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CUUPs owns a Maypole that is available for Beltane rituals.  If anyone is interested in using it for larger, church-wide ritual, please contact Tim at twtitusyahoocom.

Blessed Beltane!

1. Christine will be leading a three-month course in Craft philosophy on Monday nights from 6:30 to 8:30.  The course is ideal for those who took her successful Wicca 101 course, but it is open to anyone who is sincerely interested.  The course begins Monday April 2.  You may miss the first three sessions and still complete the class.

2. On Saturday April 14, from 5:00 to 9:00 pm we will be offering a special workshop with herbalist Jim Finch.  Learn to use herbs to make cough syrup and Jim’s specialty: Totally Awesome Salve.  Each participant will take home one bottle of syrup and one jar of salve plus the skills to make them yourself.  The cost for materials 1s $20, although some scholarships are available.  RSVP to Christine at kitchenwitchcscom so we can be sure to have enough materials.

ANNOUNCEMENT: In case of rain, our Ostara ritual will be in the Social Hall at OCUUC.

See you in one of the locations!

Come and join CUUPs for a ritual of awakening.  Our theme is Waking the Bears.  We will bring out our inner bears as we celebrate the coming spring in a joyous ritual of drumming, music, and dance.  Feel free to bring all kinds of rhythmic instruments to help our special guests drummers Ben, Kent, and Summer!

DETAILS:

CUUPs Spring Equinox/Ostara Ritual

Sunday March 18. Arrive at 1:00 for a 1:30 ritual

Place: Victoria Vista Park, across the street from OCUUC

Bring the usual things: a chair, a cup, your own lunch, and a dessert to share.

Wear: anything suggestive of bears: hats, T-shirts, whatever!

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.

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 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!

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 kitchenwitch2cscom.

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.

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!

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!

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 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!

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 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!

Despite some very unpredictable, stormy weather, our Ostara ritual was a wonderful celebration of the return of spring.

After moving the ritual back into one of the classrooms at OCUUC, we celebrated spring with calling the birds, learning what they had to say to us, and participating in “an old fashioned Ostara-egg hunt.”

Some of us found that we were warblers, carrying the need to express ourselves. Others were hummingbirds, imploring us to find the sweetness in life. A few of us even learned of the bluebird song in our hearts. Too bad there wasn’t a bird that told us about adapting to new circumstances, but then we had already done that!

Thanks to everyone who came to our little classroom despite the weather- especially to the Young Adults who joined us. You brought a lot of fun and energy to our celebration.

Beltane will be celebrated at Victoria Vista Park, across from the church, on May 1. See you there!

The beginning of Spring is going to bring an exciting new beginning to OC CUUPs. Tim and Brenda Titus will be leading their first public ritual – and what better time of year to begin new things? Join us across the street from church on Sunday March 20 for a colorful ritual that celebrates the birds, eggs, seeds, and the colorful beauty of spring.

When: Sunday March 20.
Time: Arrive at 1:00 pm for a 1:15 start
Bring: Your lunch and a dessert to share, a chalice or cup, and a blanket or chair to sit on during the ritual.
Wear: Bright spring colors or anything with birds on it

Soon, we will celebrate the first hints of Spring as the light begins to return to the world. Candlemas is the celebration of the coming Spring in the deepest of Winter. Despite the continuing darkness and cold (well, cold in most parts of the country anyway), the days are noticeably longer and the world seems pregnant with the anticipation of the coming Spring. The sun is beginning to nurture the Earth out of its long Winter sleep.

As 2011 begins, join us to bring in a new turn of the Wheel. This year’s Candlemas ritual will be inspired by the Chinese New Year and the Eastern healing Bodhisattva Kuan Yin.

This is always our most popular ritual, and this year seemed to be the most well-received yet. For the first time ever, the “audience” called the singers back into the sanctuary for a well-deserved curtain call. The new light may have been born right then and there!

Special thanks to Beth and the Solstice Singers for all their hard work to prepare for a wonderful service. Enjoy the video of Debbie Siegfried, Sam Siegfried, Beth Syverson, Amy Tompkins, and Susan Shaw performing “Kore Evohe!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01ha3LbuqK4

The Wheel turns, and Imbolc is just around the corner. Check back for the details of how we will celebrate the first hints of spring.

Please join us for an evening of music and ritual, in celebration of the Winter Solstice.

A candlelight performance will be held on Saturday, December 18 at 7pm. Refreshments will be served immediately following the ritual.

Or you can come to the Sunday service on Sunday, December 19.

Hope to see you there!

Our Samhain celebration this year was a perfect combination of honoring those who have passed and welcoming a new turning of the Wheel.

Viola, the King kept goblets full.

Our friends from the Circle of the Silver Grove joined us again this year and led a beautiful ritual in the sanctuary. After a somber time of reflection and communication with our beloved who have departed this life, we set our sights on enjoying a delicious feast and delighting in the blessings of life.

A King and Queen of Misrule were crowned. Their job: to drive away the sadness of death and make sure everyone had great time. It worked.

The fields are bare, the leaves have fallen from the trees, and the skies are going gray and cold. It is the time of year when the earth has died and gone dormant. Every year on October 31 (or May 1, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) the Sabbat we call Samhain presents us with the opportunity to once more celebrate the cycle of death and rebirth.

Please join Orange Coast CUUPS and their special guests, Circle of the Silver Gr…ove, for an evening of solemnity and celebration.

Bring a place setting for dinner and a drinking chalice for ritual. Our feast will be potluck so bring a side dish or dessert to share.

We will have an ancestral altar, so feel free to bring a photograph or other momento in honor of a loved one who has passed.

Due to the solemn nature of this ritual, children 12 and over are invited to attend.

SPACE IS LIMITED and RSVP is a MUST! Your RSVP must be received no later that October 18th. A Maybe response is okay, but you will be asked to confirm your attendance by Oct 18th.

Blessed Be!
Orange Coast UU CUUPS

Orange Coast CUUPs will hold its Samhain/Halloween celebration on Saturday, October 23rd. The ritual will be at the OCUUC church. Arrive at 6pm for a 6:30 start.

Samhain (summer’s end) marks the end of the crop harvest, the end of the light for the year and the beginning of the dark time of the Celtic year. On this night, the veil that separates the living from the dead is the thinnest. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast, and to tell tales of the ancestors on that night. Thus, we celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, by paying respect to loved ones who have died.

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

The 2010 Los Angeles/Orange County Pagan Pride Day is September 26 at Whittier Narrows Regional Park in South El Monte, CA. Click here for directions.

The programming includes a full day of rituals from a variety of Pagan traditions, a large slate of workshops, concerts throughout the day, and lots of opportunities to get your Pagan shopping done. Plus, it’s a great chance to meet fellow Pagans from all around the Southern California area!

Come on out to El Monte and show your Pagan Pride on September 26!

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

Orange Coast CUUPs will hold its Mabon/Fall Equinox celebration on Sunday, September 19. The ritual will be at Victoria Park, across the street from OCUUC. Arrive at 1:00 for a 1:30 start. Bring a picnic lunch and a dessert to share with your friends!

Mabon is the second harvest festival. At this time we celebrate the work we have done over the year, and give thanks for the blessings we have received from our work. The seeds we planted in spring are truly bearing fruit, and we express our gratitude for their bounty. Come and celebrate the gifts of Fall!

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

The OCUUC Young Adults joined us for a fun afternoon of food and conversation at Souplantation. Sometimes the simplest rituals are the best – and we didn’t even have to walk clockwise around the salad bar!

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

Orange Coast CUUPs celebrated midsummer with Shakespeare, fairy wings, and ladybugs. From our beautiful hilltop location overlooking the coast, we joined together in a ritual to bless the earth and celebrate the coming of summer.

First, our fairies put on their wings.

Into this Solstice night we dance…

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

Our Midsummer celebration is just around the corner. Come and join us at 7:00 p.m. on June 19 as we celebrate the longest day of the year – the day of the sun’s greatest strength and the night of Shakespeare’s mischievous fairies.

The sparkle of those Midsummer fairies will be with us on this magical night. The ritual will be at the church, on the grass outside the Gillan Classroom Building. Wear comfortable, colorful clothing and bring a dish to share for the potluck afterward.

This will be a fun and family friendly event. Come and celebrate the strength of the sun, the growing bounty of the earth, and the love of life! Titania and Oberon are waiting.

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

Today’s Beltane ritual and picnic was fun and frisky. Christine invited Aphrodite and Pan to join us, so love and merriment were in the air.

We had a scarf dance – like duck, duck, goose but more fun for kids of all ages.

Then we did the limbo – under a broom. What else would Pagans limbo under? Bill showed off his talent at tandem limbo. Have you ever tried going the limbo while holding a toddler? Hats off.

On to a game of the very aptly named “weenie in a bottle.” Once again, Bill showed off his skill.

And then, of course, there was the Maypole dance. It was a little chaotic, but then is Maypole dancing ever clean? It’s not about how pretty it is, it’s about having fun in the springtime. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Please plan to join us on Sunday, May 2 for this years Beltaine / May Day celebration at Vista Park in Costa Mesa, across the street from the OCUUC church on Victoria starting at 1pm.

More details will soon follow.

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

Thanks all of you who were able to join us for our Spring Equinox ritual that was held on Sunday, April 21st. With pleasant weather, we said goodbye to winter and welcomed spring to our area of Orange County. This ritual was attended by current CUUPS members, OCUUC members and guests for their first time at a ritual.

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

Blessed Be!!!!

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

Please RSVP to Christine Hernandez at cuupsocuucorg.

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

Wheel of the Year

3. Ostara (Spring Equinox; on or around March 21): The equinox is the first day of Spring, when the day catches up and reaches equal strength with the night. On this day we plant the seeds we wish to grow in our lives.

Join CUUPs for a celebration of the beginning of spring! The Spring Equinox marks the day when the dark and light of spring are in equal balance. It heralds the end of winter and the beginning of spring’s new growth. It’s a great day to be outside! Come and celebrate with us after services on Sunday March 21, right across the street from OCUUC. Please arrive at 1:00 for a 1:30 ritual. Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy after the ritual.

Orange Coast UU CUUPS

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!

Orange Coast UU CUUPS