Italian Witchcraft

Raven Grimassi was a Neo-Pagan scholar and award-winning author of more than eighteen books on Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-Paganism. He was devoted to the study and practice of witchcraft for over forty years, and was co-founder and co-director of the Ash, Birch, and Willow tradition.Grimassi's background included training in old forms of witchcraft as well as Brittic Wicca, the Pictish-Gaelic tradition, Italian Witchcraft, and Celtic Traditionalist Witchcraft. Raven was also a member of the Rosicrucian Order, and studied the Kabbalah through the First Temple of Tifareth under Lady Sara Cunningham.Raven lived in New England with his wife and co-author Stephanie Taylor-Grimassi. Together, they directed The Fellowship of the Pentacle, a modern Mystery School devoted to preserving pre-Christian European spirituality.

• ContentsPreface to Second Edition ixPreface to First Edition xiIntroduction xvPart 1: An Overview1 Beliefs of the Strega 32 Italian Witchcraft 93 Festivals of the Seasons 254 Tuscan Witchcraft 335 The Moon and Witchcraft 496 Catholicism and the Craft 577 The Watchers 678 The Powers of Light and Darkness 739 Leland, Gardner, and Frazer 87Part 2: The Workbook10 The Tools and Symbols of Stregheria 9511 Raising and Drawing Power 10912 The Aridian Rituals 11913 The Rites of Community 16514 The Art of Magick 17715 The Art of Casting Spells 18516 Moon Magick 20317 Herbs and Witchcraft 22118 Starlore and Magick 23319 Shadow Magick 241Part 3: Aradia and the Teachings20 The Strega's Story 24921 The Teachings of the Holy Strega 25922 Conclusion 275Part 4: AppendicesA Comparison of Wiccan Aspects with Leland's Italian Witchcraft 281B Charles Leland 286C Befana 291D The Myth of Diana 293E The Mythos 296F The Gifts of Aradia and Tenets of Belief 299Glossary 301Selected Bibliography 304Index 307