Friday, July 27, 2007

Sirius Rising

Numerology - Even though this day's date contains many 7s, it is actually a 5, meaning that it is somewhat mystical. By the way, a complete numerology can be found in our book "Prophet's Bible."
We are finally settling in again after a wonderful time at two gatherings back-to-back on a single site : Craftwise College (Craftwise in the Woods) and Sirius Rising. The site? Brushwood Folklore Center in western New York State. Attendees at Sirius broke the record again - 264 body-painted pagans and Wiccans. Maybe this time the Guinness people will accept the documentation. The ambulatory works of art were simply amazing. It's wonderful what can happen when people feel safe, and Frank and Darlene Barney have made a haven for all of us. The pagan community owes them a bigger debt of gratitude than it can ever repay. See camp@brushwood.com.
Despite promises to the contrary, there were no Witch wars on the site--not even a mild confrontation or challenge. Pagans of every stripe and color danced and sang together and beat a track around the bonfire, where this year we burned the Celtic Salmon of Wisdom as a messenger to the Elder Ones. Gavin and Yvonne urgently messaged that the community will get smarter and stop all its internecine squabbling. Now if Merrymeet can do the same thing, and the Columbus people get smart, we'll be all that much further ahead. How about discussing differences in private, rather than on the web--where every Christian gleefully high-fives as they see our self-defeating gross stupidities?
Meantime the garden has gone wild and we're waiting eagerly for a pause in the rain (though it's been welcome) so we can cut the jungle growing where there used to be a lawn. The pumpkins are the worst. The vines now stretch from fenceline to fenceline--and one of them is halfway up the sassafras tree. Has anyone got a good pickling recipe for cucumbers? One that leaves them crisp, not limp. We heard some vague rumor that starting with iced cucumbers makes a difference. Is that a fantasy? Ask your Granny what she knows.
That's all for now. Blessed be.

2 comments:

Carol Maltby said...

I'd like to offer a revision to my speculation in the comments section of your June 29 posting.

I was trying to find out the source of the Doctorates of Divinity (DD) you both have sported after your names for over 30 years. Wikipedia says, "In the United Kingdom, D.D. has traditionally been the highest doctorate granted by universities, usually conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction," though in the US it is customarily an honorary degree.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Divinity

Bronwyn confessed to having no idea where your DD's had come from, though she said my speculation that they were from the Universal Life Church was wrong. So I looked further, and saw that Gerina Dunwich, in her 2001 book The Modern Witch's Complete Sourcebook, says that your Doctor of Divinity degrees come from... The Church of Wicca!

Can you confirm please that as Archbishop and Bishop of the church and school you started, you gave yourself these prestigious academic credentials? (Though surely Gerina is mistaken -- DD in any form is an academic honor, so it would have had to come from your School of Wicca, not the Church).

While I'm fact-checking, perhaps you would be so kind as to confirm some internet information on Gavin. George Knowles says, "In 1952, Gavin graduated from King’s College London with honors, gaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, and after completing his post doctoral thesis with the Department of Atomic Energy in Cumbria, he received a Doctorate in Physics & Mathematics which launched him into a long and successful career in the aerospace industry."

http://www.controverscial.com/Gavin%20and%20Yvonne%20Frost.htm

Could you please confirm if that information about Gavin is correct as stated, and let me know the title of Gavin's doctoral dissertation?

While I can't say if using iced cucumberss would help, we've always enjoyed the bread and butter pickles in Janet Greene's classic Putting Food By for their flavor.

A.J. Drew said...

Concerning Witchwars at Brushwood – Could you point to a URL which states such were promised? Who exactly do you think is attacking you? All I am doing is discussing what you wrote, what you instructed, what you admitted in print you instructed, and what your daughter says you continue to stand behind to this very day.

Speaking to the issue of your instructions in The Witches Bible, Jo (aka Bronwyn Frost) who has been referred to in articles as the current Chief Administrator of the Church and School of Wicca said:

Bronwyn Frost - “Yes, Gavin and Yvonne have made comments regarding these words written 35 years ago, not a retraction, but comments. “

Bronwyn Frost – “I am proud that they have taken the stand they did and that they have not wavered in their strength and faith that honest information about pagan practices are relevant to the discussion today.”

http://www.wildhunt.org/2007/06/sacrificing-frosts.html

Concerning talking about your atrocities and what seems rather clearly to be your instructions to molest, intoxicate, and rape children in the name of Wicca privately: Isn’t that a little bit like the Catholic church asking folk not to talk about their scandal? I say let the public, Christian, Muslim, Pagan, Jew, etc decide for themselves when they read the quotes from your book:

http://ajdrew.blogs.pagannation.com/defrost-please-read/

Unless, of course, you have something to hide.