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Italian Witchcraft: The Old Religion of Southern Europe
Italian Witchcraft (previously titled Ways of the Strega) by respected author Raven Grimassi is more than just a book about Witchcraft. It is a complete Book of Shadows. In it you will find the history of this ancient tradition, its legends and myths, as well as the rituals and rites that you can do today. You can be a Strega! The book includes a full set of rituals that you can do. You'll find rituals for all of the Italian Witchcraft holidays including Shadow Fest, Lupercus, Tana's Day and more. You'll also find rituals for the Full Moon, births, funerals. There is a practical side to this book, too. It is filled with instructions so that you can cast spells and work with the powers of incense, oils, herbs, and candles. You'll learn to work with the magick of the Moon and Stars. You'll be able to do protection rituals and learn how to cure someone who has received the "Malocchio" (Evil Eye). Many of the mysteries revealed here have never been published before. You'll learn secret gestures of power and secret symbols. And you can use them all! Also revealed are the secrets of the tools of the Italian Witch. You'll learn how to prepare the "Spirit Blade" and the ritual wand. You'll learn how to make the Spirit Bowl and use to consecrate other tools and talismans. If you're looking to discover real Witchcraft, or if you're already a Witch but are thinking about other traditions, this is the book for you.
336 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2000
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899 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 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 9, 2008
This book is awful.
I'm willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt. I'm willing to believe that he just doesn't see the logical fallacies he's presenting as facts, and that he just doesn't actually know how to do good historical research, nor how to compile good research into a sensible book.
Frankly, the pseudoacademic nonsense in this book would get a high-school student in trouble.
Raven clearly wants to prove that his 'tradition' of Italian Witchcraft is an unbroken line back to ancient times. But the historical research he cites doesn't support the idea, for all that he insists it does. I'd have had more respect for him citing channeled knowledge, then torturing the historical record into giving false support.
I tried to read this, more than once. I tried. I hoped that, among the chaff, there might be some information worth having. I can't find it by about 1/2 way through the book. I give up. I can find much better ways to use my time.
I'm willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt. I'm willing to believe that he just doesn't see the logical fallacies he's presenting as facts, and that he just doesn't actually know how to do good historical research, nor how to compile good research into a sensible book.
Frankly, the pseudoacademic nonsense in this book would get a high-school student in trouble.
Raven clearly wants to prove that his 'tradition' of Italian Witchcraft is an unbroken line back to ancient times. But the historical research he cites doesn't support the idea, for all that he insists it does. I'd have had more respect for him citing channeled knowledge, then torturing the historical record into giving false support.
I tried to read this, more than once. I tried. I hoped that, among the chaff, there might be some information worth having. I can't find it by about 1/2 way through the book. I give up. I can find much better ways to use my time.
July 12, 2018
I am very familiar with Leland's Aradia and Etruscan Roman Remains and I know that the claim that they represent an ancient witch-religion is suspect, but I think they make a beautiful witchcraft worthy of practice anyway. That's why I am so incredibly disappointed in this book: it's taken the folksy, anarchic spirit of Leland's stregheria and outright ruined it with Wiccan nonsense. I had a feeling it'd be bad when I saw a glowering Grimassi in a crappy velvet cloak and five pentacles in a photo, but I didn't think it'd be this awful.
The 'stregheria' in Grimassi's book is merely Olive Garden Wicca and has none of the depth of the original. Instead of the actual stories of Diana and Aradia as given in Leland, we have hundreds of pages of stuff to do with chakras, energy manipulation and altars, nattering on about astral realms and silly Ceremonial gestures, all alien to Leland's works and antithetical to the homespun spirit of the original. Glaring is the omission of any real information on the hundreds of spirits given by Leland, and when information is given it is mixed with folklore appropriated from elsewhere, or else it is beaten into the mold of the Wiccan deities, with all of its repulsive obsession with sex. The folletti are one of the more interesting parts of stregheria, and its very disappointing to see them cast by the wayside.
Aradia and Diana aren't even the main deities in this system: Tana (a name of a minor moon goddess in Aradia) and "Tanus" (a name Grimassi has apparently made up) fill the role of the Wiccan God and Goddess. Neither do the rituals contain the sacred loaves (and the associated Mass-style blessings for the ingredients) that is the centerpiece of the entirety of Leland's stregheria and the strega's relationship with Diana as the Queen of the Witches.
By far the most destructive thing Grimassi did to the original is forcing Wiccan morality onto it. Grimassi says in the "Covenant of Aradia" that magic mustn't be used to cause deliberate harm to another (unless to prevent "true harm" from coming to oneself, whatever that means) or that magic mustn't be used to appear powerful. But the Gospel is fundamentally about the greyer, darker shades of morality. Grimassi goes to great lengths to obfuscate the fact, but Aradia herself is half-good, half-evil: the daughter of Lucifer and Diana, sent down to teach the peasants how to get revenge on the nobility. The morality of the strega is the morality of the freedom fighter.
Etruscan Roman Remains contains some very nasty curses, and Aradia instructs the strega that if her witchcraft is insulted by a Christian she should insult his God and curse him three times over in the name of Diana. For sure, a modern-day strega should tone it down a bit and interpret the Gospel in a less "revolutionary" sense, but Grimassi outright contradicts the Gospel constantly and refuses to even acknowledge the nuanced morality of Aradia. Instead, all the reader gets are the same worn-out Wiccan platitudes.
It's minor considering everything else, but the history in this book is the same regular sort of terrible Llewellyn is known for. Seventeen years and nine-plus printings later, he apparently still believes that there was an ancient witch-cult, and ties himself in knots trying to prove it. He's made up a silly story in which "Aradia di Toscano" was a travelling magic teacher in the fourteenth century, maybe because he is squeamish about the morality of the original Aradia.
I'd recommend to anyone that wants to be a strega to simply look up Leland's Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition and Legends of Florence, all of which are available online for free in various places. You'll find a much more interesting, unique kind of magic. Learning about stregheria through this book is like trying to see the stars through a frosted window.
The one thing I do like about this book is the chapter on doing magic with shadows. The history of it he gives smells like bullcrap, and his idea that the Book of Shadows was originally for shadow forms used in spells is absurd, but the idea is interesting nonetheless. I wouldn't recommend anyone buy this book except well-educated Wiccans who want some ideas to give their craft a superficial italian theme, but the shadow chapter is worth getting it out of the library for, even though it is only a couple pages.
The 'stregheria' in Grimassi's book is merely Olive Garden Wicca and has none of the depth of the original. Instead of the actual stories of Diana and Aradia as given in Leland, we have hundreds of pages of stuff to do with chakras, energy manipulation and altars, nattering on about astral realms and silly Ceremonial gestures, all alien to Leland's works and antithetical to the homespun spirit of the original. Glaring is the omission of any real information on the hundreds of spirits given by Leland, and when information is given it is mixed with folklore appropriated from elsewhere, or else it is beaten into the mold of the Wiccan deities, with all of its repulsive obsession with sex. The folletti are one of the more interesting parts of stregheria, and its very disappointing to see them cast by the wayside.
Aradia and Diana aren't even the main deities in this system: Tana (a name of a minor moon goddess in Aradia) and "Tanus" (a name Grimassi has apparently made up) fill the role of the Wiccan God and Goddess. Neither do the rituals contain the sacred loaves (and the associated Mass-style blessings for the ingredients) that is the centerpiece of the entirety of Leland's stregheria and the strega's relationship with Diana as the Queen of the Witches.
By far the most destructive thing Grimassi did to the original is forcing Wiccan morality onto it. Grimassi says in the "Covenant of Aradia" that magic mustn't be used to cause deliberate harm to another (unless to prevent "true harm" from coming to oneself, whatever that means) or that magic mustn't be used to appear powerful. But the Gospel is fundamentally about the greyer, darker shades of morality. Grimassi goes to great lengths to obfuscate the fact, but Aradia herself is half-good, half-evil: the daughter of Lucifer and Diana, sent down to teach the peasants how to get revenge on the nobility. The morality of the strega is the morality of the freedom fighter.
Etruscan Roman Remains contains some very nasty curses, and Aradia instructs the strega that if her witchcraft is insulted by a Christian she should insult his God and curse him three times over in the name of Diana. For sure, a modern-day strega should tone it down a bit and interpret the Gospel in a less "revolutionary" sense, but Grimassi outright contradicts the Gospel constantly and refuses to even acknowledge the nuanced morality of Aradia. Instead, all the reader gets are the same worn-out Wiccan platitudes.
It's minor considering everything else, but the history in this book is the same regular sort of terrible Llewellyn is known for. Seventeen years and nine-plus printings later, he apparently still believes that there was an ancient witch-cult, and ties himself in knots trying to prove it. He's made up a silly story in which "Aradia di Toscano" was a travelling magic teacher in the fourteenth century, maybe because he is squeamish about the morality of the original Aradia.
I'd recommend to anyone that wants to be a strega to simply look up Leland's Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition and Legends of Florence, all of which are available online for free in various places. You'll find a much more interesting, unique kind of magic. Learning about stregheria through this book is like trying to see the stars through a frosted window.
The one thing I do like about this book is the chapter on doing magic with shadows. The history of it he gives smells like bullcrap, and his idea that the Book of Shadows was originally for shadow forms used in spells is absurd, but the idea is interesting nonetheless. I wouldn't recommend anyone buy this book except well-educated Wiccans who want some ideas to give their craft a superficial italian theme, but the shadow chapter is worth getting it out of the library for, even though it is only a couple pages.
June 22, 2010
Just read this book. There were no mention of the saints and of the Catholic church? And there are no covens, all real strega practice solitary or within the family, there are this does have some similarities to wicca but look who wrote it. All in all it was a good read but not accurate. It is passed down fron Aunt to niece or nephew or grandmother to granddaughter or grandson.
December 31, 2008
Let it be known that I am hard to win over by books that spell Magic as Magick. Adding the K does not make your practices more oldschool. I'm sorry, but that spelling really only feeds the fluff bunnies. And in the end, the goal of the historical portion of this book is to place Stregharian Witchcraft into the oldest realms of religious practice as possible. Grimassi spends the first hundred pages pushing and pushing and pushing his beliefs into the neolithic period--and unconvincingly so at best. Poorly researched, terribly organized, and just badly written. I think the author wrote this just so he could publish his own beliefs and ritual practices, which he seems to have designed based loosely on ancient Etruscan and Roman traditions. For most of the text, I felt as if he was just making things up as he went along (which is very possibly for much of it). I once threatened to "punch the book in the face" if the author used the phrase "It is interesting to note that..." or "Curiously" one more time--and he did many more times after that. I give it two stars only because the subject of Italian witchcraft (Stregheria or otherwise) is not often written about, however, the tradition described in this book is very nearly the same as modern Celtic Wicca. Grimassi (or his source, Leland?) simply puts Italian names to Sabbats (Treguenda), names the Goddess as Diana, and describes a little more sex in the grove. If you're interested in Stregheria, I recommend reading up on it on Witchvox.com or some other like website. You'll find all you need to know on the subject, as well as any books that may give you more information. And if you do choose to read this book, be forewarned that it does require some prior knowledge of modern Celtic paganism or Celtic-based Wicca.
Read
July 28, 2011When the word witch craft is mentioned most people assicate it with Celtic symbols and Northern European Culture. Raven Grimassi does research which clearly shows that many of the motifs present in modern day witchcraft were present in the the old religion of Southern Europe. Many of these motifs found their way into North European witchcraft via the Roman occupation of Europe. The pentagram was present in the old southern religion which predates North European witch craft.
Two great occultists spent a good deal of time in Italy and were obviously influenced the Stregheria, Italian witchcraft. The first was Aleister Crowley. He spent a good deal of time there and his place of residence had the motif of the hiorned god cavorting with the Goddess. When he left it was washed over.
Another occultist was Gerald Gardner the founder of Modern Wicca. Now Grimassi has also been initiated into Wicca so he is not so negative of Gardner as some would expect him to be. But Gardner did spend time in Italy and he did learn from some Strega< italian witches. Many of the Rituals in Modern Gardnerian Wicca are present in Stregheria.
THe Center of Italian Witchcraft is Lake Nemi in Italy where the Temple of Diana still stands. Diana was the main Goddess of the Strega. When they do their rituals they have a male and female candle like Wicca and the Goddess in called Tana and the God is called Tanous. Like the Wiccans the worshipper will come together during the Sabbats ansd full moon in order to honor the Deities an ussually they will do so skyclad without any clothes. As in Wicca it is the woman who draws down the moon with the male priest there is assistance.
While Wiccans observe the 8 Sabbats the Stregas do things a little bit differently. THese holdiays are called the Treguenda. Shadow fest like Samhain is the day to honor the dead. THere is Saturnalia which celebrates the rebirth of the God. Then there is Lupercalia in which the wolf clan would dress up slaughter a lamb and smear the blood on the two priests. Later it would be cleaned with bloood and people dresed in Wolfskin would go throught the town lightly whipping women. To get whipped meant to ensure fertility. This happens in Early February. ANopther Holiday that happens on January 6 is the celebrating of Befana. Stiocking are filled gifts and there is a procesion in the streets where gifts are exchanged. In the end a pinata of Befana is torn apart and goodies are distributed. At the end the effigy of Befana is set alight.
The life and biorth of the God is different as well. THe stag God is the one who gets killed by the Wolf God but in the end both get killed. THere is also the legend of descent. THe Goddes Tna desecend to plumb the mysteries of death. After progressing each level she is forced to disrobe. When she comes before Dis she is naked and Dis falls in love with her. But she refuses his love. In the end she is farced to accept death and reamin with Dis. But in Spring the Stag King is reborn.
Among Italian Witches there ware two groups on called Benedanti and the other the Maledanti. The Beneadanti would fight thebad Meledanti with certain Herbs. This was nmeant to save the crops.
The coming of Christianity meant the almost extimination of the old religion which was based on the old Etruscan Religion. A practice that never really dies out. In any case Catholicism oppressed the peasants of the Italian countryside. A savior appeared in the form of Aradia. She went about teaching the old ways and found refuge in the outlaw camps. THe inquisition caught up with her but she used her femeinine charms to woo the guards into freeing her.She eventually left Italy. She was taught the ways of the Stregha by her aunt.
Italain witch craft first became noticed by the scholar Chalres Leland who with the help of Madelena uncovered many of the mysteries and became part of the community. He wrote several book on the subject.
This is an excellent book packed with information. I advise buying your own copy because there is so much good stuff. If you loan it from the library take good notes. You'll regret not having done so. Not only does Mr> Grimassi give a great historical background but he also give you practical advise on how to do the rituals and other magical practices. No review can do this justice.
Two great occultists spent a good deal of time in Italy and were obviously influenced the Stregheria, Italian witchcraft. The first was Aleister Crowley. He spent a good deal of time there and his place of residence had the motif of the hiorned god cavorting with the Goddess. When he left it was washed over.
Another occultist was Gerald Gardner the founder of Modern Wicca. Now Grimassi has also been initiated into Wicca so he is not so negative of Gardner as some would expect him to be. But Gardner did spend time in Italy and he did learn from some Strega< italian witches. Many of the Rituals in Modern Gardnerian Wicca are present in Stregheria.
THe Center of Italian Witchcraft is Lake Nemi in Italy where the Temple of Diana still stands. Diana was the main Goddess of the Strega. When they do their rituals they have a male and female candle like Wicca and the Goddess in called Tana and the God is called Tanous. Like the Wiccans the worshipper will come together during the Sabbats ansd full moon in order to honor the Deities an ussually they will do so skyclad without any clothes. As in Wicca it is the woman who draws down the moon with the male priest there is assistance.
While Wiccans observe the 8 Sabbats the Stregas do things a little bit differently. THese holdiays are called the Treguenda. Shadow fest like Samhain is the day to honor the dead. THere is Saturnalia which celebrates the rebirth of the God. Then there is Lupercalia in which the wolf clan would dress up slaughter a lamb and smear the blood on the two priests. Later it would be cleaned with bloood and people dresed in Wolfskin would go throught the town lightly whipping women. To get whipped meant to ensure fertility. This happens in Early February. ANopther Holiday that happens on January 6 is the celebrating of Befana. Stiocking are filled gifts and there is a procesion in the streets where gifts are exchanged. In the end a pinata of Befana is torn apart and goodies are distributed. At the end the effigy of Befana is set alight.
The life and biorth of the God is different as well. THe stag God is the one who gets killed by the Wolf God but in the end both get killed. THere is also the legend of descent. THe Goddes Tna desecend to plumb the mysteries of death. After progressing each level she is forced to disrobe. When she comes before Dis she is naked and Dis falls in love with her. But she refuses his love. In the end she is farced to accept death and reamin with Dis. But in Spring the Stag King is reborn.
Among Italian Witches there ware two groups on called Benedanti and the other the Maledanti. The Beneadanti would fight thebad Meledanti with certain Herbs. This was nmeant to save the crops.
The coming of Christianity meant the almost extimination of the old religion which was based on the old Etruscan Religion. A practice that never really dies out. In any case Catholicism oppressed the peasants of the Italian countryside. A savior appeared in the form of Aradia. She went about teaching the old ways and found refuge in the outlaw camps. THe inquisition caught up with her but she used her femeinine charms to woo the guards into freeing her.She eventually left Italy. She was taught the ways of the Stregha by her aunt.
Italain witch craft first became noticed by the scholar Chalres Leland who with the help of Madelena uncovered many of the mysteries and became part of the community. He wrote several book on the subject.
This is an excellent book packed with information. I advise buying your own copy because there is so much good stuff. If you loan it from the library take good notes. You'll regret not having done so. Not only does Mr> Grimassi give a great historical background but he also give you practical advise on how to do the rituals and other magical practices. No review can do this justice.
April 16, 2022
I wish it focused a lot more on the history, but I guess that's elsewhere. And putting the rituals in the middle was a bit annoying.
October 3, 2014
A great deal of hokem if you ask me and nothing I haven't read in 20 other beginner books on Wicca and magick.
October 28, 2020
This book needs a better editor.
It’s clear that the author is well-read and invested in the thesis that modern witchcraft’s roots are found in Italy. And yet, the case made to this effect is weak and circumstantial at best.
I was hoping to find more information on the actual pagan beliefs and practices of the region from the Roman Empire and before. This book contains some of that information, but it is disorganized and difficult to follow. A good editor at the very least would have made sure that the author was consistent in whether to use Etruscan, Roman, or Greek names for deities beyond explaining the differences.
I was also disappointed to find that relatively little of the text pertaining to beliefs and practices are even specific to Italy. I didn’t feel like I came away with a better understanding of the Old Religion of the region, but merely knowing that someone took the time to argue that there’s a strong link between Italy and modern Wicca.
It’s clear that the author is well-read and invested in the thesis that modern witchcraft’s roots are found in Italy. And yet, the case made to this effect is weak and circumstantial at best.
I was hoping to find more information on the actual pagan beliefs and practices of the region from the Roman Empire and before. This book contains some of that information, but it is disorganized and difficult to follow. A good editor at the very least would have made sure that the author was consistent in whether to use Etruscan, Roman, or Greek names for deities beyond explaining the differences.
I was also disappointed to find that relatively little of the text pertaining to beliefs and practices are even specific to Italy. I didn’t feel like I came away with a better understanding of the Old Religion of the region, but merely knowing that someone took the time to argue that there’s a strong link between Italy and modern Wicca.
July 19, 2019
I’ve been putting this review off. Usually, when I read a book, I know it’s going to have some value to me and that I’ll be able to discuss it here. But my experience with Grimassi leaves me with almost nothing to discuss. It’s not that the writing is bad, or that the ideas are silly, or anything that otherwise reflects on the author’s ability. It all comes down to this:
You have to cite your sources. Especially when you are making sweeping claims like Grimassi does here.
To read the rest of this review, visit The Macabre Librarian at:
https://macabrelibrarian.wordpress.co...
You have to cite your sources. Especially when you are making sweeping claims like Grimassi does here.
To read the rest of this review, visit The Macabre Librarian at:
https://macabrelibrarian.wordpress.co...
gave-up-on
September 24, 2023I don’t know when I started this, probably around Nov 2020. Somehow I got to page 190 but remember having to force myself through a lot of it. I flipped through some of the rest and didn’t find myself inclined to continue on.
October 3, 2021
This is just Wiccan propaganda.
December 28, 2022
there were only two chapters that I found interesting and that made sense, the rest was ridiculous
June 14, 2024
I really wanted to love this book - but it was SO difficult for me to read as it reads like a text book. I'm an Eclectic SASS Witch who has Italian heritage (my grandmother came over from Italy) so I was hoping to find some things to add to my own practice.... Within the 275 pages I found 2. A lot of the book and rituals are about the old gods. As a SASS witch, I do zero deity work so most everything had absolutely no appeal to me outside of "learning about other paths."
May 3, 2021
This was such a fascinating look into Italian witchcraft. I learned so much about its history and ancient traditions and absolutely loved it! Great read for anyone interested in tracing their magical roots, or if you are just interested in stregheria in general.
October 11, 2020
Interesting! I particularly enjoyed the historical references, and connections to religious views today.
January 11, 2023
I needed some basic research on Italian witchcraft, and this provided that. It's not an in-depth view of the practices but I can look further for that.
May 28, 2024
This is really interesting.
March 31, 2025
2.5. basically Italian flavored Wicca.
October 1, 2025
More textbook style than easy read. But still very informative.
July 25, 2025
Love this book. I researched the herb rue for a project in my Ethnobotany class, and I got hooked on this book. I’m going to get it from the library and keep renewing it forever.
October 11, 2013
Well it isn't totally bad but I was expecting more from his theory that italian witchcraft has survived because of its descendents.
The history of Aradia though,was very interesting as well as how to change patterns and avoid destiny or fate and such.
I haven't read much on this topic though so I can't really state if it is original or if the author simply had a better source.
I also enjoyed the explanations about the Church twisting the facts agains the witches.But once again,has another author previously worked on that? :S
The history of Aradia though,was very interesting as well as how to change patterns and avoid destiny or fate and such.
I haven't read much on this topic though so I can't really state if it is original or if the author simply had a better source.
I also enjoyed the explanations about the Church twisting the facts agains the witches.But once again,has another author previously worked on that? :S
November 11, 2016
Great book. It really gets into the Italian culture and climate during the times of traditional witchcraft. It relates the info back to other religions and witchcraft sects. I Love the historical vein of thought put into the writing. He also recommends some very interesting titles by others in the field from the 1800s on.
June 1, 2008
Very interesting and well researched. Half of the book is a workbook for folks interested in practicing Italian style witchcraft. But I think the rituals described are interesting to anyone with natural curiosity about religious practices other than their own.
January 20, 2009
Actually haven't read it from beginning to end just yet, bought it as historical reference from time to time. Images of wary Old Country babushkas scuttling to and fro in the mountains impossible to resist. Wish there were more historical references in the book, less know-hows for the novice pagan.
March 26, 2012
Images have stayed with me. I have some southern European roots, and it was nice to learn about the cult of Diana, the cimaruta. Wonderful information about spirits of the wind. I'm a sucker for naughty woodland entities.
greece-italy-history-religon
March 9, 2025The rituals and stuff that comes from this book are basically Wicca with Italian seasoning, I personally think his other book on Italian witchcraft, "Hereditary Witchcraft," much better to be honest. This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this book though (I did), its just very Wiccan.
March 6, 2011
I enjoyed this one. The roots of Italian stregheria & the roots of Celtic teachings have a lot in common, & most likely have the same common root.
August 5, 2012
Fascinating information about beliefs, powers, rituals, seasons, magick and so much more. So interesting!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews