We're back--for a short time--after spending Mabon at the site called Heavenly Acres near Stanardsville VA. What a great celebration. The leader of the festival, Deb Striker, even though eight months pregnant, had a great organization and everything went off in real time rather than in eastern pagan time. Praise to every individual who supported her and helped to make this such an enriching experience.
We ourselves did seven presentations and workshops. Word must have gotten around : successive workshops were attended by more and more people. We owe special thank-yous : Catt, for feeding and looking after us so well; Deb's husband John for building the stage on which we enjoyed teaching Argentine tango and then watching such events as the fashion show and the dancers and bands.
We confidently expect this festival to grow, especially since it is one of the least expensive three-day observances in the nation. The site is aptly named : beautiful second-growth forest, with facilities here and there, and showers and toilets that actually worked. About 4 o'clock one morning Yvonne heard an owl rehearsing its riffs; and squirrels and other furred ones abound.
Now to other business. Tomorrow we expect to put one of our more thought-provoking essays on this site. Meantime here is some more scheduling news.
09 26 NRUUF's Nature Spirituality Alliance Day at the Southern Appalachian Folklife Center,
just a spit and a holler from West Virginia's Pipestem State Park in Summers County off Highway 20. 9 a.m. until sunset, for a donation at the gate.
10 9/10/11 Little Rock Arkansas arkansaspaganpride.thestoremore.com
10 17 Fayetteville Arkansas Heart of the Ozarks Pagan Pride Day
Northshore Pavilion 10:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Lake Fayetteville Road, Fayetteville AR 72702
information@heartoftheozarksppd.com
10 24/25/26 Springfield Missouri Greenleaf Coven's 31st Samhain Seminar
3 p.m. Friday through the weekend : speakers, readers, vendors, drumming on site
http://www.myspace.com/greenleafcoven
Lamplighter Inn reservations@lamplightersouth.com
[mention Frosts or ORPA (Ozarks Regional Pagan Alliance) or Greenleaf]
1772 S Glenstone 417) 882-1113
We'll see you at one of these events. If you are a newby to the Craft, or if you just want to see the weirdos at play, or if the itch of curiosity just won't be quieted, drop in and see what it's all about. Yes, we're deviant, but not necessarily dangerous. And anyhow, you've seen normal (shudder). How will you ever know unless you see for yourself? In-person conversation is so infinitely more satisfactory than brief, hasty questions on the web.
Blessed be those who hold out for first-hand experiences. Gavin and Yvonne
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Our Immediate Future
Again, we're back from visiting friends out of town, for a day at home to catch up on laundry and e-mail. We've just been to Erie PA for their Pagan Pride Day, a mind-blowing event. The spirit there and the sense of community were a joy to experience.
The trip was arranged by Reverend Badger and Cindy, to whom many thanks--more than we can express. We stayed in the home of Diana and Rich, to whom even more thanks. Their various cats and two dogs were kind enough not to complain even when we wore their fur thin.
While we were in the neighborhood, on the Friday we took the opportunity to lunch with Frank and Darlene Barney at Brushwood. Darlene was her usual feisty self, much to our pleasure; and Frank seemed stronger than when we had seen him in summer. Maybe it was the lower population density. Sending energy to Frank would be much appreciated--certainly by us Frosts. We confirmed our invitation to Sirius Rising next July; so you troops be there; you hear? See
camp@brushwood.com.
At the Pagan Pride Day we gave three presentations. The one that seemed most popular was "99 Ways Good Witches Go Bad", based on our book "Good Witches Fly Smoothly". We offered some of our books for sale; interestingly, no one bought a "Good Witch's Bible" (the update of "The Witch's Bible"); so maybe nobody is interested any longer in what it really says ... as contrasted to what the web says it says, or maybe wants it to have said.
On the Sunday we had the great pleasure of giving a presentation at the Erie Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship after their annual Blending Water service. That service occurs at this time of year, when people returning from vacation and travel bring with them a little water from memorable places. Glastonbury was well represented, as were Northern Ireland and many other sites.
Our plans for the immediate future? They include the festival in Springfield MO, now set for October 30 at the
Lamplighter Inn (417) 882-1113 reservations@lamplightersouth.com
172 S. Glenstone Springfield
For reservations, mention
ORPA (Ozarks Regional Pagan Alliance) or
Greenleaf
Anyhow, off we lurch. Until next time, blessed be all. Keep fresh batteries in your b**ls**t detector. Gavin and Yvonne
The trip was arranged by Reverend Badger and Cindy, to whom many thanks--more than we can express. We stayed in the home of Diana and Rich, to whom even more thanks. Their various cats and two dogs were kind enough not to complain even when we wore their fur thin.
While we were in the neighborhood, on the Friday we took the opportunity to lunch with Frank and Darlene Barney at Brushwood. Darlene was her usual feisty self, much to our pleasure; and Frank seemed stronger than when we had seen him in summer. Maybe it was the lower population density. Sending energy to Frank would be much appreciated--certainly by us Frosts. We confirmed our invitation to Sirius Rising next July; so you troops be there; you hear? See
camp@brushwood.com.
At the Pagan Pride Day we gave three presentations. The one that seemed most popular was "99 Ways Good Witches Go Bad", based on our book "Good Witches Fly Smoothly". We offered some of our books for sale; interestingly, no one bought a "Good Witch's Bible" (the update of "The Witch's Bible"); so maybe nobody is interested any longer in what it really says ... as contrasted to what the web says it says, or maybe wants it to have said.
On the Sunday we had the great pleasure of giving a presentation at the Erie Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship after their annual Blending Water service. That service occurs at this time of year, when people returning from vacation and travel bring with them a little water from memorable places. Glastonbury was well represented, as were Northern Ireland and many other sites.
Our plans for the immediate future? They include the festival in Springfield MO, now set for October 30 at the
Lamplighter Inn (417) 882-1113 reservations@lamplightersouth.com
172 S. Glenstone Springfield
For reservations, mention
ORPA (Ozarks Regional Pagan Alliance) or
Greenleaf
Anyhow, off we lurch. Until next time, blessed be all. Keep fresh batteries in your b**ls**t detector. Gavin and Yvonne
Monday, September 7, 2009
Syncretic Monotheism
One of the things that the pagan/Wiccan community seems to find disturbing about the School of Wicca (among so many other things) is the School's espousing the paradigm of a monotheistic, unknowable Ultimate Deity. Of course most of the community cannot be expected to be familiar with the fine esoteric distinctions essential to scholastic anthropology and philosophy; these are specialist fields.
If there is postulated an Ultimate Deity beyond being "known" by the left-brain intelligence, that instead is something beyond "Nothingness" and is indescribable, one that can be comprehended only through the right brain, one that is at an entirely different level, that is beyond our simple comprehension at this stage of our development, then people who believe in such an Ultimate Deity are ipso facto monotheists. They are what is defined as syncretic monotheists. Since the Ultimate Deity is incomprehensible, a deity of any type and any gender, described in any terms, is acceptable to a religion/spiritual path that espouses such a Deity construct.
The monotheism taught by the abrahamic religions is defined as ethnic monotheism with its exclusive "My way or die" mindset. In such a monotheism only one god--a definable god (or goddess, for that matter)--is permissible; nothing else. All other deities are beyond the pale and are labeled evil, illegal, or satanic.
The Church and School of Wicca teaches syncretic inclusive monotheism that allows all types of gods and goddesses to be part of your personal pantheon. These lower-level gods and goddesses are often thought of in anthropomorphic terms and are comprehensible to our finite left-brain minds: They're a lot like us, though maybe more powerful. These are subordinate deities, of course--stone gods, jungian archetypes, devas, elementals, "entities", jujus, thoughtforms, ethnic specialties of every stripe. Call 'em what you will, they are creations of the human mind. In other words, without human attention, they would never have existed and would cease to exist.
We urge you to expand your awareness, to look up the scholarly definitions from original sources, and to understand that the right-brain undefinable idea is just as real, just as valid, as that of the left brain. The two categories are simply in different dimensions.
Now. If we have not insulted you and your beliefs, raise your hand. We'll get to you just as quickly as we can.
Blessed be those who question. Gavin and Yvonne
If there is postulated an Ultimate Deity beyond being "known" by the left-brain intelligence, that instead is something beyond "Nothingness" and is indescribable, one that can be comprehended only through the right brain, one that is at an entirely different level, that is beyond our simple comprehension at this stage of our development, then people who believe in such an Ultimate Deity are ipso facto monotheists. They are what is defined as syncretic monotheists. Since the Ultimate Deity is incomprehensible, a deity of any type and any gender, described in any terms, is acceptable to a religion/spiritual path that espouses such a Deity construct.
The monotheism taught by the abrahamic religions is defined as ethnic monotheism with its exclusive "My way or die" mindset. In such a monotheism only one god--a definable god (or goddess, for that matter)--is permissible; nothing else. All other deities are beyond the pale and are labeled evil, illegal, or satanic.
The Church and School of Wicca teaches syncretic inclusive monotheism that allows all types of gods and goddesses to be part of your personal pantheon. These lower-level gods and goddesses are often thought of in anthropomorphic terms and are comprehensible to our finite left-brain minds: They're a lot like us, though maybe more powerful. These are subordinate deities, of course--stone gods, jungian archetypes, devas, elementals, "entities", jujus, thoughtforms, ethnic specialties of every stripe. Call 'em what you will, they are creations of the human mind. In other words, without human attention, they would never have existed and would cease to exist.
We urge you to expand your awareness, to look up the scholarly definitions from original sources, and to understand that the right-brain undefinable idea is just as real, just as valid, as that of the left brain. The two categories are simply in different dimensions.
Now. If we have not insulted you and your beliefs, raise your hand. We'll get to you just as quickly as we can.
Blessed be those who question. Gavin and Yvonne
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Who Founded Wicca?
Fact Wikipedia, Ronald Hutton ("The Triumph of the Moon"), and many others claim that
St. Gerald Gardner founded Wicca and some claim thta Raymond Buckland brought Wicca to New York.
Fact They are all wrong. Although Gerald Gardner did a great deal to publicize Witchcraft, in only one place in all his writings did he use the word wicca--and he was not referring to a spiritual path or to a religion.
Whee. Let's have a schism.
We well remember the occasion in 1968 CE when the Coven of Boskednan gathered after a circle, each with a glass of Beverage, to discuss whether the thing they were working on should be called Wicce or Wicca. The final agreement was that it should be Wicca (the male form of the noun). Thus in 1968 the Church and School of Wicca was born. The Church earned its Letter of Determination from the IRS on August 31, 1972.
Many people have contributed to the formation of Wicca.
Gerald Gardner popularized his form of Witchcraft and with the help of Doreen Valiente formed Gardnerian Witchcraft. Later--posthumously--at some time in the mists of history, someone declared that it had now become Gardnerian Wicca.
Raymond Buckland brought Gardnerian Witchcraft to New York in 1964. In 1966 he wrote "Witchcraft the Religion". In 1971 June Johns wrote "King of the Witches"; Stewart Farrar wrote "What Witches Do"; and Leo Martello held a "witch-in" in New York City's Central Park.
Our (Frosts') first use of the word Wicca to identify a spiritual path and a religion was welcomed and embraced by the community, especially the community's feminist side. Raymond Buckland formed Seax Wicca in 1973; in that same year Reclaiming Wicca, a Feri tradition, was born based loosely on the teachings of Victor and Cora Anderson.
It is amusing to see how Wicca has moved back in time. Indeed, one could now easily believe that there was an ancient Roman religion called Wicca and perhaps even one in Catal Huyuk in, say, 14,000 BCE. Of course there may well have been elements of the modern reconstruction in the thoughts of those earlier peoples. Certainly we find glimmers of them in old Tantra and in Jewish mysticism, particularly in the concepts of timelessness and oneness associated with Nirvana and the indescribable, unknowable Ein Sof. And goodness knows, there was a time before Pope Gregory dealt with the calendar, when people timed their festivals by the movement of heavenly bodies, not "on the first day of calendar month X."
We think it behooves self-appointed people who lecture, people who write, people who otherwise discuss this new vibrant spiritual path, to get their facts straight. If they can't be bothered, then their whole set of claims becomes equally suspect.
Historic sources, like the virgin, need to be immaculate.
St. Gerald Gardner founded Wicca and some claim thta Raymond Buckland brought Wicca to New York.
Fact They are all wrong. Although Gerald Gardner did a great deal to publicize Witchcraft, in only one place in all his writings did he use the word wicca--and he was not referring to a spiritual path or to a religion.
Whee. Let's have a schism.
We well remember the occasion in 1968 CE when the Coven of Boskednan gathered after a circle, each with a glass of Beverage, to discuss whether the thing they were working on should be called Wicce or Wicca. The final agreement was that it should be Wicca (the male form of the noun). Thus in 1968 the Church and School of Wicca was born. The Church earned its Letter of Determination from the IRS on August 31, 1972.
Many people have contributed to the formation of Wicca.
Gerald Gardner popularized his form of Witchcraft and with the help of Doreen Valiente formed Gardnerian Witchcraft. Later--posthumously--at some time in the mists of history, someone declared that it had now become Gardnerian Wicca.
Raymond Buckland brought Gardnerian Witchcraft to New York in 1964. In 1966 he wrote "Witchcraft the Religion". In 1971 June Johns wrote "King of the Witches"; Stewart Farrar wrote "What Witches Do"; and Leo Martello held a "witch-in" in New York City's Central Park.
Our (Frosts') first use of the word Wicca to identify a spiritual path and a religion was welcomed and embraced by the community, especially the community's feminist side. Raymond Buckland formed Seax Wicca in 1973; in that same year Reclaiming Wicca, a Feri tradition, was born based loosely on the teachings of Victor and Cora Anderson.
It is amusing to see how Wicca has moved back in time. Indeed, one could now easily believe that there was an ancient Roman religion called Wicca and perhaps even one in Catal Huyuk in, say, 14,000 BCE. Of course there may well have been elements of the modern reconstruction in the thoughts of those earlier peoples. Certainly we find glimmers of them in old Tantra and in Jewish mysticism, particularly in the concepts of timelessness and oneness associated with Nirvana and the indescribable, unknowable Ein Sof. And goodness knows, there was a time before Pope Gregory dealt with the calendar, when people timed their festivals by the movement of heavenly bodies, not "on the first day of calendar month X."
We think it behooves self-appointed people who lecture, people who write, people who otherwise discuss this new vibrant spiritual path, to get their facts straight. If they can't be bothered, then their whole set of claims becomes equally suspect.
Historic sources, like the virgin, need to be immaculate.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Our Immediate Future - Frost Travels 2009
The following events and presentations are scheduled firm. If you want to meet the Frosts in person, if you'd like to see their fangs and their hairy palms for yourself, come to one or more of the events listed here. Final updates will be posted not on this website, but at the websites listed with each entry. Completing websites will appear here as they arrive on our own Incoming.
September 6 Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship(UU), Beckley WV 11:00 a.m.
"Toward Enlightenment" newriveruu.org
September 12 Pagan Pride Day, Erie PA board@U-N-C-L-E.org
10:30 until dark St. Nick's Grove, Erie PA
September 13 Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship, Erie
"Megalithic Monuments"
September 17 - 20 Mountain Mysteries Mabon, Stanardsville VA
www.Mountain-Mysteries.com/Mabon.htm
September 26 Nature Spiritual Alliance Day, Appalachian South Folklife Center
Pipestem WV http://naturespirituality alliance.ning.com
www.folklifecenter.org
yurya2@yahoo.com
October 9, 10, 11 Little Rock AR arkansaspaganpride.thestoremore.com
October 17 ff Fayetteville AR
October 24 Springfield MO
Witches' Ball
PS PaTpl Thanks for your attention. You know who you are. Are you willing to divulge at least what state you reside in?
September 6 Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship(UU), Beckley WV 11:00 a.m.
"Toward Enlightenment" newriveruu.org
September 12 Pagan Pride Day, Erie PA board@U-N-C-L-E.org
10:30 until dark St. Nick's Grove, Erie PA
September 13 Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship, Erie
"Megalithic Monuments"
September 17 - 20 Mountain Mysteries Mabon, Stanardsville VA
www.Mountain-Mysteries.com/Mabon.htm
September 26 Nature Spiritual Alliance Day, Appalachian South Folklife Center
Pipestem WV http://naturespirituality alliance.ning.com
www.folklifecenter.org
yurya2@yahoo.com
October 9, 10, 11 Little Rock AR arkansaspaganpride.thestoremore.com
October 17 ff Fayetteville AR
October 24 Springfield MO
Witches' Ball
PS PaTpl Thanks for your attention. You know who you are. Are you willing to divulge at least what state you reside in?
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Supernatural? Paranormal? Abnormal?
Okay, we're back--temporarily, at least. This season we're responding to more and more requests for presentations. Florida Pagan Gathering, Sirius Rising (New York State), and Kaleidoscope Gathering 20 in Ontario : all were wonderful festivals. Those who do not attend miss a lot of spiritual growth, a genuine glimpse of an alternative reality, a chance to kick back for more than the 20-minute downtimes of the workaday world.
Soon we will be running off in all directions again. The season is far from over.
Looking over recent mail, we get the impression that people are once again getting confused by the words the conventional religions use to promulgate their paradigm and their agenda. In that paradigm there are lots of things that you are not allowed to investigate. Such experiences are labeled, for instance, supernatural, paranormal, abnormal, or even mental illness. For endless centuries, ever since the Axial Age when dominating male gods took over from goddesses, we in the western world have been taught that we must avoid all those terrible devilish manifestations--although such manifestations occur in every culture of the real world.
Now here's what we call a reality smack.
There is no such thing as paranormal or supernatural. Everything in the world is natural. Do not fall into the trap of avoiding investigation of these valid experiences because some authority figure has told you they are off-limits.
This is exactly the problem we experience with the abrahamic gods and creation. "You must not investigate that. It's God", we're told. The off-warding hand is accompanied by tone and expression of chin-trembling piety.
Hmm. Pardon me. Why can't I investigate it? The juju will smack me down if I look behind the curtain?
You owe it to yourself to explore possibilities, and to develop your own faculties to accomplish that exploration. You should welcome experiences that allow you more comprehension of the mundane and the spiritual worlds in which we live : both the physical / temporal world of the here-now and the altered-state world of astral planes. We urge you to pay attention to impressions you receive in meditation. Most of them will be helpful; though occasionally, if your Guide is of a different era, you may want to avoid such suggestions as washing your clothes at the river bank. Recall, though, that the Guide has gone to great trouble to get the information to you. I'm afraid they probably must drink themselves to sleep at night when we behave as we do and tangle ourselves in our own underwear.
If we declare our personal independence from the influence of dominator priesthoods, if we open our minds to the guidance available, we can more closely approach the ideal of getting through the currrent incarnation with maximum growth and minimum pain.
Blessed be. See you at a festival. We'll publish the autumn itinerary next week.
Soon we will be running off in all directions again. The season is far from over.
Looking over recent mail, we get the impression that people are once again getting confused by the words the conventional religions use to promulgate their paradigm and their agenda. In that paradigm there are lots of things that you are not allowed to investigate. Such experiences are labeled, for instance, supernatural, paranormal, abnormal, or even mental illness. For endless centuries, ever since the Axial Age when dominating male gods took over from goddesses, we in the western world have been taught that we must avoid all those terrible devilish manifestations--although such manifestations occur in every culture of the real world.
Now here's what we call a reality smack.
There is no such thing as paranormal or supernatural. Everything in the world is natural. Do not fall into the trap of avoiding investigation of these valid experiences because some authority figure has told you they are off-limits.
This is exactly the problem we experience with the abrahamic gods and creation. "You must not investigate that. It's God", we're told. The off-warding hand is accompanied by tone and expression of chin-trembling piety.
Hmm. Pardon me. Why can't I investigate it? The juju will smack me down if I look behind the curtain?
You owe it to yourself to explore possibilities, and to develop your own faculties to accomplish that exploration. You should welcome experiences that allow you more comprehension of the mundane and the spiritual worlds in which we live : both the physical / temporal world of the here-now and the altered-state world of astral planes. We urge you to pay attention to impressions you receive in meditation. Most of them will be helpful; though occasionally, if your Guide is of a different era, you may want to avoid such suggestions as washing your clothes at the river bank. Recall, though, that the Guide has gone to great trouble to get the information to you. I'm afraid they probably must drink themselves to sleep at night when we behave as we do and tangle ourselves in our own underwear.
If we declare our personal independence from the influence of dominator priesthoods, if we open our minds to the guidance available, we can more closely approach the ideal of getting through the currrent incarnation with maximum growth and minimum pain.
Blessed be. See you at a festival. We'll publish the autumn itinerary next week.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Raw Materials
Yvonne writes:
When we lived on the coast of North Carolina, we found the water table to be about three inches below the surface of the soil. Geologically, the entire coast might accurately be described as a wetland (the local word is pocosin). The word basin has locally been shortened to bay as in Bay River. Anyhow, natives claim the mosquito as their state bird. Humans in their wisdom have seen fit to dig drainage ditches everywhere to fit the land to serve for agricultural purposes. Indeed, it has become almost a rite of passage among a certain social stratum of high-school males to drive a vehicle into one ditch or another before graduation day.
Anyhow, this is all to set the scene for my real thought here. It concerns water lilies and silt.
The muddy bottom of the ditches is a fertile place indeed. Much, much material comes to rest there. The investigating shovel may find simple saturated earth, runoff fertilizer from the potato fields, waste from careless septic tanks--any amount of assorted material, all of it rich in nutrients. We city-dwelling humans are likely to scorn the material if we are thinking stereotypically; yet there is a class of life form that regards it as desirable. That is the life form that we call water lilies. Such plants put out hungry roots and ingest the material gratefully.
What do they do with it? They convert it into blossoms of unsurpassed beauty. Recall the Buddhist mantra, "Om mane padme hum!"--"Oh, God, the jewel in the lotus!" The lotus or padme perfectly symbolizes the upward-striving spirit in every human--yet its roots are nourished in substances labeled filth.
There is a metaphor here.
When we lived on the coast of North Carolina, we found the water table to be about three inches below the surface of the soil. Geologically, the entire coast might accurately be described as a wetland (the local word is pocosin). The word basin has locally been shortened to bay as in Bay River. Anyhow, natives claim the mosquito as their state bird. Humans in their wisdom have seen fit to dig drainage ditches everywhere to fit the land to serve for agricultural purposes. Indeed, it has become almost a rite of passage among a certain social stratum of high-school males to drive a vehicle into one ditch or another before graduation day.
Anyhow, this is all to set the scene for my real thought here. It concerns water lilies and silt.
The muddy bottom of the ditches is a fertile place indeed. Much, much material comes to rest there. The investigating shovel may find simple saturated earth, runoff fertilizer from the potato fields, waste from careless septic tanks--any amount of assorted material, all of it rich in nutrients. We city-dwelling humans are likely to scorn the material if we are thinking stereotypically; yet there is a class of life form that regards it as desirable. That is the life form that we call water lilies. Such plants put out hungry roots and ingest the material gratefully.
What do they do with it? They convert it into blossoms of unsurpassed beauty. Recall the Buddhist mantra, "Om mane padme hum!"--"Oh, God, the jewel in the lotus!" The lotus or padme perfectly symbolizes the upward-striving spirit in every human--yet its roots are nourished in substances labeled filth.
There is a metaphor here.
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