Witchcraft: A Mystery Tradition

Rating:
Summary: Good Reconstructionist Views
Review: Few books on the subject of Witchcraft come along that I'm willing to doff my hat too mainly because so many are pedantic in their offering. This book is not one of those pedantic offerings but rather a well written and useful theory books that is so lacking in the Wiccan community.

This is not a cookbook or "how-to" manual. What it is makes it all the more desirable for the budding and mid-level Wiccan practitioner to want to own and study.

One of the things I have to give Grimassi is his due on covering the balance of the Wiccan cosmology. Most Wiccan books tend to focus solely on the divine feminine aspects and the chief reason for this is that many of the authors of Wiccan books are feminists. Thus the divine aspect of the male is either ignored (usually) OR relegated to little more than a masculine "escort" companion.

The chapter on the "Witches God" I found useful and entertaining. For instance, I chuckled at the thought of the looks of horror on the faces of so many fluffy bunnies when they see the inverted pentagram in the pages of a Llewellyn book on the Craft! Actually Grimassi uses the symbol merely to point out the idea of the look of Hercules' ritual death position which according to Grimassi was inverted.

When we get into Chapter Five, "Exploring the Inner Mysteries", Grimassi offers up front a skull and crossbones and how it symbolizes the "guardianship and power over the realm of death". At last, a Wiccan book that doesn't eschew the mysteries of Death! Sadly this is an aspect that is so lacking in modern Wiccan literature but is NOT neglected in Wicca's cousin the religion of Vodu where a Lord of Death is given His respect and dignity at every ceremony.

Next the author takes us thru standing stones and sacred groves or that which we need to find peace in our workings. The idea that the stones retained all which they witnessed and that groves of trees harbored the Spirits of the Gods themselves. (Another concept that is found in other cultures.) Two other subjects covered by Grimassi are that of Summerland and Reincarnation both of which are not covered in any real depth but at least he makes an attempt to help the reader delve more into the concepts of each instead of just paying lip service to the notion as so many other Wiccan authors tend to do.

The next two chapters were reminiscent of Stewart Farrar's "Eight Sabbats For Witches" as Grimassi tries to offer more than an overview of each sabbat and the meaning behind its importance. Not since Stew Farrar has this subject been dealt with in any real depth and due to the lack of written evidence on neo-Celtic sources, this does not help make it any easier for Grimassi to explain the spiritual significance underlying each one. I for one would like to see Raven take his time and research this area of Wiccan lore more in depth perhaps even with a book devoted solely to the spokes of the year.

The rest of the book delves into other areas that are worthy of study for the Wiccan. One of the interesting things about Grimassi is that while I don't consider him a scholar in his research, I do consider him to be a valid reconstructionist. Why? Because some of his theories & conclusions just do not convince me when he points to historical evidence (sic). Too much of this material is skewed by minimal accounts and smacks of way too much personal interpretation.

The bibliography is not full of other Llewellyn books and thus lends more credibility to Grimassi as a researcher for this work. This in itself is a refreshing break from your typical Llewellyn offering. One sore point though is in the section on "The View from Colleges and Cauldrons" where Grimassi quotes from one of $ilver Ravenwolf's books and he was doing so well up to that point!

In my advanced, un-edited copy, there was no index so I'm not sure if the finalized version does indeed have an index. All in all I rate this book four stars and recommend it to anyone who wants to get a valuable overview of the mystery aspects of the Craft of the Witch.

Rating:
Summary: Educational and enlightening
Review: Having read works by Joseph Campbell and Jung, and having an interest in occult matters and ancient history, I really think this is a rich and informative book that I will read over and over again, and also use as reference on mythology, symbolism, and the occult.

While I do not consider myself a "witch," and don't want to (due to the current trend of witchcraft and Wicca), my interest in this book was moreso a good introductory lesson in the mythos of the world of witchcraft and Wicca, since these religious paths have always been so misunderstood. (I suppose I just have a thirst for knowledge in general.)

I think everyone, regardless of their ancestry or religion, should read this book, if only for the sake of learning about the origins of European holidays, myths, and legends. (For one, if more people knew where our current Christian holidays originated from, there would be less judgementalism against those who practise pagan religions and are involved in the occult.)