Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

2 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

Medieval Wizard

drawn by Gillot,

engraved by

Toullain

Rosemary Guiley described. I

created and conducted rituals of

all kinds, from individual divina-

tions (“readings”), initiations,

handfastings (marriages), baby

blessings, healings, house-bless-

ings, protections, and exor-

cisms—to large seasonal rituals

for the entire community of about

a hundred families, and even

larger public events in the nearby

town of Ukiah. I also taught in the

little community school and

mentored a number of the kids as

they grew up.

But our real Work from 1979–

was raising unicorns. And when we

traveled around the country exhibiting

our living unicorns, our natural scene was

Renaissance Faires, where my appropri-

ately costumed persona (“character”) was

that of Wizard (as Morning Glory was an

Enchantress). When we did interviews for

TV, magazines, and newspapers that were

not associated with the Faires, we pre-

sented ourselves as “Naturalists,” which

seemed pretty much the mundane equivalent.

What was it that drew me to Wizardry as a way

of life and encouraged me to choose a title that hardly

anyone used in these modern times? Simply put, it’s

the mythology of it all! My favorite mythological ref-

erences come from fantasy and science fiction litera-

ture, as well as classical mythology. Such authors as

J.R.R. Tolkien, Mary Stewart, Marion Zimmer Brad-

ley, Ursula leGuin, Peter Beagle, and T.H. White have

deeply infused my concept of what a Wizard is with

their depictions of the likes of Merlin and Gandalf,

with whom I immediately identified upon reading

those tales.

But for me, the greatest appeal of both the his-

torical and mythological Wizards with whom I iden-

tify is that they were engaged in shaping the greater

paradigm (“model”) of the society around them. Wiz-

ards, let’s face it, are natural-born meddlers! Alche-

mists, inventors, king-makers, prophets, seers, spell-

casters, loremasters, teachers, initiators, magicians,

visionaries—Wizards are perpetually engaged in

world-transformation, trying to make the world a bet-

ter place for everyone. This is the “Great Work.” Wiz-

ards do not think small! And Wizards know that the

best way to predict the future is to create it. So, in the

tradition of all the Wizards who have gone before me,

my wizardly “Great Work” has been that of transform-

ing and guiding the society in which I find myself

into a new phase of social, cultural, and conceptual

evolution. Virtually everything I have done in my life

has been towards this end—including this Grimoire.

Lesson 3: Between the Worlds

of Magick and Mundane

Wizards have also impressed with their

intense belief in several levels of real-

ity—that of the ordinary world, the ex-

traordinary world of fairies, elves and

other spirit entities, the hierarchy of the

angels, and the realm of the higher be-

ing. Many Wizards have attempted to

rise above Earthly concerns and fo-

cus on the spiritual worlds, forging

links between the world of the living

and that of the dead. Angels and the

fairy folk are also believed to be the

allies of various Wizards. Commu-

nication with beings from other di-

mensions has been taken seriously, and

studied in depth.

—Anton & Mina Adams

(The World of Wizards, p. 7)

One of the most basic understandings of

Wizardry is that we live not just in a Universe,

but in a Multiverse of many worlds. Now, a

“world” is not merely the same thing as a planet

(though planets are also referred to as worlds—espe-

cially those that may be inhabited). A world can be

any realm or state of existence that we may inhabit or

even imagine. We may speak geographically of the

Old World (usually meaning Europe) or the New

World (the Americas). Or we may divide societies

into those of the Western World (Western Europe,

North America, and Australia) or the Eastern World

(Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia). Politi-

cally, nations today are seen as belonging to the Free

World, the Communist World (which used to be much

bigger, during the Cold War), or the Third World. We

may even talk historically of the Ancient World, or

the Modern World—or even the World of Tomorrow!

But there is also the World of Music, the World

of Art, and the Wide World of Sports. There is the

World of Science, the World of Computers, and the

Animal World. There are literary worlds—such as the

World of Middle-Earth, or the World of Harry Potter.

And there are the Worlds of the Imagination, the

Worlds of Myth, the Worlds of Dreams, the Worlds

of Magick.... It is these worlds in particular that are

frequented and inhabited by Wizards, Witches, ma-

gicians, and other magickal folk—as well as elves,

dragons, unicorns, faeries, gods, and spirits. This

Grimoire you are holding will be your guidebook to

the Worlds of Magick.

The wonderful Harry Potter books of J.K.

Rowling present a mythos (that is, a foundation story)

that says: “Beyond the borders of the mundane

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