#cuups

[lokavisi]

At the end of September, my CUUPS chapter hosted our annual Pagan Pride Day celebration. To make the opening ritual a pan-pagan affair, we had people from different paths call the quarters. I was the Heathen representative tasked with calling fire in the South, so, of course, I called upon Loki. (I know their association with fire is ever the controversial topic, but it is one that aligns with my UPG.) It took a bit of thought since I had to represent Heathenry (I made it a toast to reflect our typical ritual structure), call on fire to set the space and intention for the day, and educate people who might not be familiar about who Loki is. I'm very pleased with how it turned out, especially that everyone shouted, "Hail Loki," after me without any prompting. (Us Lokeans came out to play that day, apparently. xD) Anyway, below is my invocation should you wish to read it. As always, I'm very glad to have been able to represent Heathenry and Loki in this way. <3

To the South, I hail the Norse Trickster, Loki, and the fire they carry within their being.

Hail Loki, the fire of creativity: the flame that dances along with the tune of the changing breeze and the crackling beat of its wooden fuel. The flame whose dance inspires others to begin their own movement and find their own groove. May this fire move our spirit to play without shame or fear of expressing our truest selves. 

Hail Loki, the fire of illumination: The flame that exposes what lies within the darkness of shadow. The flame whose light lingers upon the things that make us uncomfortable. May this fire empower us to shine such light not just out in the world, but here in this place so that we may help each other be our most luminous. 

Hail Loki, the fire of transformation: The flame that burns away the dead brush so that new life can grow from its ashes, the flames that soften metal so that it may find a new shape. May this fire challenge us during our time together here today, helping us in our continued growth as individuals and as a community. 

Hail Loki, the fire of the hearth: As Mother of Sleipnir, father of the Fenris Wolf, the Midgard Serpent Jormungandr, the goddess of death Hel, and the twins Narvi and Vali; Consort of the Giantess Angrboda, husband of the goddess Sigyn, and blood brother of Odin the Allfather, you are no stranger to the bonds of family. May this fire strengthen the bonds of this found family, of this community of diverse people here in this space and beyond, for today and all days.

Hail to the Shapeshifter, the Trickster, the Mother of Monsters and Drag, the God of Outcasts, the Bringer of Laughter, the Evergrowing and Everglowing Flame! Bless us with these fiery energies here today! My beloved Loki, we bid you hail and welcome!

As a bonus, here was fiery ritual attire, Loki-approved lol

[coyote-sings]

Recently my husband and I have joined a Unitarian Universalist church, and it's been extremely welcoming. They're in the beginning stages of forming a Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans for anyone in the congregation who wants to participate, and being able to help in that is so exciting! We're putting together a Winter Solstice gathering for the 20th, and I've volunteered to bring cookies and a savory dish. Two members are leading a druidic ritual for us, and a few others are going to lead crafting like pomadors, garlands and stuff to put on an altar.

[summershadowtwin]

My "happy" candle I made at the #cuups candle making class. #uu #uucb (at Unitarian Universalist Church of Brevard) https://www.instagram.com/p/B69fpqIJVds/?igshid=17dxg8galcf32

[yellowrockdragon]

[meneallah-lumon]

If you are a pagan, witch, or looking for some earth based folks see if a CUUPs is near you. These UU members are united in sharing earth based religious expression within the Unitarian Universalist World. 

[phoenyxoftheashes]

I signed up to do a lay-led sermon in the Summer for my UU church. I'm doing a sermon on the 3 marks of existence according to Buddhism and how this can relate back to Unitarian Universalist values.

I'm thinking of doing another one based on a Pagan concept but I'm having a hard time thinking of a theme/what the service would be about. Any ideas?

Pagan Tumblr, I need your help!

[themodernsouthernpolytheist]

I've made contact with one of 2 local CUUPs chapters...

They're about 35 minutes from me. I tried to contact the chapter that's closer to me, but the email listed on the CUUPs website is an old aol account that returned the email. The further chapter is gonna be at Pagan Pride, so I'll ask them about it next week, too. Does anyone have a lot of experience with their local CUUPs? I know @bogganbeliefs does. Anyone else?

I'm also seriously considering lookin into ADF. Anyone have experience there? From what I'm gathering, the only local grove is Pan-Indo-European and has some issues, but I've also caught wind of possibly a new grove that's more recon-focused forming sometime soon. I know @bywandandsword has some experience there (how have you liked it?!), but any other thoughts?

[chronarchy]

for the other anon- if theres a unitarian universalist church in the area there r probably a lot of people there u can talk to! uu-ism involves a lot of pagans (and atheists and buddhists and stuff, it's a religion that can overlap with many others) but we're usually considered a sect of christianity by everyone who is not a UU-er so maybe that would be cool with your parents? welcome to the pagan party!

This is so very true: if you are looking for something that’s a perfectly acceptable half-step that remains within the general confines of Christianity (so, less “weird” for a Catholic family to accept), but is full of very cool, very accepting people, often running CUUPs groups (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans).

I’ll be honest, I’ve never met a UU person I didn’t like, much less a CUUPs group. In addition, our Grove uses the local UU’s for ritual space several times per year.

Of course, if one’s Catholic family has a thing against Protestantism in general (some do), it might be better to go all-in on the Pagan thing, too.

(This post is in reference to the previous post, in case you’re lost as to context)