Mission
To evolve a network of information, mythology and experience to awaken the divine within,
and to provide a context and stimulus for reawakening Gaia
and reuniting Her children through tribal community
dedicated to responsible stewardship and the evolution of consciousness.
Australian Membership Affirmation
In dedication to the celebration of Life in its many forms,
I hereby declare my commitment to a way of life that is ethical,
benevolent, humanistic, life-affirming, ecstatic and ecologically sane.
I subscribe to means and methods that are creative rather than destructive,
tolerant rather than authoritarian, gentle rather than violent, inclusive rather than exclusive.
I pledge myself to harmonious eco-psychic awareness with the total biosphere of Holy Mother Earth.
Like an ancient tree, I have my roots deep in the Earth and my branches reach for the stars.
I acknowledge my personal responsibility for myself, to my fellow humans, and to the whole of nature;
and I recognize this total responsibility, in each of us, as the source of our infinite
freedom to become who we are and do what we will.
I dedicate myself to my own inner growth and development that I may be of greater service to myself and the world around me
For these reasons I recognize Divinity both within and without, and I say to myself and others:
“Thou art Goddess, Thou art God”
A Brief History
Where did CAW come from?
~Originally, in the USA~
The Church of all Worlds was founded in 1962 by Tim and Martha Zell (now known as Oberon and Morning Glory Zell), and Lance and Penny Christie. Incorporating in Missouri in 1968, CAW became the first of the (Neo) Pagan Nature/Earth religions to obtain full Federal recognition, and was best known in the 1970s for publishing “The Green Egg”, one of the first and foremost pagan journals at the time.
~In Australia~
The Church of All Worlds (Australia) was first formed in March 1992 by Fiona Judge and Anthorr Nomchong. It became the first Australia-wide legally recognized (Neo) Pagan Nature/Earth religion in November 1992, and is presently incorporated in New South Wales as a religious education organisation. It is administered by a National Management Council.
The Book that started it all!
The Church of All Worlds is loosely based on the book by Robert Heinlein “Stranger in a Strange Land”. In the novel, a stranger, Valentine Michael Smith, was an Earthman born on Mars and raised by Martians. Among his many adventures upon being brought to Earth was the formation of the “Church of All Worlds”. This ‘Church’ was built around ‘nests’, a combination of a congregation and an intentional community. A basic concept was ‘grokking’, that is, the ability to fully encompass anything in a wholistic manner.
CAW originally emphasised the experience of non-possessive love and the joyous expression of sexuality as divine union. Today, this is a lesser part of CAW, as we each make our own choices regarding our relationships and relations with others.
There is also the acknowledgement of water as being the source and sustenance of Life, with a ritual sharing of water being the most fundamental rite of CAW. As recognition of immanent divinity in each person, the common greeting of “Thou art Goddess; Thou art God”. There is also the precept of “growing closer” in all ways and forms.
The current generation of the Church of All Worlds Australia, Inc, is also very much inspired by Starhawk’s book “The Fifth Sacred Thing” which presents a vision of a future society that would mirror CAW’s philosophies, aims and objectives.
Copyright 2013-2017 - Church of All Worlds Australia Inc. Last updated 25 Apr 2017
