{"id":12627,"date":"2016-06-01T01:10:42","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T06:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=13255"},"modified":"2016-05-26T19:06:02","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T00:06:02","slug":"interview-with-author-raven-grimassi-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2016\/06\/01\/interview-with-author-raven-grimassi-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Author Raven Grimassi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Raven Grimassi: Communing with the Ancestors<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Raven\"<\/p>\n

I was sent a copy of Raven Grimassi\u2019s latest book, Communing with the Ancestors: Your Spirit Guides, Bloodline Allies and the Cycle of Reincarnation<\/i>, and was immediately intrigued by the beautiful style of writing and the inclusive nature that encompasses people of all paths. A full review of the book will be available on Pagan Pages next month, but in the meantime, I was lucky enough to get the chance to ask Raven some questions about this fascinating volume.<\/p>\n

Mabh Savage: Tell us about Communing with the Ancestors. What was your main aim with the book, and what type of reader will get the most out of it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>Raven Grimassi<\/b>: The primary purpose was in deepening the work of connecting with the Ancestors.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s important that we enlist the aid of the Ancestors.\u00a0 I feel that the readership for this book is anyone who wonders about the purpose of Life and about the role of reincarnation.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: You say that in your book you avoided focusing on any one particular cultural view or practice, which makes this book very accessible. What culture so you most identify with though, when communing with your own ancestors?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> If I had to focus on just one, then I relate most to my Italian heritage.\u00a0 However, I am also German and Scot and I do not ignore this lineage.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: Is everybody capable of making a connection with their ancestors, or the<\/i> ancestors?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> Yes, definitely.\u00a0 The Ancestors are part of our DNA, they reside within us to the cellular level.\u00a0 Even adopted people who don\u2019t know their lineage can connect deeply with their bloodline heritage.\u00a0 The Ancestors have never lost track of them for they reside within them.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: You speak of ‘getting out of the way’ during the writing process. Can you tell me more about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> When I struggled with writing this book, I head the inner Ancestral voices say \u201cStop trying to write this book and let this book be written.\u00a0 I had to stop forging and directing the work, which meant I had to let things come through me as opposed to from me. \u00a0 The hands on the keyboard were mine, but the material was coming from some other source.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: How did you first come across the concept of the Spirit Rider?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> Like so much else in the book, it was passed to me from the Ancestral voices. At the core was a concept I found in studying the Mayan Vision Serpent, an entity intimately connected with the Ancestors. I had also run across some material on the Hawaiian Huna concept of connecting with the Ancestors through a Shamanic technique that requires projecting consciousness outward from the tailbone of the spine. The purpose was to meet the Ancestors. From this two concepts, something formed and was passed to me. I was given the imagery of the Spirit Rider as a serpent form in which the Ancestors can connect with us through our spines.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: You write in a beautiful, metaphorical style. Do you think there is magic in poetry?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> I think that the essence of magic can be conveyed through poetry.\u00a0 Poetry can also initiate a magical consciousness that can open inner portals that lead to visions and enlightenment.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: You mention that in writing the book you became a student to it. What further lessons have been imparted since the completion of this volume?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> It\u2019s been an ongoing process.\u00a0 The most activity has been around trying to firmly grasp where the persona worn by the soul comes from, and what exactly is the \u201cpool of consciousness\u201d that legends suggest was the original of the human consciousness.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: The ancestral realm you speak of; is this what lies beyond what many Pagans refer to as ‘the veil’?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> I\u2019ve come to see the Ancestral Realm as the residing place of those who came before us.\u00a0 It is connected to the Earth Plane and the Elemental Plane, even though technically it is in the Otherworld or Inner Dimensions.\u00a0 That being said, I think that what is found on the other side of the veil is the Afterlife Realm, a temporary realm in which the Dead dwell for a time.\u00a0 This is different from the Ancestral Realm.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: What part of the landscape gives you the closest connection to the ancestors?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> In general, areas with distinct rock formations seem to hold memory best.\u00a0 This includes manmade formations such as Stonehenge.\u00a0 Caves are excellent gateways to the Ancestors, and lakes and wells are also good points of access.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: Are you working on any more books at the moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> I always have at least two books going at one time.\u00a0 My primary focus at present is to complete a book I started over 30 years ago.\u00a0 It is an examination of the Witch Lore contained in the writings of folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland.\u00a0 In the book I will also present new findings about his \u201cWitch informant\u201d and the authentic tradition that she revealed to Leland.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: The writings in Communing with the Ancestors sound like quite an intense process. How did you relax or take time away from it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> I actually don\u2019t take time away from a manuscript that I am submitting to a Publisher. I work every day on it, and the process takes months to finish (anywhere from 3 to 6). I often take my meals while writing, and there are no days off.<\/em><\/p>\n

MS: And finally, what are you most looking forward to over the next few seasons?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RG:<\/strong> Reconnecting with family and with old friends. Too much time has passed while pursuing my work.<\/em><\/p>\n

Raven\u2019s latest volume can be purchased here<\/a> and more information about his previous words can be found at his website http:\/\/www.ravengrimassi.net\/<\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Raven Grimassi: Communing with the Ancestors I was sent a copy of Raven Grimassi\u2019s latest book, Communing with the Ancestors: Your Spirit Guides, Bloodline Allies and the Cycle of Reincarnation, and was immediately intrigued by the beautiful style of writing and the inclusive nature that encompasses people of all paths. A full review of the book will be available on Pagan Pages next month, but in the meantime, I was lucky enough to get the chance to ask Raven some questions about this fascinating volume. Mabh Savage: Tell us about Communing with the Ancestors. What was your main aim with the book, and what type of reader will get the most out of it? Raven Grimassi: The primary purpose was in deepening the work of connecting with the Ancestors.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s important that we enlist the aid of the Ancestors.\u00a0 I feel that the readership for this book is anyone who wonders about the purpose of Life and about the role of reincarnation. MS: You say that in your book you avoided focusing on any one particular cultural view or practice, which makes this book very accessible. What culture so you most identify with though, when communing with your own ancestors? RG: If I had to focus on just one, then I relate most to my Italian heritage.\u00a0 However, I am also German and Scot and I do not ignore this lineage. MS: Is everybody capable of making a connection with their ancestors, or the ancestors? RG: Yes, definitely.\u00a0 The Ancestors are part of our DNA, they reside within us to the cellular level.\u00a0 Even adopted people who don\u2019t know their lineage can connect deeply with their bloodline heritage.\u00a0 The Ancestors have never lost track of them for they reside within them. MS: You speak of ‘getting out of the way’ during the writing process. Can you tell me more about that? RG: When I struggled with writing this book, I head the inner Ancestral voices say \u201cStop trying to write this book and let this book be written.\u00a0 I had to stop forging and directing the work, which meant I had to let things come through me as opposed to from me. \u00a0 The hands on the keyboard were mine, but the material was coming from some other source. MS: How did you first come across the concept of the Spirit Rider? RG: Like so much else in the book, it was passed to me from the Ancestral voices. At the core was a concept I found in studying the Mayan Vision Serpent, an entity intimately connected with the Ancestors. I had also run across some material on the Hawaiian Huna concept of connecting with the Ancestors through a Shamanic technique that requires projecting consciousness outward from the tailbone of the spine. The purpose was to meet the Ancestors. From this two concepts, something formed and was passed to me. I was given the imagery of the Spirit Rider as a serpent form in which the Ancestors can connect with us through our spines. MS: You write in a beautiful, metaphorical style. Do you think there is magic in poetry? RG: I think that the essence of magic can be conveyed through poetry.\u00a0 Poetry can also initiate a magical consciousness that can open inner portals that lead to visions and enlightenment. MS: You mention that in writing the book you became a student to it. What further lessons have been imparted since the completion of this volume? RG: It\u2019s been an ongoing process.\u00a0 The most activity has been around trying to firmly grasp where the persona worn by the soul comes from, and what exactly is the \u201cpool of consciousness\u201d that legends suggest was the original of the human consciousness. MS: The ancestral realm you speak of; is this what lies beyond what many Pagans refer to as ‘the veil’? RG: I\u2019ve come to see the Ancestral Realm as the residing place of those who came before us.\u00a0 It is connected to the Earth Plane and the Elemental Plane, even though technically it is in the Otherworld or Inner Dimensions.\u00a0 That being said, I think that what is found on the other side of the veil is the Afterlife Realm, a temporary realm in which the Dead dwell for a time.\u00a0 This is different from the Ancestral Realm. MS: What part of the landscape gives you the closest connection to the ancestors? RG: In general, areas with distinct rock formations seem to hold memory best.\u00a0 This includes manmade formations such as Stonehenge.\u00a0 Caves are excellent gateways to the Ancestors, and lakes and wells are also good points of access.\u00a0 MS: Are you working on any more books at the moment? RG: I always have at least two books going at one time.\u00a0 My primary focus at present is to complete a book I started over 30 years ago.\u00a0 It is an examination of the Witch Lore contained in the writings of folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland.\u00a0 In the book I will also present new findings about his \u201cWitch informant\u201d and the authentic tradition that she revealed to Leland. MS: The writings in Communing with the Ancestors sound like quite an intense process. How did you relax or take time away from it? RG: I actually don\u2019t take time away from a manuscript that I am submitting to a Publisher. I work every day on it, and the process takes months to finish (anywhere from 3 to 6). I often take my meals while writing, and there are no days off. MS: And finally, what are you most looking forward to over the next few seasons? RG: Reconnecting with family and with old friends. Too much time has passed while pursuing my work. Raven\u2019s latest volume can be purchased here and more information about his previous words can be found at his website http:\/\/www.ravengrimassi.net\/.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":206,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}