Raven Grimassi > Quotes

“Nature is only wild to those who seperate themselves from her.”
― Raven Grimassi, Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch: Mastering the Five Arts of Old World Witchery

“The Ancestral Spirit speaks to us from the blood flowing through our veins, for it contains the memory of our lineage. There are other voices willing to inform us, and they whisper in the quiet times when we are receptive. We are connected to them when our spirits embrace the same things. A kindred connection forms when we emanate with the love of the plant realm, when we sense the moon's light as sacred, and when we understand Nature as self-aware. These are the stepping stones that lead from the Witches' garden to the threshold of the Otherworld. What”
― Raven Grimassi, Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch: Mastering the Five Arts of Old World Witchery

“Ouroboros in which a serpent swallows its own tail. This represents the perpetual, cyclic renewal of repeating cycles.”
― Raven Grimassi, Communing with the Ancestors: Your Spirit Guides, Bloodline Allies, and the Cycle of Reincarnation

“The rose is a symbol of the inner mysteries of Witchcraft. A red rose symbolizes the mysteries as they reside in Nature, within the living things. The white rose symbolizes the Otherworld and the mysteries hidden in secret places. When a single rose appears with white petals in the center of red petals, this represents the mysteries joined together within one reality. Thorns appearing with the rose represent challenges and the dedication required to fully grasp the enlightenment of the rose. One of the symbolisms associated with the rose reveals the covenant between the Witch and the Faery. In this, we find that both are stewards of the portal that opens to the inner mysteries. The Faery holds the celestial key, and the Witch bears the terrestrial key. When the two are joined together, they form an X—the sign of the crossroads. In this formation, where the keys cross we find a third point, the in-between place at the center. This is where the portal exists, and this is where it opens between the worlds. Look at the shape of the X and you can see four pointed tip markers (the V shapes). The upper half of the X points down, and the lower half points up. On the sides of the X, you can see that the left and right halves point to the center. This shows us that when the celestial and terrestrial realms join, they pull together the left ways and the right ways. These are occult terms for esoteric and exoteric modes of consciousness. In the fusion, everything briefly loses its distinction, its ability to mask the opposite reality, and in doing so, the secret third reality emerges in the center of it all. If this sounds confusing or nonsensical, then the guardian of that portal is doing its job well. The material in this book will connect you with an entity connected to the rose and its mystery. This is the previously mentioned She of the Thorn-Blooded Rose. With her guidance, you can be directed to the portal, and through it you can meet a variety of beings and entities. However, her primary task is to connect you with the Greenwood Realm and the plant spirits within it. In your journey to encounter these spirits, you will pass through the organic memory of the earth. You'll walk upon roads of mystical concepts and be accompanied by the Old Ones of”
― Raven Grimassi, Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch: Mastering the Five Arts of Old World Witchery

“Spiritual Ethnocide and the Dominance of Popular Folk Traditions In this section we will look at the idea that the Church, through its agents, intentionally altered ideas about pre-Christian beliefs and practices. In some cases new ideas were entirely invented. The goal was to discourage people from continuing to practice traditions that were in conflict with Christian culture. This was put into motion by banning certain practices and adopting others in a modified form better suited to the Church's position. Underlying it all was the message that pre-Christian ways led to spiritual damnation and the Christian path led to spiritual salvation. There”
― Raven Grimassi, Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days

“Abstract can only be conceived of if conventional is experienced beforehand for we define things when we know their opposites. Material reality provides the means through which we can compare, contrast, and distinguish.”
― Raven Grimassi, Communing with the Ancestors: Your Spirit Guides, Bloodline Allies, and the Cycle of Reincarnation

“You need only embrace the best-known secret of all: no mystery is closed to an open mind. What came of that mystical wedding, of the world we know and the world we do not know, by that rose of the spirit, committed thus in so great a hope, so great a faith? The Druid is not here to tell. Faith after Faith has withered like a leaf. But still we stand by ancestral altars, still offer the Rose of Desire to the veiled Mystery, still commit this our symbol to the fathomless, the everlasting, the unanswered Deep. —WILLIAM SHARP, from Where the Forest Murmurs”
― Raven Grimassi, Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch: Mastering the Five Arts of Old World Witchery

“In Old World witchcraft, magic is an energy or force that is attached to all things. The Art of Magic is the means through which this energy is gathered, fashioned, and directed for use in spell casting, ritual, or any work requiring the magical forces. In a more formal expression, some people say that magic is the manifestation of personal will or desire, but this is the end result of applying magic, and is not magic itself (in terms of what it is without human usage). As previously noted, magical outcomes are connected to human consciousness, which is divided into the Guardian Mind and the Way-Shower. Earlier we saw that the conscious mind rejects the idea of magic as something real and effective. The subconscious is depicted as not acknowledging any lasting form (and therefore undermining the idea of manifestation). Each from their unique perspective makes magic a questionable concept. In order to realize the existence of magic, the two forms of consciousness we possess must meet and create a third consciousness. It is this third and “shared” consciousness that allows us to draw material and nonmaterial realities together into harmonious existence. The result is a place “in-between,” in which there is no objection to magic and what it can accomplish. The”
― Raven Grimassi, Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days

“My past experiences have proven to me that there are people who don't want you to know that they do not know. So they hide it through distraction in the form of criticizing other individuals. There are people who hold ill will toward others who have done the work and achieved the things that they have not, dreamers who never put forth the effort required to attain them in their own lives. My book is not for them. It's for you who realize that the thorns are worth the attainment of the rose. The”
― Raven Grimassi, Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch: Mastering the Five Arts of Old World Witchery

“Hear ye then how our fathers before us discover'd the Witche: Mark well their manner, for it is quiet and assumeth naught. It is in peacefull tones they speak, and oft seem abstracted. Seeming to prefer the company of Beastes, they converse with them as equals. They will dwelle in lonely places, there better (as they say) to know the voices of the Wind and hear the secrets of Nature. Possessing Wysdom of the feldes and forrests, they doe heale and arme with their harvests. They concerne themselves not with idle fashion, nor doe worldly Goodes hold worth for them. Be not so confused as to think that only Womankynde harbour the gift in this matter. Of Men there bee many that holde mickle power” —Edward Johnston, Esq. Sudbery, Suffolk My”
― Raven Grimassi, Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days

“The Tools of Witchcraft
10
The Tools and Symbols of Streg 1eria
Many people have noticed the resemblance of the witches' tools to the armor and weapons of a Knight. There is a definite connection, and any true `Witch must (to some degree) be a Spiritual `Warrior. This is equally true of anyone who walks a magickal path in life.”
― Raven Grimassi, Italian Witchcraft: The Old Religion of Southern Europe

“The Triformis entity known as the Three Daughters of Night is an aspect of She of the Crossroads. However, in practice, they are most effective when called upon individually or as a triple natured entity not equated with She of the Crossroads. The Three Daughters of Night are known separately as the Lady of Shadow, the Lady of Blood, and the Lady of Bones. Each one holds a sacred object in respective order: a serpent, a heart, a femur bone. These represent their inner mystery connection to the realm of Shadow. When called together, three black candles are lighted side by side at the crossroads. A small cauldron, a bottle of red wine, and a handful of white flour are placed in order from left to right in front of the candles. With these items in place, begin your call to the Three Daughters of Night: I”
― Raven Grimassi, Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days

“Aside from the evil nature of the witch figure in mainstream society, the pre-Christian depiction of the witch is different in key ways. Over time the witch was transformed from a sorceress calling upon a goddess of witchcraft to a deviant worshipping the Devil. The latter obliterated the earlier model and fixed the public mind on a new enemy of Christian society. The fictional witch of pre-Christian literary tradition was thereby reshaped into the fictional witch of popular Christian culture. This was reinforced with transplanted ideas about witches and witchcraft from theologians and other agents of the Church. The Christianized image of the witch is a cultivated one. It came along hand in hand with the vilification of pre-Christian deities, practices, and beliefs that were contrary to the theology of Christianity. With the resources of the Church, and a multitude of individuals devoted to converting pagans, the culture and spirit of the pre-Christian European people were beaten into submission. The campaign is what I refer to as spiritual ethnocide, which targeted not only beliefs and practices but also the enchanted worldview of paganism and its adherents. The witch, as she or he was once known, became one of the many casualties. Duni”
― Raven Grimassi, Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days

“Have you ever noticed the phenomena that humans can be at their best when things are at their worst? At such times, we can be heroic, actively compassionate, demonstratively generous, and completely selfless. Why do you suppose that is? Might it be our Ancestors and beloved Dead empowering us as allies from a higher plane of existence? Perhaps it may even be the soul taking the reins when the consciousness of the person is stunned into inaction.”
― Raven Grimassi

“Next we need to look at the question of whether or not previous pagan traditions continued despite their encounter with Christian culture. There is widespread disagreement about the idea of the survival of pre-Christian traditions. Some people believe that all elements of paganism in Europe were completely eradicated by Christianity. Others believe that pagan customs were absorbed by Christianity and completely transformed into Christian traditions where they ceased being pagan in nature. The rarest of all beliefs is that some pagan and witchcraft traditions survived and continued as non-Christian practices into modern times. Scholar”
― Raven Grimassi, Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days

“It is through the “constant” that we develop our conscious awareness of existence. Material existence, for the soul, is very much about orientations, rhythms, and impacts that cause permanent changes.”
― Raven Grimassi, Communing with the Ancestors: Your Spirit Guides, Bloodline Allies, and the Cycle of Reincarnation

“The soul is drawn into a lineage that anchors it in a specific current within the Material Plane. There are many lessons to be gained and many challenges to temper the soul. There is also a flowing river of consciousness from the past that empowers us with knowledge and wisdom.”
― Raven Grimassi, Communing with the Ancestors: Your Spirit Guides, Bloodline Allies, and the Cycle of Reincarnation

“The conversion of pagans to Christianity was a planned project and not a natural process of spiritual evolution. In my opinion, it constitutes a war of spiritual ethnocide against the indigenous population of Europe and their beliefs and practices. The Church set out to intentionally demonize and vilify pre-Christian ways. In doing so, it suppressed as well as eradicated many older beliefs and practices (and assimilated others in an attempt to de-paganize them). In addition, the practice of torture and execution was put into use in hopes of stamping out resistance as well as ensuring a strict adherence to Christianity. This is cultural violence both figuratively and literally. One”
― Raven Grimassi, Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days