Liber ab Gens (Book of Tribe)^237
Church of All Worlds
In my opinion, this is another of the three finest Pagan organizations available to
the seeker. Founded by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, incorporated 1968 and legally rec-
ognized as a church by the IRS 1970, this is the oldest Neo-Pagan Church in the United
States. The Church of All World’s local organizations are called nests and branches. A
nest is usually a private organization similar to what I call a household in Wicca; others
might call it a coven. Sometimes nests are public, but that is left entirely up to the
discretion of the nest and not dictated by CAW. A regional collection of these nests as
well as members unaffiliated with these nests is called a branch.Comparing and Contrasting ADF and CAW
The structure of Church of All Worlds differs greatly from the ADF in that the
ADF addresses its structure from the top down while CAW does just the opposite. The
principle behind the structure of ADF is that if general community is made available by
their local Groves, then deep personal friendships and loving relationships will form
between members. Additionally, groups within each grove will mix with members of
other groves in what is termed special interest groups or SIGs. Thus each Grove exists
as a whole, but contains interpersonal relationships that develop naturally. The prin-
ciple behind the structure of CAW is that if interpersonal relationships form into nests,
then those nests will bundle together the way families do with neighbors and form
branches (the public face of CAW). Both organizations attempt to achieve the same
goal, approaching it from different direction, and both groups provide essentially the
same form of community in doing so—circles within circles.Spiral Scouts
This is the exception to the observation that Pagan organizations are traditions
unto themselves. I would not normally list an organization that is only a few years old as
one of the three finest; however, in the few years that Spiral Scouts has existed, it has
far surpassed any other Pagan organization that I am aware of in approximating my
view of the way the ancient Pagans must have formed community. And yet—surprise,
surprise—they are of no specific religious affiliation whatsoever. Instead, they leave
specific religious affiliations up to the individuals and families that unite with them.
The only drawback is that Spiral Scouts was created in service to Earth-based families
with children. While this is very much needed, it leaves those of us who do not have
children feeling a bit left out, but we address that in just a moment.
The organizational structure of Spiral Scouts is exactly the way I envision the pre-
Christian fertility religions must have been. While I detailed the structure of how I
believe those communities must have been in my book Wicca for Couples, I did not
have knowledge of the organizational structure of Spiral Scouts at the time. Their
organization is the absolute best approximation of how ancient Pagan communities
must have formed. Their organizational structure begins with the hearth (what I call av WB Chap 13.p65 237 7/11/2003, 5:58 PM