The Wheel of Time as Sacred Text

New Sessions Start
February 12, 2025!

Wednesdays, 7-8:30 p.m.
BuxMont UU Fellowship in the Social Hall
Dates: February 12, March 12, April 9, May 15, June 11

After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.
– Philip Pullman

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it brith comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in Warrington. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Religious stories are human stories, and human stories are religious stories. Stories make us who we are and change us. This is the power of stories, they connect people, they change people from individuals into a community. Stories create connections not only among people together in the present but across generations, across cultural boundaries, and across imagination. We are invited to think differently and to think through the words of another what it might be like to live in their world for a moment.

Join us as we explore the world of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time as sacred story. What does it mean to approach fiction, in the form of the written word and on the screen, as lessons that help us become more fully human?

Whether you have read the series multiple times or are just beginning your first read, or whether the television show was your first taste of Jordan’s world, you are welcome in this Circle.

We will hold sessions, February-June, from 7-8:30 p.m. We will meet at BuxMont Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (2040 Street Road, Warrington, PA).
There will be assigned reading from the third book of the series The Dragon Reborn. You are welcome to join whether you’ve done the reading or not, you can pick a passage or a single chapter to focus on, or come to listen along to the conversation.

If you were not part of our earlier gatherings, you can see how we tackled:

There may be spoilers.

We will try to keep the spoilers light but as we discuss larger themes or the myths of the Westlands and beyond, things may come up from beyond our reading.

A bit about your guide: I am Rev. Kevin W. Jagoe, a Unitarian Universalist Minister and Humanist Celebrant. I have been reading The Wheel of Time since high school and I’ve read the entire series many many times (honestly I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read the early books but more than ten feels like a conservative estimate). As a minister, I am a professional storyteller and meaning-maker. I know that stories have power, and that they can be true whether they reflect facts or not. This series is my primary fandom so bringing it together with how we make meaning in community feels like a natural bridge to me.

Background Readings

  • The Strike at Shayol Ghul – click here to get PDF (a version of this was included in An Illustrated Guide to The Wheel of Time, published by Tor Books in 1997.)
  • Prologue: Dragonmount – click here to get PDF (from The Eye of the World)

The above pieces offer a bit of the context for this world, if you’d like to read them before attending you may. However, they may lead to more questions than answers as so often happens when reading ancient texts.

The Wheel of Time is composed of fourteen main books, a prequel, a text just about the lore, four short stories, an encyclopedia, and an origins book. Currently there are sixteen episodes out of the television series (season 3 should come out in 2025). So there is a lot of content to this world and I will be happy to talk through some pieces of it; though it is also fun to drop in to the story wherever we are and find out what resonates with you.

Sessions are 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 12

Theme of the Night: Waiting.

Guiding Questions:

  • When in your life has waiting felt important? When has waiting felt excruciating?
  • Have you ever wanted to run from the truth?
  • When have you discovered something about yourself that was challenging to accept?

The Dragon Reborn: Prologue through Chapter Nine

Wednesday, March 12

Theme of the Night: A World of Dreams. Guiding Questions will also be added before the session.

The Dragon Reborn: Chapters Ten through Twenty-three

Wednesday, April 9

Theme of the Night: TBD. Guiding Questions will also be added before the session.

The Dragon Reborn: Chapters Twenty-four through Thirty-six

Wednesday, May 14

Theme of the Night: TBD. Guiding Questions will also be added before the session.

The Dragon Reborn: Chapters Thirty-seven through Forty-seven

Wednesday, June 11

Theme of the Night: TBD. Guiding Questions will also be added before the session.

The Dragon Reborn: Chapters Forty-eight through Fifty-six