Raven Grimassi
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Gary Charles Erbe (April 12, 1951 – March 10, 2019), known as Raven Grimassi, was an American author of over 20 books, including topics on
Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...
,
Stregheria Stregheria () is the root form of witchcraft originating in Southern Europe, but also includes Italian American witchcraft. Stregheria is sometimes referred to as ''La Vecchia Religione'' (" the Old Religion"). The word ''stregheria'' is an archai ...
,
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
and
neo-paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
. He popularized Stregheria, the religious practice of witchcraft with roots in Italy. Grimassi presented this material in the form of neo-paganism through his books. Raven had been a practitioner of witchcraft for over 45 years and was the co-director of the Ash, Birch and Willow tradition. He died of pancreatic cancer on March 10, 2019.


Early life and education

Grimassi was born Gary Charles Erbe in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. His father was Herbert Erbe Jr. (1922–2004), who was of German and Scots heritage, and who served as a sergeant in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. His mother was Flora Gemma Erbe (1915–2011), born in
Pagani, Campania Pagani (, ''('e) Pavane'' in ) is a town and ''comune'' in Campania, Italy, administratively part of the Province of Salerno, in the region known as the Agro Nocerino Sarnese. Pagani has a population of 35,834, as of 2016. History In the period ...
. Herbert and Flora met in Italy during his military service, and they married in 1944. Flora's father was Giovanni Rescigno, a train station master in Naples, a Freemason, and an Italian witch. He entered the Order of the Pentagram in 1930. Grimassi wrote that his maternal grandfather was part of a tradition of Italian witches who were associated with the
Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...
revolutionary movement in the early 19th century, then joined the Masons or other secret societies as a cover for their meetings. After some time in Pittsburgh, Herbert and Flora settled in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, where they raised their children. Grimassi attended James Madison High School, advancing to
San Diego Mesa College San Diego Mesa College (Mesa College or Mesa) is a public community college in Clairemont Mesa in San Diego, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges and the San Diego Community College District. It is the largest community ...
and
San Diego City College San Diego City College (City College or City) is a public community college in San Diego, California. It is part of the San Diego Community College District and the California Community College System. San Diego City College is accredited by t ...
where he studied to be a psychiatric technician.


Wicca

Grimassi became involved with
Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...
in 1969. He created his own system of witchcraft known as the "Aradian Tradition" ten years later, publishing it in print beginning in 1981. He was the co-directing elder of the Ash, Birch and Willow tradition. In 1994, the
new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
publisher
Llewellyn Publications Llewellyn Worldwide (formerly Llewellyn Publications) is a New Age publisher based in Woodbury, Minnesota. Llewellyn's mission is to "serve the trade and consumers worldwide with options and tools for exploring new worlds of mind & spirit, thereb ...
accepted his manuscript for ''Ways of the Strega'', which was reprinted the following year as ''Italian Witchcraft: The Old Religion of Southern Europe''.


Stregheria

Reports that Grimassi claimed to belong to a "family tradition" of religious witchcraft had opened him to criticism. Professor
Sabina Magliocco Sabina Magliocco (born December 30, 1959), is a professor of anthropology and religion at the University of British Columbia and formerly at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She is an author of non-fiction books and journal article ...
, a critic of some of Grimassi's claims, however points out that "Grimassi never claims to be reproducing exactly what was practiced by Italian immigrants to North America; he admits Italian-American immigrants "have adapted a few Wiccan elements into their ways". After personally meeting Grimassi, Professor Magliocco wrote in her letter to the Pomegranate Reader's Forum:
I had the pleasure of meeting Raven Grimassi during the summer of 2001, unfortunately after the final draft of my article had already been submitted to The Pom. He was very gracious and helpful to me. From information he revealed during our interview, I can say with reasonable certainty that I believe him to have been initiated into a domestic tradition of folk magic and healing such as I describe in my article.


Awards

Grimassi won "Book of the Year" and "First Place – Spirituality Book" from the Coalition of Visionary Retailers in 1998 for his book ''The Wiccan Mysteries'', and his book the ''Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft'' was also awarded "Best Non-Fiction". His publisher, Weiser Books, produced the author's biography, ''Horns of Honor''.
Patheos Patheos is a non-denominational, non-partisan online media company providing information and commentary from various religious and nonreligious perspectives. Upon its launch in May 2009, the website was primarily geared toward learning about re ...
listed Grimassi in 2018 as one of the 25 most influential living pagans.


Personal life

In the 1970s, Grimassi recorded a
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
song with Ritchie Brubaiter, called "Brat". After studying psychology in college, he worked for a few years for San Diego County Mental Health Services inside a secure psychiatric facility. He shifted to a center for abused children, then worked as a counselor for drug and alcohol abuse patients. The stress of these jobs moved him to study
cosmetology Cosmetology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''kosmētikos'', "beautifying"; and , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'') is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyle, hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/p ...
and become a hair stylist for many years. After that he served as a financial aid counselor, then in the mid-1990s his book publishing income allowed a full-time writing career. Grimassi's first marriage with Patty produced Michelle, born in San Diego, and his second marriage with Diane produced a daughter in 1979 – Brieanna, born in
Escondido, California Escondido is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census. Et ...
. Grimassi dedicated his book ''The Wiccan Mysteries'' to his "beautiful daughters, Michelle and Brieanna...". Grimassi's father died in 2004 and was buried at
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in the city of San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Fort Rosecrans and is administered by the United States Department o ...
in San Diego. His mother died in 2011 and was buried with her husband. Grimassi's third marriage was to Stephanie Ann Zarrabi, pen-name Stephanie Taylor. From 1998, they operated a magick shop in Escondido called Raven's Loft, closing the physical store in 2002 to run it as a website. The couple moved to
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
, in 2009, but suffered a lightning strike in June 2017 which burned down their home and destroyed their business assets. Stephanie announced on her Facebook page that Grimassi died on March 10, 2019, aged 67, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was survived by two brothers and three daughters: Kathy, Michelle and Brieanna. A memorial service was held on March 23 in Springfield.


Bibliography

*1981: ''The Book of the Holy Strega'' *1981: ''The Book of Ways Volumes I and II'' *1994: ''Ways of the Strega'' **reprinted as ''Italian Witchcraft: The Old Religion of Southern Europe'' in 1995 *1999: *2000: *2001: *2001 *2002: *2002: *2002: *2003: *2003: *2004: *2005: *2007: *2008: *2009: *2011: *2014: *2016: *2019: Grimassi, Raven (September 2019). ''What We Knew in the Night''. Weiser Books. .


References


Sources

* * Magliocco, Sabina "...this state of affairs, along with the lack of ethnographic evidence to corroborate the reports of Martello, Bruno and Grimassi, makes the existence of an Italian witch cult among Italian-Americans extremely unlikely." in * * *


External links


Raven Grimassi's homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimassi, Raven 1951 births 2019 deaths American people of Italian descent American spiritual writers American Wiccans American encyclopedists Deaths from pancreatic cancer San Diego Mesa College alumni Writers from Pittsburgh Writers from San Diego Wiccan writers