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The Wiccan Mysteries: Ancient Origins & Teachings
Awarded "Book of the Year" by The Coalition of Visionary Resources!
"The Wiccan Mysteries is a book that should hold a proud place on every single altar." —Body Mind Spirit Magazine
Once reserved for a very select few, the initiate-level teachings of Wicca are revealed in this award-winning guide to the essence of an ancient belief system. Daring and honest, The Wiccan Mysteries is a must-have complement to your personal practice.
Author Raven Grimassi takes you on a comprehensive tour of Wicca, describing in depth its pre-Christian historical and theological roots in Old Europe and continuing through to modern America. These multicultural origins form the basis for contemporary Wicca, and empower it as a dynamic system for spiritual development.
Uncover the hidden meanings of sacred writings and explore the major tenets of the Craft, from reincarnation, the God and Goddess, magickal arts, and planes of existence, to symbols, rites, and ethics. Learn how to create an astral temple, consecrate ritual tools, and work with magickal familiars.
Expand your understanding of Wicca with this essential guide, and discover the enduring power of a rich spiritual tradition.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1997
16 people are currently reading
870 people want to read
About the author
Raven Grimassi
47 books112 followersRaven Grimassi was an American author of over 20 books, and a scholar of paganism with over 40 years of research and study in the genre of Wicca, Stregheria, witchcraft and neo-paganism.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 9, 2020
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
I'd recommend this book to Pagans who are not Wiccan, as long as you don't mind that the meat of the book is archetypes of the God and Goddess, and Their Mysteries. I myself am a polytheist, but placing gods under the God and Goddess categories is useful for deconstructing the archetypes.
As for Wiccans, this book covers the Mysteries, which are the sacred beliefs at the heart of Wicca, but you can still grow further as a Wiccan after you know the Mysteries. Once you reach a mountain top, your journey doesn't end there; you go climb the next mountain. To grow further as a Wiccan, you can study in depth the various Ceremonial Magick practices that this book briefly covers, or go the other Wiccan route and study literature from ancient civilizations.
Pros:
- Everything Raven Grimassi wrote counts as a Wiccan classic, right? If this isn't a classic, it should be.
- Comprehensive & Insightful
This book is both true to Wicca's Ceremonial Magick roots and its Greco-Roman Mystery Tradition roots. I don't agree with every single thing in this book, and you probably won't either. (ex. Maybe you're not a fan of old-timey Victorian occultism.) You can adapt or reject any parts that you want to. However, it's important to know what traditional Wicca is, before you make changes in your personal practices.
The central question in this book is: What are traditional Wiccan practices and beliefs, and where did those practices and beliefs come from? The book delivers on this promise. It traces some practices to ancient civilizations and others to Ceremonial Magick of the 1800s and early 1900s.
The emphasis of the book is on the Wiccan Mysteries, which are the archetypal and symbolic stories of the God and Goddess, which are based on mythological stories.
If you're wondering where sources Grimassi used to determine what Wicca is, he discusses the work of Doreen Valiente and Janet & Stewart Farrar, and says the Wiccan traditions he drew from are Stregheria, Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Feri/Faery, Brittic, and Pictish-Gaelic.
- In-text citations!
There's a bibliography as well.
Cons:
- It only covers European Mystery traditions.
Mesopotamian and Egyptian Mystery traditions aren't covered. They contributed way more than the Celts, who get way too much coverage in this book. (Celtic religion was virtually non-existent before they absorbed Etruscan and Roman religion.)
- It assumes we know Arthurian Legends.
Like far too many Pagan books, there's an absurd assumption that the readers know Arthurian Legends, which is a topic that I couldn't care less about. (The implicit assumption is that readers are white.) You might as well assume that everyone's read the Mahabharata.
He doesn't explain the Arthurian Legends that he's talking about very much, and he doesn't clearly delineate where the story ends and where his interpretation begins. I had to re-read what he wrote on the Arthurian Legends over and over and over before I understood which parts were Grimassi's Pagan interpretations of the stories and before I understood what was going on in the stories. Also, he mentions Guinevere and Morgana, but never says who they are.
For instance, it says Arthur got a piece of wood from an oak grove and that a branch of it breaks off, but it doesn't say why the branch breaks off or what that's a symbol of for most readers. Grimassi interprets that anecdote, but doesn't give the context of what is going on in that part of the story. That's not helpful for someone who doesn't know the story.
- No sample rituals.
He explains what a Mystery tradition is, but there aren't any sample Mystery rituals and it doesn't say how to write them. Moreover, there aren't any rituals or practice exercises for practicing the Ceremonial Magick that he describes. He gives instructions on how to do them, but not incremental steps to build up those skills. This is fine, but know that you'll need to apply the knowledge from this book to separate books on the Ceremonial Magick topics that it covers.
I'd recommend this book to Pagans who are not Wiccan, as long as you don't mind that the meat of the book is archetypes of the God and Goddess, and Their Mysteries. I myself am a polytheist, but placing gods under the God and Goddess categories is useful for deconstructing the archetypes.
As for Wiccans, this book covers the Mysteries, which are the sacred beliefs at the heart of Wicca, but you can still grow further as a Wiccan after you know the Mysteries. Once you reach a mountain top, your journey doesn't end there; you go climb the next mountain. To grow further as a Wiccan, you can study in depth the various Ceremonial Magick practices that this book briefly covers, or go the other Wiccan route and study literature from ancient civilizations.
Pros:
- Everything Raven Grimassi wrote counts as a Wiccan classic, right? If this isn't a classic, it should be.
- Comprehensive & Insightful
This book is both true to Wicca's Ceremonial Magick roots and its Greco-Roman Mystery Tradition roots. I don't agree with every single thing in this book, and you probably won't either. (ex. Maybe you're not a fan of old-timey Victorian occultism.) You can adapt or reject any parts that you want to. However, it's important to know what traditional Wicca is, before you make changes in your personal practices.
The central question in this book is: What are traditional Wiccan practices and beliefs, and where did those practices and beliefs come from? The book delivers on this promise. It traces some practices to ancient civilizations and others to Ceremonial Magick of the 1800s and early 1900s.
The emphasis of the book is on the Wiccan Mysteries, which are the archetypal and symbolic stories of the God and Goddess, which are based on mythological stories.
If you're wondering where sources Grimassi used to determine what Wicca is, he discusses the work of Doreen Valiente and Janet & Stewart Farrar, and says the Wiccan traditions he drew from are Stregheria, Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Feri/Faery, Brittic, and Pictish-Gaelic.
- In-text citations!
There's a bibliography as well.
Cons:
- It only covers European Mystery traditions.
Mesopotamian and Egyptian Mystery traditions aren't covered. They contributed way more than the Celts, who get way too much coverage in this book. (Celtic religion was virtually non-existent before they absorbed Etruscan and Roman religion.)
- It assumes we know Arthurian Legends.
Like far too many Pagan books, there's an absurd assumption that the readers know Arthurian Legends, which is a topic that I couldn't care less about. (The implicit assumption is that readers are white.) You might as well assume that everyone's read the Mahabharata.
He doesn't explain the Arthurian Legends that he's talking about very much, and he doesn't clearly delineate where the story ends and where his interpretation begins. I had to re-read what he wrote on the Arthurian Legends over and over and over before I understood which parts were Grimassi's Pagan interpretations of the stories and before I understood what was going on in the stories. Also, he mentions Guinevere and Morgana, but never says who they are.
For instance, it says Arthur got a piece of wood from an oak grove and that a branch of it breaks off, but it doesn't say why the branch breaks off or what that's a symbol of for most readers. Grimassi interprets that anecdote, but doesn't give the context of what is going on in that part of the story. That's not helpful for someone who doesn't know the story.
- No sample rituals.
He explains what a Mystery tradition is, but there aren't any sample Mystery rituals and it doesn't say how to write them. Moreover, there aren't any rituals or practice exercises for practicing the Ceremonial Magick that he describes. He gives instructions on how to do them, but not incremental steps to build up those skills. This is fine, but know that you'll need to apply the knowledge from this book to separate books on the Ceremonial Magick topics that it covers.
Read
July 28, 2011Since Gerald Gardner revealed Wicca to the world in the early 1950's the religion has been at the center of controversy ever since. Is Wicca something that Gerald Gardner came up with? Or is it a surviving religion from the Ancient past. Raven Grimassi in this books shows that he believe it is an Ancient Religion based a fertility cult. He does a good job laying out the origins of the religion and supports his contentions with scholarly works. Himself mastered in several Wiccan tradition including Stregheria Italian witch craft, Raven has a passion for his heritage which contains Italian witchcraft.
Back in the Neolithic times in Southern Europe stretching all the way up to southern Poland was a matrifocal society that had women as their center. Women were deified because procreation was a mystery. Woman was the head of house and the main deity. Their menstrual blood was considered magical and holy not something to be despised and derided.
With the coming of the Kurgans from the Indo-European lands things changed. They were warriors were as the matrifocal society was peaceful. The Kurgans were also patrifocal. The cult of putting the woman at center stage began to fade and the remnants of that went into Italy and Greece. There amongst the Latins, Etruscan and Greeks the Old Religion was allowed to thrive. When the Romans went out on their conquest and Roman farmers started settling Europe they brought with them the old religion.
Many people thought that the Celts and their Druidic philosophy were the basis for Wicca. Raven goes on to thoroughly prove this theory wrong. The Celts arrived on the seen much after the Kurgans destroyed the matrifocal society. They were also head hunter and believe in human sacrifice. Something which Wicca detests. The Celts were warriors and they were not the first people to arrive in Britan. when the Celts came there the Cult of the Dead was established. They buried their people in mounds. It was believed that the souls of these dead could come back and that they had wings like faeiries, hence the birth of the fairy legend. The "Cult of the Dead" would later morph into the Druids and be absorbed into Celtic society. The first mention of faeries though is after the Anglo Saxons arrived. Faeries were not a Celtic invention.
In Italy the fertility cult was represented by a moon goddess called Diana and sometimes Artemis and Hekate. She was a triple moon goddess representing the moon phases and the phases of a woman's life.Maiden, mother and crone. The horned god was a fertitlity god who perished around the time of October. This is all to familiar for Wiccans of course in Italy the God was called Dionysus. He was a horned fertility god.
Raven provides ample evidence through similar rituals and legends that the Roman fertility cult is the basis for both Wicca and that it was a major influence on Celtic religion and life. There is a great similarity of legend and religious practice that cannot be ignored. Wicca is based on an ancient fertility cult with bits and pieces of other systems thrown in. His viewpoint is different from that of Ronald Hutton, who contends that Wicca is a modern invention.
after reading this book I am convinced that the truth falls some where in between. there are other theories out there attesting to the ancientness of witchcraft that are equally convincing. Of course the mists of time have a way of enshrouding things in mystery.
No less this is an excellent book that deserves a 4.5 out of five. Half stars are difficult on the Amazon rating system. I leave half a point for improvement. The map which shows the influence of the Matrifocal society is rather poor quality and hard to read. Modern Wicca also has many outside influences ranging from Indian religion all the way to Kabbalah and ceremonial magick. Those could have been covered a little bit more in depth. My next comment maybe beyond the scope of this book but Italian and Greek religion was strongly influenced by current coming from the Middle East. Although Raven touched upon it I think it would have been nice to be able to read more in depth about.
Excellent book and this author is highly recommended.
Back in the Neolithic times in Southern Europe stretching all the way up to southern Poland was a matrifocal society that had women as their center. Women were deified because procreation was a mystery. Woman was the head of house and the main deity. Their menstrual blood was considered magical and holy not something to be despised and derided.
With the coming of the Kurgans from the Indo-European lands things changed. They were warriors were as the matrifocal society was peaceful. The Kurgans were also patrifocal. The cult of putting the woman at center stage began to fade and the remnants of that went into Italy and Greece. There amongst the Latins, Etruscan and Greeks the Old Religion was allowed to thrive. When the Romans went out on their conquest and Roman farmers started settling Europe they brought with them the old religion.
Many people thought that the Celts and their Druidic philosophy were the basis for Wicca. Raven goes on to thoroughly prove this theory wrong. The Celts arrived on the seen much after the Kurgans destroyed the matrifocal society. They were also head hunter and believe in human sacrifice. Something which Wicca detests. The Celts were warriors and they were not the first people to arrive in Britan. when the Celts came there the Cult of the Dead was established. They buried their people in mounds. It was believed that the souls of these dead could come back and that they had wings like faeiries, hence the birth of the fairy legend. The "Cult of the Dead" would later morph into the Druids and be absorbed into Celtic society. The first mention of faeries though is after the Anglo Saxons arrived. Faeries were not a Celtic invention.
In Italy the fertility cult was represented by a moon goddess called Diana and sometimes Artemis and Hekate. She was a triple moon goddess representing the moon phases and the phases of a woman's life.Maiden, mother and crone. The horned god was a fertitlity god who perished around the time of October. This is all to familiar for Wiccans of course in Italy the God was called Dionysus. He was a horned fertility god.
Raven provides ample evidence through similar rituals and legends that the Roman fertility cult is the basis for both Wicca and that it was a major influence on Celtic religion and life. There is a great similarity of legend and religious practice that cannot be ignored. Wicca is based on an ancient fertility cult with bits and pieces of other systems thrown in. His viewpoint is different from that of Ronald Hutton, who contends that Wicca is a modern invention.
after reading this book I am convinced that the truth falls some where in between. there are other theories out there attesting to the ancientness of witchcraft that are equally convincing. Of course the mists of time have a way of enshrouding things in mystery.
No less this is an excellent book that deserves a 4.5 out of five. Half stars are difficult on the Amazon rating system. I leave half a point for improvement. The map which shows the influence of the Matrifocal society is rather poor quality and hard to read. Modern Wicca also has many outside influences ranging from Indian religion all the way to Kabbalah and ceremonial magick. Those could have been covered a little bit more in depth. My next comment maybe beyond the scope of this book but Italian and Greek religion was strongly influenced by current coming from the Middle East. Although Raven touched upon it I think it would have been nice to be able to read more in depth about.
Excellent book and this author is highly recommended.
August 28, 2015
This book repeatedly stated that it should not be skim read and should also be read at least 2-3 times. However, it was all I could do to skim through the last half of this book. It read like a college essay. I would bet that if someone who was not Wiccan/witch/pagan did the research for this book and thus did not have a bias, the "facts" would differ greatly. Do not waste your money on this book.
June 29, 2008
This was a wonderful book, granted it has TONS of history, but it's worth the read, to help you better understand the Origins of Wicca/Pagan Mysteries, and to help you choose your own Spiritual Path.
October 13, 2008
i met a dude in the summer of '98 who was into punk and occult and let's just say counterculture in general. he loaned me this book and never asked for it back.
it looks to be a history-book and handbook for someone who's interested in Wicca, such as i mildly was at the time of borrowing this from him.
oh look, i found a tiny slip of paper in the back of this book, with his old phone number in my handwriting. i'm sure it's out-of-service or in the hands of a different person now.
strange that i probably haven't cracked this book open in right about 10 years.
it looks to be a history-book and handbook for someone who's interested in Wicca, such as i mildly was at the time of borrowing this from him.
oh look, i found a tiny slip of paper in the back of this book, with his old phone number in my handwriting. i'm sure it's out-of-service or in the hands of a different person now.
strange that i probably haven't cracked this book open in right about 10 years.
February 1, 2008
I liked this book. It gives reasons as to why things are done in "some" traditions that have never been written about before. Very informative to those looking into the wiccan traditions but have no idea where or why these things are done. Like who the Watchers were and how the elements came to be associated with them.
Want to read
October 8, 2008I have technically read this, but when I was too young to understand most of it. I'm looking forward to giving it another go now that I'm older and better able to comprehend certain things.
February 12, 2017
I bought the first 1997 printing of this book when it first came out, geez, I feel old knowing I've been lugging this book around with me on my numerous moves for the last 20 years! Ok back to the review! He presents a lot of information in this book, historical and modern and includes a well rounded bibliography at the end. I respect that. I liked what he said in Chapter 2 Principles and Beliefs,
"One of the greatest tenets of belief in the Old Religion is that of
accepting responsibilities for our own actions. We build or destroy
our own lives...Even when random occurrence or Karma seems to
break us down it is we who must push onward. Nature provides the
keys to understanding this...Wiccans cannot turn everything over
into the hands of the gods and say, "You take care of it now." We
must be responsible for ourselves and our own actions (or lack thereof).."
I love that he does not promote a victim mentality but rather an empowering one, which is really what witchcraft is about anyway. He advocates taking personal responsibility for your own life, the good and not so good choice you've made while encouraging you to learn how to handle it on your own so to speak. We do not need to grovel at the feet of our gods to help us, when we can help ourselves. This may offend some of the more tender-hearted readers out there but those of us with a warrior spirit will recognize and respect his message.
"One of the greatest tenets of belief in the Old Religion is that of
accepting responsibilities for our own actions. We build or destroy
our own lives...Even when random occurrence or Karma seems to
break us down it is we who must push onward. Nature provides the
keys to understanding this...Wiccans cannot turn everything over
into the hands of the gods and say, "You take care of it now." We
must be responsible for ourselves and our own actions (or lack thereof).."
I love that he does not promote a victim mentality but rather an empowering one, which is really what witchcraft is about anyway. He advocates taking personal responsibility for your own life, the good and not so good choice you've made while encouraging you to learn how to handle it on your own so to speak. We do not need to grovel at the feet of our gods to help us, when we can help ourselves. This may offend some of the more tender-hearted readers out there but those of us with a warrior spirit will recognize and respect his message.
May 27, 2018
I picked up this book because the author was recommended to me by someone I trust and I feel good about that decision. A large part of the book is history. The author goes back to the origins of a lot of the concepts of Wicca. I felt this was a good introduction to a lot of the information for me because knowing where the concepts come from gives them more context even though many things are done differently now. He does also explain many basics of Wicca. I found a lot of the information both useful and inspirational. It's a good start. The writing style might not be for everyone. It can be dry reading sometimes. But I feel like this book gave me the springboard I needed to begin an understanding.
October 29, 2014
A really in-depth book consisting of a substantial amount of history, all the while containing a sufficient amount of information to demistify the wiccan religion as a whole, and it's corresponding views.
A good read.
A good read.
February 19, 2016
This book is very informative on the Wiccan religion and beliefs. I have read more than once and learned something new ever time i read it. Its completely interesting and very informative. if youre interested in new religion or wicca in general this book is for you.
February 28, 2020
This freaking book! I'm going to start out by admitting that I have had a huge issue with anything and everything published by Llewellyn since the early 90's. With that said, there may be a big green and a big blue book on my bookshelf and both have a lot of sentimental value.
I have been told for many years that I just have to read something written by Raven Grimassi. Everyone under the moon thought I would really enjoy his writing style. I can appreciate the scholarly approach. Honestly I live for a well researched paper with tons of citations. There were things in this book I very much enjoyed, a lot of which were quotes from other books, but I did enjoy the way they were presented. Hell, I will admit that I learned a thing or two and took a few notes. However, there were sections of this book that were just torturous to read. I kept asking myself if the publisher had put a word count requirement on this book. There were parts of this book where Grimassi used forty-five words where one would have served his purposes. At one point, I resorted to reading a particularly dreadful section aloud to my video game playing kids just so I could get through it. One chapter took me days to get through, not because it was difficult to understand, but because I was bored to death with the way the material was presented.
Why three stars? I respect the author and his years of training, I value the guidance of the person who suggested the book, and as I stated before, I did learn a couple of things. Would I recommend this book? Yes I would, but I would warn them that it is not going to be a quick read. Will I read another book written by Raven Grimassi? Sigh. Yes. He seems to be the end all be all when it comes to Stregheria, a subject my household has taken an interest in.
Final thought: This is not a must read book. It is an advanced 101 book if that makes sense. The book is worth it simply to have the bibliography. Raven Grimassi has a very male view of the material he writes about, so if you are used to reading books on the craft written by women, you will need to take his maleness into consideration (I'm used to the deities being more of a Goddess/God balance than a God/Goddess approach). Lastly, all roads (according to Grimassi) lead to Rome and the Silk Road and the influences from that region are largely ignored.
I have been told for many years that I just have to read something written by Raven Grimassi. Everyone under the moon thought I would really enjoy his writing style. I can appreciate the scholarly approach. Honestly I live for a well researched paper with tons of citations. There were things in this book I very much enjoyed, a lot of which were quotes from other books, but I did enjoy the way they were presented. Hell, I will admit that I learned a thing or two and took a few notes. However, there were sections of this book that were just torturous to read. I kept asking myself if the publisher had put a word count requirement on this book. There were parts of this book where Grimassi used forty-five words where one would have served his purposes. At one point, I resorted to reading a particularly dreadful section aloud to my video game playing kids just so I could get through it. One chapter took me days to get through, not because it was difficult to understand, but because I was bored to death with the way the material was presented.
Why three stars? I respect the author and his years of training, I value the guidance of the person who suggested the book, and as I stated before, I did learn a couple of things. Would I recommend this book? Yes I would, but I would warn them that it is not going to be a quick read. Will I read another book written by Raven Grimassi? Sigh. Yes. He seems to be the end all be all when it comes to Stregheria, a subject my household has taken an interest in.
Final thought: This is not a must read book. It is an advanced 101 book if that makes sense. The book is worth it simply to have the bibliography. Raven Grimassi has a very male view of the material he writes about, so if you are used to reading books on the craft written by women, you will need to take his maleness into consideration (I'm used to the deities being more of a Goddess/God balance than a God/Goddess approach). Lastly, all roads (according to Grimassi) lead to Rome and the Silk Road and the influences from that region are largely ignored.
October 24, 2023
Wiccan Mysteries was originally published in 1997, then fell out of print for a number of years until Crossed Crow issued this reprint. I did read it “back in the day” but have not revisited it since, so when the opportunity arose to review it, I went for it.
Raven Grimassi (1951-2019) was a prolific author of books about Wicca, Paganism, and related areas. Considered an Elder in the Craft movement, his books are still referred to today, though some aspects of his writings do not hold up well to rigorous historical criticism. Sadly, Wiccan Mysteries is one of those titles wherein Grimassi claims that Wicca is ancient and harks back to the days of the Celtic peoples, which is a myth that still has some traaction, despite Wicca being created by Gerald Gardner (and some would also credit Doreen Valiente) in the 1950s.
Despite this, Wiccan Mysteries does give a thorough introduction to a number of more esoteric aspects of Wicca, Witchcraft, and magical practices, including reincarnation, deities, beliefs, astral travel, and psychic development. As with the history, some areas need reading with a pinch of salt. Grimassi can also be a little dense of a read at times, so some chapters require a bit more focus than others, and there is some sexism here and there; that said, it’s great to have this Classic — very much a product of its time — back on our shelves.
I’d recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the placement of Wicca in the late 1990s, and/or exploring Grimassi as an influence on the modern Craft movement (and he should absolutely be considered in this context).
I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Crossed Crow Books, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Raven Grimassi (1951-2019) was a prolific author of books about Wicca, Paganism, and related areas. Considered an Elder in the Craft movement, his books are still referred to today, though some aspects of his writings do not hold up well to rigorous historical criticism. Sadly, Wiccan Mysteries is one of those titles wherein Grimassi claims that Wicca is ancient and harks back to the days of the Celtic peoples, which is a myth that still has some traaction, despite Wicca being created by Gerald Gardner (and some would also credit Doreen Valiente) in the 1950s.
Despite this, Wiccan Mysteries does give a thorough introduction to a number of more esoteric aspects of Wicca, Witchcraft, and magical practices, including reincarnation, deities, beliefs, astral travel, and psychic development. As with the history, some areas need reading with a pinch of salt. Grimassi can also be a little dense of a read at times, so some chapters require a bit more focus than others, and there is some sexism here and there; that said, it’s great to have this Classic — very much a product of its time — back on our shelves.
I’d recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the placement of Wicca in the late 1990s, and/or exploring Grimassi as an influence on the modern Craft movement (and he should absolutely be considered in this context).
I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Crossed Crow Books, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 30, 2018
The History of Wicca. I try to take everything with a grain of salt, however, while he pretty much states that Wicca is as old as time, I feel like he is talking about Paganism. He also points out that Gadnerian Wicca is indeed new-age Wicca.
It is an amazing book that seriously delves into the past, and tells of the secrets and mysteries of how the rituals and traditions we practice today have come about!
This book is a history if the tradition as opposed to a book of ritual and magick.
It is the first of its kind that I have read, and while it has answered many questions, it has opened a whole ton of others.
I am glad I found it!!!
It is an amazing book that seriously delves into the past, and tells of the secrets and mysteries of how the rituals and traditions we practice today have come about!
This book is a history if the tradition as opposed to a book of ritual and magick.
It is the first of its kind that I have read, and while it has answered many questions, it has opened a whole ton of others.
I am glad I found it!!!
June 12, 2023
Arc netgalley review
The amount of knowledge packed into the pages of this book blew me away, from clarifying information I already knew more in-depth, to expanding my knowledge even deeper on topics I didn’t know, history that has always been clarified and payed out in such a way as this author did so articulately. I highly recommend this book for anyone new or old to this practice or even for anyone wanting to better understand the history of this practice.
The amount of knowledge packed into the pages of this book blew me away, from clarifying information I already knew more in-depth, to expanding my knowledge even deeper on topics I didn’t know, history that has always been clarified and payed out in such a way as this author did so articulately. I highly recommend this book for anyone new or old to this practice or even for anyone wanting to better understand the history of this practice.
August 30, 2023
I haven't read this book for ages and it was interesting to re-read it after having changed. There's a lot to learn and a lot of food for thought
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
August 4, 2021
This is an interesting read into the origins of Wiccan belief and gives the reader insight into the pagan mysteries that predate Christianity.
May 23, 2024
I loved the first 2/3 of this book, then it got repetitive and it was very difficult to finish. I almost fell asleep multiple times. But the beginning was amazing!!!!
August 21, 2009
In this book Grimassi teaches about the origins of Wicca and its esoteric/mystical aspects. Though parts of it were a little boring and dry at times, for the most part this was a very interesting book that I enjoyed very much.
August 5, 2018
Another Wicca 101 book. Grimassi discusses the history of Wicca, ethics, and theology. Grimassi is just building onto what Gardner created. A fantastic introduction for beginners or those interested in Wicca.
March 30, 2014
good book on the basic history of wicca and the origins of witchcraft.
May 28, 2012
awesome overview of pagan spiritual practice as a mystery tradition. clearly written and easy to read. a good beginners level book.
December 10, 2012
Great book, I love to read it once a year, it came into my hands at 2008, good reading for all those interested in History aside Wicca itself
November 21, 2020
Also a great book. It goes into a lot of detail and i found it to be very helpful.
December 24, 2016
There are many sexist moments, although author is a representative of mostly matriarchal religion. Plus, some facts are not proved by any sources.
July 16, 2009
great book about the history of paganism.
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