Class

Paganism 101 – 4th Fridays Spring 2021

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Series of 10 online classes starts on Feb 26, 2021

7 PM – 9 PM EST

This course introduces the practices, beliefs, and history of modern pagan spirituality. Participants in this rudimentary class will create and maintain a student altar as we explore basic altar set up and ritual tools, the wheel of the year, deity, the four elements, and more. We also touch on different pagan paths and examine how modern paganism fits with Unitarian Universalist principles.

  • If you are a newbie seeker on the pagan path, the class can help you find confidence in your journey and ideas for future study.
  • If you are an experienced pagan, the class can help you refresh your practice, share your experience with others, and help you determine if you wish to teach
  • If you are UU, the class expands your world religions knowledge while helping you to understand your Pagan friends, coworkers, and family members better

SYLLABUS

Lesson 1
Feb 26, 2021

Orientation

Introduction to Class

(7 PM EST – 9:30 PM EST – this class only due to orientation)

Lesson 2
Mar 26, 2021

The Power and Practice of Ritual

Lesson 3
April 23, 2021

The Circle – Creating Sacred Space

Lesson 4
May 28, 2021

The Elements

Lesson 5
Jun 25, 2021

The Goddess and God

Lesson 6
July 23, 2021

The Feminine and Masculine

Lesson 7
Aug 27, 2021

The Wheel of the Year

Lesson 8
Sept 24, 2021

Magic and Spellcraft

Lesson 9
Oct 22, 2021

The Moon And Divination

Lesson 10
Nov 19, 2021

Where Do We Go From Here?

Note Date Change due to Thanksgiving! 

FACEBOOK STUDY GROUP

You can join the Paganism 101 Facebook Study group at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mgpaganism101

COST AND REGISTRATION

Class is FREE.  $5 per class donation welcome but not required.  To register please visit https://tinyurl.com/MGPaganism101Registration

For more information, email mysticgrove@orlandouu.org

Book Group – Pagan Voices

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Note: This class series has ended. This is now an archived post.

50650260_10155963824477011_3837864956162736128_n(Book published by Skinner House Press. Image © Kishgraphics)

This 6 session book group meets on 3rd Sundays. We will be reading and discussing selections from “Pagan and Earth-Centered Voices in Unitarian Universalism.” It is drop-in friendly and free of cost. Donations always welcome toward the MG scholarship fund. This benefits students who wish to take our tuition classes but need financial assistance.

Each month on 3rd Sunday we gather in Room 1 after coffee hour and read the selection of the month out loud and discuss. While you don’t need a book to drop-in and check it out, your experience will be enriched if you do get your own text.

TOPICS

Volunteer teachers takes turns facilitating a session where 2 selections are read and discussed.  Email us if you would like to co-host and share your two favorite selections from the book.

Dates Host(s) Selections
Jan 20, 2019 Mary
  • “A Unitarian Universalist Journey into Paganism” by Shirley Ann Ranck
  • “Vibrant, Juicy, Contemporary: Or, Why I am a UU Pagan” by Margot Adler
Feb 17, 2019 Cat
  • “Celebrating the Seasons” by Selena Fox
  • “Pagan Depth in Unitarian Universalism: Or Why UU Polytheism is Not an Oxymoron” by John Beckett
Mar 17, 2019 Dev Inderjeet
  • “Paths and Patterns” by Misty Sheehan
  • “Touched by a Goddess” by Om Prakash
Apr 21, 2019 Mary
  • “Drumbeats in the Sanctuary ” Carole Etzler Eaglehart
  • “Earth Song: pagan Chant in UU Churches” by Nancy Veder- Shults
May 19, 2019 Michael
  • “Affirming LGBTQ Identity in UU Paganism” by Michael Walker
  • “Welcoming the Gods into Our Congregation by Sue Nading”
June 16, 2019 Lesley
  • “Cultural Sharing and Misappropriation” by Carol Bodeau
  • “Designing Ritual for All” by Maggie Beaumont

HOW THE BOOK CAME TO BE

In early 2014, the board of CUUPS shared about a potential book project with Skinner House Press on Pagan Voices within the Unitarian Universalist Association. After much conversation, and weighing the options, Rev. Shirley Ranck and Jerrie Hilderbrand agreed to take it on and work on it together.

The result is a compilation of essays from people who followed Pagan and Earth-Centered traditions and/or thinking of many kinds.

“Similar to the other theologies honored in UU sources and principles, Paganism and Earth-Centered voices were as diverse as humanity. We are not a once size fits all. There is no dogma or one way being the right way. We challenge the Pagan who comes to us with a fixed way of thinking.”

You can read more about the book origins here. 

BUY BOOKS ONLINE

Moon Circle: Gathering For Goddess

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gathering for goddess book

From Jan – Dec 2018, our Moon Circle theme was “Gathering for Goddess” by B. Melusine Mihaltses.

We have archived some of the homework links below.  You can follow the ritual from the book, and then explore learning links.

At the end of each 6 month block, the students did their final projects.  They were to create little god or goddess peg dolls or art works.  You can view the photo gallery here.

Moon Circle: Amaterasu (Dec 2018)

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For those taking the Moon Circle class in person, or wanting to follow along from home, here are this month’s links.

HOMEWORK

Homework is “pick your level.”  You are not expected to do all of these things.  These are ideas to help you decided what YOU want to study more.

For final projects, will you create a peg doll of a personal deity or one you studied this term.

Thinking
Questions:		  This month we study “Amaterasu: Illumination”

Reflect on these questions:

  1. When Amaterasu hid in the cave, all sunlight was gone and the world was dark. In winter, the distractions of leaves on the trees, grass growing, and flowers blooming are removed.  The starkness of winter offers a certain clarity.  Do you find it is a time for reflection and reassessing your life? (Resolutions?)

  2. Do you seek warmth and light spiritually as well as physically at this time of year? Is being with others more necessary?

  3. Are you able to grasp the promise of spring, buried deep in the cold ground, or is it too far removed right now?

  4. When people talk about the soul, or the spirit, it is often with a sense of something which is both mysterious and elusive.  Most of us prefer something fairly straightforward. When do you feel most in touch with yourself spiritually?

  5. What makes something spiritual? Do you have to do something or be a special way to be spiritual? 

  6. What is your “sacred?”   Describe an experience, a moment, a place, or a person that you have recognized as holding the quality of the sacred.

  7. When you come out of your “winter hibernation” or “winter cave” — what things are you looking forward to?
Small Read your two other deity sheets.
Medium: All the above PLUS

  • Try one charm from either deity sheet.
Large: All the above PLUS
DIY Mix and match your own combo from above and/or select another working that interests you related to this month’s theme/tradition.

Articles

Arts/Crafts

Video

Moon Circle: Hestia (Nov 2018)

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For those taking the Moon Circle class in person, or wanting to follow along from home, here are this month’s links.

HOMEWORK

Homework is “pick your level.”  You are not expected to do all of these things.  These are ideas to help you decided what YOU want to study more.

For final projects, will you create a peg doll of a personal deity or one you studied this term.

Thinking
Questions:		  This month we study “Hestia: Hearth and Home”

Reflect on these questions:

What does “home” mean for you? Is it a place or places, present or past? Perhaps the experience and meaning of home for you is more connected with persons than with place.

Or is home a state of mind, a place you can access anywhere you are, even in solitude?

Has the meaning, the actuality, or the experience of “home” changed for you over time? If so, how?­

What do you need to feel you are 
“at home?”

Have you ever felt homesick or comforted someone who was homesick? Describe what it was like.

How do you practice hospitality in your life?

When has hospitality been extended to you and how has it made a difference in the quality of your existence?

Hospitality is more than just making a nice table setting for someone; what gives hospitality it’s religious dimension?
Small Read your two other deity sheets.
Medium: All the above PLUS

  • Try one charm from either deity sheet.
Large: All the above PLUS
DIY Mix and match your own combo from above and/or select another working that interests you related to this month’s theme/tradition.

Articles

Music

Video

Moon Circle: Maman Bridgette (Oct 2018)

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For those taking the Moon Circle class in person, or wanting to follow along from home, here are this month’s links.

HOMEWORK

Homework is “pick your level.”  You are not expected to do all of these things.  These are ideas to help you decided what YOU want to study more.

For final projects, will you create a peg doll of a personal deity or one you studied this term.

Starting a New Block

Thinking
Questions:		  This month we study “Maman Bridgette: Honoring our Bones/Death”

Reflect on these questions:

What words do you use for death?  Why?

Have you ever heard doctors or other professionals avoid saying death/dead/die/dying? What impression did that make on you?

What can you remember of your first experience of death? Share the experience with us.

If you are willing to think about your own death, what comes to mind? Do you have your papers organized in the vent of your death?

What would you like to be remembered for?

What do you believe happens after we die? What were you taught as a child? Have your beliefs changed? What have you taught your own children about death?

Does your family have any particular rituals or practices when someone dies?
Small Read your two other deity sheets.
Medium: All the above PLUS

  • Try one charm from either deity sheet.
Large: All the above PLUS
DIY Mix and match your own combo from above and/or select another working that interests you related to this month’s theme/tradition.

Articles

Music 

Other Video

Moon Circle: Corn Mother (Sept 2018)

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For those taking the Moon Circle class in person, or wanting to follow along from home, here are this month’s links.

HOMEWORK

Homework is “pick your level.”  You are not expected to do all of these things.  These are ideas to help you decided what YOU want to study more.

For final projects, will you create a peg doll of a personal deity or one you studied this term.  More info about this in August.

Starting a New Block

Thinking
Questions:		  This month we study “Corn Mother: Abundance.”

Reflect on these questions:

Corn Mother is many things, including “the provider.” How are you “the provider” in your home? Is this easy or challenging for you?

How do you create abundance in your home? What are you abundant in right now?

Have you suffered from scarcity in your life? In what areas? How did you cope with that?

Are there segments of your current life that are linked to feelings of abundance or scarcity? How do they affect your day-to-day choices?

How do we differentiate between wants and needs in defining our own feelings of plenty or deprivation?

How has your concept of “enough” changed over the years—related to money, exercise, love/sex, eating, traveling, reading, etc.?

Does society have a responsibility to meet all human wants and needs, or some, or none? 

Has affiliation or association with Unitarian Universalism or Paganism affected your interpretation of scarcity and abundance?
Small Read your two other deity sheets.
Medium: All the above PLUS

  • Try one charm from either deity sheet.
Large: All the above PLUS
DIY Mix and match your own combo from above and/or select another working that interests you related to this month’s theme/tradition.

Articles

Music from Ritual

Other Video

 

Moon Circle: Persephone (Aug 2018)

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For those taking the Moon Circle class in person, or wanting to follow along from home, here are this month’s links.

HOMEWORK

Homework is “pick your level.”  You are not expected to do all of these things.  These are ideas to help you decided what YOU want to study more.

For final projects, will you create a peg doll of a personal deity or one you studied this term.

Thinking
Questions:		  This month we study “Persephone” and “Finding Balance.”

Reflect on these questions:

  1. When have you felt vulnerable or that  your life was not in your control?

  2. Do you feel that outside forces or destiny rule  your life? Or do you have free will to chose?

     

  3. We are seeking balance in our lives. What does that seeking mean?  Is balance static or dynamic? What are we really looking for when we say we long for balance?

     

  4. Persephone went from shy girl attached to her mother to a full woman standing in her power. Do you feel you are a “woman/man standing in your power”?  A person full of confidence and desire, knowing what you want out of life? Where can you improve this in your life?

     

  5. Have you ever had to walk away from something good but safe in your life because there was a hope for something even better?

     

  6. Becoming the new Queen of the Underworld meant that Persephone had to leave her childish ways and accept adulthood. Have you ever had to “grow up” quicker than you would have liked? Has change ever forced you to accept things about yourself that you might not like?

     

  7. What is something from childhood that you would like to bring back or return to in your adulthood?
Small Read your two other deity sheets.
Medium: All the above PLUS

  • Try one charm from either deity sheet.
Large: All the above PLUS
DIY Mix and match your own combo from above and/or select another working that interests you related to this month’s theme/tradition.

Articles

Video

 

Music From Ritual

Moon Circle: Erzulie (July 2018)

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For those taking the Moon Circle class in person, or wanting to follow along from home, here are this month’s links.

HOMEWORK

Homework is “pick your level.”  You are not expected to do all of these things.  These are ideas to help you decided what YOU want to study more.

For final projects, will you create a peg doll of a personal deity or one you studied this term.  More info about this in August.

Starting a New Block

Thinking
Questions:		  This month we study “Erzulie Freda: Loving Yourself and Others.”

Reflect on these questions:

Erzulie Freda is the lwa of love, beauty, and passion. How do these things currently play out in your life? What do you love? What is beautiful to you? What are you passionate about?

How have love, compassion, and empathy, or their lack, impacted your life? What about SELF love? SELF compassion? SELF empathy?

What have you found or seen to be blocks to love, compassion, and empathy?

  • What is “love” like for you…
  • in romance?
  • with  family and friends?
  • with pets or nature?
  • in general society?
  • with your Divine?

Does love come easy or hard in these cases?

How do you express self love and self care right now? What fine things in life do you make space for? Does this come easy or hard?
Small Read your two other deity sheets.
Medium: All the above PLUS

  • Try one charm from either deity sheet.
Large: All the above PLUS
DIY Mix and match your own combo from above and/or select another working that interests you related to this month’s theme/tradition.

Articles

Music from Ritual

Other Video

 

Moon Circle: Saraswati (June 2018)

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For those taking the Moon Circle class in person, or wanting to follow along from home, here are this month’s links.

HOMEWORK

Homework is “pick your level.”

Thinking
Questions:		  This month we study Saraswati and creativity. We also present our final project peg dolls.

Reflect on these questions:

Creativity

  • What does creativity mean to you?
  • When has creativity been an asset to your life? Or a obstacle?
  • Saraswati governs mostly over speech or the ability to be eloquent with words. How are you developing this skill in your daily communication practices?

Peg Doll Show and Tell:

  • Show your peg doll. Who is does it represent? What colors/dress are on it and what might those mean?

  • Why did you pick this divine person as your peg doll?What traits do they have that attract you?
  • What was the process of making your doll like? How was doing this creative endeavor a challenge or a joy?
Small Read about main deity.

Read your two other deity sheets.
Medium: All the above PLUS

  • Try one charm from either deity sheet.
Large: All the above PLUS
DIY Mix and match your own combo from above and/or select another working that interests you related to this month’s theme.

Art and Music