Chris French
alt.pagan 11 Nov 1994
Gavin and Yvonne Frost, as many of you already know, have been running one of the largest correspondence schools in Wicca in the US, for several decades now. However, it seems as though whenever I mention the fact that I am happily enrolled, immediately it evokes a response similar to "I'm against their stance on taking money for Craft teaching." As well, those of you who have studied Adler's excellent work, "Drawing Down the Moon," will recall the dissension between the Frosts and "mainstream" Wicca "leaders" who feel the Frosts are monotheistic and thus should not call themselves Witches. As I progressed through the course, I began to see that the interview was a bit misleading, in my opinion, from what the Frosts actually taught, so I asked them if they would like to offer a statement of clarification of the two above points. Below, then is a two part response, a reply from Yvonne Frost, which addresses these two fundamental areas of conflict. I will forward any (rational) comments to the Frosts; if you send a private e-mail message, please state clearly whether or not you would like it to be forwarded. Webmaster@Wicca.Net [With respect to accepting money for instruction in the Craft, by Yvonne Frost] The original idea behind not taking money for Craft work was generated by Gerald Gardner so that the people in Britain could avoid being indicted under the Fraudulent Mediums Act. Many Witches around the country take money for the tasks that they perform: counseling, tarot readings, production of craft items. We think there is no reason why a qualified Witch counselor should not accept the same or similar fees as a psychologist. In the past the School has traded courses for work and for other things of value such as food. We still continue to do this. We also have a scholarship program for people who are incarcerated and for others who have no funds. On average we give away about ten scholarships to needy people each year. It is a sad commentary on people's attitudes that the scholarships we give away result in very few qualified students; it seems that people value only those things for which they have to pay. We will be most happy to give away courses free when the US postal service starts giving us free mailing privileges and the makers of such things as paper and printer's ink provide them free to our press. Meantime, we would like to add that we live under a Vow of Poverty. We don't drive a modern Lamborghini or have a studio full of electronic gold-plated computers and cameras. Anyone who would like to try living under the vow of poverty we have committed to, is welcome to try. It isn't easy. It is only generous donations outside the course fees which get us by, together with a lot of self-denial. [With respect to being labelled monotheistic, by Yvonne Frost] On the subject of the Ultimate Deity: who can tell what It is? We think of It as perhaps an underlying Force in the universe, without gender identification and without any human attributes--especially we do not see that It has anger or love. We think of It as one might think of a monotheistic deity. We acknowledge the various forces embodied in the gods and goddesses of any pantheon and even in gods and goddesses that people are making new, such as Squat the Goddess of Parking Meters. We have no objection to anyone putting energy into (worshipping) any deity form, and in this way we are polytheistic. So you can think of us, if you like, as polytheistic monotheists, trying to HARM NONE. We recognize that to re-balance the world we need a great deal of energy directed into the female aspect of the Life Force; that energy is probably best inserted into the balance by the heavy emphasis and use of female deities. Four thousand years of monotheistic male domination will take a long time to redress. Until everyone realizes that the Craft is a natural religion, a religion of nature and not of books, we will still need to emphasize keeping the balance. Blessed be, Yvonne of Croatoan Borrowed from Wicca net Who are Gavin and Yvonne Frost? Copyright © 1997 - 2004 c.e., Church and School of Wicca Gavin Frost, BSc, PhD, DD A Scorpio. Born, reared and formally educated in Staffordshire, England, Gavin had already built a successful career as an executive in the aerospace industry when he and Yvonne launched the Church and School of Wicca in 1968. Since then, the two of them have become the world's most widely acclaimed Witches. More than 200,000 seekers have contacted them from every corner of the globe. They have appeared on behalf of their beloved Craft on national television's Phil Donahue Show, PM Magazine, and Tom Snyder's Tomorrow Show, as well as hundreds of local television and radio shows, and in newspaper and magazine articles throughout the country. Gavin is among the most thoroughly trained and tried practitioners of the Craft on Earth. He learned his early Craft lessons in England and Wales, then progressed through grueling tests which rid Wiccans of the fear of death if they can endure the mental and physical agony (he did) in the cold, treacherous mountains of Bavaria. To gain an even higher level of understanding, Gavin has worked extensively with Hindus, Haitians, Sikhs, Thais, Japanese, and Australian aborigines -- all in their own homelands. He is one of the few western Witches to wear the old-fashioned initiation scar on his wrist, who is qualified to wear the Saffron Robe of the Zauberer in der Bayrischen Naehe, and Arch-Flamen of the Western Neighbourhood. He and Yvonne have authored more than twenty-five definitive books on the occult including the worldwide bestseller, The Magic Power of Witchcraft, that have been published world-wide in five languages. Yvonne Frost, AA, DD, Mensa An Aries. Yvonne is one of the truly great healers, teachers, and practitioners of our time. Born in Los Angeles, Yvonne descends from two long lines of Witches reaching back many generations into the Cumberland Gap of Kentucky, and into Clan Gunn of Scotland. She has added much to the already long and illustrious history of those Craft lines with her own unique healing talents. She admits the principal reason for her involvement in the founding of the Church and School of Wicca was the opportunity to pass that knowledge along to others. Reports of healing success by thousands of students attest to just how effective Yvonne's teaching talents have been. The normally outspoken Flamenca becomes suddenly shy and self-effacing when encouraged to discuss her success, admitting only that "I have made my life's mission the teaching of those who seek, and healing. I am fulfilled by teaching them to make their own lives and the lives of their loved ones more comfortable. That knowledge makes all those years of struggling and developing my Craft awareness well worth while." Both Gavin and Yvonne have repeatedly proven their dedication to the Craft over the past three decades. They have often endured ridicule by the ignorant, and had bullets through their windows, in their utter commitment to bearing the Craft standard of truth around the world. Gavin and Yvonne typically have a busy travel schedule, but an all expenses paid vacation to Florida (including speaking at your festival) or to some college town to support your pagan/Wiccan activities is not out of the question. E-mail them at the school's address with a reference to festival speaking engagements to see what can be worked out. Our email address is school@citynet.net ©1999 - 2008 - Aradias~Attic P.S. I personally recommend the Frost's School of Wicca, it is an excellent way for beginners to get a real feel for what it is all about. Many Magicks... Aradia Rose |
