About John

I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I'm a Druid in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD), a member of Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), a member of Denton CUUPS, and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I've been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals since 2003. My books The Path of Paganism (2017) and Paganism In Depth (2019) are published by Llewellyn Worldwide.

Site Updates

Our “calendar” page on the main menu above has been changed.  The old calendar page is now called “circles and service.”  There’s a new page called “classes and special events” where we’ll list small group classes, movie nights, camping trips, and other events.

The list of classes and special events is shown in the post below.

New Classes and Special Events

Small Group Classes

  • This June we will begin holding small group classes on Wednesday nights from 7 to 9 PM.  Classes will be held in a variety of locations – contact the class leader for details.
  • Introduction to Tarot, taught by Dolores Nabors.  Will run for seven weeks, from June 5 through July 17.  Will be held at Dolores’ apartment.
  • Introduction to Herbalism, taught by Michi Harper.  Will run two weeks, July 24 and 31.  Will be held at Michi’s house.
  • Circle Planning, taught by Michi Harper and John Beckett.  Will run four weeks, August 7 through August 28.  The participants in this class will plan and lead our Mabon circle on Saturday, September 14.
  • Small group classes will continue on Wednesday nights in September and beyond.  Current plans are for classes on Basic Spellwork, Chants, Shielding, and Magical Tools.  The order of topics and locations will be determined when we get closer.

Pagan Movie Nights

  • Saturday, June 15 at John’s house in McKinney.  Gather at 5:00 for cookout and potluck, followed by showing of The Spirit of Albion.
  • Saturday, August 17.  Details TBD.

Other Events

  • Introduction to Modern Pagan Religion:  taught by John Beckett and Cynthia Talbot.  Saturday, July 20 from 1:00 to 5:00 at DUUF.
  • Fall Camping Trip:  October 18-20.
  • Fall Social Gathering:  Friday, November 8 at 6:30 at Cynthia’s house.
  • Book Club:  now taking recommendations for a book for us to read and discuss.

 

Beltane!

Beltane flyer 2013 2The Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans invites you to join us for our Beltane circle. We will celebrate with music, dancing, procession, and the traditional Maypole. Our main working will be a dramatic interactive retelling of the story of Morrigan and her dealings with the Dagda and Cú Chulainn. She offered her love and her aid to both, but only one accepted.

Our circle will be outdoors unless it is raining – please dress for the weather.

Please bring an item of food or drink to share after the ceremony. As always, a donation of a dollar or three to help defray costs are appreciated, but not required.

Children 10 and older who can participate maturely and respectfully are welcome to join in. Childcare for younger children will be available if requested by Tuesday, April 30.

CUUPS Events on April 21

adopt a spot signPlease join us at 12:45 on Sunday, April 21 for our bi-monthly Adopt-a-Spot cleanup.  We’ll pick up trash on Fulton Street from Crescent to University as part of the Keep Denton Beautiful program.  It takes 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how many people we have.

Come out and help us care for our little corner of Mother Earth!

Afterwards (or about 2:00) we’ll move to Cynthia’s house for a potluck lunch and our Spring Social Gathering.  Contact Cyn or John for the address.

Please bring a dish to share for a potluck lunch.

This is primarily a social gathering, but we’ll also discuss plans for Summer classes, Fall circles, and other gatherings.

New members and friends are especially encouraged to attend.

See you on the 21st!

CUUPS camping Nov12 27

Ostara Circle March 23

Come celebrate the Rites of Spring with the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans.

As the wheel of the year turns we mark Ostara, the Spring Equinox, with a joyous celebration of fertility in all its glorious forms. Please join us on Saturday, March 23 for our celebration. We will gather at DUUF at 7:00 pm and begin promptly at 7:30 pm.

Prepare for new beginnings!

Please bring an item of food or drink to share after the ceremony. Donations of a dollar or three to help defray expenses will be appreciated but are not required.

Children who can participate maturely and respectfully are welcome to join in. Childcare will be provided if requested by Tuesday, March 19.

If you have any questions, just ask here in the comments.

Ostara 2013

Imbolc Moves to Friday, Feb 1

Our Imbolc Circle is moving to Friday, February 1.  Gathering begins at 7:30 PM and the circle will begin promptly at 8:00.

Imbolc was previously scheduled for Saturday, January 26.  However, Denton UU minister (and CUUPS member) Rev. Pam Wat was chosen to participate in a local version of “Dancing With the Stars” to benefit the United Way of Denton County.  We’d hate to ask people to choose between supporting Rev. Pam and celebrating Imbolc, plus moving to the following Friday lets us hold it on the exact date of February 1.

Please adjust your calendars and plan to join us for Imbolc on Friday, February 1.

Imbolc flyer 2013

A Call to Action

Last night’s Winter Solstice ritual was everything I had hoped it would be: a good turnout, lots of participation, the presence of the gods and ancestors, and a very strong response to the Call to Action in the main working.

For those of you who couldn’t be there, here’s the Call to Action. The Old Gods and Goddesses are still calling…

the altars and priestesses of Danu, Cernunnos, and Morrigan

We all know what happens when a species’ predators are removed from its environment. Reproduction increases, resources are consumed at an ever-increasing rate, and competing species are crowded out. Eventually the population exceeds the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. Then individuals and groups fight over scarce resources, starvation begins and many die.

Our natural predators of disease and famine are not gone, but they have been beaten back. War still kills too many, but it kills far fewer than at any time since civilization began. Aided by the fear of scarcity, the myth of dominion, and ordinary greed, the human population has exploded and is consuming resources at a rate that cannot be sustained.

Some feel the Earth would be better off without us; if we drove ourselves to extinction and some other species took our place. I think they’re wrong. Any species that came after us would be shaped by the same evolutionary forces that shaped us and would likely behave much like us. The best chance the Earth has of evolving intelligent, compassionate life is for us to grow up.

Tonight, one Mayan long count calendar comes to an end and another long count calendar begins. Tonight, one era, one aeon ends and another begins – not because it is written in the stars but because we will make it so.

We are not alone in this great work. Our goddesses and gods, our ancestors, and the spirits of Nature stand ready to inspire us and guide us and assist us. We are their hands, making the Divine manifest in this world.

Tonight, three ancient deities have joined our circle. Danu asks you to help her create new ways of living and being. Cernunnos asks you to help him nurture these new ways so they can grow and expand. Morrigan asks you to help her protect the new aeon from those who are so invested in the old era they can’t see they’re leading us down the road to extinction.

If one of these deities is speaking to you, if one of these roles calls to you, I ask you to come forward, choose a token and be blessed by the priestess. You will take no oaths and you will make no obligations. But you will declare your intent to help create a world that is intelligent, compassionate and sustainable.

Come, be blessed, and become a part of this New Aeon.

Tokens of a Calling

Which one speaks to you?  Which one calls to you?  Which one needs you in their Great Work?

Denton CUUPS Winter Solstice
Friday, December 21
gather at 7:30 PM, ritual begins at 8:00