The Introduction explains what the 'Rap is all about. BTW -- for those people who found the 'Rap by accident may be asking, Who on Earth is the Goddess, Anyways?...

        The CAWT_Network Yahoo! Group is sponsored by the Church of All Worlds Tradition Network (CAWTN) Two Rivers Nest and exists for anyone to express their thoughts about the evolving CAW Tradition, starting or getting publicity for a CAWTN Nest, and anything else of interest, of course. If you want an article to appear here, then all you have to do to submit articles is e-mail them to me.

        CAW III's Nesting (coven) program has been restarted, but getting recognized as a Proto-Nest has some requirements many CAW startups may not be meet the qualifications for awhile. A Shadow Nest has the advantage on *NOT* needing Official Permission to exist. A CAWTN Nest isn't a CAW Proto-Nest until you apply for proto-nest status, or as a 'nest forming' with CAW...

        CAWTN is an informal network which is not formally a part of CAW. One reason, out of many, is that this gives me the freedom to ignore 501.c.3 political restrictions because CAWTN is not a 501.c.3 church - this protects CAW from my "musings. Another reason is that sometimes a "shadow nest" can do things a CAW Nest can't do, much like the Baker Street Irregulars could do things Sherlock Homes couldn't have done...

        'Tis a Mystery -- CAWTN existed years before it was given a name - before I wrote its funky "Bylaws", before the hostile takeover of CAW II, before Liza Ravenheart wrote about the CAWT, and before I realized it existed. The WOW moment lead me to that conclusion happened before my short, OK not so short, letter was published in the very last Scarlet Flame which explained Something Interesting, (The Gods Themselves must have intervened to get it published before the Ohio BoD pulled the Plug on Scarlet Flame)...

        There was a lot of bitterness and angst over conflicts and misunderstandings of what was going on in CAW II, and some people have decided to go elsewhere because of it. This was partially a reflection of what's been going on in society at large - CAW has survived power plays by rogue Clergy, numerous personality conflicts, squabbles over money and Green Egg, highly infectious forms of HP[S] Disease, unfair treatment of members, the passsing of a CAW President, attempted dissolution by the BoD, and mass resignations from the Ohio BoD. However, this freedom has come at a terrible cost, and many people left CAW without understanding what it was really all about, or how to succeed within it. I'd like to help change that - we have the "C.U.R.E." - ["We can rebuild him..."]. CAWT_Network is offering to begin the process, and start a bone-head CAW II Classroom of sorts. there's only one registration, and that's to the CAWT_Network Y! Group itself...

The Usual Links and Stuff are here!!

        The present position on theCAWT Wheel of the Year is about re-establishing ties with CAW members that were broken during the Cusp. Green Egg, has been restablished as CAW's Flag pubication, the new version is an on-line Magazine...

        I have a sheik_sebir's Forum Please, take the time to answer either the Religious Survey 1040 for 2008 (Long form) or the quick and dirty 2008 1040-EZ Form Survey (Short Form) if you want to ask a quick question. The IRS tax form references are an inside joke, I used to be a Call Center Rep for the IRS, and they're really not bad at all -- the surveys that is!

        However, if you want to send me E-mail then send stuff to My Primary Email, or My Personal "Business" Email, or The really 'cool' G-mail.

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(...Questioner...) ... Now to the last part of the final question: if we are to manifest the hopes and avoid the fears, how, precisely, do we do it? What steps must be taken, what shifts must occur, what daily changes in behavior and belief? What, in other words, is the recipe?

OZ: Well, if one is dissatisfied with a paradigm, those who hold that paradigm have a right to ask: "OK, you think you can do better? Let's see whatcha got!" So I feel that those of us who are not happy with the current religious, political, social, sexual, etc. paradigms and where they are leading us have a responsibility to come up with viable alternatives, try them out, see what works, and then report back with the results. So, how are we doing in these regards?

          The essence of "the dominant paradigm" is what Isaac Bonewits referred to as "monotheism." That is, monotheism, monarchy, monoculture, monogamy, monotony - "There can be only One!"

          Those of us who founded and affiliated with the various Neo-Pagan religions-and forged them into a global movement that is now estimated to be 10 million strong, and the fastest-growing religious movement in the English-speaking world-have not only come up with a viable alternative to the paradigm and theology of the monotheistic religions, but I think that after half a century of "The Grand Experiment", we can say definitively that it works. That is, a theology of pantheism, imminence, and emergent divinity supporting a religion based on Nature, seasonal celebrations, matrifocal principles, and the cherishing of diversity.

          Likewise with developing a viable alternative to monogamous sexuality. The polyamory movement is now vast and growing, and if it would be studied seriously by someone like, say, the Kinsey Institute, I feel confident that polyamorous relationships embracing a concept of sacred sexuality would be proven to stack up quite favorably against the high rates of divorce, abuse, violence, and general misery endemic in so many cases to the standard monamorous model of marriages and relationships.

          We still have to articulate a comprehensive revision of our concepts of social interactions to repudiate the whole praxis of punishment, retaliation, revenge, and retribution that underlies all of our political and justice systems, from the family to the State. The anti-war and nonviolence movements are efforts in that direction, but they are a long way from the place we have gotten to with Paganism and polyamory - as coherent paradigms fully embraced by growing world movements.

          And eventually, all these movements will need to come together into a full "green" revolutionary (and evolutionary) social- sexual- political- religious movement that everyone in the world is fully aware of, even if they do not choose to embrace it.

          So where do we stand at this time? Well, at least in regard to alternatives to the dominant religious and sexuality paradigms, we have already accomplished the creation of superb functional models, and proven their viability over decades of real-life application.

          Where we have not yet achieved the necessary further step is in reporting our progress in a way that it becomes known to all. Even after half a century of Neo-Paganism - presented in countless books, magazines, interviews, TV shows, websites, gatherings, and media attention - the general public is still stunningly unaware even of our very existence, let alone who we actually are and what we actually stand for. Especially in comparison to virtually any other religious or political group or movement - let alone one with 10 million adherents worldwide! How many adherents does it take to reach a "critical mass" of public awareness? The general public knows more about Scientology, Krishna Consciousness, the Moonies, and the Amish than it does about us - at least everyone has heard of them.

          Clearly, the step that is needed now is bringing Neo-Paganism fully into public consciousness, so that everyone out there knows just who we are and what we stand for. This will mean serious studies by academics, researchers, sociologists, anthropologists, and other credible authorities. Blockbuster public "reports" by major foundations and institutes comparable to those made decades ago by Masters & Johnson and the Kinsey Institute, which catapulted details of human sexual behavior into every dining room and TV talk show in the Western Hemisphere.

          This will mean having our most articulate representatives brought onto major popular TV talk shows like Oprah, Donohue, Letterman, Stern, Latifah, O'Brien, Maher, and Leno. It will mean getting our best books reviewed in the New York Times Review of Books and elsewhere. It would mean major features on Neo-Paganism in Time and Newsweek, National Geographic and People. And it would mean having major television documentaries produced on us by National Geographic, Discovery, and the History Channel - just as have been done with so many other movements far more obscure-and far less interesting.

          The goal isn't to convert people to our views; it's to convey to them an accurate understanding of what our views actually are - something at which we have so far failed miserably.

          In short, what we need is a massive public relations campaign on a global scale! And to do this, we need to bring in the big guns and heavy hitters in PR work.

          As for "daily changes in behavior and belief," I think that the most important thing is for us to each live our lives and conduct our interactions with others in such ways as to be sterling examples of everything we believe in and stand for. Like the 'Boy Scout Law: be Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Polite, Cheerful, Brave, Clean, and Reverent'. Do as we would be done by. Be good neighbors. Get to know our local Postal workers, store clerks, restaurant waiters, police, meter-readers, politicians, neighbors, and others on a first-name basis. Go into bookstores, and stick little bookmarks into appropriate books, listing Pagan and magickal websites-such as Witchvox.com, NeoPagan.net, and GreySchool.com. Clean up a section of highway, and put up a sign saying something like "This section of highway is maintained by the Children of Gaia".

          And in the context of all that model behavior, the best thing that we as Pagan individuals can do is for as many of us as possible to be totally "out" in every way imaginable. Talk to people. Sport magickal jewelry; wear Pagan T-shirts; affix Pagan bumper stickers to your car; carry Pagan flyers and leaflets, and hand them to anyone who asks about your pentacle. For that matter, write up such leaflets (or get them from some of the groups and websites that have already created them: "What is Paganism?" etc.). Call up your local radio shows and newspapers and offer to do interviews for each of the seasonal festivals. Volunteer for community projects and political organizations. Join the Chamber of Commerce, the Oddfellows, and other civic groups. Show up for rallies and demonstrations - with signs. Attend (or help organize) your local "Pagan Pride" event - and march in the parade. Attend book discussion groups, support groups, and networking groups. Throw really great potluck parties, and tell your friends to invite all their friends too.

NT-OZ

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06/22/09:: This is the start of the Lughnasadh 'Rap and the beginning of yet another incessent attack on the poor and disabled by Gov. Arnold Swartzanegger in order to "balance the budget". Like many 'Publicans, he despises the poor and would rather take their pittance away from them before cutting from other, more protected and politically sensitive, areas. He's already taken away much from the poor and vulnerable, alot from MediCal, the Renter's Rebate, and two rounds of SSI cuts, with a third on the way. He wants to destroy what welfare prograns still exist, destroy the welfare to work program, the adult daycare program and much more -- taking away needed help from the least of us to feed his bloated bureaucracy, and kowtow to the prison guards union again. This man "balanced" previous budgets by a temporary tax increase and massive borrowing, something that the other 'Publicans will refuse to do this time around.

06/13/09:: A note form OZ: "Morning Glory and I [OZ] are hosting the CAW AGM (Annual General Meeting) at RavenHaven on Saturday, July 11, starting at 2:00pm. The address is 795 Helman Lane, Cotati, CA 94931.

This gathering is for currently-active CAW members ONLY - so if your membership isn't current, now is the time to get paid up! Primary items of business will involve BoD elections and voting on the Canons, so please read up on them. For more information on membership and Canons, see www.CAW.org. Also, you can discuss details with Cat Deville.

We have a big swimming pool and a hot tub, so bring your towels! But you won't need bathing suits."

Sun June 7, 09There's not much happening that I can report on like the good ol' days, (oops) so I'm thinking of adding some more information on spells (which are hard to comoe by because they usually belong to someone else and publishing them withourt permission isn't cool, and the classical philosophy that undergirds the current Neo-Paganism Movement whether the current practitioners know about it or not. Stuff like why religion can be done within a ritual context, why Neo-Pagans use herbs and other natural ingredients, where correspondance tables came from, why we can use different mythologies or mixing and matching them in no particular rhyme or reason to get the approximately the same results, why we don't believe in Hell or the baad ol' Deb'bil, and about the other trappings of the religion which are presented as if they're modern religion.

          I'll have time to dwell on Christo-Paganism and other odd mixtures [way] out there in the aether. Most of it is there on Page Two, but mebbe it has to be written a different way so that more people can understand it, without dumbing it down too much - but mebbe it has to be dumbed down given the real aversion to hard study on these subject's origins that I've seen and I've experienced. What is taught in Wicca and Neo-Paganism actually does come from Classical sources - it wasn't just dreamed up one night by Gerald Gardenier, Ms. Dion Fortune, or Aleister Crowley. I'd really like to use CAW's Book of Shadows directly, but it's copyrighted material, so I might use it as a guideline for some articles which will be separate from "From Under the Editor's Rock" [FUTER]...

05/11/09:: After a late start, I've begun the newest FUTER. Frankly, it's about honesty - a trait that mainstream wealthy 'Merca has largely forgotten. I'm just starting it, so it's a DRAFT! This format allows the reader to watch the progress of an article being written over time.

          I'm expecting a large cut in SSI, as soon as this month, so money is very tight, and I'll have to wait for the ObamaNation's Stimulus check to reach me some latter day in May. I've also heard unverified rumors that the 2008 CA Renter's Rebates may be paid 'soon', but I'll believe it when I see the check in my grubby hands, and not before...

05/01/09:: It's May Day! Yea!! Beltaine, the official beginning of Summer, International Worker's Day (Socalist countries). There isn't a whole lot I can say about Beltaine that's new, as most of the Neo-Pagan holiday informtion is already described in articles on Page Two. The quick version is that the God has come into his Own in potency, and sexual fun and games of all types are Good! Enjoy the Day! Even if you currently have no spouse, partner or Significant Other, like yours truly...

          This recession/ depression does have a spiritual element, and some may be getting what others may see as their just deserts, while other people; who don't deserve any help, are being bailed out of their stupidities, greed, and short sightedness because they're too big to fail (Mebbe if they're broken up into little pieces then they're no longer be too big to fail). Others have been left without a lifejacket to sink or swim all by their lonesome. To me it's quite clear that the whole Consumerist way of life is being reevaluated by 'Mercan families, and some have come to the conclusion that it's OK, and culturally allowed to drop the keys into their mailboxes and walk away from their underwater mortgages. This happened because the Banksters and the credit companies got a little too confident in their ability to to screw people and pin their ability to use the new Bankruptcy bill they demanded to screw consumers and debtors even more than they have already. Things have backfired for them - that't why they're really in trouble - No one trusts them anymore - Hades! They don't even trust their own! That's why they're in trouble...

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