Grimassi - Old witchcraft: ancient ways for modern days

Grimassi's approach to witchcraft brings a vitality and vibrancy to this book. He writes with knowledge, the voice of experience, and the exuberance of a passionate belief. Historical beliefs and practices are seamlessly woven into the fabric of contemporary potential. This is a wonderful book, and I have enjoyed it.

Rev. Paul Beyerl, author of The Master Book of Herbalism

Old World Witchcraft opens an exciting new window on the whole subject of witchcraft, revealing such concepts as the organic memory of the earth and veneration of the plant kingdom. This is a refreshing book of new yet ancient wisdom that should not be missed. A true delight.

Raymond Buckland, author of The Witch Book

Raven Grimassi has single-handedly put the witch back into the Craft with this book. Old World Witchcraft is real magic for real witchesand a must have for every serious practitioner!

Dorothy Morrison, author of Utterly Wicked

Exposing the Old World witch is no easy task, but after meticulousness research, Grimassi uncovers the real historical witch behind the modern day image. Misconceptions are washed away as the witch of the past is unveileda common member of society with uncommon skills and an exceptional understanding of the world about. The inclusion of a modern grimoire embellishes this work and brings to the forefront modern practices of significantly older beliefs. Old World Witchcraft is a generous introduction to a modern practice and its ancient origins.

Andrew Theitic, editor of The Witches' Almanac

Old World Witchcraft is destined to be a classic and an agent of change that helps witchcraft regain its position of respect and honor in Paganism and the general community. It is intellectual and spiritual water extinguishing the burning-time flames of hypocrisy. In this amazing book, Raven introduces the reader to the original image of the powerful, respected, and feared witch while detangling the centuries of false illusions, hysteria, and spiritual ethnocide. Read and take a trip into the true soul of the witch.

Orion Foxwood, co-founder of the House of Brigh Faery Seership Institute and author of The Tree of Enchantment

Any worker of magic/k will find much inspiration in Raven Grimassi's Old World Witchcraft. The chapter Witches: The Plant People is especially intriguing. If the aspiring Green Witch only adopts using charged water for her plants, or establishes a Shadow Gardena kind of magical compost heap of non-toxic organic materials left over from ritualsor meditates on Grimassi's reflections on mortar and pestle magic/k, she will have more than recouped the price of the book.

Judith Hawkins-Tillirson, author of The Weiser Concise Guide to Herbal Magick

In Old World Witchcraft, Raven Grimassi effectively strips away the thin veneer of the Wiccan revival to give us credible insight into the truth about the practice of real witches. From a deep understanding of the secret powers of nature, to the ancient magical powers of the moon, to communion with otherworldly beings and the spirits of the dead, the witch is a timeless and mysterious creature. Within these pages, Grimassi opens the doorway to the witch's cottage, hidden deep within the forest of our consciousness, that we may be blessed by the witch's wisdom once more.

Christian Day, Salem warlock and author of The Witches' Book of the Dead

It is important for witches to understand our origins, especially as we facilitate the dawning of a new age. This wise book can help us appreciate who we are. Exquisitely researched, it also thoroughly refutes the ridiculous charges that have historically been made against us.

Eileen Holland, author of The Wicca Handbook and The Spellcaster's Reference

I admire bravery and creativity, and Raven Grimassi's Old World Witchcraft has both in abundance. In a time when many practitioners fawn over the so-called fickle truth of academic perspectives on witchcraft, Raven brings forth mythic truth on what it is to be a witch. This book was written for those who have a vocation to be witches and wish for a path that is modern but whose roots are watered with the essence of the old lore. Old World Witchcraft is a perfect remedy for the disenchanted seeker who is lost in the world of the literalists and looking for the path home to mystery.

Ivo Dominguez, author of Spirit Speak and Casting Sacred Space

Grimassi brings together an impressive array of threads from folklore, scholarly literature, history, and experience, gifting us with a tapes-trya vibrant picture of the Old Craft of the Wise.

T. Thorn Coyle, teacher and author of Kissing the Limitless

On a journey to our magickal past in the Old World to create our future, I can think of no better guide than Raven Grimassi. His experience, scholarship, and, most importantly, wisdom shines through these pages, illuminating anyone's serious practice of witchcraft.

Christopher Penczak, author of the Temple of Witchcraft series and The Plant Spirit Familiar

First published in 2011 by Weiser Books, an imprint of

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

665 Third Street, Suite 400

San Francisco, CA 94107

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2011 by Raven Grimassi

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-57863-505-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

Cover design: Jim Warner

Cover photograph: Mandragora officinarum by Benjamin A. Vierling / www.bvierling.com

Interior: Jane Hagaman

Illustrations on pp. 81, 97, 127, 133, 213216, 229, and 231

by Diane Haynes.

Plant illustrations on pp. 113120, 143, and 217 Dover.

Witch's Mark illustration on p. 155 and plant spirit symbols on p. 209

by Raven Grimassi.

Altar photo on p. 163 and apple talisman photo on p. 221

by Stephanie Taylor-Grimassi.

Typeset in Goudy Oldstyle, Trajan, and Chantilly

Printed in Canada

TCP

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1992 (R1997).

Dedicated to all who suffered torment, pain, or death for what they believed, or for what others believed about them.

HUSHED VOICES OF THE PAST

CONCOCTING A WITCH

UNEARTHING THE WITCH

WITCHES: THE PLANT PEOPLE

THE BOOKS OF WITCHCRAFT: A WITCH'S GRIMOIRE

THE INVISIBLE GOD OF WITCHCRAFT

THE FIVE-THORNED PATH

This book is a departure from the familiar theme of arguing for witchcraft as the survival of an ancient tradition. The system presented in the following chapters is not that of the pacifist adhering to the Wiccan guidelines of the harm none Rede. Then what is this book about? Simply stated, it is about old forms of witchcraft traceable through aged European roots. But it is also about the mystical Old World and the witches who lived it and live it still.

I will touch on themes that appear in modern witchcraft and Wicca such as a goddess and god figure. In doing so I am only examining references past and present in a search for equilibrium. I am not trying to make a case for witchcraft as a pre-Gardnerian religion that survived into modern times. If you simply follow along to discover where I take things (without assuming anything in advance), then pleasant surprises await. I will not lure you into becoming entangled in the brambles; instead we will walk the path together for a midnight visit in the old witches' garden.