Author Raven Grimassi to speak on Italian witchcraft
MINNEAPOLIS -- Author Raven Grimassi, author of six best-selling titles on Wicca and witchcraft, including the award-winning Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft, will visit Magus Books in Minneapolis on January 25 to conduct a free one-hour workshop on Italian witchcraft, or stregheria, followed by a book-signing.

The Magus workshop will begin at 7 p.m. at the Dinkytown bookstore at 1316 S.E. 4th St., Minneapolis.

Raven Grimassi is the author of The Wiccan Mysteries, Ways of the Strega (re-released as Italian Witchcraft), Wiccan Magick, Secrets of Hereditary Witchcraft, and the soon-to-be-released Beltaine, Springtime Rituals, Lore, and Celebration.

Raven is a recognized expert on Italian Witchcraft and the foremost authority on the works of Charles Godfrey Leland in this particular field. Grimassi is also the Directing Elder of the Arician Tradition, a system of Italian Witchcraft.

Raven Grimassi was born in 1951 to an Italian immigrant who came to the United States during World War II. By age 18, it became Raven's passion to deepen his study of the Old Religion of Italy in an attempt to unlock its innermost secrets. In the summer of 1969, Raven discovered Wicca and was intrigued by the similarities between it and the Italian Craft.

In 1981, Raven wrote and edited for The Shadow's Edge, a magazine focused on Italian Witchcraft. He was later a contributing writer and editor for two other magazines, Moon Shadow and Raven's Call. This same year, Raven wrote several booklets including The Book of the Holy Strega, and a two-volume set entitled The Book of Ways.

Raven currently lives in Southern California and divides his time between writing, directing the Arician Tradition, operating his shop known as Raven's Loft in Escondido, serving as editor/writer for Raven's Call magazine, and spending time at Crow Haven Ranch (the spiritual retreat shared by the Arician community). He is devoted to preserving and teaching the Mystery Tradition of pre-Christian Europe. His website is at http://grimassi.stregheria.com/

For more information, contact David or Joseph at Magus Books at (612) 379-7669 or go to www.magusbooks.com.

Fruit juice maker named to Inc. 500 list
OREM, Utah -- Morinda, Inc., producers of Tahitian Noni® Juice, has experienced a high growth rate and strong sales since its founding in 1996. That growth was recently recognized in Inc magazine's annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in America.

Morinda appears at No. 26 on the list. The rankings are based on growth rates from 1996 to 2000. To make the list, a company had to have at least $200,000 sales in 1996, and its sales in 2000 had to exceed 1999 sales. From 1996-2000, Morinda had a growth rate of 6,137 percent and total sales of more than $929 million. In March 2001, Morinda passed $1 billion in total global sales.

"We are grateful for the recognition given to Tahitian Noni® Juice," said Kerry Asay, Morinda president and CEO. "We have always believed our product is very special, something that changes lives. It's nice to have the product recognized."

Morinda was the highest-ranked company in the field of health-related products. This includes supplements, as well as pharmaceuticals and equipment. Tahitian Noni Juice is available in more than 50 countries around the world. Since 1996, Morinda has been harvesting noni fruit (Morinda citrifolia) in French Polynesia and producing a juice product that brings the beneficial properties of noni to the world.

Morinda's sales record is just as impressive as its growth rate. In 1996, Morinda had sales of $6.2 million. In 1997, Morinda's first full year of operations, sales surpassed $62 million. Morinda's sales mark of $392 million for 2000 was more than twice as much as the next highest company in the Top 100.

Morinda employs 460 people in the U.S., and total employment worldwide is slightly more than 1,000. Besides internal employees, more than 300,000 independent distributors around the world assist Morinda with the marketing of Tahitian Noni™ Products.

"To make the Top 30 is a terrific accomplishment," said Kelly Olsen, vice president of sales and marketing. "We are ecstatic, and we express our tremendous gratitude to everyone who made it possible."

Morinda has become one of the most successful health-supplement companies in the world and is the predominant leader in noni fruit products. Food scientists and Morinda founders Stephen Story and John Wadsworth have developed a flavoring system and extraction process that protects the beneficial ingredients and integrity of the noni fruit.

For more information, go to www.tahitiannoni.com/2075 or call (952) 469-1269.