What We Knew in the Night

July 15, 2019
Grimassi (Communing with the Ancestors), a scholar of neopaganism, harkens back to what he considers the heyday of witchcraft in America during 1960s and ’70s in this illuminating history and manual. He considers the common practices of lunar- and forest-based witchery (both of which originated in European paganism) as the “Rooted Ways.” Arguing that modern witches should return to older sources, Grimassi believes that overcodification of practices has led to witches becoming “lost in the labyrinth” of scholarship. Proposing a loose structure to practicing witchcraft, Grimassi asserts that those interested in learning about the tradition should focus on the “hunter-gatherer” essence of magic. He points to writers who placed an “emphasis on self-initiation and personal intuition,” such as Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders, Sybil Leek, and Doreen Valiente, whom he views as seminal figures of a 1960s Wicca renaissance. Including many references to their work, he then explores European witch folklore, traditional witch deities (such as the “Antlered God of the Forest”), rituals (such as “Drawing Down the Moon”), and witch tools (such as the wand and the pentacle). Readers interested in the basics of witchcraft in the European tradition will find a cornucopia of helpful information in Grimassi’s accessible guide.