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268 Creating Circles & Ceremonies
Appendix A: T he Church of All Worlds Tradition
I. Basic Principles
By Liza Gabriel, Morning Glory & Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
The Church of All Worlds Tradition is an eclectic
tradition of Neo-Paganism. Its practices are intended
as a means towards the best outcome for
all. The CAW tradition is ever-evolving with basic,
inclusive practices as follows:
Reverence for the Earth
Practitioners of the CAW Tradition revere, honor,
and protect the Earth. Most believe that our planet
is a conscious living being. Most revere Her as a
manifestation of the Great Mother Goddess worshipped
by human beings from the dawn of time.
Thou Art God/dess
Practitioners of the Church of All Worlds Tradition
honor the God and/or Goddess as immanent
in every human being, voiced in the common
greeting, “Thou Art God,” or “Thou Art Goddess.”
The deepest experience of the Divinity in other
people and things comes through the process of
grokking. Literally, grokking means “drinking.”
In practice it means expanding one’s identity to
include the whole being of another person or thing.
Sharing Water
In harmony with the process of grokking, the
water that is essential to all life is the primary Sacrament
of the Church of All Worlds Tradition. Water
is Blessed and passed in a chalice, or otherwise
shared. Often the last drops are offered to the Divine.
Usually when a chalice is passed, the person
passing blesses the person receiving the chalice
by saying, “Never Thirst,” “Thou Art God,”
“Drink Deep,” “Don’t spit in the cup,” or other
appropriate words. This ritual, more than any other,
is the common practice of the CAW Tradition.
Water Kinship
The intention of the Water Sharing ritual is to
affirm bonds of kinship. Depending on the intimacy
of the circle, four levels of this bond are common:
1. Affirming our connection to each other and to
all life;
2. Affirming belonging to a tribe or tradition;
3. Affirming friendship;
4. A lifelong Commitment of deep communion,
friendship, love, and compassion, which may or
may not have an erotic component.
Nests
Nests are the basic grouping of the CAW Tradition
and are usually composed of at least three people
who have a consistent commitment to the Tradition.
At least one member, the Nest Coordinator, should
have at least one year experience and the blessing of
other long-term practitioners of the Tradition. A Nest
may begin with no experience and work towards the
ideals of Nesthood. Some Nests are families. Others
are social networks, or ritual working groups. They
are usually small and intimate. Sometimes several Nests
may form a Branch.
Freedom of Expression
in Intimacy & Family
The Church of All Worlds Tradition is associated
with open attitudes towards intimacy and sexuality.
How this is practiced differs widely from
person to person and Nest to Nest. Practitioners of
the CAW Tradition affirm and support the broadest
diversity of intimate and familial expression
consistent with a sustainable and ethical life. For
example, CAW practitioners support same-sex
bonding through marriage, handfasting, or other
means. While quite a number of practitioners of the
CAW Tradition are monogamous, all support the
full range of choice in relationship, including intimate
relationships and familial bonds that contain
more than two adults; in other words, polyamory.
A Tradition that Looks Equally
to Future and Past
Four of the five practices above derive directly
from Stranger in a Strange Land, the 1961 science
fiction novel by Robert Heinlein in which the
name “Church of All Worlds” first appeared. Some
members of the CAW Tradition glow with pride
over this fact, while others are embarrassed and
do not wish to be identified with the book. There
is no question that many aspects of the book are
increasingly outdated.
What will never be outdated, however, is the
Church of All World’s embrace of the mythology
of the future and of science and technology as
sources of wisdom as valid as the sacred traditions
of old. The CAW Tradition honors the ancient past
and looks, with equal reverence, to the future.
Fun
Humor, enjoyment, play, fantasy, and all forms
of pleasure are central to the ways that practitioners
of the Church of All Worlds Tradition come together.
II. Practices of other Neo-Pagan
Traditions shared in common by
the Church of All Worlds Tradition