2024 Samhain
Saturday, September 21, 2024 at the Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.
Samhain is a time when the veils between the worlds are thin, allowing for a unique connection with ancestors and the spirit realm. Traditionally observed by the Celts, Samhain honors the dead and invites reflection on life and mortality. Bonfires are lit, offerings are made, and communities gather to share stories and food, celebrating the cyclical nature of life and death. This mystical occasion is also the precursor to modern Halloween, embodying themes of transformation and remembrance.
Join us in celebrating Samhain with an engaging evening of divination using Tarot cards. As we honor this mystical time, you’ll have the opportunity to choose cards and share interpretations. Whether you’re a seasoned reader or a curious beginner, this gathering invites you to explore the insights the cards offer while connecting with others in the spirit of reflection and revelation. Embrace the energy of Samhain as we delve into the mysteries together!
When
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Gather in starting at 6:00 p.m., ritual at 7:00 p.m.
Potluck to follow the ritual
Where
The Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
10715 Zenith Avenue South
Bloomington, MN 55431
What to bring
• Potluck food to share, if you can do so without difficulty. Please label your offering (meat, vegetarian, vegan, ingredients).
• Your own silverware, cup, and plate suitable for a picnic if you can (we will have some disposables if you can’t do this)
2024 Mabon
Saturday, September 21, 2024 at the Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.
Mabon is many things, but two of its chief aspects are being the second harvest festival and also being a celebration of the equinox.
As the second harvest, Mabon is a celebration of bounty. It is a time when many vegetables and fruits are ripe in our gardens. As such, attendees are encouraged to bring something from their gardens or Farmers’ Markets to share in our potluck.
But also, as a celebration of the Equinox, Mabon is a time of balance of light and dark. These elements of light and dark are sometimes seen as a balance of good and evil, sometimes as conscious and unconscious, sometimes as Yin and Yang. During our ritual, we will explore the symbolism associated with these elements and look for how they are represented within each of us.
When
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Gather in starting at 6:00 p.m., ritual at 7:00 p.m.
Potluck to follow the ritual
Where
The Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
10715 Zenith Avenue South
Bloomington, MN 55431
What to bring
• Potluck food to share, if you can do so without difficulty. Please label your offering (meat, vegetarian, vegan, ingredients).
• Your own silverware, cup, and plate suitable for a picnic if you can (we will have some disposables if you can’t do this)
2024 Lughnasad
Saturday, August 3, 2024 at the Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.
Lughnasad, Lughnasa or Lúnasa is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Traditionally it is held on 1 August, or about halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. In recent centuries some of the celebrations have shifted to the Sunday nearest this date. Lughnasad is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Samhain, Imbolc and Beltane. It corresponds to the Welsh Gŵyl Awst and the English Lammas.
Come and join WiCoM as we celebrate the first harvest festival!
When
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Gather in starting at 6:00 p.m., ritual at 7:00 p.m.
Potluck to follow the ritual
Where
The Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
10715 Zenith Avenue South
Bloomington, MN 55431
What to bring
• Potluck food to share, if you can do so without difficulty. Please label your offering (meat, vegetarian, vegan, ingredients).
• Your own silverware, cup, and plate suitable for a picnic if you can (we will have some disposables if you can’t do this)
2024 Midsummer Celebration
Saturday, June 22, 2024 at the Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.
Come to WiCoM’s Midsummer ritual, a celebration of the Feast of the Strawberries on June 22nd. We will sing and dance and eat strawberries, in recognition of the first fruits of summer. If you are allergic to strawberries, best to stay home. There is also a full moon, called the Moon of the Strawberries, so we are in astral tune with the theme.
Gather at 6:30 ritual at 7pm, and potluck thereafter. Do not worry of you cannot bring something, there should be enough for all.
When
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Gather in starting at 6:00 p.m., ritual at 7:00 p.m.
Potluck to follow the ritual
Where
The Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
10715 Zenith Avenue South
Bloomington, MN 55431
What to bring
• Potluck food to share, if you can do so without difficulty. Please label your offering (meat, vegetarian, vegan, ingredients).
• Your own silverware, cup, and plate suitable for a picnic if you can (we will have some disposables if you can’t do this)
2024 Beltane Celebration
Saturday, May 4, 2024 at the Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.
We join to celebrate Beltane, the celebration spring at its peak, and the coming summer. One of the four quarter day festivals, historically Beltane saw members of communities come together to celebrate the return of the summer. The observance of this hugely important time in the turning of the wheel of the year was characterized by a celebration of the return of the fertility of the land, and would have been a time when livestock would have been put out to pasture.
Come and join us as we turn the wheel of the year and welcome in the creative energies of the season!
When
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Gather in starting at 6:00 p.m., ritual at 7:00 p.m.
Potluck to follow the ritual
Where
The Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
10715 Zenith Avenue South
Bloomington, MN 55431
What to bring
• Potluck food to share, if you can do so without difficulty. Please label your offering (meat, vegetarian, vegan, ingredients).
• Your own silverware, cup, and plate suitable for a picnic if you can (we will have some disposables if you can’t do this)
Celebrate Ostara with us!
Saturday, March 23, 2024 at the Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.
We join to celebrate the changing season – lengthening days and warm weather, green shoots in the flower beds… the robins and red-wing blackbirds call us to join them in rejoicing at Mother Earth’s awakening.
When: March 23
- 6:00 pm Introductions and social time
- 6:30 Pre-work (please arrive in time for this!)
- 7:00 Worship
- 8:00(ish) Pot-luck supper (please stay for this!)
Where: MVUUF, 10715 Zenith Ave. South, Bloomington, MN
What to bring:
- A kind heart
- Food to share (if this is easy for you – if not, there’s always plenty!)
- Your own plate, cup, and silverware (if this is easy for you)
What to wear: Whatever makes you happy. Green is appropriate!
Utah introduces bill echoing 1980s Satanic Panic
The Wild Hunt reports that the Satanic Panic is back and we be turning the clock back on religious freedom. For more information and the full text of the article, see Utah introduces bill echoing 1980s Satanic Panic on the Wild Hunt page
SALT LAKE CITY – Last Wednesday, Utah State Representative Ken Ivory (R-district 39) introduced a bill in the Utah State House addressing sexual crimes. The bill was introduced via the House Judiciary Committee and amends the sexual abuse statute to include ritual abuse. The bill was backed by Utah County Sherriff Mike Smith who testified in its support.
Critics noted that it harkens to the Satanic Panic because it specifically codifies ritualistic child abuse.
House Bill 196, seeks to add “Ritual Abuse of A Child” to the sexual crimes statute. The bill defines “ritual” as “an event or act or a series of events or acts marked by specific actions, gestures, or words, designed to commemorate, celebrate, or solemnize a particular occasion or significance in a religious, cultural, social, institutional, or other context.”
Changes
The light is changing! The robins and geese are back! Tulips and daylilies are sending their first leaves up!
Early March: suddenly the days seem so much longer – and they are. We have a whole hour more sunlight each day than we did just three weeks ago. Soon it will be Ostara. The light changes fastest now, as the Wheel of the Year turns past the equinox, just as a pendulum moves fastest as it swings past the point where it will come to rest when it stops.
There’s a time during the winter when it seems that the ice has won a final victory and we will never see another green leaf. But then the light starts changing. The sun starts making its way back from the southern reaches of the sky.
We belong to Nature. She sends us signs to remind us: Even when we spend most of our time closed off from Her, She still lights up our spirits with the joy of seeing green buds, hearing a robin’s song, or feeling the caress of a mild breeze. Now, at the time of year when things change so fast, Nature reminds us to stop and step outside our fast-paced lives for a moment, to drink in the signs of the changing seasons and be fully in this moment.
Step away from your computer. Set down your phone. Go outside, even if it’s just for a moment. Feel the change in the air. Spring is coming. Blessed be!
Ethical Prayer
What do you do when someone you care about asks you to pray a prayer you don’t feel good about?
Many of us have been in rituals where someone offered a prayer like one of these:
- Please pray that [natural consequence of recent actions] doesn’t happen to me.
- Please pray that [candidate you don’t support] wins the election.
- Please pray that [name] dies.
What do you do? You care about this person. You don’t want to break the flow of the ritual any further than it’s already been broken by hearing this prayer that feels wrong. Or if it’s outside of ritual, you just want to stay on good terms. But you can’t support them in prayer the way they are asking you to.
What do you want for the person who has asked this of you?
It’s someone you care about. If this happens in ritual, you’re sharing sacred space with them, worshiping together, and you still have the obligation of being present in perfect love and perfect trust as you pledged when you entered the circle, even if they’ve pushed (or broken) that boundary. If it’s outside of ritual, you may simply want to stay on good terms.
Sometimes we’re unable to support a specific prayer because we don’t feel comfortable with the desire expressed in the prayer, and we understand that what we need to experience and what we want to experience can be very different things.
A high priestess I know used to offer this prayer: “May you experience your best outcome, in a good way, for the good of all and with harm to none.”
We are not wise enough to know what others need, and this is never more true than when we feel that they’re praying for the wrong thing. But it is always ethical to pray that those we care about receive what they need.
Where’s the Fire?
There’s no snow this year, but it’s still time for warm sweaters, hot chocolate, and fire pits.
We’ve celebrated Imbolc, and we’re in that time of waiting for spring. Fire is our favorite element right now. We can engage with it through divination or meditation.
We all have a fire within that needs to burn bright and strong – the fire that lights the way for our best selves. The fire that we mean when we say “Let your light shine.” Sometimes life gets complicated and we don’t feed that fire. It burns low. We need to feed it.
We also have a fire within that burns through our boundaries and torches our good judgment. When it flares up, it can be hard to bring it under control. We need to refrain from feeding it.
Questions for seeking guidance through divination or meditation:
- What lights me up? What is the guiding fire within me that I need to feed?
- How do I need to feed my guiding fire?
- How can I use my guiding fire to bring safety, warmth, and light into my life, and share it with others?
- What is the fire within me that damages what it touches?
- How can I stop feeding the fire that does not serve me well?
Every element has creative and destructive aspects, and sometimes it’s hard to stay in harmony with them. My own experience is that understanding the fires within has helped me to work more effectively with them.
Welcome!
Welcome to the Wiccan Church of Minnesota!
The Wiccan Church of Minnesota is a Twin Cities based 501 (c) (3) religious organization that celebrates both Goddess and God. Our church was founded more than 35 years ago.
WiCoM sponsors group rituals for the Wiccan sabbats, as well as for other special occasions. Many of these rituals are open to the public or invited guests who are not members.
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