The Solitary Wiccan's Bible Finding your guides, walking the paths, entering new realms, practicing magic. authors: Gavin & Yvonne Frost Weiser Books 2004 ISBN #1-57863-313-3 Gavin and Yvonne Frost are co-founders of the Church and School of Wicca, founded in 1968 and granted federal recognition as a religious association in 1972. The Solitary Wiccan's Bible is based on the metaphor of a lone pilgrim setting out on a journey of spiritual self discovery. The material that is covered in this book is heavily esoteric in nature, and keyed to the beliefs of the authors and the school of Wicca that they founded. The first thing that the Frost's indicate is that 95% of the students enrolling in their school are solitary practitioners (through personal choice, or through personal circumstances such as incarceration or simply living in an area where Wiccan beliefs are not tolerated). The pilgrims path that the Frost's use as an example, or focusing device, is the ancient pilgrim's path to Santiago de Compostela, deep in the country in Spain. The Frost's gift the reader with three sources through which any information that crosses the reader's path may be tested: (1) historic writing, (2) modern day experiences that are reported by individuals that are not "selling" a specific system, and (3) their own School of Wicca (as a resource for Wiccan and occult material). The journey starts out with the Frost's definitions for the six directions (North, South, East, West, Up and Down), and their associations for color, element, elemental, feeling, and God-ess. (The contraction "God-ess - a combining of God and Goddess, can be found throughout this book, and gets very, very tiring.) Then the reader moves on to the explanation of the Pentagram within the triple circle - the Pentagram, standing for magick, as well as the five senses. The triple circles stand for the Wilderness (Chaos), Home, Astral and Spiritual spheres or planes. Meditation is discussed in an interesting manner - the practitioner meditates as if they were on the moon looking down at the earth. The three levels of initiation are discussed in depth, including the preparation needed, what is expected of the Seeker, what exactly the initiation involves, and the changes in themselves and in their environment that the Seeker can expect. Now the three types of meditation that the Frost's work with are covered in depth: (1) active meditation, (2) passive meditation, and (3) astral meditation. Power mantra's are discussed, as well as psychic protection and preparing the area that the Seeker will be meditating in. The Pentagram itself is discussed, with the five points being defined by the Frost's as representing: (1) progressive reincarnation, (2) the Law of Attraction, (3) harmony and serenity, (4) power through knowledge and, (5) the Wiccan Rede. Several esoteric systems are discussed in relation to Wicca, including: Kabala, Yoga (specifically the Chakra's), and Gematria. Enough information is given that the reader will be able to obtain a general idea of how the system works, and whether it is a path that they wish to follow. Working with rituals and spells, and the making of talismans and amulets comes next, along with another annoying contraction - tamulets - which is meant to represent both talismans and amulets. Working with power, grounding and centering, and working with the energy of the Gods and Goddesses is also covered. There is a great deal of information contained within this book. It has been well researched and well presented, with graphs and charts that allow the reader to get a good picture of what is being discussed. There are appendixes that present the Principles of Wiccan Belief, as adopted by the Council of American Witches on April 12th, 1974; as well as what the Frost's term "A New Definition of Wicca", where they attempt, in a very discrediting manner (with the exception of Wicca), to find the underlying essence of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Taoism and Witchcraft (Wicca). I would advise anyone who was considering reading this book to take what served them well, and leave the rest behind. There is a heavy salting of personal opinion and the philosophy of their own School of Wicca that at times overshadows the principles being discussed. © November 2004 Bonnie Cehovet Personal Lifestyle Reading - I offer a Personal Lifestyle Reading using Tarot that looks at past, present and future influences in your life, at the energies that are currently available to help you along your path, and at those energies that are appearing as challanges. My goal is to offer you insight into your decision making process, as well as tools that you can use to both better understand your path and make conscious, choice centered decisions. Home Personal Empowerment links Personal Empowerment articles View My Guestbook Sign My Guestbook Graphics by Art for the web