About Rev. Vinnie Russo

My Spiritual Practices

  • I am a legally recognized minister and have been a Professional Tarot Consultant since 1984 as a way to help clients uncover meanings and answers otherwise not accessible to the conscious mind.
  • I am an Initiate and Elder of several Traditions/Branches of British Traditional Wicca/Initiatory Wicca including Alexandrian and Chthonioi-Alexandrian.
  • I am a “Stregone Mago” (Elder) in a branch of contemporary Sicilian/Italian-American Craft.
  • As a member of La Vecchia Religione, the Craft, my spiritual and religious practices revolve around the reverence of “the Old Gods”, the Goddess and God of our Mysteries, and a special interest in the development of nature contacts such as those forces typified by the Ancestors, spirits, and local or minor divinities of Greco-Sicilian and Italian Lore.

Professional and General

  • Since the 90’s I have been the owner of arsenic.com which hosted our business, Arsenic & Old Lace, one of the oldest occult stores originally founded in New England. We were the first Pagan Community Center in New England to offer open rituals and classes to the greater community. We served the community through 2 retail websites.
  • At OneStopOccultShop, we carried over 7500 quality Pagan and Wiccan tools, gifts, and occult supplies before going on hiatus so Vinnie could pursue other professional goals.
  • At StregaCrafts, we offered our custom hand crafted products such as incense, potions, and spell candles with the focus on contemporary Witchcraft and Folk Magic derived from the cultures and magical traditions of Sicily/Italy and the Mediterranean. As “New World Practitioners” of the “Old Religion”, we hope to bring together the integrity and quality of the past through modern-day practices and venues.
  • One of my favorite things to do is to travel the world and experience other cultures. At last count, I’ve been to 96 cities in 19 countries.
  • My husband and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year.
  • In 2021 we relocated from Massachusetts to Georgia.
  • In 2024 we relocated back to Massachusetts to our lovely homestead at “the pond house”.
  • In 2024 we also began a new venture of artisan folk and magical products which we offer at Hearthside Artisan Goods, LLC.

Interfaith Work

Our Lord and Lady of the Trinacrian Rose

I hold legally recognized clergy credentials through Our Lord and Lady of the Trinacrian Rose Church and Grove.

“Our Lord and Lady of the Trinacrian Rose Church and Grove is an “earth-centered” or “pagan” church based in Salem, Massachusetts (USA) [ just north of Boston ]. We are a formal church body organized under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 180. In 2017 we will celebrate our 24th year.

Our foundation belief is a positive earth-centered focus which combines the modern and traditional aspects of the Wiccan Beliefs and Religion as well as the Old World Sicilian Witchcraft of the Strega. Deity is Universal and Manifest in All.”

Parliament of the World’s Religions

In 1993 I had the honor of attending the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago  as a representative for Covenant of the Goddess, where the Dalai Lama was the Keynote Speaker.
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Society of Elder Faiths

I am honored to be past member of the Board of Directors for The Society of Elder Faiths (SEF). The SEF is a Pagan religious organization incorporated as a church under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The SEF was founded by elders of five Wiccan covens in order to provide services to the local Pagan community which require a larger scale, more formal organizational structure than our individual covens can comfortably offer. The SEF exists to worship the Goddess and the Old Gods, to teach the principles of our faith, to celebrate the rites of our religion, to realize fellowship and unity within our membership and among the elder faiths, to render loving service to the Earth and all Her inhabitants, and to promote the understanding of our faith.

The SEF sponsor Sabbats, social and seasonal ritual events such as the Lammas Faire, Fall and Spring retreats, and other gatherings. They sponsor special Sabbats for Pagan families through the Pagan Family Connection and special classes for teens and tweens. Sabbat rituals are open to all.

Covenant of the Goddess

I am honored to be a past National Board Member (Treasurer) of the Covenant of the Goddess.

The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens (or congregations). It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among witches and to secure for witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other religions. Member covens generally focus theology and ritual around the worship of the Goddess and the Old Gods (or the Goddess alone), which is general practice within Wicca. The Covenant of the Goddess operates largely by consensus and maintains strict autonomy for all members.
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