The Grimoire of Lady Sheba

[Vinga]

I'm Norse pagan and fairly new to Wicca, but trying to educate myself...

I came upon some texts on a website that is allegedly quotes from 'The Grimoire of Lady Sheba' (?). One is 'The Witches Chant' and another is 'The Witches Rune', but they are both more or less exactly the same so I don't know what the difference is supposed to be. Anyhow, there was a part in this text that I had a bit of a problem with and was hoping you wise souls out there could explain it to me.

"Queen of Heaven, Queen of Hell,
Send your aid unto the spell.
Horned Hunter of the night,
Work my will by magic rite."

This just does not sound very Wiccan to me. First of all, I personally do not believe in either Heaven nor Hell, and 'Horned Hunter' in the next sentance? I'm confused :confused: !
This same website also included an 'Invocation of the Horned God' from 'The Grimoire of Lady Sheba' which also didn't sit well with me.
I've also noticed that some versions of the Wiccan rede speaks of 'the Horned One' etc.
Now one could probably argue that 'The Horned One' refers to Pan or some other pagan God who has been pictured with animalistic attributes, but in the sentance following "Queen of Heaven. Queen of Hell"??? In the 'Invocation of the Horned God' it says "Come where the round of the dance is trod, Horn and hoof of the goatfoot God!". Now colour me stupid, but this does not sound like Pan or any of the other pagan Gods I know.

According to this website these are some of the texts that are concidered 'sacred' by those following the Wiccan path.

Can someone please explain this to me? :confused:

[bluecat]

Doesn't sound very Wiccan to me. The "goatfoot" reference does sound like it could be Pan, but the "Queen of Heaven. Queen of Hell," doesn't sound much like Wicca, what is the URL for that website?

Blue

[Vinga]

http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/Spells/texts.html

I know Pan has the hoofs and the horns, but he isn't a very 'popular' (common) deity and like I said above, according to this site these texts are the "Wiccan Sacred texts". If they are so sacred, you wouldn't think they are about someone like Pan who is a fairly insignificant God (no offense) to most Wiccans.

I've seen references to 'The Grimoire of Lady Sheba' on other places on the web as well, and I can see traces of it in many other Wiccan texts, including the rede where it says

"Deosil go by the waxing moon,
chanting out the Witches' Rune"

and

"When the wheel hath turned a Yule,
light a log the Horned One rules"

...or different versions of the same. I'm wondering what this 'The Grimoire of Lady Sheba' really is...a book I figure, but by whom and how old? Or more importantly, how reliable of a source?

[Vinga]

Lady Sheba (Jessie Wicker Bell) The Grimoire of Lady Sheba
St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, 1974 ISBN:0-87542-076-1.

The "magickal workbook of America's Witch Queen. Lady Sheba was born into a witchcraft tradition inherited from more than four generations. Recognizing a profound need for a new understanding of the forces of nature by the human race, Lady Sheba is the first witch to publish her grimoire, her own magickal workbook copied from the time of her initiation, including the spells and ancient ritual practices handed down in her family for centuries." Includes Introduction and The Power, The Eightfold Path, The Tools, The Language, The Rituals, The Recipes, The Dances, The Book of Shadows (including the Laws, Rituals & Sabbats)


I found used copies of this book for sale online and they run from $125 to a whopping $500!!
Maybe this thread should be moved over to the book board?

[Ari]

Originally posted by Vinga

...or different versions of the same. I'm wondering what this 'The Grimoire of Lady Sheba' really is...a book I figure, but by whom and how old? Or more importantly, how reliable of a source?

"The Grimoire of Lady Sheba" was one of the earliest partial publications of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows; for a more complete (and supposedly more accurate) version with commentary on each section, see "A Witches' Bible" by Janet and Stewart Farrar. You can debate the age and 'reliability' of the Gardnerian BoS until you go grey, and still not have anything conclusive ;)