Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Chapter 11: The House of Wind)

Chapter XI

The House Of The Wind

Charles G. Leland

The following story does not belong to the Gospel of Witches, but I add it as it confirms the fact that the worship of Diana existed for a long time contemporary with Christianity. Its full title in the original MS, which was written out by Maddalena, after hearing it from a man who was a native of Volterra, is The Female Pilgrim of the House of the Wind. It may be added that, as the tale declares, the house in question is still standing.

There is a peasants house at the beginning of the hill or ascent leading to Volterra, and it is called the House of the Wind. Near it there once stood a small palace, wherein dwelt a married couple, who had but one child, a daughter, whom they adored. Truly if the child had but a headache, they each had a worse attack from fear.

Little by little as the girl grew older, and all the thought of the mother, who was very devout, was that she should become a nun. But the girl did not like this, and declared that she hoped to be married like others. And when looking from her window one day, she saw and heard the birds singing in the vines and among the trees all so merrily, she said to her mother that she hoped some day to have a family of little birds of her own, singing round her in a cheerful nest. At which the mother was so angry that she gave her daughter a cuff. And the young lady wept, but replied with spirit, that if beaten or treated in any such manner, that she would certainly soon find some way to escape and get married, for she had no idea of being made a nun against her will.

At hearing this the mother was seriously frightened, for she knew the spirit of her child, and was afraid lest the girl already had a lover, and would make a great scandal over the blow; and turning it all over, she thought of an elderly lady of good family, but much reduced, who was famous for her intelligence, learning, and power of persuasion, and she thought, “This will be just the person to induce my daughter to become pious, and fill her head with devotion and make a nun of her.” So she sent for this clever person, who was at once appointed the governess and constant attendant of the young lady, who, instead of quarreling with her guardian, became devoted to her.

However, everything in this world does not go exactly as we would have it, and no one knows what fish or crab may hide under a rock in a river. For it so happened that the governess was not a Catholic at all, as will presently appear, and did not vex her pupil with any threats of a nun’s life, nor even with an approval of it.

It came to pass that the young lady, who was in the habit of lying awake on moonlight nights to hear the nightingales sing, thought she heard her governess in the next room, of which the door was open, rise and go forth on the great balcony. The next night the same thing took place, and rising very softly and unseen, she beheld the lady praying, or at least kneeling in the moonlight, which seemed to her to be very singular conduct, the more so because the lady kneeling uttered words which the younger could not understand, and which certainly formed no part of the Church service.

And being much exercised over the strange occurrence, she at last, with timid excuses, told her governess what she had seen. Then the latter, after a little reflection, first binding her to a secrecy of life and death, for, as she declared, it was a matter of great peril, spoke as follows:

“I, like thee, was instructed when young by priests to worship an invisible god. But an old woman in whom I had great confidence once said to me, ‘Why worship a deity whom you cannot see, when there is the Moon in all her splendor visible? Worship her. Invoke Diana, the goddess of the Moon, and she will grant your prayers.’ This shalt thou do, obeying the Gospel of (the Witches and of) Diana, who is Queen of the Fairies and of the Moon”

Now the young lady being persuaded, was converted to the worship of Diana and the Moon, and having prayed with all her heart for a lover (having learned the conjuration to the goddess), was soon rewarded by the attention and devotion of a brave and wealthy cavalier, who was indeed as admirable a suitor as any one could desire. But the mother, who was far more bent on gratifying vindictiveness and cruel vanity than on her daughter’s happiness, was infuriated at this, and when the gentleman came to her, she bade him begone, for her daughter was vowed to become a nun, and a nun she should be or die.

Then the young lady was shut up in a cell in a tower, without even the company of her governess, and put to strong and hard pain, being made to sleep on the stone floor, and would have died of hunger had her mother had her way.

Then in this dire need she prayed to Diana to set her free; when lo! she found the prison door unfastened, and easily escaped. Then having obtained a pilgrims dress, she traveled far and wide, teaching and preaching the religion of old times, the religion of Diana, the Queen of the Fairies and of the Moon, the goddess of the poor and oppressed.

And the fame of her wisdom and beauty went forth over all the land, and the people worshipped her, calling her La Bella Pellegrina. At last her mother, hearing of her, was in a greater rage than ever, and, in fine, after much trouble, succeeded in having her arrested and cast into prison. And then in evil temper indeed she asked her whether she would become a nun; to which she replied that it was not possible, because she had left the Catholic Church and become a worshipper of Diana and of the Moon.

And the end of it was that the mother, regarding her daughter as lost, gave her up to the priests to be put to torture and death, as they did all who would not agree with them or who left their religion.

But the people were not well pleased with this, because they adored her beauty and goodness, and there were few who had not enjoyed her charity.

But by the aid of her lover she obtained, as a last grace, that on the night before she was to be tortured and executed she might, with a guard, go forth into the garden of the palace and pray.

This she did, and standing by the door of the house, which is still there, prayed in the light of the full moon to Diana, that she might be delivered from the dire persecution to which she had been subjected, since even her own parents had willingly given her over to an awful death.

Now her parents and the priests, and all who sought her death, were in the palace watching lest she should escape.

When lo! in answer to her prayer there came a terrible tempest and overwhelming wind, a storm such as man had never seen before, which overthrew and swept away the palace with all who were in it; there was not one stone left upon another, nor one soul alive of all who were there. The gods had replied to the prayer.

The young lady escaped happily with her lover, wedded him, and the house of the peasant where the lady stood is still called the House of the Wind.

This is very accurately the story as I received it, but I freely admit that I have very much condensed the language of the original text, which consists of twenty pages, and which, as regards needless padding, indicates a capacity on the part of the narrator to write an average modern fashionable novel, even a second rate French one, which is saying a great deal. It is true that there are in it no detailed descriptions of scenery, skies, trees, or clouds – and a great deal might be made of Volterra in that way – but it is prolonged in a manner which shows a gift for it. However, the narrative itself is strangely original and vigorous, for it is such a relic of pure classic heathenism, and such a survival of faith in the old mythology, as all the reflected second hand Hellenism of the Aesthetes cannot equal. That a real worship of or belief in classic divinities should have survived to the present day in the very land of Papacy itself, is a much more curious fact than if a living mammoth had been discovered in some out of the way corner of the earth, because the former is a human phenomenon. I forsee that the day will come, and that perhaps not so very far distant, when the world of scholars will be amazed to consider to what a late period an immense body of antique tradition survived in Northern Italy, and how indifferent the learned were regarding it; there having been in very truth only one man, and he a foreigner, who earnestly occupied himself with collecting and preserving it.

It is very probably that there were as many touching episodes among the heathen martyrs who were forced to give up their beloved deities, such as Diana, Venus, the Graces, and others, who were worshipped for beauty, as there were even among the Christians who were thrown to the lions. For the heathen loved their gods with a human personal sympathy, without mysticism or fear, as if they had been blood relations; and there were many among them who really believed that such was the case when some damsel who had made a faux pas got out of it by attributing it all to some god, faun, or satyr; which is very touching. There is a great deal to be said for as well as against the idolaters or worshippers of dolls, as I heard a small girl define them.

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Chapter 10: Madonna Diana)

Chapter X

Madonna Diana

Charles G. Leland

Once there was, in the very old time in Cettardo Alto, a girl of astonishing beauty, and she was betrothed to a young man who was as remarkable for good looks as herself; but though well born and bred, the fortune or misfortunes of war or fate had made them both extremely poor. And if the young lady had one fault, it was her great pride, nor would she willingly be married unless in good style, with luxury and festivity, in a fine garment, with many bridesmaids of rank.

And this became to the beautiful Rorasa – for such was her name – such an object of desire, that her head was half turned with it, and the other girls of her acquaintance, to say nothing of the many men whom she had refused, mocked her so bitterly, asking her when the fine wedding was to be, with many other jeers and sneers, that at last in a moment of madness she went to the top of a high tower, whence she cast herself; and to make it worse, there was below a terrible ravine into which she fell.

Yet she took no harm, for as she fell there appeared to her a very beautiful woman, truly not of earth, who took her by the hand and bore her through the air to a safe place.

Then all the people round who saw or heard of this thing cried out, “Lo, a miracle!” and they came and made a great festival, and would fain persuade Rorasa that she had been saved by the Madonna.

But the lady who had saved her, coming to her secretly, said, “If thou hast any desire, follow the Gospel of Diana, or what is called the Gospel of the Witches, who worship the moon.”

“If thou adorest Luna, then
What thou desir’st thou shalt obtain!”

Then the beautiful girl went forth alone by night to the fields, and kneeling on a stone in an old ruin, she worshipped the moon and invoked Diana thus:

Diana, beautiful Diana!
Thou who didst save from a dreadful death
When I did fall into the dark ravine!
I pray thee grant me still another grace.
Give me one glorious wedding, and with it
Full many bridesmaids, beautiful and grand;
And if this favour thou wilt grant me,
True to the Witches’ Gospel I will be!

When Rorasa awoke in the morning, she found herself in another house, where all was far more magnificent, and having risen, a beautiful maid led her into another room, where she was dressed in a superb wedding garment of white silk with diamonds, for it was her wedding dress indeed. Then there appeared ten young ladies, all splendidly attired, and with them and many distinguished persons she went to the church in a carriage. And all the streets were filled with music and people bearing flowers.

So she found the bridegrooms, and was wedded to her heart’s desire, ten times more grandly than she had ever dreamed of. Then, after the ceremony, there was spread a feast at which all the nobility of Cettardo were present, and, moreover, the whole town, rich and poor, were feasted.

When the wedding was finished, the bridesmaids made every one a magnificent present to the bride – one gave diamonds, another a parchment (written) in gold, after which they asked permission to go all together into the sacristy. And there they remained for some hours undisturbed, until the priest sent his chierico to inquire whether they wanted anything. But what was the youth’s amazement at beholding, not the ten bridesmaids, but their ten images or likenesses in wood and in terra-cotta, with that of Diana standing on a moon, and they were all so magnificently made and adorned as to be of immense value.

Therefore the priest put these images in the church, which is the most ancient in Cettardo, and now in many churches you may see the Madonna and Moon, but it is Diana. The name Rorasa seems to indicate the Latin ros the dew, rorare, to bedew, rorulenta, bedewed – in fact, the goddess of the dew. Her great fall and being lifted by Diana suggest the fall of dew by night, and its rising in vapor under the influence of the moon. It is possible that this is a very old Latin mythic tale. The white silk and diamonds indicate the dew.

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Chapter 9: Tana And Endamone, Or Diana And Endymion)

Chapter IX

Tana And Endamone, Or Diana And Endymion

Charles G. Leland

“Now it is fabled that Endymion, admitted to Olympus, whence he was expelled for want of respect to Juno, was banished for thirty years to earth. And having been allowed to sleep this time in a cave of Mount Latmos, Diana, smitten with his beauty visited him every night till she had by him fifty daughters and one son. And after this Endymion was recalled to Olympus.”

-Diz. Stor. Mitol

The following legend and the spells were given under the name or title of TANA. This was the old Etruscan name for Diana, which is still preserved in the Romagna Toscana. In more than one Italian and French work I have found some account or tale how a witch charmed a girl to sleep for a lover, but this is the only explanation of the whole ceremony known to me.

Tana is a beautiful goddess, and she loved a marvelously handsome youth names Endamone; but her love was crossed by a witch who was her rival, although Endamone did not care for the latter.

But the witch resolved to win him, whether he would or not, and with this intent she induced the servant of Endamone to let her pass the night in the latter’s room. And when there, she assumed the appearance of Tana, whom he loved, so that he was delighted to behold her, as he thought, and welcomed her with passionate embraces. Yet this gave him into her power, for it enabled her to perform a certain magic spell by clipping a lock of his hair.

Then she went home, and taking a piece of sheep’s intestine, formed of it a purse, and in this she put that which she had taken, with a red and a black ribbon bound together, with a feather, and pepper and salt, and then sang a song. These are the words, a song of witchcraft of the very old time.

This bag for Endamon’ I wove,
It is my vengeance for the love,
For the deep love I had for thee,
Which thou would’st not return to me,
But bore it all to Tana’s shrine,
And Tana never shall be thine!
Now every night in agony
By me thou shalt oppressed be!
From day to day, from hour to hour,
I’ll make thee feel the witch’s power;
With passion thou shalt be tormented,
And yet with pleasure ne’er be contented;
Enwrapped in slumber thou shalt lie,
To know that thy beloved is by,
And, ever dying, never die,
Without the power to speak a word,
Nor shall her voice by thee be heard;
Tormented by Love’s agony,
There shall be no relief for thee!
For my strong spell thou canst not break,
And from that sleep thou ne’er shalt wake;
Little by little thou shalt waste,
Like taper by the embers placed.
Little by little thou shalt die,
Yet, ever living, tortured lie,
Strong in desire, yet ever weak,
Without the power to move or speak,
With all the love I had for thee,
Shalt thou thyself tormented be,
Since all the love I felt of late
I’ll make thee feel in burning hate,
For ever on thy torture bent,
I am revenged, and now content.

But Tana, who was far more powerful than the witch, though not able to break the spell by which he was compelled to sleep, took from him all pain (he knew her in dreams), and embracing him, she sang this counter charm.

Endamone, Endamone, Endamone!
By the love I feel, which I
Shall ever feel until I die,
Three crosses on thy bed I make,
And then three wild horse chestnuts take,
In that bed the nuts I hide,
And then the window open wide,
That the full moon may cast her light
Upon the love as fair and bright,
And so I pray to her above
To give wild rapture to our love,
And cast her fire in either heart,
Which wildly loves to never part;
And one thing more I beg of thee!
If any one enamoured be,
And in my aid his love hath placed,
Unto his call I’ll come in haste.

So it came to pass that the fair goddess made love with Endamone as if they had been awake (yet communing in dreams). And so it is to this day, that whoever would make love with him or her who sleeps, should have recourse to the beautiful Tana, and so doing there will be success.

This legend, while agreeing in many details with the classical myth, is strangely intermingled with practices of witchcraft, but even these, if investigated, would all prove to be as ancient as the rest of the text. Thus the sheep’s intestine – used instead of the red woolen bag which is employed in beneficent magic – the red and black ribbon, which mingles threads of joy and woe, the (peacock) feather, pepper and salt, occur in many other incantations, but always to bring evil and cause suffering.

I have never seen it observed, but it is true, that Keats in his exquisite poem of Endymion completely departs from or ignores the whole spirit and meaning of the ancient myth, while in this rude witch-song it is minutely developed. The conception is that of a beautiful youth furtively kissed in his slumber by Diana of reputed chastity. The ancient myth is, to begin with, one of darkness and light, or day and night, from which are born the fifty-one (now fifty-two) weeks of the year. This is Diana, the night, and Apollo, the sun, or light in another form. It is expressed as love-making during sleep, which, when it occurs in real life, generally has for active agent some one who, without being absolutely modest, wishes to preserve appearances. The established character of Diana among the Initiated (for which she was bitterly reviled by the Fathers of the Church) was that of a beautiful hypocrite who pursued amours in silent secrecy.

“Thus as the moon Endymion lay with her,
So did Hippolytus and Verbio.”

But there is an exquisitely subtle, delicately strange idea or ideal in the conception of the apparently chaste “clear, cold moon” casting her living light by stealth into the hidden recesses of darkness and acting in the occult mysteries of love or dreams. So it struck Byron as an original thought that the sun does not shine on half the forbidden deeds which the moon witnesses, and this is emphasized in the Italian witch-poem. In it the moon is distinctly invoked as the protectress of a strange and secret amour, and as the deity to be especially invoked for such love-making. The one invoking says that the window is opened, that the moon may shine splendidly on the bed, even as our love is bright and beautiful…and I pray her to give great rapture to us.

The quivering, mysteriously beautiful light of the moon, which seems to cast a spirit of intelligence or emotion over silent Nature, and dimly half awaken it – raising shadows into thoughts and causing every tree and rock to assume the semblance of a living form, but one which, while shimmering and breathing, still sleeps in a dream – could not escape the Greeks, and they expressed it as Diana embracing Endymion. But as night is the time sacred to secrecy, and as the true Diana of the Mysteries was the Queen of Night, who wore the crescent moon, and mistress of all hidden things, including “sweet secret sins and loved iniquities,” there was attached to this myth far more than meets the eye. And just in the degree to which Diana was believed to be Queen of the emancipated witches and of Night, or the nocturnal Venus-Astarte herself, so far would the love for sleeping Endymion be understood as sensual, yet sacred and allegorical. And it is entirely in this sense that the witches in Italy, who may claim with some right to be its true inheritors, have preserved and understood the myth.

It is a realization of forbidden or secret love, with attraction to the dimly seen beautiful-by-moonlight, with the fairy or witch-like charm of the supernatural – a romance combined in a single strange form – the spell of Night!

“There is a dangerous silence in that hour
A stillness which leaves room for the full soul
To open all itself, without the power
Of calling wholly back its self-control;
The silver light which, hallowing tree and flower,
Sheds beauty and deep softness o’er the whole,
Breathes also to the heart, and o’er it throws
A loving languor which is not repose.”

This is what is meant by the myth of Diana and Endymion. It is the making divine or aesthetic (which to the Greeks was one and the same) that which is impassioned, secret, and forbidden. It was the charm of the stolen waters which are sweet, intensified to poetry. And it is remarkable that it has been so strangely preserved in Italian with traditions.

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Chapter 8: To Have Good Wine by the Aid of Diana)

Chapter VIII

To Have A Good Wine And Very Good Wine By The Aid Of Diana

Charles G. Leland

He who would have a good vintage and fine wine, should take a horn full of wine and with this go into the vineyards or farms wherever vines grow, and then drinking from the horn say –

I drink, and yet it is not wine I drink,
I drink the blood of Diana,
Since from wine it has changed into her blood,
And spread itself through all my growing vines,
Whence it will give me good return in wines,
Though even if good vintage should be mine,
I’ll be free from care, for should it chance
That the grape ripens in the waning moon,
Then all the wine would come to sorrow, but
If drinking from this horn I drink the blood –
The blood of great Diana – by her aid –
If I do kiss my hand to the new moon,
Praying the Queen that she will guard my grapes,
Even from the instant when the bud is born
Until it is a ripe and perfect grape,
And onward to the vintage, and to the last
Until the wine is made – may it be good!
And may it so succeed that I from it
May draw good profit when at last ’tis sold,
So may good fortune come unto my vines,
And into all my land where’er it be!

But should my vines seem in an evil way,
I’ll take my horn, and bravely will I blow
In the wine-vault at midnight, and I’ll make
Such a tremendous and a terrible sound
That thou, Diana fair, however far
Away thou may’st be, still shalt hear the call,
And casting open door or window wide,
Shalt headlong come upon the rushing wind,
And find and save me – that is, save my vines,
Which will be saving me from dire distress;
For should I lose them I’d be lost myself,
But with thy aid, Diana, I’ll be saved.

This is a very interesting invocation and tradition, and probably of great antiquity from very striking intrinsic evidence. For it is firstly devoted to a subject which has received little attention – the connection of Diana as the moon with Bacchus, although in the great Dizionario Storico Mitologico, by Pozzoli and others, it is expressly asserted that in Greece her worship was associated with that of Bacchus, Esculapius and Apollo. The connecting link is the horn. In a medal of Alexander Severus, Diana of Ephesus bears the horn of plenty. This is the horn or horn of the new moon, sacred to Diana. According to Callimachus, Apollo himself built an altar consisting entirely of horns to Diana.

The connection of the horn with wine is obvious. It was usual among the old Slavonians for the priest of Svantevit, the Sun god, to see if the horn which the idol held in his hand was full of wine, in order to prophesy a good harvest for the coming year. If it was filled, all was right; if not, he filled the horn, drank from it, and replaced the horn in the hand, and predicted that all would eventually go well. It cannot fail to strike the reader that this ceremony is strangely like that of the Italian invocation, the only difference being that in one the Sun, and in the other the Moon is invoked to secure a good harvest.

In the Legends of Florence there is one of the Via del Corno, in which the hero, falling into a vast tun or tina of wine, is saved from drowning by sounding a horn with tremendous power. At the sound, which penetrates to an incredible distance, even to unknown lands, all came rushing as if enchanted to save him. In this conjuration, Diana, in the depths of heaven, is represented as rushing at the sound of the horn, and leaping through doors or windows to save the vintage of the one who blows. There is a certain singular affinity in these stories.

In the story of the Via del Corno, the hero is saved by the Red Goblin or Robin Goodfellow, who gives him a horn, and it is the same sprite who appears in the conjuration of the Round Stone, which is sacred to Diana. This is because the spirit is nocturnal, and attendant on Diana-Titania.

Kissing the hand to the new moon is a ceremony of unknown antiquity, and Job, even in his time, regarded it as heathenish and forbidden – which always means antiquated and out of fashion – as when he declared (xxxi, 26, 27), “If I beheld the moon walking in brightness…and my heart hath been secretly enticed or my mouth hath kissed my hand…this also were an iniquity to be punished by the Judge, for I should have denied the God that is above.” From which it may or ought to be inferred that Job did not understand that God made the moon and appeared in all His works, or else he really believed the moon was an independent deity. In any case, it is curious to see the old forbidden rite still living, and as heretical as ever.

The tradition, as given to me, very evidently omits a part of the ceremony, which may be supplied from classic authority. When the peasant performs the rite, he must not act as once a certain African, who was a servant of a friend of mine, did. The man’s duty was to pour out every morning a libation of rum to a fetish – and he poured it down his own throat. The peasant should also sprinkle the vines, just as the Devonshire farmers who observed all Christmas ceremonies, sprinkled, also from a horn, their apple trees.

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Chapter 7: Find or Buy Anything, Or Have Good Fortune)

Chapter VII

To Find Or Buy Anything, Or To Have Good Fortune Thereby

Charles G. Leland

The man or woman who, when about to go forth into the town, would fain be free from danger or risk of an accident, or to have good fortune in buying, as, for instance, if a scholar hopes that he may find some rare old book or manuscript for sale very cheaply, or if any one wishes to buy anything very desirable or to find bargains or rarities. This scongiurazione serves for good health, cheerfulness of heart, and absence of evil or the overcoming enmity. These are words of gold unto the believer.

‘Tis Tuesday now, and at an early hour
I fain would turn good fortune to myself,
Firstly at home and then when I go forth,
And with the aid of beautiful Diana
I pray for luck ere I do leave this house!

First with three drops of oil I do remove
All evil influence, and I humbly pray,
O beautiful Diana, unto thee
That thou wilt take it all away from me,
And send it all to my worst enemy!

When the evil fortune
Is taken from me,
I’ll cast it out to the middle of the street
And if thou wilt grant me this favour,
O beautiful Diana,
Every bell in my house shall merrily ring!

Then well contented
I will go forth to roam,
Because I shall be sure that with thy aid
I shall discover ere I return
Some fine and ancient books,
And at a moderate price.

And thou shalt find the man,
The one who owns the book,
And thou thyself wilt go
And put it in his mind,
Inspiring him to know
What ’tis that thou would’st find
And move him into doing
All that thou dost require.
Or if a manuscript
Written in ancient days,
Thou’lt gain it all the same,
It shall come in thy way,
And thus at little cost.
Thou shalt buy what thou wilt
By great Diana’s aid.

The foregoing was obtained, after some delay, in reply to a query as to what conjuration would be required before going forth, to make sure that one should find for sale some rare book, or other object desired, at a very moderate price. Therefore the invocation has been so worded as to make it applicable to literary finds; but those who wish to buy anything whatever on equally favorable terms, have but to vary the request, retaining the introduction, in which the magic virtue consists. I cannot, however, resist the conviction that this is most applicable to, and will succeed best with, researches for objects of antiquity, scholarship, and art, and it should accordingly be deeply impressed on the memory of every bric-a-brac hunter and bibliographer. It should be observed, and that earnestly, that the prayer, far from being answered, will turn to the contrary or misfortune, unless the one who repeats it does so in fullest faith, and this cannot be acquired by merely saying to oneself, “I believe.” For to acquire real faith in anything requires long and serious mental discipline, there being, in fact, no subject which is so generally spoken of and so little understood. Here indeed, I am speaking seriously, for the man who can train his faith to actually believe in and cultivate or develop his will can really work what the world by common consent regards as miracles. A time will come when this principle will form not only the basis of all education, but also that of all moral and social culture. I have, I trust, fully set it forth in a work entitled “Have you a Strong Will? or how to Develop it or any other Faculty or Attribute of the Mind, and render it Habitual,” &c. London: George Redway.

The reader, however, who has devout faith, can, as the witches declare, apply this spell daily before going forth to procuring or obtaining any kind of bargains at shops, to picking up or discovering lost objects, or, in fact, to finds of any kind. If he incline to beauty in female form, he will meet with bonnes fortunes; if a man of business, bargains will be his. The botanist who repeats it before going into the fields will probably discover some new plant, and the astronomer by night be almost certain to run against a brand new planet, or at least an asteroid. It should be repeated before going to the races, to visit friends, places of amusement, to buy or sell, to make speeches, and specially before hunting or any nocturnal goings-forth, since Diana is the goddess of the chase and of night. But woe to him who does it for a jest!

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Spell to Win Love)

Chapter VI

A Spell To Win Love

Charles G. Leland

When a wizard, a worshipper of Diana, one who worships the Moon, desires the love of a woman, he can change her into the form of a dog, when she, forgetting who she is, and all things besides, will at once come to his house, and there, when by him, take on again her natural form and remain with him. And when it is time for her to depart, she will again become a dog and go home, where she will turn into a girl. And she will remember nothing of what has taken place, or at least but little or mere fragments, which will seem as a confused dream. And she will take the form of a dog because Diana has ever a dog by her side.

And this is the spell to be repeated by him who would bring a love to his home.

(The beginning of this spell seems to be merely a prose introduction explaining the nature of the ceremony)

Today is Friday, and I wish to rise very early, not having been able to sleep all night, having seen a very beautiful girl, the daughter of a rich lord, whom I dare not hope to win. Were she poor, I could gain her with money; but as she is rich, I have no hope to do so. Therefore will I conjure Diana to aid me.

Diana, beautiful Diana!
Who art indeed as good as beautiful,
By all the worship I have given thee,
And all the joy of love which thou hast known,
I do implore thee to aid me in my love!
What thou wilt ’tis true
Thou canst ever do:
And if the grace I seek thou’lt grant to me,
Then call, I pray, they daughter Aradia,
And send her to the bedside of the girl,
And give that girl the likeness of a dog,
And make her then come to me in my room,
But when she once has entered it, I pray
That she may reassume her human form,
As beautiful as e’er she was before,
And may I then make love to her until
Our souls with joy are fully satisfied.
Then by the aid of the great Fairy Queen
And of her daughter, fair Aradia,
May she be turned into a dog again,
And then to human form as once before!

Thus it will come to pass that the girl as a dog will return to her home unseen and unsuspected, for thus will it be affected by Aradia; and the girl will think it is all a dream, because she will have been enchanted by Aradia.

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches(Chapter 5: Conjuration of the Lemon & Pins)

Chapter V

The Conjuration Of The Lemon And Pins Sacred to Diana

Charles G. Leland

A lemon stuck full of pins of different colours always brings good fortune.

If you receive as a gift a lemon full of pins of divers colours, without any black ones among them, it signifies that your life will be perfectly happy and prosperous and joyful.

But if some black pins are among them, you may enjoy good fortune and health, yet mingled with troubles which may be of small account. [However, to lessen their influence, you must perform the following ceremony, and pronounce this incantation, wherein all is also described.]

At the instant when the midnight came,
I have picked a lemon in the garden,
I have picked a lemon, and with it
An orange and a (fragrant) mandarin.
Gathering with care these (precious) things,
And while gathering I said with care:
“Thou who art Queen of the sun and of the moon
And of the stars – lo! here I call to thee!
And with what power I have I conjure thee
To grant to me the favour I implore!
Three things I’ve gathered in the garden here:
A lemon, orange, and a mandarin;
I’ve gathered them to bring good luck to me.
Two of them I do grasp here in my hand,
And that which is to serve me for my fate,
Queen of the stars!
Then make that fruit remain firm in my grasp.

[Something is here omitted in the MS. I conjecture that the two are tossed without seeing them into the air, and if the lemon remains, the ceremony proceeds as follows. This is evident, since in it the incantation is confused with a prose direction how to act]

Saying this, one looks up at the sky, and I found the lemon in one hand, and a voice said to me –

“Take many pins, and carefully stick them in the lemon, pins of many colours; and as thou wilt have good luck, and if thou desirest to give the lemon to any one or to a friend, thou shouldst stick in it many pins of varied colours.

“But if thou wilt that evil befall any one, put in it black pins.

“But for this thou must pronounce a different incantation (thus)”:

Goddess Diana, I do conjure thee
And with uplifted voice to thee I call,
That thou shalt never have content or peace
Until thou comest to give me all thy aid.
Therefore tomorrow at the stoke of noon
I’ll wait for thee, bearing a cup of wine,
Therewith a lens or a small burning glass.
And thirteen pins I’ll put into the charm;
Those which I put shall all indeed be black,
But thou, Diana, thou wilt place them all!

And thou shalt call for me the fiends from hell;
Thou’lt send them as companions of the Sun,
And all the fire infernal of itself
Those fiends shall bring, and bring with it the power
Unto the Sun to make this (red) wine boil,
So that these pins by heat may be red-hot;
And with them I do fill the lemon here,
That unto her or him to whom ’tis given
Peace and prosperity shall be unknown.

If this grace I gain from thee
Give a sign, I pray, to me!
Ere the third day shall pass away,
Let me either hear or see
A roaring wind, a rattling rain,
Or hail a clattering on the plain;
Till one of these three signs you show,
Peace, Diana, thou shalt not know.
Answer well the prayer I’ve sent thee,
Or day and night will I torment thee!

As the orange was the fruit of the Sun, so is the lemon suggestive of the Moon or Diana, its colour being of a lighter yellow. However, the lemon specially chosen for the charm is always a green one, because it “sets hard” and turns black. It is not generally known that orange and lemon peel, subjected to pressure and combined with an adhesive may be made into a hard substance which can be moulded or used for many purposes. I have devoted a chapter to this in an as yet unpublished work entitled One Hundred Minor Arts. This was suggested to me by the hardened lemon given to me for a charm by a witch.

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Chapter 4: Charm of the Stones)

Chapter IV

The Charm Of The Stones Consecrated To Diana

Charles G. Leland

To find a stone with a hole in it is a special sign of the favour of Diana. He who does so shall take it in his hand and repeat the following, having observed the ceremony as enjoined –

I have found
A holy-stone upon the ground.
O Fate! I thank thee for the happy find.
Also the spirit who upon this road
Hath given it to me;
And may it prove to be for my true good
And my good fortune!

I rise in the morning by the earliest dawn,
And I go forth to walk through (pleasant) vales,
All in the mountains or the meadows fair,
Seeking for luck while onward still I roam,
Seeking for rue and vervain scented sweet,
Because they bring good fortune unto all.
I keep them safely guarded in my bosom,
That none may know it – ’tis a secret thing,
And sacred too, and thus I speak the spell:
“O vervain! ever be a benefit,
And may thy blessing be upon the witch
Or on the fairy who did give thee to me!”

It was Diana who did come to me,
All in the night in a dream, and said to me:
“If thou would’st keep all evil folk afar,
Then ever keep the vervain and the rue
Safely beside thee!”

Great Diana! thou
Who art the queen of heaven and of earth,
And of the infernal lands – yea, thou who art
Protectress of all men unfortunate,
Of thieves and murderers, and of women too
Who lead an evil life, and yet hast known
That their nature was not evil, thou, Diana
Hast still conferred on them some joy in life.

Or I may truly at another time
So conjure thee that thou shalt have no peace
Or happiness, for thou shalt ever be
In suffering until thou greatest that
Which I require in strictest faith from thee!

[Here we have again the threatening the deity, just as in Eskimo or other Shamanism, which represents the rudest primitive form of conjuring, the spirits are menaced. A trace of this is to be found among rude Roman Catholics. Thus when St. Bruno, some years ago, at a town in the Romagna, did not listen to the prayers of his devotees for rain, they stuck his image in the mud of the river, head downwards. A rain speedily followed, and the saint was restored in honour to his place in the church..]

The finding of a round stone, be it great or small, is a good sign, but it should never be given away, because the receiver will then get the good luck, and some disaster befall the giver.

On finding a round stone, raise the eyes to heaven, and throw the stone up three times (catching it every time), and say –

Spirit of good omen,
Who art come to aid me,
Believe I had great need of thee.
Spirit of the Red Goblin,
Since thou hast come to aid me in my need,
I pray of thee do not abandon me;
I beg of thee to enter now this stone,
That in my pocket I may carry thee,
And so when anything is needed by me,
I can call unto thee: be what it may,
Do not abandon me by night or day.

Should I lend money unto any man
Who will not pay when due, I pray of thee,
Thou the Red Goblin, make him pay his debt!
And if he will not and is obstinant,
Go at him with thy cry of “Brie – brie!”
And if he sleeps, awake him with a twitch,
And pull the covering off and frighten him!
And follow him about where’er he goes.

So teach him with thy ceaseless “Brie – brie!”
That he who obligation e’er forgets
Shall be in trouble till he pays his debts.
And so my debtor on the following day
Shall either bring the money which he owes,
Or send it promptly: so I pray of thee,
O my Red Goblin, come unto my aid!
Or should I quarrel with her whom I love,
Then, spirit of good luck, I pray thee go
To her while sleeping – pull her by the hair,
And bear her through the night unto my bed!
And in the morning, when all spirits go
To their repose, do thou, ere thou return’st
Into thy stone, carry her home again,
And leave her there asleep. Therefore, O Sprite!
I beg thee in this pebble make thy home!
Obey in every way all I command.
So in my pocket thou shalt ever be,
And thou and I will ne’er part company!

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Chapter 3: Diana Made the Stars & The Rain)

Chapter III

How Diana Made The Stars And The Rain

Charles G. Leland

Diana was the first created before all creation; in her were all things; our of herself, the first darkness, she divided herself; into darkness and light she was divided. Lucifer, her brother and son, herself and her other half, was the light.

And when Diana saw that the light was so beautiful, the light which was her other half, her brother Lucifer, she yearned for it with exceeding great desire. Wishing to receive the light again into her darkness, to swallow it up in rapture, in delight, she trembled with desire. This desire was the dawn.

But Lucifer, the light, fled from her, and would not yield to her wishes; he was the light which flies into the most distant parts of heaven, the mouse which flies before the cat.

Then Diana went to the fathers of the Beginning, to the mothers, the spirits who were before the first spirit, and lamented unto them that she could not prevail with Lucifer. And they praised her for her courage; they told her that to rise she must fall; to become the chief of goddesses she must become mortal.

And in the ages, in the course of time, when the world was made, Diana went on earth, as did Lucifer, who had fallen, and Diana taught magic and sorcery, whence came witches and fairies and goblins – all that is like man, yet not mortal.

And it came thus that Diana took the form of a cat. Her brother had a cat whom he loved beyond all creatures, and it slept every night on his bed, a cat beautiful beyond all other creatures, a fairy: he did not know it.

Diana prevailed with the cat to change forms with her; so she lay with her brother, and in the darkness assumed her own form, and so by Lucifer became the mother of Aradia. But when in the morning he found that he lay by his sister, and that light had been conquered by darkness, Lucifer was extremely angry; but Diana with her wiles of witchcraft so charmed him that he yielded to her love. This was the first fascination; she hummed the song, it was as the buzzing of bees (or a top spinning round), a spinning-wheel spinning life. She spun the lives of all men; all things were spun from the wheel of Diana. Lucifer turned the wheel.

Diana was not known to the witches and spirits, the fairies and elves who dwell in desert place, the goblins, as their mother; she hid herself in humility and was a mortal, but by her will she rose again above all. She had passion for witchcraft, and became so powerful therein, that her greatness could not be hidden.

And thus it came to pass one night, at the meeting of all the sorceresses and fairies, she declared that she would darken the heavens and turn all the stars into mice.

All those who were present said –

“If thou canst do such a strange thing, having risen to such power, thou shalt be our queen.”

Diana went into the street; she took the bladder of an ox and a piece of witch-money, which has an edge from a knife – with such money witches cut the earth from men’s foot tracks – and she cut the earth, and with it and many mice she filled the bladder, and blew into the bladder till it burst.

And there came a great marvel, for the earth which was in the bladder became the round heaven above, and for three days there was a great rain; the mice became stars or rain. And having made the heaven and stars and the rain, Diana became Queen of the Witches; she was the cat who ruled the star mice, the heaven and the rain.

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Chapter 2: The Sabbat, Treguenda, or Witch Meeting)

Chapter II

The Sabbat, Treguenda Or Witch-Meeting

Charles G. Leland

Here follows the supper, of what it must consist, and what shall be said and done to consecrate it to Diana.

You shall take meal and salt, honey and water, and make this incantation:

I conjure thee, O Meal!
Who art indeed our body, since without thee
We could not live, thou who (at first as seed)
Before becoming flower went in the earth,
Where all deep secrets hide, and then when ground
Didst dance like dust in the wind, and yet meanwhile
Didst bear with thee in flitting, secrets strange!

And yet erewhile, when thou were in the ear,
Even as a (golden) glittering grain, even then
The fireflies came to cast on thee their light
And aid thy growth, because without their help
Thou couldst not grow nor beautiful become;
Therefore thou dost belong unto the race
Of witches or of fairies, and because
The fireflies do belong unto the sun…

Queen of the fireflies! hurry apace,
Come to me now as if running a race,
Bridle the horse as you hear me now sing!
Bridle, O bridle the son of the king!
Come in a hurry and bring him to me!
The son of the king will ere long set thee free!
And because thou for ever art brilliant and fair,
Under a glass I will keep thee; while there,
With a lens I will study they secrets concealed,
Till all their bright mysteries are fully revealed,
Yea, all the wondrous lore perplexed
Of this life of our cross and of the next.
Thus to all mysteries I shall attain,
Yea, even to that at last of the grain;
And when this at last I shall truly know,
Firefly, freely I’ll let thee go!
When Earth’s dark secrets are known to me,
My blessing at last I will give to thee!

Here follows the Conjuration of the Salt.

I do conjure thee, salt, lo! here at noon,
Exactly in the middle of a stream
I take my place and see the water around,
Likewise the sun, and think of nothing else
While here besides the water and the sun;
For all my soul is turned in truth to them;
I do indeed desire no other thought,
I yearn to learn the very truth of truths,
For I have suffered long with the desire
To know my future or my coming fate,
If good or evil will prevail in it..
Water and sun, be gracious unto me!

Here follows the Conjuration of Cain.

I conjure thee, O Cain, as thou canst ne’er
Have rest or peace until thou shalt be freed
From the sun where thou art prisoned, and must go
beating thy hands and running fast meanwhile:
I pray thee let me know my destiny;
And it ’tis evil, change its course for me!
If thou wilt grant this grace, I’ll see it clear
In the water in the splendor of the sun;
And thou, O Cain, shalt tell by word of mouth
Whatever this my destiny is to be.
And unless thou grantest this,
May’st thou ne’er know peace or bliss!

Then shall follow the Conjuration of Diana.

You shall make cakes of meal, wine, salt, and honey in the shape of a (crescent or horned) moon, and then put them to bake, and say:

I do not bake the bread, nor with it salt,
Nor do I cook the honey with the wine;
I bake the body and the blood and soul,
The soul of (great) Diana, that she shall
Know neither rest nor peace, and ever be
In cruel suffering till she will grant
What I request, what I do most desire,
I beg it of her from my very heart!
And if the grace be granted, O Diana!
In honor of thee I will hold this feast,
Feast and drain the goblet deep,
We will dance and wildly leap,
And if thou grant’st the grace which I require,
Then when the dance is wildest, all the lamps
shall be extinguished and we’ll freely love!

And thus shall it be done: all shall sit down to the supper all naked, men and women, and the feast over, they shall dance, sing, make music, and then love in the darkness, with all the lights extinguished; for it is the Spirit of Diana who extinguishes them, and so they will dance and make music in her praise.

And it came to pass that Diana, after her daughter had accomplished her mission or spent her time on earth among the living (mortals), recalled her, and gave her the power that when she had been invoked…having done some good deed…she gave her the power to gratify those who had conjured her by granting her or him success in love:

To bless or curse with power friends or enemies (to do good or evil).
To converse with spirits.
To find hidden treasures in ancient ruins.
To conjure the spirits of priests who died leaving treasures.
To understand the voice of the wind.
To change water into wine.
To divine with cards.
To know the secrets of the hand (palmistry)
To cure diseases.
To make those who are ugly beautiful.
To tame wild beasts.

And whatever thing should be asked from the spirit of Aradia, that should be granted unto those who merited her favor.

And thus must they invoke her:

Thus do I seek Aradia! Aradia! Aradia! At midnight, at midnight I go into a field, and with me I bear water, wine, and salt, I bear water, wine, and salt, and my talisman – my talisman, my talisman, and a red small bag which I ever hold in my hand – con dentro, con dentro, sale, with salt in it, in it. With water and wine I bless myself, I bless myself with devotion to implore a favour from Aradia, Aradia. (emphasize italics and repetitions)

Aradia! my Aradia!
Thou art my daughter unto him who was
Most evil of all spirits, who of old
Once reigned in hell when driven away from heaven,
Who by his sister did thy sire become,
But as thy mother did repent her fault,
And wished to mate thee to a spirit who
Should be benevolent,
And not malevolent!

Aradia, Aradia! I implore
Thee by the love which she did bear for thee!
And by the love which I too feel for thee!
I pray thee grant the grace which I require!
And if this grace be granted, may there be
One of three signs distinctly clear to me:
The hiss of a serpent,
The light of a firefly,
The sound of a frog!

But if you do refuse this favour, then
May you in future know no peace nor joy,
And be obliged to seek me from afar,
Until you come to grant me my desire,
In haste, and then thou may’st return again
Unto thy destiny. Therewith, Amen!

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Chapter 1: Diana Gave Birth to Aradia)

Chapter I

How Diana Gave Birth To Aradia (Herodius)

Charles G. Leland

“It is Diana! Lo!
She rises crescented.”

-Krats’ Endymion

“Make more bright
The Star Queen’s crescent on her marriage night.”

-Ibid.

This is the Gospel of the Witches:

Diana greatly loved her brother Lucifer, the god of the Sun and of the Moon, the god of Light (Splendor), who was so proud of his beauty, and who for his pride was driven from Paradise.

Diana had by her brother a daughter, to whom they gave the name of Aradia (i.e. Herodius).

In those days there were on earth many rich and many poor.

The rich made slaves of the poor.

In those days were many slaves who were cruelly treated; in every palace tortures, in every castle prisoners.

Many slaves escaped. They fled to the country; thus they became thieves and evil folk. Instead of sleeping by nigh, they plotted escape and robbed their masters, and then slew them. So they dwelt in the mountains and forests as robbers and assassins, all to avoid slavery.

Diana said one day to her daughter Aradia:

‘Tis true indeed that thou a spirit art,
But thou wert born but to become again
A mortal; thou must go to earth below
To be a teacher unto women and men
Who fain would study witchcraft in thy school

Yet like Cain’s daughter thou shalt never be
Nor like the race who have become at last
Wicked and infamous from suffering,
As are the Jews and wandering Zingari,
Who are all thieves and knaves; like unto them
Ye shall not be…

And thou shalt be the first of witches known;
And thou shalt be the first of all I’ the world;
And thou shalt teach the art of poisoning,
Of poisoning those who are great lords of all;
Yea, thou shalt make them die in their palaces;
And thou shalt bind the oppressor’s soul (with power);
And when ye find a peasant who is rich,
Then ye shall teach the witch, your pupil, how
To ruin all his crops with tempests dire,
With lightning and with thunder (terrible),
And with the hail and wind…

And when a priest shall do you injury
By his benedictions, ye shall do to him
Double the harm, and do it in the name
of me, Diana, Queen of witches all!

And when the priests or the nobility
shall say to you that you should put your faith
In the Father, Son, and Mary, then reply;
“Your God, the Father, and Maria are
Three devils…”

“For the true God the Father is not yours;
For I have come to sweep away the bad
The men of evil, all will I destroy!”

“Ye who are poor suffer with hunger keen,
And toil in wretchedness, and suffer too
Full oft imprisonment; yet with it all
Ye have a soul, and for your sufferings
Ye shall be happy in the other world,
But ill the fate of all who do ye wrong!”

Now when Aradia had been taught, taught to work all witchcraft, how to destroy the evil race (of oppressors), she (imparted it to her pupils) and said unto them:

When I shall have departed from this world,
Whenever ye have need of anything,
Once in the month, and when the moon is full,
Ye shall assemble in some desert place,
Or in a forest all together join
To adore the potent spirit of your queen,
My mother, great Diana. She who fain
Would learn all sorcery yet has not won
Its deepest secrets, then my mother will
Teach her, in truth all things as yet unknown.
And ye shall all be freed from slavery,
And so ye shall be free in everything;
And as the sign that ye are truly free,
Ye shall be naked in your rites, both men
And women also: this shall last until
The last of your oppressors shall be dead;
And ye shall make the game of Benevento
Extinguishing the lights, and after that
Shall hold your supper thus:

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Preface)

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

Preface

Charles G. Leland

This book was written by Charles G. Leland in 1890. It is not copyrighted in any way and therefore may be duplicated in any manner required for the widest possible dissemination.

If the reader has ever met with the works of the learned folk-lorist G. Pitre, or the articles contributed by “Lady Vere de Vere” to the Italian Rivista or that of J. H. Andrews to Folk-Lore, he will be aware that there are in Italy great numbers of strege, fortune-tellers or witches, who divine by cards, perform strange ceremonies in which spirits are supposed to be invoked, make and sell amulets, and, in fact, comport themselves generally as their reputed kind are wont to do, be they Black Voodoos in America or sorceresses anywhere.

But the Italian strega or sorceress is in certain respects a different character from these. In most cases she comes of a family in which her calling or art has been practiced for many generations. I have no doubt that there are instances in which the ancestry remounts to mediaeval, Roman, or it may be Etruscan times. The result has naturally been the accumulation in such families of much tradition. But in Northern Italy, as its literature indicated, though there has been some slight gathering of fairy tales and popular superstitions by scholars, there has never existed the least interest as regarded the strange lore of the witches, nor any suspicion that it embraced an incredible quantity of old Roman minor myths and legends, such as Ovid has recorded, but of which much escaped him and all other Latin writers.

This ignorance was greatly aided by the wizards and witches themselves, in making a profound secret of all their traditions, urged thereto by fear of the priests. In fact, the latter all unconsciously actually contributed immensely to the preservation of such lore, since the charm of the forbidden is very great, and witchcraft, like the truffle, grows best and has its raciest flavour when most deeply hidden. However this may be, both priest and wizard are vanishing now with incredible rapidity – it has even struck a French writer that a Franciscan in a railway carriage is a strange anomaly – and a few more years of newspapers and bicycles (Heaven knows what it will be when flying-machines appear!) will probably cause an evanishment of all.

However, they die slowly, and even yet there are old people in the Romagna of the North who know the Etruscan names of the Twelve Gods, and invocations to Bacchus, Jupiter, and Venus and Mercury, and the Lares or ancestral spirits, and in the cities are women who prepare strange amulets, over which they mutter spells, all known in the old Roman time, and who can astonish even the learned by their legends of Latin gods, mingled with lore which may be found in Cato or Theocritus. With one of these I became intimately acquainted in 1886, and have ever since employed her specially to collect among her sisters of the hidden spell in many places all the traditions of the olden time known to them. It is true that I have drawn from other sources, but this woman by long practice has perfectly learned what few understand, or just what I want, and how to extract it from those of her kind.

Among other strange relics, she succeeded, after many years, in obtaining the following “Gospel”, which I have in her handwriting. A full account of its nature with many details will be found in an Appendix. I do not know definitely whether my informant derived a part of these traditions from written sources or oral narration, but believe it was chiefly the latter. However, there are a few wizards who copy or preserve documents relative to their art. I have not seen my collector since the “Gospel” was sent to me. I hope at some future time to be better informed.

For brief explanation I may say the witchcraft is known to its votaries as la vecchia religione, or the old religion, of which DIANA is the Goddess, her daughter Aradia (or Herodius) the female Messiah, and that this little work sets forth how the latter was born, came down to earth, established witches and witchcraft, and then returned to heaven. With it are given the ceremonies and invocations or incantations to be addressed to Diana and Aradia, the exorcism of Cain, and the spells of the holy-stone, rue, and verbena, constituting, as the text declares, the regular church-service, so to speak, which is to be chanted or pronounced at the witch meetings. There are also included the very curious incantations or benedictions of the honey, meal, and salt, or cakes of the witch-supper, which is curiously classical, and evidently a relic of the Roman Mysteries.

The work could have been extended ad infinitum by adding to it the ceremonies and incantations which actually form a part of the Scripture of Witchcraft, but as these are nearly all – or at least in great number – to be found in my works entitled Etruscan-Roman Remains and Legends of Florence, I have hesitated to compile such a volume before ascertaining whether there is a sufficiently large number of the public who would buy such a work.

Since writing the foregoing I have met with and read a very clever and entertaining work entitled Romanzo dei Settimani, G. Cavagnari, 1889, in which the author, in the form of a novel, vividly depicts the manners, habits of thought, and especially the nature of witchcraft, and the many superstitions current among the peasants in Lombardy. Unfortunately, notwithstanding his extensive knowledge of the subject, it never seems to have occurred to the narrator that these traditions were anything but noxious nonsense or abominably un-Christian folly. That there exist in them marvelous relics of ancient mythology and valuable folklore, which is the very cor cordium of history, is as uncared for by him as it would be by a common Zoccolone or tramping Franciscan. One would think it might have been suspected by a man who knew that a witch really endeavored to kill seven people as a ceremony rite, in order to get the secret of endless wealth, that such a sorceress must have had a store of wondrous legends; but of all this there is no trace, and it is very evident that nothing could be further from his mind than that there was anything interesting from a higher or more genial point of view in it all.

His book, in fine, belongs to the very great number of those written on ghosts and superstition since the latter has fallen into discredit, in which the authors indulge in much satirical and very safe but cheap ridicule of what to them is merely vulgar and false. Like Sir Charles Coldstream, they have peeped in the crater of Vesuvius after is had ceased to “erupt”, and found “nothing in it.” But there was something in it once; and the man of science, which Sir Charles was not, still finds a great deal in the remains, and the antiquarian a Pompeii or a Herculaneum – ’tis said there are still seven buried cities to unearth. I have done what little (it is really very little) I could, to disinter something from the dead volcano of Italian sorcery.

If this be the manner in which Italian witchcraft is treated by the most intelligent writer who has depicted it, it will not be deemed remarkable that there are few indeed who will care whether there is a veritable Gospel of the Witches, apparently of extreme antiquity, embodying the belief in a strange counter-religion which has held its own from pre-historic time to the present day. “Witchcraft is all rubbish, or something worse,” said old writers, “and therefore all books about it are nothing better.” I sincerely trust, however, that these pages may fall into the hands of at least a few who will think better of them.

I should, however, in justice to those who do care to explore dark and bewildering paths, explain clearly that witch-lore is hidden with most scrupulous care from all save a very few in Italy, just as it is among the Chippeway Medas or the Black Voodoo. In the novel to the life of I Settimani an aspirant is represented as living with a witch and acquiring or picking up with pain, scrap by scrap, her spells and incantations, giving years to it. So my friend the late M. Dragomanoff told me how a certain man in Hungary, having learned that he had collected many spells (which were indeed subsequently published in folklore journals), stole them, so that the next year when Dragomanoff returned, he found the thief in full practice as a blooming magician. Truly he had not got many incantations, only a dozen or so, but a very little will go a great way in the business, and I venture to say there is perhaps hardly a single witch in Italy who knows as many as I have published, mine having been assiduously collected from many, far and wide. Everything of the kind which is written is, moreover, often destroyed with scrupulous care by priests or penitents, or the vast number who have a superstitious fear of even being in the same house with such documents, so that I regard the rescue of the Vangelo as something which is to say the least remarkable.

Aradia – Or The Gospel Of The Witches

Let’s Talk Witch – The Magic Circle and the Altar

The Magic Circle and the Altar

The circle, magic circle or sphere is a well-defined though non-physical temple. In much of Wicca today, rituals and magical workings take place within such a construction of personal power.

The magic circle is of ancient origin. Forms of it were used in old Babylonian magic. Ceremonial magicians of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance also utilized them, as did various American Indian tribes, though not, perhaps, for the same reasons.

There are two main types of magic circles. Those used by ceremonial monial magicians of yesterday (and today) are designed to protect the magician from the forces which he or she raises. In Wicca, the circle is used to create a sacred space in which humans meet with theGoddess and God.

In pre-Christian Europe, most Pagan religious festivals occurred outdoors. These were celebrations of the Sun, Moon, the stars and of the Earth’s fertility. The standing stones, stone circles, sacred groves and revered springs of Europe are remnants of those ancient days.

The Pagan rites went underground when they were outlawed by the newly powerful Church. No longer did meadows know the sounds of voices chanting the old names of the Sun gods, and the Moon hung unadored in the nighttime skies.

The Pagans grew secretive about their rites. Some practiced them outside only under the cover of darkness. Others brought them indoors.

Wicca has, unfortunately, inherited this last practice. Among many Wiccans, outdoor ritual is a novelty, a pleasant break from stuffy house-bound rites. I call this syndrome “living room Wicca.” Though most Wiccans practice their religion indoors, it’s ideal to run the rites outside beneath the Sun and Moon, in wild and lonely places far from the haunts of humans.

Such Wiccan rites are difficult to perform today. Traditional Wiccan can rituals are complex and usually require a large number of tools. Privacy is also hard to find, and fear of merely being seen is another. Why this fear?

There are otherwise responsible, intelligent adults who would rather see us dead than practicing our religion. Such “Christians”* are few but they certainly do exist, and even today Wiccans are exposed to psychological harassment and physical violence at the hands of those who misunderstand their religion.

Don’t let this scare you off. Rituals can be done outdoors, if they’re modified so as to attract a minimum of attention. Wearing a black, hooded robe, stirring a cauldron and flashing knives through the air in a public park isn’t the best way to avoid undue notice.

Street clothing is advisable in the case of outdoor rituals in areas where you may be seen. Tools can be used, but remember that they’re accessories, not necessities. Leave them at home if you feel that they’ll become problems.

Outdoor rituals such can be a thousand more effective because they are outdoors, not in a room filled with steel and plastic and the trappings of our technological age.

When these aren’t possible (weather is certainly a factor), Wiccans cans transform their living rooms and bedrooms into places of power. They do this by creating sacred space, a magical environment in which the Deities are welcomed and celebrated, and in which Wiccans cans become newly aware of the aspects of the God and Goddess within. Magic may also be practiced there. This sacred space is the magic circle.

It is practically a prerequisite for indoor workings. The circle defines the ritual area, holds in personal power, shuts out distracting energies-in essence, it creates the proper atmosphere for the rites. Standing within a magic circle, looking at the candles shining on the altar, smelling the incense and chanting ancient names is a wonderfully fully evocative experience. When properly formed and visualized, the magic circle performs its function of bringing us closer to the Goddess dess and God.

The circle is constructed with personal power which is felt (and visualized) as streaming from the body, through the magic knife (athame) and out into the air. When completed, the circle is a sphere of energy which encompasses the entire working area. The word circle is a misnomer; a sphere of energy is actually created. The circle simply marks the ring where the sphere touches the Earth (or floor) and continues on through it to form the other half.

Some kind of marking is often placed on the ground to show where the circle bisects the Earth. This might be a cord lain in a roughly circular shape, a lightly-drawn circle of chalk, or objects situated to show its outlines. These include flowers (ideal for spring and summer rites); pine boughs (winter festivals), stones or shells; quartz crystals, even tarot cards. Use objects that spark your imagination tion and are in tune with the ritual.

The circle is usually nine feet in diameter, though any comfortable able size is fine. The cardinal points are often marked with lit candles, or the ritual tools assigned to each point.

The pentacle, a bowl of salt or earth may be placed to the North. This is the realm of Earth, the stabilizing, fertile and nourishing element which is the foundation of the other three.

The censer with smoldering incense is assigned to the East, the home of the intellectual element, Air. Fresh flowers or stick incense can also be used. Air is the element of the mind, of communication, movement, divination and ascetic spirituality.

To the South, a candle often represents Fire, the element of transformation, of passion and change, success, health and strength. An oil lamp or piece of lava rock may be used as well.

A cup or bowl of water can be placed in the West of the circle to represent Water, the last of the four elements. Water is the realm of the emotions, of the psychic mind, love, healing, beauty and emotional spirituality.

Then again, these four objects maybe placed on the altar, their positions tions corresponding to the directions and their elemental attributes.

Once the circle has been formed around the working space, rituals begin. During magical workings the air within the circle can grow uncomfortably hot and close-it will truly feel different from the outside world, charged with energy and alive with power.

The circle is a product of energy, a palpable construction which can be sensed and felt with experience. It isn’t just a ring of flowers or cord but a solid, viable barrier.

In Wiccan thought the circle represents the Goddess, the spiritual itual aspects of nature, fertility, infinity, eternity. It also symbolizes the Earth itself.
The altar, bearing the tools, stands in the center of the circle. It can be made of any substance, though wood is preferred.Oak is especially recommended for its power and strength, as is willow which is sacred to the Goddess.

The Wicca don’t believe that the Goddess and God inhabit the altar itself. It is a place of power and magic, but it isn’t sacrosanct. Though the altar is usually set up and dismantled for each magical ritual, some Wiccans have permanent home altars as well. Your shrine can grow into such an altar.

The altar is sometimes round, to represent the Goddess and spirituality, though it may also be square, symbolic of the elements. It may be nothing more than an area of ground, a cardboard box covered with cloth, two cinder blocks with a board lying on top, a coffee table, an old sawed-off tree stump in the wild, or a large, flat rock. During outdoor rituals a fire may substitute for the altar. Stick incense may be used to outline the circle. The tools used are the powers of the mind.

The Wiccan tools are usually arranged upon the altar in a pleasing ing pattern. Generally, the altar is set in the center of the circle facing North. North is a direction of power. It is associated with the Earth, and because this is our home we may feel more comfortable with this alignment. Then too, some Wiccans place their altars facing East, where the Sun and Moon rise.

The left half of the altar is usually dedicated to the Goddess. Tools sacred to Her are placed there: the cup, the pentacle, bell, crystal and cauldron. An image of the Goddess may also stand there, and a broom might be laid against the left side of the altar.

If you can’t find an appropriate Goddess image (or, simply, if you don’t desire one), a green, silver or white candle can be substituted. The cauldron is also sometimes placed on the floor to the left side of the altar if it is too large to fit on top.

To the right side, the emphasis is on the God. A red, yellow or gold candle, or an appropriate figure, is usually placed there, as are the censer, wand, athame (magic knife) and white-handled knife.

Flowers may be set in the middle, perhaps in a vase or small cauldron. Then too, the censer is often centrally situated so that its smoke is offered up to both the Goddess and the God, and the pentacle cle might be placed before the censer.
Some Wiccans follow a more primitive, nature-oriented altar plan. To represent the Goddess, a round stone (pierced with a hole if available), a corn dolly, or a seashell work well. Pine cones, tapered stones and acorns can be used to represent the God. Use your imagination nation in setting up the altar.

If you’re working magic in the Circle, all necessary items should be within it before you begin, either on the altar or beneath it. Never forget to have matches handy, and a small bowl to hold the used ones (it’s impolite to throw them into the censer or cauldron).

Though we may setup images of the Goddess and God, we’re not idol worshippers. We don’t believe that a given statue or pile of rocks actually is the deity represented. And although we reverence nature, we don’t worship trees or birds or stones. We simply delight in seeing them as manifestations of the universal creative forces-the Goddess and God.

The altar and the magic circle in which it stands is a personal construction struction and it should be pleasing to you. My first Wiccan teacher laid out elaborate altars attuned with the occaion—if we couldn’t practice outdoors. For one Full Moon rite she draped the altar with white satin, placed white candles in crystal holders, added a silver chalice, white roses and snowy-leafed dusty miller. An incense composed of white roses, sandalwood and gardenias drifted through the air. The flowing altar suffused the room with lunar energies. Our ritual that night was one to remember.

May yours be the same.

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
Scott Cunningham

WOTC Extra – Raise Your Energy

Raise Your Energy

The next thing you need to know is how to raise energy in order to cast a spell.
You’ll remember that there are three types of energy: personal energy, earth energy, and divine energy.

Each one has its own unique feeling to it, and each one has its own purpose.
So I’m going to give you some easy exercises that will teach you how to sense all three forms of energy.

First, let’s start with your personal energy. Find a comfortable place to sit and make your breathing long, deep, and slow.

Feel your body relax and your mind get quiet. Now, start rubbing your palms together. Do this for about twenty seconds. Start slowly, and then rub faster and faster.

Feel your muscles begin to tense up. Feel your palms begin to get warmer. Now, stop.

Hold your palms about two inches apart. Can you feel them tingling? This is the energy that you have built and released, and it’s now flowing from your hands.
Look at that! In just twenty seconds, you have felt and created your very own personal power.

If you don’t feel it the first time, don’t worry. Keep practicing. Don’t force yourself to feel it—simply relax and allow yourself to feel this power.

Once you have created this energy, you can now try to manipulate it. Using your mind and powers of visualization, give this energy a color. Make it your favorite color.

Form it into a ball of pulsing energy, and let it move between your hands.
Now, you can make it bigger or smaller as you choose…bigger, now smaller.

Good.

And finally, you can choose to let it return to your body. Simply let it flow back into your palms into your arms, and be absorbed by your body again.

Once you have practiced with your personal energy, it’s time to start sensing earth energy.

For this exercise, find a plant. Any herbs, plants, or flowers will work—but it’s better if they are still growing, and not cut.

Now, breathe deeply for a few moments, relax your body, and clear your mind. Very good.

Hold your left palm a few inches above the plant. Focus your awareness on your palm.

What do you feel? Is it a dull throbbing, a hum, a wave of heat, or a kind of energy shift in your hand? If you can feel something different, then you are feeling the energy of the plant.

You can do this exercise with any natural object: stones, crystals, and trees for example. They all have their own earth energy.

And after some practice, you should be able to feel the differences in energy between the different objects.

For many reasons, it’s better to draw energy from the earth and other natural objects when you are performing magic.

Using your personal energy is very draining, and enhancing your own power with earth energy makes your spells much more effective.

That’s why spells will usually contain herbs, and you will use stones, wood, and crystals in facilitating your magic.

Now that you have learned to feel and manipulate both personal and earth energy, let’s talk about the last, highest form—divine power.

This power, as you may guess, comes from the divine. When you perform magic, you are asking the divine to contribute this power to your spell. You may be able to sense this incredible power as you are doing a spell.

Divine energy is what makes magic truly magical.

Wicca Power Spells
Aurora Rede

An Old-Fashioned Garlic Protection Spell

Once you’ve got all of the above things working on your behalf, if you still feel that you could use an extra dose of protection, I have personally always found that nothing protects as reliably or completely as good old-fashioned garlic.

For example, once you empower the garlic (whether it’s a clove, a head, a wreath or other arrangement, powder, or a supplement) in bright sunlight for at least five minutes (or by candlelight or fire if it’s nighttime or it’s cloudy out and you’re in a pinch), and infuse the garlic with your clear intention to protect you from all negativity and ill will, perform any of the following garlic protection practices according to your situation and desire.

Carry a clove of garlic as a protection amulet (I like to wrap one in cloth and safety-pin it under the front of my bra).

Hang a garlic wreath or arrangement on your front door or in a central location in your home.

Sprinkle garlic powder across your threshold or around the perimeter of your lot.

Take garlic supplements or cut a clove of garlic into small pieces and swallow them one at a time like pills to strengthen your personal energy field and keep negativity at bay.

Add fresh garlic or garlic powder to food. For extra-strength home protection, for each door to the outside, pierce a clove of garlic with two pins so that they are crossing each other, tie in a red cotton pouch with hemp twine, and hang on the outside of each door.

Author: Tess Whitehurst
Every Witch Way: Spells and Advice from Two Very Different Witches
Ellen Dugan; Tess Whitehurst

Let’s Talk Witch – Protection Prerequisites

Protection Prerequisites

Effective spiritual and energetic protection begins with a state of mind. And, like exercising or cultivating an artistic skill, this increases in depth and effectiveness over time with vigilant, regular upkeep. (I call it “magical hygiene.”) So before we get to the spells, let’s look at some of the positive habits that can contribute to experiencing reliable, lasting psychic protection on a daily basis.

Confidence
When I was a kid, someone (I don’t remember who) told me that if I ever felt afraid while out in the world, I should not cower or tiptoe but walk like I was the most confident person in the world. This way, I would be less likely to attract predatory behavior because I would not be behaving like prey. What this person didn’t tell me, but what I learned on my own, was that faking it actually helps you make it: when you move like you’re confident, your brain believes that you are confident, and then— guess what? You are confident. (Or at least you’re more so than you were before.)

Similarly, when you feel fearful, it’s important to transform the inner fearful conditions into inner confident ones ASAP. This is because fear vibrates at a level that is more open to negativity and is not protective. Now, this might seem like a little mind trap or a slippery slope; after all, if you’re already afraid, won’t knowing this make you even more afraid? Perhaps, but not if you remember to stop the cycle by immediately enlisting divine help. To do this, you might call on Archangel Michael or the goddess Kali or whatever divine being or name feels most protective and effective for you. Then, once you ask for help (inwardly or aloud), know in your heart— or at least behave as if you know in your heart (faking it helps you make it, remember?)— that your help has arrived and that it’s already begun to protect you in a most powerful and potent way. For example, if I’m walking in a scary alley, I might call on angelic bodyguards to flank me on all sides; then I’ll continue walking with utter faith in their competence. Or if I feel myself slipping into a sketchy and anxious mindset, I’ll replace my fearful monologue with an angelic invocation and visualization for as long as it takes to reprogram my pattern and feel my confidence return.

Grounding
Another prerequisite to holistic protection is grounding: connecting your personal energy with the energy at the core of the earth. This helps you feel anchored in a power that is greater than that within your little human energy field and aligns you with a greater and more expansive wisdom. I find that I feel best when I ground my energy daily as a part of my morning meditation, and I refresh my grounding anytime I begin to feel scattered, fearful, or spacey.

You may have already found your favorite way to ground your energy, but in case you haven’t, my favorite is relaxing my body, with my spine straight, and sending roots of light deep into the core of the earth, then drawing golden-white earth light up from the core and into my root chakra. Then I see and feel this light moving up through my chakras and out through the crown of my head.

Sometimes I reach branches high into the sky and bring cosmic light down from above, and other times I let my branches kiss the sky and then curl down back to earth like a weeping willow. Other methods include sending a “pranic tube” of light down into the earth to draw up the earth energy or sending a golden anchor deep down into the core of the earth in order to connect yourself to the core like a plug connects with an outlet.

Clearing and Shielding
The final protection prerequisite is a daily clearing and shielding. You can do this as part of a morning meditation and anytime you’d like an extra boost of protection. Clearing is important because like attracts like: if your energy is not clear and positive, it will be more likely to attract energy that is not clear and positive. Shielding is especially important for sensitive people because it helps us to refrain from picking up any energetic patterns that are from people, events, and conditions that have nothing to do with us.

Perhaps the simplest way to clear and shield is to request divine assistance in a way that feels powerful for you, and then to request a divine clearing of your personal energy field. You might visualize a glowing vacuum tube of light moving through your body and the sphere of space around you, powerfully removing cords of attachment, stagnant energy, and the energy of fear. Then request and visualize a sphere of golden white light. Set the intention that within this light only love remains, and through this light only love may enter.

Author: Tess Whitehurst
Every Witch Way: Spells and Advice from Two Very Different Witches
Ellen Dugan; Tess Whitehurst

The Witches’ Creed

by Doreen Valiente

Hear Now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night,
When dark was our destiny’s pathway,
That now we bring forth into light.

Mysterious water and fire,
The earth and the wide-ranging air,
By hidden quintessence we know them,
And will and keep silent and dare.
The birth and rebirth of all nature,
The passing of winter and spring,
We share with the life universal,
Rejoice in the magical ring.

Four times in the year the Great Sabbat
Returns, and the witches are seen
At Lammas and Candlemas dancing,
On May Eve and old Hallowe’en.
When day-time and night-time are equal,
When sun is at greatest and least,
The four Lesser Sabbats are summoned,
And Witches gather in feast.

Thirteen silver moons in a year are,
Thirteen is the coven’s array.
Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,
For each golden year and a day.

The power that was passed down the age,
Each time between woman and man,
Each century unto the other,
Ere time and the ages began.

When drawn is the magical circle,
By sword or athame of power,
Its compass between two worlds lies,
In land of the shades for that hour.

This world has no right then to know it,
And world of beyond will tell naught.
The oldest of Gods are invoked there,
The Great Work of magic is wrought.

For the two are mystical pillars,
That stand at the gate of the shrine,
And two are the powers of nature,
The forms and the forces divine.

The dark and the light in succession,
The opposites each unto each,
Shown forth as a God and a Goddess:
Of this our ancestors teach.

By night he’s the wild wind’s rider,
The Horn’d One, the Lord of the Shades.
By day he’s the King of the Woodland,
The dweller in green forest glades.

She is youthful or old as she pleases,
She sails the torn clouds in her barque,
The bright silver lady of midnight,
The crone who weaves spells in the dark.

The master and mistress of magic,
That dwell in the deeps of the mind,
Immortal and ever-renewing,
With power to free or to bind.
So drink the good wine to the Old Gods,
And Dance and make love in their praise,
Till Elphame’s fair land shall receive us
In peace at the end of our days.

And Do What You Will be the challenge,
So be it Love that harms none,
For this is the only commandment.
By Magic of old, be it done!

WOTC Extra – Magick for Others

If you make your magickal activities known, others will come to you and ask for spells to be performed. You will have to make a decision whether or not to do the magic for them, and this decision must be based upon a few factors.

There is only one hard and fast rule when it comes to working magic for others: if it feels good, do it. If not, don’t.

People can be quite cagey when asking for magic to be performed. Often they’ll color their explanations, or openly lie, to convince you to work.

Even good friends may fail to see the truth in some matters, or might blow one incident out of proportion. Based on such evidence, you might well tackle a problem magically that doesn’t even exist, thereby wasting your time and energy.

People will also want you to accomplish something by magic that they could do themselves if they rolled up their sleeves and went to work.

With all these unsaid thoughts, hidden truths, lies, and deception, what can you do?

In magic, it is best to perform an act of divination to get some answers.

Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic
Scott Cunningham

Let’s Talk Witch – Magick for the Self

Magick performed for yourself is not selfish, for it betters the world. Many people seem to think it is fine to cast a spell for a friend but would never do anything for themselves.

This is regrettable idea, and should be exorcised as soon as possible. Only if you are healthy, happy, and financially sound can you help others, just as you must love yourself before you can expect others to love you.

Part of the confusion comes from techniques used. Magic that aids you but harms another should be avoided, for it is not in keeping with magical morality.
Usually there is a way to improve yourself or your life without harming others, and this is the magic that should be utilized.

Never feel greedy when performing magic for yourself, as long as it harms none.

Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic
Scott Cunningham

The Laws According To The Alexandrian Book of Shadows(Use of the Art, Resignations, Training, Punishment & Footnotes )

The Laws According To The Alexandrian Book of Shadows

(Use of the Art, Resignations, Training, Punishment & Footnotes )

USE OF THE ART

138. Remember the art is the secret of the gods and may only be used in earnest and never for show or vainglory.

139. Magicians and Christians may taunt us saying, “You have no power, show us your power. Do magic before our eyes, then only will we believe,” seeking to cause us to betray the art before them.

140. Heed them not, for the art is holy and may only be used in need, and the curse of the gods be on any who break this Law.

RESIGNATIONS

141. It ever be the way with women and with men also, that they ever seek new love.

142. Nor should we reprove them for this.

143. But it may be found a disadvantage to the craft.

144. And so many a time it has happened that a High Priest or a High Priestess, impelled by love, hath departed with their love. That is, they left the Coven.

145. Now if the High Priestess wishes to resign, she may do so in full Coven.

146. And this resignation is valid.

147. But if they should run off without resigning, who may know if they may not return in a few months?

148. So the Law is, if a High Priestess leaves her Coven, she be taken back and all be as before.Meanwhile, if she has a deputy, that deputy shall act as High Priestess for as long as the High Priestess is away.

149. If she returns not at the end of a year and a day, then shall the Coven elect a new High Priestess,

150. Unless there is a good reason to the contrary.

151. The person who has done the work should reap the benefit of the reward. If somebody else is elected, the deputy is made maiden and deputy of the High Priestess.

TRAINING

152. It has been found that practicing the art doth cause a fondness between aspirant and tutor, and it is the cause of better results if this be so.

153. And if for any reason this be undesireable, it can easily be avoided by both persons from the outset firmly resolving in their minds to be as brother and sister or parent and child.

154. And it is for this reason that a man may be taught only by a woman and a woman by a man, and women and women should not attempt these practices together. So be it ordained.

PUNISHMENT

155. Order and discipline must be kept.

156. A High Priestess or a High Priest may, and should, punish all faults.

157. To this end all the craft must receive correction willingly.

158. All properly prepared, the culprit kneeling should be told his fault and his sentence pronounced.

159. Punishment should be followed by something amusing.

160. The culprit must acknowledge the justice of the punishment by kissing the hand on receiving sentence and again thanking for punishment received. So be it ordained.

NOTES

These Laws appear to have become part of the GBG BOS shortly after Doreen Valiente left his Coven (in 1957); they existed at the time that she left. (They were an innovation at that time, and were one of the things that the people who hived at that time refused to accept, though not themselves a reason for hiving.) See Doreen Valiente’s “The Rebirth of Witchcraft”.

●

Some of this material was already in the GBG BOS at the time. See the Farrars’ “The Witches’ Way”.

●

They also seem to be present throughout the Alexandrain stream. (See the Farrars’ “The

Witches Way”, and June Johns’ “King of the Witches”.)

●

The list I give here is drawn from several published sources:

June Johns,”King of the Witches”

❍

Lady Sheba,”The Grimoire of Lady Sheba”

❍

Janet and Stewart Farrar,”The Witches’ Way”

❍

●

Sheba *may* be a more accurate source than Johns for the GBG version. (Some of what I took to be typos may well have been GBG-ism’s.) Johns is probably a better source for Alex Sanders’ own version. Covens in either lineage have probably cross referenced and ‘corrected’ what they took to be errors.

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4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

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