The Grimoire of Lady Sheba (Hardcover)

by Lady Sheba (Author) "The foundation on which all your witch power is built is the witches' pyramid..." (more)
Key Phrases: coveners bow, hereby consecrate thee, astral candle, High Priestess, Magick Circle, Gracious Goddess (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Lady Sheba inherited her practice of witchcraft from more than four generations of witches. Recognizing a profound need for a new understanding of the forces of nature, she elected to publish her grimoire, a personal magickal workbook copied by hand from the time of her initiation.

• The Power: Description of the rules and requirements for correct, effective use of witchcraft
• The Tools: How to make, consecrate and use magickal instruments
• The Language: Includes diagrams of the lost Theban script and Runic alphabet
• The Rituals: Complete instructions for performing rituals for every purpose
• The Recipes: The famous secret herbal lore of witchcraft, including ointments, teas, incense, perfumes and oils
• The Dances: Traditional square dances as well as magickal "witches' rounds"
• The Book of Shadows: The Holy Book of witchcraft
• The Eightfold Path: Describes the steps to magickal attainment.

First published in 1974, this ground-breaking volume includes essential information for the practicing Wiccan. Llewellyn is happy to announce its re-release as the hardcover 2001 Centennial Edition.

About the Author
Lady Sheba was one of the first people in the United States to officially establish the Craft as a legally recognized religion. She registered "The American Order of the Brotherhood of Wicca" as an religious organization in Michigan on August 13, 1971. She stated that she was a witch "by traditional heritage" and a "Gardnerian Witch by choice."


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Product Details

• Hardcover: 243 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875420761
• ISBN-13: 978-0875420769
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #797,528 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Know your religion's history!!, July 25, 2007

By	S. McClaran - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Some of the reviews on here, that appear to be made by "Wiccans" shows that they don't know their religion's history. When practicing a religion, one should know it's history and roots. And, if you knew anything about the history of Wicca, you would know...

1.) That the original traditions as created by Gerald Gardner included the blind folding, nudity, binding, and scourging.

2.) When Doreen Valiente and other members of his coven (Bricket Wood Coven) wrote the thirteen "Rules of the Craft" to try and deter Gardner from his publicity seeking, he produced 30 "Wiccan Laws" (130 later added by Alexandrian Wicca), that said things like men should rule women and so forth. This therefore led to Doreen and other members to leave his coven, however, many of his followers still passed these things on down the line of initiates, because each initiate would copy the coven's Book of Shadows...which Lady Sheba did when she was initiated into Gardnerian Wicca (although it has been said that it was an Alexandrian BOS she copied).

3.) And yes Doreen Valiente "re-wrote" the Charge of the Goddess, however, Gardner had originally taken it from an older book "Aradia: the Gospel of Witches" by Charles Godfrey Leland written in 1899...so it is essentially 100's of years old.

4.) Gerald Gardner passed Wicca off as being an ancient religion, so many of his followers believed this to be so. Yes, he created Wicca, however he created it from pieces of other older practices as well as what he was able to glean from the New Forest coven that he was originally initiated into, and this all began in the 1930's, which to some people is ancient, LOL.

5.) The Sabbat dates are probably wrong in this book because the Bricket Wood coven originally celebrated the cross quarters on the closest full moon meeting, and later changed this to give them more prominence and thus created the eight festivals of the wheel.

6.) As stated before initiates would hand copy the Book of Shadows, and Doreen Valiente re-wrote most of Gardner's BOS because so much of it was obviously Alister Crowley's work. Therefore, anything passed on in the copies of the Book of Shadows is most likely written by her, but not "credited" to her. And when an initiate copied the BOS they did not know or think to "credit" the passages to her. So getting upset that an older book, based on a personal Book of Shadows, does not cite Doreen as the originator is just silly.

So, when reading Lady Sheba's book you have to keep in mind that she claimed to be part of a hereditary witchcraft tradition that has nothing to do with Wicca, as well as having been initiated into Gardnerian Wicca later...so this book is a mix of the two.

And remember, Lady Sheba's book is a bit dated in terms of where Wicca is now "today" and it's "fluffy bunny" practitioners, however she was one of the first to make the Craft public in the USA and she made a very important step in the legal recognition of Wicca as a religion...so respect your roots people! This book is great for looking at what once was, in comparison to what it has grown to be!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for those who want to be spoon fed, February 25, 2005

By	Omar Medina (NJ) - See all my reviews

Before all the fluff bunny books on Wicca took over the shelves, there was very little on Wicca. I remember being very young spending much of my free time in the public library grabbing a bit from this book and a bit from that. Luckily, I had a neighbor who was a witch and that helped put all I learned together.

Unfortunatly I never got to read this book back then, but had to wait for it to be republished. I wish I could have as for me it would have been like a Holy Grail.

This book is from that pre Silver RavenWolf era. Many reviewers complained that there wasn't a lot of information. Well for that time this book offered quite a lot, and if the reader was interested even further, he or she would embark on studying more to learn more, as it should be. When I look at many of the books of today, yes it is nice they have "everything you need to know" but much of it is not very factual and in my opinion leads the reader not to research anything further. They become "High Pristess of the Two Books" as my current mentor and god mother likes to call them.

Read this book and then let that desire for knowledge lead you to real Wicca, that which is found in nature and in community. Ask the God and Goddess to lead the way. Study their stories in mythology books, learn about the real history of wichcraft and culture through studying history, learn herbology from a real herbologist. Take notes on all that you learn. Lady Sheba made this book so one could take notes. This is not for the lazy or those who want to be spoonfed but for those who really want to know develop a personal relationship with the God and Goddess.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Authentic Witchcraft, August 22, 2006

By	Debbie - See all my reviews

Those not liking this book also proclaim the religion to be Wicca, not Witchcraft, which is what Lady Sheba knew and taught. She is definitely not of the fluffy bunny line, nor should she be. Lady Sheba is in the line of Gerald Gardner and Alex and Maxine Sanders, a line in which ritual scourging is accepted and understood. Anybody taking this practice as S&M just doesn't have a clue. Lady Sheba is an Elder in Witchraft and should be read and respected as such. If nudity and scourging are offensive to you, then there is always Fluffy Bunny Wicca or Christianity. Find your path elsewhere.