phoenix Morris for being awesome, and Debbie Siegfried for picnic games and prizes.
Our Midsummer ritual will be just as great. Rayna Hamre is bringing back her Summer Solstice Ritual. This celebration of the sun, music, and Earth, will be in the sanctuary on June 18. Join us then for an evening of earth-centered fun!
Beltane!
Spring is in full bloom. The birds are calling, the flowers are opening, and the bees are….well, pollinating. Come and pollinate your year with us at our Beltane celebration on Sunday May 1, 1:00 pm. We’ll be right across the street from the church at Victoria Vista Park.
Beltane is the springtime celebration of fertility, love, life, and sexuality. Come and chase a girl, or a boy, and dance the Maypole with us.
Bring your own lunch and maybe something to sit on, and CUUPS will provide dessert. Wear bright, festive colors. Eat cupcakes.
Maybe you will be crowned the King or Queen of May!
