This year I signed up for a meal plan with Ottercat. He provided meals for the first time at Grow Closer this year, feeding some 16-20 people. The meals were delicious with such delights as chocolate fondue with Godiva liquor and white chocolate fondue with Amaretto liquor as part of "decadence in the wood" night. He is definitely a God! I would not have wanted to spend that much time cooking in the best of situations and certainly not while camping.
Friday I took my work shift and cleaned up after lunch. Hany, a member of the Internest and I worked together to put away leftovers, wash dishes, and make two treks to replenish the water. It was very nice to have the opportunity to connect with him. Hany is a tall, good looking young man who grew up in Egypt, and has the most delightful of accents. It was a pleasure to listen to him speak.
Late that afternoon was my first Clergy Questioning. This is a step on the way to becoming a CAW clergy person. Jack, Kris, Aeona, Orion, and I gathered at Scientist Circle. Orion asked if I was comfortable with Jim, a CAW minister, rather than priest, joining the questioning. I was. Jim is a kind, dedicated man who has taken on the formidable task of CAW central (handling all the mail, memberships, answering questions, keeping the database, and coordinating myriad details, and much, much more). I was more than pleased to have him join us.
The kinds of questions asked and perhaps the most difficult to answer was why I want to be a CAW priestess. I spoke about already being a Priestess in the Gardnerian tradition and not needing anyone else to make me a priestess, yet this is the place where I am now in my life; CAW and not Gardnerianism is my main path. I read Stranger in a Strange Land when I was 15 yrs old and it touched me deeply, forming a part of who I have become. It was that possibility, and the image of intimate nests and waterbrothers that led me to the deep friendships I have formed in my life, to my discovery of my own poly nature, to the acceptance of people's differing lifestyles and lovestyles. I believe that the paradigm of waterbrotherhood, of deep relationships, of caring lovers is worth holding on to, is worth putting energy into. Whether CAW Priestess or not I will hold that dream but as one, I have a greater opportunity to take that dream with me, and join it with the dreams of others, to hold the energy of this worldview. I want to learn and grow in this direction. I believe this is the right path for me.
There were other questions related to my ability to move between the worlds and participate in CAW style magic, which I believe were answered satisfactorily. (to be continued, again)
Copyright © 2000 Kyril Oakwind