This interview was first published in Mystic Wicks Magazine Vol. 1 Issue #5, March 2007.

Raven Grimassi was born in 1951 and is the author of many books on Wicca and witchcraft.  His book "The Wiccan Mysteries" was awarded Book of the Year and First Place Spirituality Book by the Coalition of Visionary Retailers in 1998.  Other books by Raven include "Italian Witchcraft," "Hereditary Witchcraft," "Spirit of the Witch," "Wiccan Magick," "The Well Worn Path" book and deck, as well as many others.

Q: In your autobiographical entry in your "Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft" you talk about coming from an Italian family witchcraft tradition. What is it like learning witchcraft from family members?

Raven: It is probably like growing up in any religion, whether one is raised a Catholic, Methodist, Jew, or whatever. Your parents teach you what they believe. It is easier when you are young, but as you get older, well, then you ask questions and you question things in general. I think some parents are better at handling that than others are. In my teens I explored other belief systems, and for a while I was involved in Eastern mysticism. But I always came back to the Old Ways. The one thing that was different growing up, compared to my friends and their religious belief, is that I was not at liberty to talk about the Old Ways. Catholicism was the veneer for me for many years. 

Q: Did all of your Italian side of the family practice witchcraft?

Raven:  No, there were also many actual Catholics on that side.

Q: Did family members encourage or discourage you from exploring witchcraft?

Raven:  No, it was all just part of the way things were. I think the main opposition was, and is, my being public about it.

Q: You've taught witchcraft for over thirty years. What changes have you observed in that time?

Raven:  It is more widespread, of course, but many of its modern branches have become something different in many ways from what I would call Witchcraft. There appears to be a contrast between the Witchcraft I was taught and what I encounter in various places today. Primarily what I see today is a Witchcraft stripped of its previous religious elements and isolated as merely a practice of sorcery.

Q: Are students today much different from those you taught decades ago?

Raven:  Yes they are very different. There are fewer who are willing to do the hard work of mastering the Craft. I think a lot of people today want to pick and choose rather than commit to an established training program, or even a way of doing things. They tend not to complete what training they will even allow their teachers to establish, and they seem to want instant results with little if any personal effort. Today out of a starting class of thirty-five students, on the average ten will remain to begin serious training and of those, four will follow through (and one will go on to teach the system to others). In the late sixties and early seventies this was almost unheard of in Craft circles.

Q: Are the topics you teach much different?

Raven:  What I teach is the same traditional material but it is much more organized and is intentionally designed to be more interesting (compared to the way I was taught). What is different today is that students do not want to learn it all. They want to pick, and they seem to resent the suggestion that by studying areas that might not appear interesting at first glance they can discover greater vistas. I try and liken the process to going to college and taking the required courses as well as those that are of particular interest.

Q: You've written quite a few books on witchcraft: the award-winning "Wiccan Mysteries," "Spirit of the Witch," "Italian Witchcraft," "Hereditary Witchcraft," "Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft" as well as others. Which one is your favorite?

Raven:  I do not really have a favorite per se, and I like the books for different reasons. Wiccan Mysteries was my first successful book in terms of the amount of copies sold, which I regard as a sign the book was well received. So I am proud of that. I think my encyclopedia is a good resource book, and I like to think it is helpful to our community in that regard. I like Spirit of the Witch because it was a departure for me from writing dry quasi-academic books. I tried to write in a more personal way.

Q: Which one seems to have touched the most people?

Raven:  Most of the positive feedback I receive comes from readers of the Spirit of the Witch. I think this book hit a spiritual cord, which is what I hoped for. It is odd being a writer, because for me I spend a lot of time sitting in my study and writing. My manuscripts go out and become books and I often wonder what good they do anyone. Critics are more vocal than supporters, and so many authors tend to hear more negative than positive feedback (and I think this happens more to writers of our genre). Therefore positive reader mail helps authors to keep going. I also get a fair amount of mail from readers of my Italian Witchcraft books. They express appreciation that a book exists for them as people of southern European descent. It is a great feeling to know that my work can make a difference in a positive way.

Q: Do you have any new books coming out soon for us to look forward to reading?

Raven:  There is a new project being released in September 2007. It is called The Hidden Path, and is a companion divination deck to The Well Worn Path deck (although it is designed to stand on its own as well). Where The Well Worn Path presented the forty foundational concepts of the Craft, the new deck contains the forty mystical concepts. The cards will be the same size as The Well Worn Path cards and will have the same design on the back of the cards. In this way the decks can be shuffled together to create an eighty card deck if desired. One of the special aspects of The Hidden Path deck is the inclusion of the eight Sabbat cards, with solitary rituals included in their use. They can be used with the solitary ritual design presented in The Well Worn Path book.

Q: What publishing projects are you working on now?

Raven:  I am currently putting the finishing touches on my compilation of the works of Charles Leland. This book has been many years in the making. What I have done is to take all of Leland's books on Witchcraft and extract the important chapters. I then present them with my own commentaries along with supporting evidence from literary and folkloric sources that demonstrate the authenticity of Leland's writings in this field. I also include excerpts from Leland's personal journal along with letters of correspondence (all of which reveal his dealings in the field of Witchcraft). I think that what I can now present will shock many of Leland's critics and take a great deal of wind out of their sails. I believe this will be true for my critics as well.

Q: Do you think Leland's work is getting more attention today compared to the past?

Raven:  Yes, I do believe that his work is more widely known and discussed today. He was quite a controversial figure, and I suppose he still is. Part of the interest in Leland is because his work is earlier than Gardner's, and some of Leland's writings appear in Gardnerian material. The classic Charge of the Goddess, for example, contains a paragraph that is only slightly altered from the way it read in Leland's book on Aradia. Leland was among the first to make direct contact with people who claimed to be Witches, and to write from their perspective.

Q: Would you recommend Leland's work to those who wish to learn more about witchcraft today? 



Raven:  No, not as a means of learning about Witchcraft. However I do recommend his books to people who are well read on the topic in general. His work is important but it needs to be understood more between the lines and also within the context of Witches fighting back against persecution and oppression. I never recommend Leland to beginners.




Q: Like other authors, you've come under criticism for some of your work. How have you dealt with that? 


Raven:  In the beginning not so well. But with maturity I have come to regard criticism of my work as the indications of how people misunderstand what I put forward in my writings. And sometimes it's an indication of how people intentionally misrepresent my work. But in any case my critics inspire me to try and become a better communicator and researcher. Over the years I have come to an appreciation that the critics believe they are doing a service through their disagreements, and I think it's true that by looking at both sides of an issue we can better discern a work and its value.

Q: Tell us about your work with the College of the Crossroads. You're also a member of the Grey Council (which runs Oberon Zell-Ravenheart's online Grey School of Wizardry.) Are these your first forays into online or correspondence courses?

Raven:  It is something I did back in the nineteen-eighties as well, so no it is not my first venture. But I do believe that the College of the Crossroads and the Grey School are positive ways for people to work with experienced and trained teachers. As an author who travels the U.S. a fair amount, I can say that there are a lot of isolated people who have no local teachers available to them. I believe that online and correspondence courses are extremely valuable to such individuals.



The idea for the College of the Crossroads came to me while doing some research. I ran across this quote:
"The Lares are friendly gods, without prejudices. About their altars on the cross-roads they collect all the vagabonds, all those who have no family, no hearth, no worship of their own. Their humble devotess combine to celebrate their feasts as best they can, forming Colleges of the Cross-roads, collegia compitalica…History being wholly aristocratic and political, hardley noticed them. For they lived outside history, so to speak, content to be alive under a sunny sky, on a land which they loved. They needed no more than a few very simple ideas inherited from their forefathers and a few homely rites to give them confidence and joy. A loyal, courageous race, feeling no dread in the presence of the unknown and, at bottom, not really caring much about it, when the thoughts and fancies of the Mediterranean came pouring in they kept alive the original conceptions and religious acts of the first masters of the Italian soil" - Albert Grenier, The Roman Spirit in Religion, Thought, and Art

This text made me think of how ancient Witches were said to have gathered at the crossroads, and how they were rejected from society. This, coupled with the fact that the ancient Greeks placed Witches in the category of wandering vagabonds, presented me with a vision for a modern day College of the Crossroads. It was founded in 2003 by me and co-director Stephanie Taylor, who later became my wife.

The College was originally located on approximately four acres of secluded property in a rural area of southern California, but we are now in transition and looking for a new location. We currently offer a full online curriculum of study in Witchcraft. Our courses focus on the ancient roots of Witchcraft that preexist the origins of modern Witchcraft and Wicca. The curriculum includes techniques for self-empowerment, Nature veneration, ritual & magical arts, and the study of authentic forms of the associated occult arts. Each course offered by the College of the Crossroads includes a certificate of completion, and a certificate of appreciation for supporting the school. More information is available on our website: http://www.collegeofthecrossroads.org/

Q: What do you hope the Wiccan and witchcraft community will look like in the future?

Raven:  I am about to reveal myself as a dreamer by saying that I hope to live long enough to see us united by the things we hold in common and not divided by the things that make us unique. I hope for a people who are not feared and misunderstood. I hope we nourish our roots and care for the new growth. Without deep roots we wither and die in time. Without new growth there will be no seeds for the future.

Q: What do you see as our greatest challenges in attaining this future?

Raven:  The ancient Romans knew that to conquer a people you need only keep them divided and encourage their hatred of one another. The U.S. cavalry knew this as well when dealing with the American Indians. I think our greatest challenge is an alliance of the tribes. Until we can respect each other and support each other, we can never expect outsiders to ever grant us acceptance.

Q: What advice would you give to those starting out on the path exploring witchcraft and Wicca?

Raven:  Read and discuss as much as you can, and learn both sides of any debate related to the Craft. Know that no mystery is closed to an open mind. So be open-minded, but not so open-minded that your brains fall out. Also, consider that both tradition and individuality can exist in harmony, and that both are valuable. Therefore be open to both old and new ideas.

Q: What advice would you give to elders in the witchcraft and Wiccan community today? 



Raven:  Ironically my advice is pretty much the same I gave to beginners in reply to the last question. I can add that it is important to understand that today is not like yesterday. We live and work now with tribes that have changed from the days of traditional values. Therefore, do what you do because you feel called to do it. Do it because it is your true passion. Do not expect support or a reward of any kind. Do not allow yourself to become discouraged by the absence of signs of appreciation for the sacrifice of time and effort on your part for the benefit of others. Come to the realization that you do your work not for rewards or recognition. You do it because the work needs to be done and it has come to your hands to carry it on.