[from ftp://ftp.caw.org/caw/ ] Newsgroups: alt.religion.all-worlds,alt.answers,news.answers Followup-To: alt.religion.all-worlds Reply-To: info@caw.org Subject: Church of All Worlds FAQ Expires: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 08:00:00 GMT Summary: This posting contains a general outline about the Church of All Worlds, a neo-pagan church and alt.religion.all-worlds. It is *not* for all religions. It should be read by anyone who wishes to post to alt.religion.all-worlds. Organization: Church of All Worlds Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Archive-name: church-all-worlds-faq Alt-religion-all-worlds-archive-name: FAQ Maintainer: torin@caw.org Posting-Frequency: monthly *Last-modified: Thursday, February 16, 1995, by Joy Williams Alt.Religion.All-Worlds FAQ ALT.RELIGION.ALL-WORLDS was established to be the electronic forum of the Church of All Worlds, otherwise known as CAW. CAW is a neo-pagan organization based primarily in the United states but with "congregations" (know as "nests") located in Canada and Australia and having members in other countries as well. CAW is not a christian church, although there may be members who still belong to such. This FAQ was prepared by CAW member Bill ("the rev") Graham and has *been modified and changed by Torin, and by Joy Williams. If there's something wrong or something needs to be changed, complain to him at torin@caw.org. This FAQ received input and instigation from other CAW members and such as Tony Navarra, Irv Koch and Torin along with quotes from CAW Primate ("exalted-high-mucky-muck" (or izzat "monkey-muck"?) ) Otter Zell. It is available for ftp at ftp.caw.org in /caw/FAQ. While it contains quotes from CAW literature and CAW "officials" it shouldn't be construed as an official CAW statement nor as being anything other than an initial, clumsy attempt to provide a workable FAQ. For official CAW items, try CAW directly or the ftp site and/or PODS Freq site. CONTENTS OF FAQ: I. Subject matter of the newsgroup A. What is encouraged and of interest to regular participants B. What isn't appreciated C. How ALT.RELIGION.ALL-WORLDS is different than ALT.PAGAN II. What is CAW? A. Overview B. Philosophy C. Activities and events III. Further information A. Points of Contact B. CAW Publications C. Partial CAW reading list D. Other news-groups and listservs E. Ftp archive F. Reprinting this FAQ I. Subject matter of the newsgroup A. What is encouraged and of interest to regular participants Questions about CAW and about CAW and Pagan events are certainly encouraged. CAW members who use the newsgroup seem to enjoy discussing CAW activities, ecology and environmentalism, PAGAN philosophical issues involving CAW and relating CAW to the general Pagan scene and similar issues. Issues and topics from "Green Egg" have provoked some interesting discussions. Posting of comments is encouraged but let us try not to post copyrighted articles. Another fertile topic is the relationship of some current neopagan practices to other "religions" or practices, for example, chakra and vision quests, etc. Some would say that this amounts to the theft of the practices of others, others seem to feel that it is more a recognition of the value of the "shared whatever". B. What isn't appreciated While no one individual "owns" the newsgroup, controls the newsgroup or has any sort of proprietary authority, most users don't appreciate bashers, flamers, trashers and cross- posters, nor evangelizers regardless of subject or whether CAW or other religions or individuals are being beaten about. IMHO cross-posting is an abomination and it is especially discouraged. Discussions of monotheistic issues, for example, the existence of "god" (any and all flavors of monotheistic deity) are generally not appreciated, if not downright resented, especially those which are cross-posted and prolific. If I were in charge, (and I'm not!) I would outlaw fundie Xtian-bashing. It is my personal opinion that I have better things to spend time on. Please go discuss christianity, islam, judaism, etc. somewhere else, say; "talk.religion", Alt.atheism, soc.religion.christianity, talk.religion.misc, or ??? C. How ALT.RELIGION.ALL-WORLDS is different than ALT.PAGAN Some, perhaps many things discussed on Alt.Pagan, for instance, Gaia, fit just fine on Alt.Religion.All-Worlds. On the other hand, discussions of Wicca specific issues, arguments about specifics of ancient traditions for modern use or to authenticate current usages or to "validate" a specific tradition or group or whose "fam trad" outranks whose, etc. will find more takers in Alt.Pagan. II. ***What*** is the Church of All Worlds??? A. Overview The Church of All Worlds ISN'T a bunch of folks who read Robert Heinlein's book _Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land_ and wanted to play act. It wasn't started by Heinlein, nor did he belong to or benefit from it, except perhaps in the form of new fans. The Church does draw some of its form and philosophy from SISL and tends to attract future oriented people who enjoy reading speculative fiction, never-the-less, it definitely ISN'T a trekky type grok-flock (but some of us have tendencies towards being trekkies). From Otter Zell: --0z-- The Church of All Worlds is Neo-Pagan, implying an eclectic reconstruction of ancient Nature religions, and combining archetypes of many cultures with other mystic, environmental and spiritual disciplines.. Indeed, we were the ones who first proposed, in 1967, that the term "Pagan" be adopted to apply to the newly-emerging movement of Nature-based and revivalist pre-Christian religions, including Witchcraft as European shamanism, but also including Egyptian, Greek, Norse, Druidic, Hindu, and various indigenous tribal traditions, such as Polynesian, Native American, African, etc. But we in CAW are not trying merely to recreate a Paradise Lost; we are actively involved in helping to save the present world as well as working to actualize a visionary future. With roots deep in the Earth and branches reaching towards the stars, we evoke and create myths not only of a Golden Age long past, but of one yet to come. CAW presently has about three dozen regional "Nests", which is what we call our local congregations, or Circles. These are indeed member groups, as are the several subsidiary "branch" organizations that we have created and chartered to focus on particular areas of concern. These branches include: Nemeton --- fundraising, marketing and publishing; Forever Forests --- treeplanting and environmental action; Ecosophical Research Association (ERA) --- research and exploration into origins and actualizations of myths and legends; Lifeways --- education and personal development; Peaceful Order of the Earth Mother (POEM) --- dedicated to children and child nurturing; Holy Order of Mother Earth (HOME) --- developing magical and ritual structures and techniques. CAW is worldwide, including seven Nests in Australia, where we are the first legally-recognized Pagan religion (as we were the first in the US). A third of our Nests are in California, reflecting the greatest concentration of our members. We have individual members in many other countries throughout the world. We have created a new Tribalism, where we relate to each other as members of a tribe, with interconnecting clans and families. And in turn, our tribe is one of the Nations of Earth Religions, bound together by our common love and reverence for our Mother, the Living Earth. --0z-- (To be filled out a bit more.) The CAW identifies as being Neo-Pagan. There are more definitions of this than there are Neo-Pagans. By it, we (at least I) mean that CAW is Nature-focused, pantheistic, and asserts immanent divinity, i.e. all things are a part of Diety. Note: Not all members of CAW agree with this. Not all of them even agree that CAW is Neo-pagan. I've tried to take a general cross-section that is generally true. To find out more about Paganism and Neo-Paganism, see XXXX. The CAW is not a form of Satanism. We reject the entire notion of the Urban Legend of Satanism which involves sociopathic behaviors as portrayed by the popular media and some religious zealots. We also find little common ground with Satanism as made popular by Anton LaVey and his Church of Satan, Michael Aquino and the Temple of Set, or any other type of which we are aware. If you would like to find out more about these latter types of Satanism, you may find the following references of value: USENET: alt.satanism FAQ: FTP: (The previous paragraph and references provided by Tyagi Nagasiva ) B. What is the philosophical emphasis of CAW? CAW is forward looking. Many members are generally pro-science, pro-space and pro-technology. Most members do have concerns about appropriateness of technology, scientific ethics and ethics in application of science and technology, in particular as these effect Gaia, the environment and the human condition. From Otter Zell: --0z-- The CAW Mission Statement is: "to evolve a network of information, mythology and experience that provides a context and stimulus for reawakening Gaia, and reuniting Her children through tribal community dedicated to responsible stewardship and evolving consciousness." We are fairly all-embracing in promoting general Pagan and Gaian lifestyles and values. We advocate basic feminist and environmentalist principles, including freedom of reproductive choice, ordination of women as Priestesses, sacred sexuality, alternate relationships, gay and lesbian rights, legalization and utilization of hemp products, protection and restoration of endangered species, wilderness sanctuaries, green politics, etc. We are also engaged in restoring ancient Mysteries and rituals, such as the Eleusinia and Panathenaia. Our mythealogy is based on the Gaia Thesis --- that all Earthly life, us included, comprises a single great organism, the living body of Mother Earth, known as "Gaia" to the ancient Greeks. Our Goddess is the very Soul of Nature! And our vision of the future evolution of this life-stream includes what Dane Rudyar has called "the planetarization of consciousness," and Teilhard de Chardin terms "the Omega Point." This implies the linking up of all sentients into a "global brain" wherein a vast single consciousness emerges, just as we ourselves individually attain such consciousness sometime during our first year of life. Thus will allow Gaia to come fully into wakefulness, where now She but slumbers (and dreams...). With this ultimate vision, CAW has goals far greater than merely establishing nice, neat, little encapsulated "nests," meeting monthly or so and unconnected with the rest of our world. For many Pagan groups and Wiccan covens, that is adequate, but we Waterkin have a much larger vision: to reunite the scattered children of Gaia, and bring the whole Family back together again! Thousands of years ago, there was a messy divorce between our Earthly Mother and the alien Step-Father Sky God who had displaced our true Father and raped our Mother into a forced marriage. Some of the children sided with the Step-Father and went with Him. Others remained with the Mother, to be bullied and persecuted for centuries by our former brothers (and even some of our sisters). It is time for this separation to end. The word religion comes from roots meaning "re-linking." We have been divided and conquered. Our world has been split between Heaven and Earth, matter and spirit, men and women, humanity and Nature, body and soul, the darkness and the light. Western civilization is intrinsically alienating and alienated from the rest of the life-stream. The true function of religion is to heal that alienation, those splits, and achieve reunification. It is ironic that, in fact, much of the divisiveness has actually been caused by "churchianity" acting in the name of religion! But Paganism isn't merely another religion among many; Paganism is religion --- in the very truest sense of the word. Our task is to bring together, and to heal. Hatred divides us; love unites us. Thus we must forge bonds of love and kinship with each other, even outside our own faiths. We must ever widen our already far-flung network of magical lovers. Though we must of necessity maintain a certain wary distrust of those whose beliefs require them to subjugate all dissidents, still we must whenever possible seek common ground upon which to build our new temples of the spirit. We must not merely "tolerate" diversity --- we must cherish it, celebrate it, and revel in it! For after all, are we not all children of the same Mother? Thou art God; Thou art Goddess! --0z-- Note from Torin: In the above, Otter speaks of a global mind of Gaia. This is *not* some monolithic construct wherein all personality is lost and individuality is crushed. I (and at least some others) a conceive of it as a global linking of all minds. No longer would speech be an impediment to voicing ones inner thoughts. One could speak the thought and all nuances, flavors and textures would go along with it. Such would be the re-linking. C. CAW activities and events. CAW Nests and Proto-nests meet monthly or more often. Water is shared and various rituals may be observed. The sharing of water at CAW meetings is a central practice and symbolizes (among other things) our connectedness and shared life. From Otter Zell --0z-- In northern California, where CAW is headquartered, we hold seasonal, annual and one-shot events, ranging from as few as 30 people for the annual Eleusinian Mysteries, to 300 at our 30th anniversary Grand Convocation in 1992. Our Beltane festival is limited to 125, and has to turn many away, while our Litha (Midsummer) festival may see 100-200 people. 75-100 people is about average for the remaining six of the eight seasonal Sabbats. Our Men's Gathering and other special retreats commonly have 25-50 attendees. We have our own private land --- a 55 acre sanctuary called Annwfn, where we hold many of these rites. We also put on and/or participate in major public events, such as be-ins, parades and rallies, which have had several hundred people showing up. In addition, our various Nests around the US and Australia also put on Festivals and other events, and some of these have had over 100 attendees. --0z-- III. Further information A. Points of Contact CAW headquarters can be contacted by telephone (voicemail) at (707)485-0481 Snail-mail may be sent to: CAW, PO Box 1542, Ukiah, CA 95482 USA. --Email-- Church of All Worlds has a representative on the internet. Items from this address are official. National CAWntact = dhummer@caw.org "Green Egg" has an America On-line address. Please keep this to all or at least mostly to "Egg" business. For general CAW info, please send to the general CAWntact address above or the voicemail. Green Egg = GEMAGAZINE@AOL.COM For information on the CAW ftp site or the fileserver, send mail to torin at: FTP Site Maintainer = torin@caw.org or Joy Williams at dhummer@caw.org B. CAW Publications From Otter Zell: --0z-- We publish a number of periodicals. The most important of these is Green Egg, the foremost journal of the New Paganism for over 25 years. GE is published quarterly, has 68 pages and full-color glossy cover, and a present circulation of around 8,000 copies. In 1992, GE was the winner of over nine awards from the Wiccan/Pagan Press Alliance, including the Gold Award for "Readers' Choice." (Sample $5 US postpaid from CAW, PO Box 1542, Ukiah, CA 95482 USA.) We also put out a magazine for Pagan kids called How About Magic? (HAM). It's a 12-page quarterly with a circulation of about 400. (Sample $2.25 US postpaid from above address.) Then there is our members' only newsletter, The Scarlet Flame (quarterly), and our Inner Circle newsletter, The Violet Vision. In addition, about a dozen of our Nests publish their own newsletters or magazines. These range from small newsletters of only a few pages to major magazines in their own right, such as our 32 pp. Australian quarterly, Dragons Song. (Sample $4 from CAW Draconis Nest, PO Box 408, Woden, ACT 2606, Australia.) --0z-- The newsletter of the SF area bunch, "The Foghorn" is usually posted to the newsgroup. See Green Egg or Scarlet Flame for info on getting nest publications. C. Partial CAW reading list CAW publishes a reading list for members and interested non-members. No attempt will be made to list it in its entirety, however, it includes (this is only a very biased sampling). Check the ftp archive for the list (Info/bibliography) and other data. *Adler, Margot; _Drawing_Down_the_Moon_ Bonewits, P.E.I; _Real_Magic_ Callenbach, Ernest; _Ecotopia_ Campbell, Joseph; _Myths_to_Live_By_ Cunningham & Harrington; _Magical_Household_ Eisler, Riane; _The Chalice_and_the_Blade_ Gimbutas, Marija; _Goddesses_and_Gods_of_Old_Europe_ Gould, Stephen Jay; _Ever_Since_Darwin_ *Heinlein, Robert; _Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land_ (original edit) Heinlein, Robert; _Assignment_in_Eternity_ Judith, Anodea; _Wheels_of_Life_ Murray, Margaret; _The_Witchcraft_Cult_in_Western_Europe_ Rowan, John; _The_Horned_God_ *Starhawk; _The Spiral_Dance_ Starhawk; _Dreaming_the_Dark_ Stone, Merlin; _Ancient_Mirrors_of_Womanhood_ Thomas, Lewis; _The_Lives_of_a_Cell_ Wilson, RA, & Shea; R; _Illuminatus!_ (trilogy) Wilson, Robert Anton; _Prometheus_Rising_ Wolfe, Amber; _In_the_Shadow_of_the_Shaman_ * items on the level 2 read-first-list D. Other news-groups and listservs There are no other specific CAW newsgroups on USENET/InterNet, however, there are several newsgroups and at least one listserv that deal with pagan and Wiccan issues. These include: alt.pagan, alt.fan.kali.astarte.inanna, alt.magick, alt.magick.chaos, alt.magic.sex, talk.religion.newage talk.religion.misc and perhaps others depending on your tastes. There is a Church of All Worlds listserv. This is a moderated email list, and is considered to be an on-line "nest." You may join the discussion by sending a message to listserv@caw.org "subscribe cawpagan-l . You will then be sent a questionnaire that you must fill out and return. You'll then be (almost certainly) approved and added to the list. A warning, it is a high volume list, so don't be surprised if you get a flood of email! It is a warm and happy place though, with fascinating folks, so if you are willing to wade through lots of mail, you are sure to have a good time. When you subscribe, you will be sent a welcome message, explaining the ambience of the list, if you wish to know the list policies ahead of time you can find the policy at ftp://www.caw.org/caw/cawpagan-l/policy/cawpaganpolicy. Another pagan listserv is available to people who would like to receive a digest type publication by email. Send your email subscription requests to: Uther@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu. This one has been around for some time. While rumors of other lists abound, most of them seem to come and go quickly. In the local BBS/FidoNet version of "reality", there is a PODS CAW echo which is to be ported through to this newsgroup. Experiments with this are on-going, but don't be surprised if mail to/from folks "over there" in fido-land gets the electronic equivalent of the USnail treatment (ie; ends up in the bit bucket). In other words, if you get no answer, it may be that your mail or your post to the newsgroup never made it past Charon and into the Fido "underworld". Posts over 100 lines long seem to get eaten often. The moderators of the PODS version are Bunz in Australia and Irv Koch (who lives at the PODS version of the FTP site). There are no moderators, in the Internet sense, on the Internet version, since that would require someone to read every message and release or kill it. The closest thing to that are the Faq keepers ... blah blah. The PODS version of a moderator is a "Topic Cop" who moderates via reminding people to behave and/or stay on topic via e-mail; he DOES have the power, unlike on the Internet side, to request people have their access zapped and --- failing that --- to actually demand the feed to a user's site be cut off (RARELY used). E. Ftp archive This FAQ and other CAW materials, including an electronic application, are available by anonymous ftp from: ftp.caw.org in directory /caw. Many are compressed in "Gzip" which can be obtained from by ftp from prep.ai.mit.edu in /pub/gnu and at other "gnu" archive mirrors. See the file README.gzip for other sites and machines. Email to info@caw.org if you have problems. The PODS counterpart of the FTP site is to Freq CA*.* from 1:109/629 aka 93:9810/12 F. Reprinting this FAQ This FAQ is copyright 1993-1995 by Bill Graham and Darren Stalder. It may be reprinted, copied and even sold (at distribution costs) as desired so long as it is not modified in any way, it is kept in it's entirety and reasonable effort is made to use the latest copy available through the ftp site. Also, you may not restrict others from redistributing this FAQ according to this paragraph. Finally, notification of the FAQ authors at info@caw.org of redistribution or archiving of this archiving of this FAQ would be appreciated.