2006-2007

Equinox (Mabon) Ritual
The equinox ritual went fairly well. There were eleven people in attendance.
John made various pre-ritual announcements
We started by going around the circle with quick introductions.
Volunteers (chosen on the spot) performed various tasks, such as reading poetry to call the god and the goddess.
Jasmine led the group in a guided visualization of corn -- a sacred food in many cultures -- and we shared insights on food, hunger, and sustenance.
We sang many traditional Wiccan songs, and discovered that eleven people is just enough folks to perform a spiral dance.
The circle was opened, and we ate food (Jasmine slaved away earlier to produce a tasty feast, and other folks brought food to share).
It looked like we collected about three grocery bags worth of Food for Lane County.
Then we washed dishes and put away tables.

Oct 7 Full Moon Ritual
We had about 30 folks in attendance... there was some confusion about the start time, so folks sort of dribbled in. The youngest person was about three; there were a few ten-year-olds, about eight teens, as well of adults of post-21 age. Thanks to folks who stood outside and welcomed folks. We did get a few folks in who were new to UU.

Basically we practiced different types of drum beats (3/4 time, 4/4 time and 5/4 time) and then John led an audience participation Wicca 101 lecture on the four directions. Various sounds and rhythms were tried out with the directions. Everyone was nice and smiled even
though John sometimes spoke a little too quickly (note to self, switch to decaf, sugar-free Pepsi) .

Then we went outside where there was a fire waiting for us. (Thanks to Judy for bringing a portable above ground fire pit and to Brian for bringing the wood (and starting the fire).) We cast the circle using the "hand to hand we call the circle" chant, drummed in the directions, drummed in the moon, and had some improv moments of ritual. We listened to the crickets (and other things in the night). We shared wisdom about the moon. We sang "Under the Full
Moon Light," and two other songs I didn't catch the title of (and were new to me). We gave thanks for gifts in our lives. We drummed out the directions, and sang, "May the circle be open" to open the circle. And there was a howl at the moon.

Most folks left, but about ten stayed behind and we traded off teaching each other songs. One woman, Spring, from China, shared Chinese customs for this full moon and recited a poem in Chinese. She told us that this moon is a big deal in China, but not a working holiday, so it's difficult for families and friends to get together. Those who can gather eat white moon cakes, and cut out portions for those who are absent. But all share the moon in the sky together. Her 10 year old son shared a haiku.

We did have a little post-ritual critique (and if anyone thinks of anything they'd like to add, that would be great).

There was an observation that out of the three full moon rituals and the one solar ritual that different folks have been in attendance, with maybe about a three to five person overlap.

It seemed like the kids weren't too bored (at least once the lecture was over and the ritual started), and that a good balance between adult and kid needs was struck. Any kids out there willing to share their impressions?

Barb suggested that the next full moon ritual have a half hour teaching session at 7 PM, so that folks new to the ritual style (so far we've been pretty mainstream Wicca), can learn new songs or ask what an athame is. The ritual proper could then start at 7:30 with new and old folks more or less on the same page.

It was extremely cool how much knowledge and wisdom there was in tonight's circle, and how much people were willing to share.

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Samhain Ritual
The ritual was well received (and got some air-time in the next day's worship service). About three or so folks came up and thanked me; I got a sense that the kids appreciated the interactiveness of it all and that the grown-ups learned that Wicca/paganism isn't Harry Potter Hokus-Pokus.

John's Secret Hope: I had secretly hoped that everyone would have a chance to see their faces reflected by candle light in the mylar balloon over the boat, and this would be a mystical moment, full of portent. Oh well, I think "aaahing" the boat up to the dream time was a good second (and wildly improvisational) choice.

Notes for next year:
* We'll have access to a wireless microphone and should plan to use it more.
* The kids are really interested in the ritual tools (especially the Athame), and possibly we should explain tools somehow.
* Remember to say "Hi, We're CUUPs, and we're UU's," somewhere at the beginning.
* Ritual for such a wide range of teens and pre-teens is a little like ritual for cats.
* Were there adults? Or were they watching from the corners?
* I think the kids were so focused on getting their luminaries lit that they didn't hear some of the invitations to the quarters.
* Calling out the names of the Goddess requires a certain critical mass of folks who A) feel comfortable calling out names and B) know the names to call out.
* Less talk, more action / singing / stomping.
* The sanctuary is actually a small space once you get 50 or more people in it, and I should have cleared more space at the beginning.
* A luminary spiral dance is probably something for the 16+ crowd.
* Trailing capes and candles on the ground do not mix.
* We may wish to have some kind of Order of Service -- and have it out at the beginning of the party in a conspicuous place.
* Remember to haul out the ritual calendars so folks can sign up for the next full moon or sabbat.

What Worked Well:
* The horns clacking during the dance was pretty cool.
* Just doing the ritual and not having to stop every minute to explain theology / magical theory.
* It seemed the stomp invocation to the North was Very Effective
* A gas bic lighter works tons better than a taper for lighting luminaries.
* Passing the portable microphone for the direction calling.
* Making things interactive for the kids.
* I thought it was cool when someone called out "Mary" as a Goddess name.
* Our flexibilty when things didn't quite go the way we thought they would.
* We started and ended pretty much on time.
* Although the spiral dance didn't exactly spiral, people enjoyed it.
* People picked up songs really quickly.

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Nov 6 Full Moon Ritual
There were 13 folks who signed in, but I see that there were a few folks (mostly the youth?) who didn't. So about 20 sounds right.

We called the directions, meditated on our personal gifts, wrote down a gift we would send out to the world, and used the waxing time of the moon to send the gift out on smoke to where ever in the world it was needed. We went outside to burn moon shaped paper with our gift/wishes written down. We ate small moon-themed snacks to represent a gift coming to us. Then we dismissed the quarters and circle. Social time and more food (like Brian's wonderful cheesecake) were eaten in the social hall.

Notes for next time.
During the pre-ritual huddle, it would have been nice to give the participants a song to sing, or a rhythm, or an intention to meditate on. As it was, folks sort of whispered about mundane things (not horribly fatal to the ritual or anything, but it would have been nice to get into a more ritual space earlier). I think part of what happened was a result of sitting in the chairs in their Sunday Worship Service configuration, and so there was a tendency to slip into the "pre-service chat" mode.

I saw a lot of new faces (it seems each ritual has different attendees); and I think with 20 or so folks it wouldn't have taken too much time to go around saying names. Sunday at 7 PM is sort of a low-energy, calm before the storm of the week time.

What worked well.
* It was great to see so many folks new to pagan ritual getting involved.
* Candee's invocation to the south was powerful; Candee projected, the words were not rushed, and there was emotion behind her words -- they felt "fiery."
* The participant response "be here now" at the end of each directional calling was a refreshing alternative to "blessed be."
* The drumming was effective -- it helped to ground me into the moment, and it helped to even out the "energy" of the event.
* At first I thought maybe we reviewed too many songs, -- but I was glad that we did because it paid off during the ritual.
* It was nice to go outside to the playground area to burn the paper slips.

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Dec 3 Full Moon Ritual
The full moon ritual for December was Sunday night.

The 6 PM - 6:30 PM Q&A session was a little slow as people trickled in. Brian set up a cool globe on a light stand in the center of the circle. Brian, Valerie and John practiced a full moon song, and we discovered that the piano is locked most of the time.

By 6:30-ish eleven people had arrived. John made several administrative announcements, then one person new to UUCE appeared at this time, so there was some slight back-tracking for UU101 and CUUPs101 speeches. The ritual was turned over to Brian.

Brian made some opening remarks on the astronomical theories of the origin of the moon followed by a statement of faith about the moon, the goddess and life on earth. John cast the circle and Valerie called the directions. Barb invoked the Goddess. We spoke aloud wishes made during the full moon, and the ritual concluded with a spiral dance around the light of the globe.

People wanted to go out to the parking lot to look at the full moon (since this is the first time in a while it could be seen). A spontaneous post-ritual singing of "Under the Full Moon Light" followed. Then John made sure all the lights were turned off and the doors were locked.

** Notes for Next Time
The Full Moon Song from "Circle Round" was fun... and it was difficult to sing because it was long-ish and the melody was complex. I think it could become a ritual song in the future if we practiced it more.
If we want to use the piano, we need to arrange to have it unlocked.
wonder if there's a way to make the half-hour before the ritual more conducive to ritual space. I'm guessing that the ring of chairs in the sanctuary is like the moments before regular Sunday Services when people chat, and when this happens before ritual (this is the third time or so I've noticed), to me it feels like the space becomes unfocused.

** What Went Well
Brian did a great job, especially considering he wasn't feeling 100% well.
I enjoyed the invocation to the Goddess, and also the reference about trees.
Everyone's flexibility; it was great that Barb felt empowered enough to suggest that we spiral dance to "She Changes Everything She Touches," and that people were flexible enough to go with her suggestion.
The globe in the center of the circle was cool.

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Yule Ritual
Happy Second Day of Winter! Last night Vicky (and helpers) put on a nice, kid-friendly ritual to welcome in the Winter. Thanks Vicky, you did a lot of work. There were about 25 people there all together, roughly split even between adults and kids.

Noon-ish: John managed to ignite a match and candle wick with a magnifying glass and the solstice sun. The solstice flame was kept burning until the ritual started.
6 PM - 6:30 PM: Vicky, Brian and John arranged the circles of chairs and did last minute prep. As people came in they were invited to write wishes for the new year on leaves. The leaves were collected in a basket next to the altar.

6:35 PM: The ritual started. John took the role of "dragon" (at least that's what Starhawk calls it), directing late-comers to the circle, and handing out song sheets and jingle-bells. The circle was cast by everyone shaking jingle bells and singing "Jingle Bells" while walking in a circle. Vicky led the group in a tree meditation to ground. Brian called the directions while Vicky lit candles. Vicky invoked spirit, goddess and god by lighting three candles on a Yule log. John read a responsive reading on winter from Singing the Living Tradition. We sang songs, Vicky told a Winter story, and people lit Yule candles from the solstice flame. We sang more songs, then released the directions. The circle was opened by walking counterclockwise in a circle while John sang "Bells Jingle" ("Jingle Bells" backward). The wishing leaves were scattered into the grove. Crafts and snacks followed. Then clean up.

** Notes for Next Time
* We were very lucky that Candee Cole and other Church Staff were around and willing to
+ find a magnifying lens
+ find a safe candle that would burn for seven hours
+ locate some matches
+ baby sit the candle
all at the last minute. Thanks. Maybe next year preparing the solstice flame can be someone's vigil ?
* Felt tip pens will probably work better than ball tip for writing wishes on leaves.
* For me personally, when we were singing "Light Is Returning" I wanted folks to stand and move around; but people sat. The chairs are wonderful for defining a circular ritual space with aisles pointing at the cardinal directions, but they seem to engender low energy.
* The Winter Story had a great interactive part, and I noticed some of the kids really really really wanted to see each page in Vicky's book.
* My partner pointed out that a 6:30 to 8:30 event makes for a late night for 18 month olds... I'm not sure what to say to this, as 6:30 seems about as early as we can do things and give enough time for working parents to get kids ready and fed in time to attend. Of course, Arthur has had a strange sleep cycle all this week, so they were awake enough to attend.

** What Went Well
* As I sat in the outer most circle of chairs to mind the door and the lights, I had a very strong sense of the circle's energy.
* When the kids went up to light candles with the solstice flame, rain started pattering on the skylight. It was very dramatic and it seemed the elements were at the ritual.
* A strong moment for me was seeing all the candles on the altar lit with fire from the solstice noon sun.
* "Bells Jingle" was pretty darn funny.

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Dec 31 Worship Service
This Sunday morning we held a Wiccan-style Worship Service.

Around 10 AM John Burridge, Jake Walksh, Barb Prentice and Marilyn Junkins met for a pre-ritual huddle that included adjustments to the candles and altar cloths, and working out the staging for who would stand where. We also did a sound check with Barb's CD, and with the two wireless mics and the pulpit mic.

Folks came in and took seats in four concentric circles with aisles at the four cardinal points. The pulpit was set up in the North, behind a low altar. Other altars were set up with elements and with ritual tools. The altar to the south was moved to one side before the ritual's beginning to accommodate folks with mobility issues. Lynn Smith played incidental music while folks gathered in the seats.

We had a moment's meditation in the entry hall, then around 11:05 AM Jake, Casha Walsh, John, Barb, and Marilyn processed into the sanctuary as Casha rang meditation chimes. Jake said some welcoming words and announcements. Barb spoke some great opening words and lit the center chalice on an altar in the center of the circles.

Lynn played Hymn #1, May Nothing Evil Cross This Door, which people sang as John used the wand of the South to outline the circle's
boundaries.

From the center of the circle Marilyn read a call to the four directions as the rest of us lit corresponding candles using tapers lit from the central chalice flame.

John called Janus while the congregation chanted the Latin phrase "respice, adspice, prospice." (Luckily there were no Latin speakers in the room.)

Barb called Anna Perenna to bless us with Her wisdom.

John lead the congregation in a rendition of The Moon Song, which included the word "doot" and lots of hand motions.

During the offering, "Make Sacred Space," a recording by Shawna Carol, played.

Casha, John and Barb presented their Maiden, Mother, and Crone Reflections.

A spiral dance followed, we concluded with Hymn #123, "Spirit of Life." And the circle was opened. From 12:05 on people socialized.

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME
There was some very slight confusion about where the Order of Service was.

We need to make sure when we spiral dance that folks don't step on the toes of the folks unable to spiral dance who are sitting at the sides. Some sitting folks used chairs defensively, and the person leading the spiral dance should make sure to leave plenty of space for toes.

We need to make sure to get the CD out of the CD player before the sound folks leave.

A water glass in the pulpit spilled water on some hymnals and on
Barb's special accordian book -- so be careful with water in the pulpit.

Dismissing the circle was sort of a comedy routine -- the congregation repeats phrases very well, so be sure you're clear about what you want repeated (and what you don't).

We didn't mark the seats for the ritual leaders, so our seats kept getting taken. We should have either reserved them or set up chairs behind the pulpit.

When the pulpit mic is on, people can hear your discussions. Luckily, Nisco stopped us before anyone could channel their inner Ronald Reagan.

WHAT WENT WELL
In general, the ritual was well received.

It was nice to have a worship anchor (Nisco Junkins) to take care of some of the physical things, like marking hymnals, directing people, and other behind-the-scenes stuff.

The Z Budapest quote, "The past used to be your here and now.." worked well to tie together parts of the ritual and the reflections.

I didn't get an official count, but I think we managed to get 120 people dancing a spiral dance. Starting folks out holding hands in three concentric circles, then splicing the circles together into a spiral worked really well.

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Feb 1 Imbolc Ritual
Well... I went to the church to set things up at 6:30. By 7 PM I was in CRE room 2 and by 7:15 Ashley showed up and by 7:30 nobody else had. So we talked a little bit about magical theory and cross-cultural differences in ritual and had an abridged ritual from the one that was planned. We cleaned up and I left at 8:30.

Did anyone else show up and couldn't find us? Should I have made the signs on the front of the church and the social hall bigger? Was this a particularly bad night for some reason?
Was there something off-putting about the ritual?

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March 3 Full Moon Ritual
John arrived around 6 PM to set up the space -- four altars at the cardinal directions and one big one in the center.

Most folks arrived by 6:40 (I don't have the sign up sheet, I want to say there were ten of us). While people came, we went over the songs so that we could at least pretend to sing along.

The ritual started, Brian and Ashley challenged everyone who entered the Sanctuary. Once everyone had entered, John cast the circle, then invoked east. Brian invoked south, Ashely west, and Barb north. We sang a variety of songs to invoke the elements, the Goddess, the God, and the moon. Then we charged earth in a copper cauldron with our wishes for a settled minister and lit candles to represent the qualities we brought to the church. We didn't have enough folks for a spiral dance, so we did a circle dance around the altar when everyone was through naming their wishes and qualities. Then we dismissed the invoked powers and went outside to look at the beautiful full moon and to scatter the earth from the cauldron around the church grounds.

People helped clean up, and Barb took the big white altar cloth home to wash the candle drippings out of it.

Brian placed a ritual script notebook into the CUUPs box in the Sanctuary storage room.

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME:
Childcare was set up at the very last minute (mea culpa). Candee suggested that I give the child care folks the list of dates for extreme long-term notice.

In a fit of micromanagement and stage confusion, John ended up holding aloft the wand of the south instead of just letting Brian do it. The staging for the taper should have been worked out a little better.

It's possible that there might have been just a few too many songs for everyone to memorize.

There was some discussion about the candle's scent that I caught the tale end of; they're supposed to be scentless, but if they're bothering folks then we should think about how many we light at a time.

WHAT WENT WELL:
It was great that Brian and Ashley memorized their challenge, and that made entering the circle that much more meaningful.

Having the invocations to the four directions be a call-and-response worked well and got everyone participating.

There were several times during the ritual where the energy moved. The ritual was short enough so that we could stand the entire time, and I think that kept the energy up.

It was cool to hear others' wishes.

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Equinox Ritual
Jasmine led Tuesday night's Equinox Ritual.

6:30 We gathered and had child-friendly crafts such as wreath making and bird-seed sculpting. The ritual text was available for folks to peruse. John played the harp. A corn snake was passed around.

7:00-ish: The ritual started. We stood in a circle. People smudged themselves with a smoldering sage bundle. Jasmine and two volunteers read invocations to Native American deities. Candles were lit for the flower maiden and the shaman. John played improvisational harp while people meditated on peace. People chose flowers from the altar to use as a focus for a wish for someone else in the circle. Dance music was played and folks were given time for joyful movement to celebrate the Equinox. The circle was opened, and a period of socialization followed.

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME
The sage bundle kept going out; this meant that some folks had to stop what they were doing and fiddle with matches. A suggestion would be to have someone travel around the circle with a candle to relight the sage. I think also it might have been easier for folks to be fully smudged if we did each other.

I liked the corn snake, but it was distracting to me when whoever was wearing it at the time had to pull it out of odd folds of clothing and it kept that person from being able to join both hands to the circle. Perhaps unless the snake is going to be a key part of a ritual it could be placed in a cage or on the altar or somewhere safe while the ritual is going on?

I should have asked who Wantanka is when I read the ritual text, because when Wantanka's name came up I got distracted trying to remember how the deity fit into the pantheon.

The Men's Group was meeting in the CRE room right next to us, and sometimes their discussion made it difficult to hear the words of the ritual. It's too bad we got bumped out of the Sanctuary by the New Member Orientation Meeting (they were loud, too). I guess it might be a good thing to ask Kim in the office who else is meeting in the church when we have ritual so we can be prepared to be loud or to wiggle into one of the other CRE rooms.

WHAT WENT WELL
I liked the smell of the sage at the ritual's beginning.
I liked that the children were given a part (spinning a globe) during the ritual.
The eggs after the ritual were delicious.

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March 31 Full Moon
Saturday night we had a Full Moon Ritual.

We (Barb, John, Brian, Ashley, Katherine, and her two daughters) gathered in the Sanctuary. Jasmine ran into some difficulties that delayed her arrival by a half hour, so John set up one tall table in the Sanctuary's center with a white candle on it and then played harp. Jasmine set up the ritual space when she arrived. We formed a seated circle. Volunteers invited the four directions to the circle. We performed a healing ritual in pairs -- one person looked at themselves in a mirror asking, "Who am I?" while a second person whispered affirmations. Then we reformed a circle and took turns going into the center while healing lunar energy was sent in a kind of group to individual reiki session (with more affirmations). The circle was opened with song.

During the post-ritual socializing, folks voiced enthusiasm for a social potluck. Go for it.

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME
The Katherine's daughters were very well behaved, but they were also not interested in the weird-grown-up stuff. I meant to ask them what they thought about the ritual, but they wanted to give everyone chocolate (so I was distracted).

We might want to compile a "Plan B" ritual plan for use when Loki, the Norse god of chaos, makes the ritual leader(s) late. I know I've been late once and folks had to wait outside the church -- maybe we can have a list of songs to sing while we wait? Perhaps there are folks on this list with church keys who would be willing to be fallback church opener (and closer)? I know when it's warmer we can default to the stone bench outside. Maybe it would be to our benefit to have a phone-tree to get the word out if there has been a last-minute change. I know there are a few past and present Worship Associates on this list -- what happens when the minister gets, say, food poisoning?

My legs are creaky and I'm only 42. I guess I really *do* need to start ti-chi lessons; in the mean time, I wished I had a pillow or something to sit on during the ritual.

WHAT WENT WELL
The invocations to the four directions went well.

There were some really beautiful moments during the ritual and you'd have to be there to understand. At one point I had a wonderful sighting of the moon.

The ritual inspired me to re-read chapter seven of Starhawk's *Dreaming the Dark*.

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Beltain:
Barb and Ashley facilitated the ritual. It was raining and chilly. Folks gathered in the Sanctuary and in the vestibule. Kids had made mylar star wreaths for people to wear. Irish reel music played on a stereo. Some folks stood and chatted, others sat in the chairs. There was some delay with the Maypole, and people were invited to dance around the altar in the middle of the Sanctuary. The alter was about 2 feet by 3 feet and about knee-height. Three candles and many symbols and many small pots of soil surrounded the altar. Barb led everyone in practicing the ritual's chants.

When it was time to begin, everyone went into the vestibule and filed into the Sanctuary. A ritual greeting was read (about magic and faeries being afoot) to celebrants as they entered. Volunteers invoked the directions, reading from slips of paper arranged on the altar. The circle was cast by having the celebrants, one-by-one, offer their hand to the person clockwise from them and saying, "My name is (BLANK), in laughter and in joy, from hand to hand, I cast the circle." Folks took their pots of dirt. As Barb went around the circle offering either flower or cherry tomato seeds to plant, Ashley took a bowl of powered cornmeal, sang a song, and sprinkled the meal on celebrants' soil pots and heads. Ashley lit a kind of portable fire for folks to jump as a ritual to ask for blessings or to make a wish. Meanwhile, 5 yard long, 1.5 inch wide ribbons that people brought were gathered and tied to the Maypole. There was some delay as the Maypole was set up in the playground. Once it was up, everyone wove their ribbons in a dance around the Maypole.

After the Maypole, we went back to the Sanctuary and released the circle. Socializing followed.

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME
Ashley, how did you make your portable fire? It was cool and I'm sure folks would like instructions for making their own.

Ashley, what was the translation of the song you sang? I figured it was a blessing or a song about planting or something, but I wasn't sure.

I found myself being pressed (a little) outside my comfort zone a little when people wished for "sex without pregnancy" or "sex with pregnancy" because their were folks ranging from age 2 to 16 there. Since no parents clapped their hands over their kids' ears I'm assuming this is my issue only. And, yes, it's *Beltain*.

At times it seemed the energy flagged. I'm not sure why. I think some of the low energy might have been participants' newness to ritual. And I want to blame the chairs in the Sanctuary for getting people into "church chat" mode.

This is I think the second or third Maypole dance I've ever been to. What I've noticed about Maypole dances is
+ they always take longer than everyone thinks they will
+ dancers have to make a conscious effort not to clump up -- partly for ease of dancing, but also so that they don't accidentally pull the Maypole over
+ the motion of dancing around the Maypole isn't so much over-under as it is outside-inside
+ they always start out in a kind of chaos that gets straightened out once people start dancing
+ there's always one or two folks who get Really Hung Up on Doing It Right

WHAT WENT WELL
I liked the songs, and I think it worked to go over them at the
beginning.
I liked the wreath on top of the Maypole.
I think everyone enjoyed the Maypole dance.
We had a bunch of people there; it was good to see a very wide age range.

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