 Biography of Raven Grimassi
Raven is a published author of many titles on witchcraft
and Wicca. He is also a recognized
expert on Italian witchcraft and the foremost authority on the works of
Charles Godfrey Leland in this particular field. Grimassi is also
the Directing Elder of the Arician Tradition, a system of Italian
witchcraft
Raven Grimassi was born in 1951 to an
Italian immigrant who came to the United States as a War Bride in 1946.
At an early age he began to study the folklore and witchcraft of Italy,
the Old Religion of Italy's past. His training over the years was a
curious construction of a
Catholic
veneer fitted over archaic elements of Italian folk magic, folk
customs, and witchcraft. At age 13 Raven shook off the surface coat of
Catholicism.
By age 18 it became
Raven's passion to deepen his study of the Old Religion in
an attempt to unlock its innermost secrets. In the summer of
1969 Raven discovered Wicca and was intrigued by the
similarities between it and the Italian Craft. Seeking out
like-minded people closer to his own age, Raven met a young
woman who managed an Herb Shop in Old Town San Diego. She
eventually introduced him to a woman who claimed to be a Gardnerian
witch High Priestess called Lady Heather. She later
initiated Raven into Wicca, but he was eventually to
discover that her claims to Gardnerian Wicca were unfounded
In 1974 Raven studied
Wicca under Lady Sara Cunningham for the traditional "year
and a day". He then formed his own system of practice,
which was a blend of Lady Heather and Lady Sara's teachings
mixed together with elements of Italian witchcraft.
Raven then formed a small group known as the Coven of Sothis,
which operated for a few years in the San Diego area.
In 1975 Raven became a member of the First Temple of
Tiphareth and began a serious study of the Kabbalah, a
mystical Hebrew system.
It was during his study of
the Kabbalah that Raven met and became friends with Donald
Michael Kraig, author of Modern Magick
and Modern Sex Magick. That same year Raven was
introduced to a High Priestess and High Priest in the area.
They became friends, and Raven was initiated into their
tradition of Brittic Wicca, a system claiming to be a blend
of Basque Witchcraft and English Wicca.
By the summer of 1979
Raven felt that this period of exploration into Wicca was
complete and he returned to the sole practice of Italian
witchcraft. In the fall of 1979 he started classes on
the Italian Craft at Ye Olde Enchantment
Shoppe in San Diego. One of the people attending was Scott
Cunningham. Raven and Scott became friends, and in
1980, Scott was initiated into the
Aridian Tradition of
Italian witchcraft, a system formed by Raven that same year.
Scott remained a first degree initiate during his three
years of study with Raven. Because of growing
differences it was mutually agreed that Scott should
be released, and he moved on from the Aridian Tradition in
favor of a heavily self-styled view of modern Wicca.
In 1981 Raven was a writer
and editor for The Shadow's Edge, a magazine focused
on Italian witchcraft. He was later a contributing
writer and editor for two other magazines, Moon Shadow
and Raven's Call. This same year Raven wrote several
booklets including The Book of the Holy Strega, and a
two volume set titled
The Book of Ways,
published by Nemi Enterprises in San Diego, California.
These books came to be referred to as "the blue books"
because of their covers. Many photocopy versions of
this book manifested and have been passed through the Craft
Community for many years.
In 1983, Raven accepted
initiated into the Pictish-Gaelic Tradition in order to help
preserve its teachings, but served as a guardian of the
material rather than a full participant in the
tradition. Raven currently lives in southern California and
divides his time between writing, teaching, lecturing, and directing the Arician
Tradition. His wife is Stephanie Taylor, co-author of
the Well Worn Path divination system. She also operates her online Witch
Shop known
as
Raven's Loft,
which she and Raven once jointly owned as a physical shop in
Escondido, California.
Raven formerly served as editor/writer for
Raven's Call
magazine. He now works as co-director of the College
of the Crossroads. He
is devoted to preserving and teaching the Mystery Tradition
of pre-Christian Europe.
Having been born on the festival day of the goddess Ceres (Patron
of the Mysteries) Raven maintains a shrine in her honor in
the Arician Grove at Crow Haven Ranch.
He is the
author of over a dozen books on Wicca and Witchcraft including:
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