Tradition 5 · May 27

Twos and Threes

Daily Traditions · May 27

Before the Tradition

The Big Book was written to start groups that would carry the message themselves, years before Tradition Five said so. Its writers expected readers to rise and go to others (p. 153): "They will approach still other sick ones and fellowships of Alcoholics Anonymous may spring up in each city and hamlet, havens for those who must find a way out." A hamlet is a very small village; a haven is a safe harbour. Read who the havens are for: not the members, but "those who must find a way out," the drinkers still looking. By 1939 it had begun (p. 162): "Little clusters of twos and threes and fives of us have sprung up in other communities, through contact with our two larger centers." No rule told those clusters what to do. The book simply took for granted that each would go to the next sick one, as the first members had. Tradition Five later wrote down what they already did (p. 563): "carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers." Today a group can treat itself as the harbour where its members dock, and forget that harbours exist for ships still at sea. Test it tonight: ask whether your group is a haven for those who must find a way out, or only for those who already have.

Sit with

The Big Book pictured little groups in every hamlet as havens for drinkers still looking. Who is my group a haven for?

Grounded in: Long form, Tradition 5 (Big Book, p. 563); Big Book pp. 153 and 162 (A Vision for You).

Tradition 5

"Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers."

Read the Long Form (pp. 563–566). The short form on pp. 561–562 is the one everybody quotes — but the Long Form is where the Traditions actually say what they mean. Tradition 3's "no other affiliation" clause, for instance, exists only in the Long Form. That single clause is why no treatment centre can own an A.A. group. Most of what circulates online skips it.

And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.

What the Traditions actually say → The Long Form, p. 563 → Search the Big Book → Every day this month →

Ask Recovery Einstein about Tradition 5 → Get the app →

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Daily Traditions is an independent educational resource from Recovery Starts — not official A.A. literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. The Twelve Traditions are the property of A.A. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition: short form 561–562, long form 563–566. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).