Change Starts Right Here, In Our CUPPS Groups

Over the years I became very frustrated with my Wiccan path.  I loved the people, yet our ritual structures had become static with dogma induced scripted formats that ignored advancements in social awareness.  This frustration eventually led me to leave the Wiccan fold and develop a more inclusive practice.

Specifically my frustration surrounded the continual use of gender beaneries in ritual practice. Circle members would all acknowledge and support the developing culture of gender fluidity and at the same time all their rituals continued to follow binary outlines.

Last night at our local CUUPS planning meeting for our Beltane event a ritual script was presented that reflected a traditional Wiccan approach.  Quarters, God, Goddess and the Great Rite; briefly I suggested we add a simple acknowledgement of gender variations prior to the Great Rite part of the ritual.  It was a simple suggestion that was readily accepted by the group. It read something like this.

“While we acknowledge the divine value of all expressions of gender identity today we celebrate the Grate Rite”

It is as simple as that; acknowledgement goes a long way in sending a message of sacred regard to those who would otherwise see our ritual as exclusive.  There was no need to erase the ritual as written, only a simple and honest statement of acceptance.

This ability to bring social justice to the spiritual table is one of the things I love about CUUPS.  In my experience we seek first to adjust our own relationship within the context of the intersectional relationship between divinity and social justice.

So my fellow CUUPS members, is there a place in your local CUPPS group to stand for diversity?  Do you also experience the ability to influence unconscious habits towards greater inclusion?  I would really like to believe that my experience reflects a collective ethic in CUUPS and not a singular experience. Let me know, I really am interested in your opinions.