IV Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
Foreword: The Grimoire and the Grey Council
By Raymond BucklandAs a member of the Grey Council, I am perhaps
typical of your teachers, so let me tell you a little about
my background. I was first attracted to these subjects
more than fifty years ago. (Half a century! How time
flies!) What I wouldn’t have given to have had access
to just such a book as you are now holding in your
hands, back in those early days. But such knowledge
was hard to come by then. I had to dig and search;
follow up ancient clues and long-lost trails. I had to
beg and borrow, and to apprentice myself to the few
knowledgeable mages I was able to find. Over the
years I learned to use a crystal ball, to read tarot cards,
to heal with my hands, to make use of herbs and po-
tions, and to do many other things not normally taught
or made available.
Over forty years ago I was initiated into a Witches
coven. I learned spells and charms and I learned to do
magick. It was a long, sometimes hard road I trav-
eled. But it was very satisfying and, in practicing what
I was taught, I was able to bring aid, happiness, and
comfort to many others. Along the way I became a
teacher myself and was thus able to pass on what
knowledge I had so painstakingly acquired.
The other members of the Grey Council—those
who are now, through this book, your teachers—have
similar backgrounds to mine. We have all dedicated
our lives to the magickal arts and to making our knowl-
edge available to those ready and willing to accept it.. .those such as you.
This is a grimoire. The word comes from the old
French word meaning “grammar.” It is, indeed, a
grammar of magick. In other words, it explains ex-
actly how magick is performed: how it is planned,
prepared for, put together, and very carefully worked.
You wouldn’t expect to be able to learn a foreign lan-
guage without doing some study. You would need to
learn new words and how to put them together so that
they made sense. You would need to know occasional
alternate words that could be used, and the correct
way to pronounce them. If you didn’t do this study,
no one would understand you. In other words, it
wouldn’t be working. Well, so it is with magick. By
learning the grammar—the grimoire—you will be able
to not only make yourself understood (to the elements,
the spirits, the animals, trees, plants, and all other as-
pects of nature—plus, of course, to other Wizards),
but you will be able to show that you are fluent in the
language—that you are a master of it. This translates
into becoming a master Wizard, a magician recog-
nized by his peers (those of equal standing) as com-
petent and knowledgeable.
In so many subjects in everyday school, you
sometimes find yourself wondering “Why do I have
to learn this?” “What use is this to anyone?” You re-
A great number of us have been wanting—long-
ing—to board the Hogwarts Express and to travel to
an academy that teaches the really exciting things in
life. Things such as magick, herbal lore, divination,
conjuring, and so on. In a word, we have been want-
ing to learn WIZARDRY. It’s one thing to read about
the experiences of someone else—even such a fasci-
nating person as Harry Potter—but it’s quite another
thing to be able to go through the whole magickal
educational process yourself. To enter such a school
and know that your teachers are the very finest Wiz-
ards and Witches in the world would be awe-inspir-
ing. So, how to do this? How to find and attend such
a Wizard’s academy?
You’ll be happy to know that you don’t have to
wait for a special invitation to be delivered, be it by
owl mail or otherwise. You don’t even have to be the
child of a Wizard or Witch. In fact you can even be a
regular Muggle child and still get into this school. (It
has been rumored that even some grown-up Muggles
have been so attracted to it that they, too, have slipped
in!) Where is this school? It’s right here in your hands.
The Course in Wizardry—at least the Apprentice
Level of the course—is contained in this book. That’s
like suddenly discovering that there’s a home study
branch of Hogwarts Academy! Here may be found
seven major courses, plus an appendix and bibliogra-
phy, put together by the Grey Council of Wizards for
you to study and learn.
Members of the Grey Council are living, breath-
ing, famous Wizards and Witches of the present day.
They are not “made up” or in any way invented by an
author. They are alive and real and have been practic-
ing their various crafts for up to forty or fifty years.
When Harry Potter was first taking the Hogwarts
Express to Hogwarts Academy, he was shown the trad-
ing cards of Witches and Wizards that came in the
Chocolate Frogs packs. Ron Weasley introduced him
to these, showing such famous personalities as Mer-
lin, Paracelsus, Morgana, Circe, Cliodna, Ptolemy,
Dumbledore, and Hengist. These were actually a mix-
ture of real Witches and Wizards and those of fiction
and legend. But in this book there are only real ones.
I have known Oberon Ravenheart for over 30
years. He is one of the pioneers of Paganism in the
United States. I can’t think of a better, more qualified
person to write a handbook for apprentice Wizards.
Oberon is a Wizard (he always has been!). With his
many decades of experience he, more than anyone, is
uniquely qualified to write this book, having been
teaching for the majority of his life. His name is greatly
respected in all of the varying fields of Paganism and
Witchcraft. He is truly an Elder...of Paganism, Witch-
craft, and Magic.Intro pages PM.p65 4 1/14/2004, 3:19 PM