Raven Grimassi - Italian Witchcraft: The Old Religion of Southern Europe

'The Roots of `Witchcraft-Italy's Old RZeligion Gives On

The present trend of post-modern Witchcraft shows a strongly Celtic influence. But Italian Witchcraft, or Stregheria, pre-dates Celtic Witchcraft by centuries. When Celtic peoples were still living in primitive dwellings, Southern European civilizations were the glory of the earth. Italian Witchcraft is a proud legacy of the Etruscan civilization and the Roman Empire. It has been passed down through countless generations and it is alive and well both in Italy and wherever persons of Italian descent have settled.Stregheria is a passionate Magick. In order to show that they came freely to practice the Craft, Aradia, the fourteenth-century Holy Strega, instructed Italian Witches to be naked during rituals and be sexual with each other. Today's Stregas may not choose to intermingle so freely, but an earthy passion still powers Stregherian rites. It was not and is not a religion for those who are embarrassed by or ashamed of their all-too-human nature. Stregheria welcomes and empowers the many sides of humanity-mind, body, and spirit.Italian Witchcraft makes Stregheria accessible to everyone. Witches whose rituals are steeped in the Wiccan tradition can enhance their rites with the passionate spice of Stregheria. Novice Witches can create identity by self-training in a complete Magickal tradition. Italian Witchcraft is a gift to today's practitioners of the Craft.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raven Grimassi was trained in the Family Tradition of Italian Witchcraft. He has also been an initiate of several other traditions including Brittic Wicca and the Pictish-Gaelic Tradition. Raven has been a teacher and practitioner of the Craft for over 2 5 years. His former students include authors Scott Cunningham and Donald Kraig. Raven is the author of several books on Wicca and Witchcraft including The Wiccan Mysteries which was awarded Book of the Year 1998 and First Place-Spirituality Book by the Coalition of Visionary Retailers. It is his life's work to ensure the survival of ancient Witch lore and legend along with traditional ancestral teachings on the Old Religion.

The author has been both a writer and editor for several magazines over the past decade, including The Shadow's Edge and Raven's Call magazine, a journal of pre-Christian religion. Raven has appeared on both television and radio talk-shows in the San Diego area, in his efforts to educate the public about the positive practices and natures of Wicca and Witchcraft. He lectures on a variety of such topics as folk lore, magick, and ritual structure. Raven is active in lecturing, holding workshops, and teaching formal classes.

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ITALIAN

WITCHCRAFT

The Old Religion of Southern Europe

RAVEN GRIMASSI

DEDICATION

To Diane, who was therefrom the beginning; nothing is forgotten; to my Mother, for her tales of Old Italy and for all that she taught me; to my madrina Teresa who initiated my first rite of passage; and to my Uncle Arturo and cousin Fulvio, who always fill in the missing pieces.

OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

The Book of the Holy Strega (Nemi Enterprises, 1981)

The Book of Ways, Vols. I & II (Nemi Enterprises, 1982)

Whispers, the Teachings of Old Italy (Moon Dragon Publishing, 1991)

Teachings of the Holy Strega (Moon Dragon Publishing, 1991)

Ways of the Strega (Llewellyn Publications, 1995)

Wiccan Mysteries (Llewellyn Publications, 1997)

Wiccan Magick (Llewellyn Publications, 1998)

Hereditary Witchcraft (Llewellyn Publications, 1999)

Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft (Llewellyn Publications, 2000)

Beltane (Llewellyn Publications, 2001)

The Witches' Craft (Llewellyn Publications, 2002)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ix

xi

xv

Part 1: An OverviewPart 2: The WorkbookPart 3: Aradia and the TeachingsPart 4: Appendices

Preface to the Second edition

My purpose in writing this current edition is to clarify aspects of the earlier material and to correct some of the misunderstandings that critics appeared to have had of the first edition material. I have also introduced a new chapter on Tuscan Witchcraft along with several new appendices that should serve to enhance the overall material presented in this book. Some revisions have been made in many of the chapters as either corrections or additional information. I believe this current edition is a much-improved presentation of the Old Religion in Italy.

There are several elements appearing in this book that many people feel are drawn from modern Wiccan sources such as the Gardnerian Tradition. I have included an appendix that will demonstrate that the concepts I present here are much older than Gardnerian Wicca or any other twentieth-century Wiccan Tradition. One exceptionally verbal critic pointed to what he called "clear Gardnerian markers" in the older Italian concepts appearing in Ways of the Strega. In the appendix I have taken each so-called modern marker and presented pre-Gardnerian references that clearly indicate an earlier existence.

Many modern writers appear unfamiliar with the deeper levels of Aegean/Mediterranean paganism and classical Witchcraft as it appeared in ancient Roman times. The popular focus has been upon Celtic research, resulting in a bypass of southern Europe and its contributions to the practices and beliefs found in modem Wicca/Witchcraft. This has led to a misunderstanding of the parallels residing in modem Wiccan and Witchcraft Traditions.

When debating origins we can easily find ourselves in the old argument of which came first, the chicken or the egg. Because books on Gardnerian Wicca were primarily responsible for launching the Wiccan movement, the major attention has always been focused on the related writings by Doreen Valiente, Ray Buckland, and others. This in turn created an interest in Witchcraft as it appeared in the British Isles and northern Europe in general. Later, this interest would bring forth a harvest of Celtic Traditions. In time many people came to simply accept that all the tenets, rites, and practices originated with Gardnerian Wicca. However, just because Gardner, and those of his lineage, popularized such material does not mean that such things did not pre-exist elsewhere.

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