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hunter*
October 12th, 2009, 09:54 AM
This is different from Italian Witchcraft? It goes back to the earliest times before Italy?

I have the Well Worn Path, The Hidden Path and Spirit of the Witch and have been devouring them.

I've been deeply studying a lot of metaphysics and a little wicca for almost a year. I learned a lot, but the paleolithic roots were missing and the 1950s influenced stuff was a huge turnoff. I kept looking though.

I think my grandmother might have been a witch. I've been having flashes of memories lately. My mom, a very conservative Christian with a deep belief in the need for women to be submissive, didn't like my grandmother and I saw very little of her till she died when I was 13.

I remember once overhearing my mom tell another lady my grandmother was a witch and how terrified she was of the things she did. She never spoke of it to me though. Every once in a while my mom would stare at me coldly and with ice in her voice, say " You are just like your grandmother!" When I was not acting like a good, submissive, ladylike daughter.

Once when I was alone with my grandma, she stripped me down looking for "the mark", hoping to find one on my thigh. She found one on my lower leg. She said the mark was passed from oldest daughter to oldest daughter, and my mark was watered down through my mom's 3rd born daughter's blood. My grandma was French and Native American, and born in Canada.

What I remember most about my grandmother is how regal and confident she was and the deep contrast in the way she related to men compared to my mom. They were her friends and her equals, not her caretaker and owner. She was at ease with life.

These memories or Grandma and rereading the Clan of the Cave Bear series which includes a lot of Paleolithic French spirituality, draws me forward in my studies. I think there is something in my blood and lineage calling to me.

poking around in search brings up Grimassi's Italian tradition, but not his newer, more inclusive Ash, Birch and Willow tradition. Has anyone been studying this tradition?

raven grimassi
October 13th, 2009, 10:58 AM
This is different from Italian Witchcraft? It goes back to the earliest times before Italy?

Ash, Birch, and Willow is not Italian-based. It is intended to reflect the commonality of all European traditions that are based in "earth religion" and the like. ABW also ties in some of the contemporary elements that some people identify as "Wiccan" markers. But as an ol' timer in the Craft from the 60s, I disagree with comments about what is exclusively Wiccan and what is Witchcraft. The lines are too blurred, in my opinion, to be able to say what is what with the risk of narrow vision.

hunter*
October 13th, 2009, 01:10 PM
Is there an explanation somewhere of what the beliefs of ABW are? Are any of your books exclusively ABW?

raven grimassi
October 14th, 2009, 09:30 AM
Is there an explanation somewhere of what the beliefs of ABW are? Are any of your books exclusively ABW?

At present the only available material related to ABW is in my book Witchcraft: A Mystery Tradition. However, I am currently working on a Course of Study for the system, which I hope to complete by the end of this year, or early Spring at the latest. I also plan on creating a website for the system.

Essentially, we believe that the "Great Spirit" is comprised of feminine and masculine polarities, and we personify them as a goddess and a god.

We believe that Divinity resides in whatever it creates, and so we commune with it through the eight Sabbats that reflect the seasons. We see each season as an expression of a divine principle.

We believe that the artist is reflected in his or her artwork, and so we look to nature to discern divine consciousness (because the divine created it). We look to nature for the blueprint, the inner mechanism of divine creativity. Because we see the divine process reflected in nature, we believe in such things as reincarnation, an idea taken from the ever-returning cycles of birth, life, death and rebirth (as seen in nature).

These are just a few examples of ABW thinking.

hunter*
October 14th, 2009, 10:56 AM
Thank you for taking the time to answer. The Hidden Path mentioned Witchcraft: A Mystery Tradition, and I was able to order it used from Amazon and am happy that they tell me it's already been shipped.

For now I'll study the cards, Spirit of the Witch, The Cauldron of Memory and Witchcraft: A Mystery Tradition. Your other books look like they might be more distracting than helpful to someone new to ABW??

I hope you write fast :-) I hope you are able to get at least a small website up soon, with just a set of beliefs and a reading list. Something for those of us who latch onto your cards and want more.

I'm sorry I have asked you so many questions all over the forum. I am a very...intense...learner who likes to dive right into something that seems to be making some sense after dabbling in a lot of things that sound really good, but only seem to half work together when I try to combine them all. I tend to try to make a math problem out of things that just are not that organized and precise...and it can be a little annoying. My brain is just screaming to organize so many bits of info I have accumulated this year. So sorry!

Good luck with your writing :-)