In 1508 A.D., the Italian Inquisitor Bernardo Rategno (having studied witch trial records preserved in the archives of the Inquisi- tion at Como) wrote a text called the Tractatus de Strigibus. In this text he states that the "witches sect" had begun to expand rapidly 150 years earlier. This would place the "expansion" in the mid 1300's. What caused this to happen ? The answer may lay hidden in the Legend of La Bella Pellegrina (the beautiful Pilgrim). This legend appears in Charles Leland's research material (1887), and was even then consider- ed a very old legend. According to this story, there was a young woman from the town of Volterra, who "travelled far and wide, teaching and preaching the religion of old times, the religion of Diana, the Queen of the Fairies and of the Moon, Goddess of the poor and the oppressed- ". Leland goes on to say "and the fame of her wisdom and beauty went forth over all the land, and people worshipped her, calling her The Beautiful Pilgrim". This legend appears in his book ARADIA, GOSPEL OF THE WITCHES. The book itself is not really very good, but does contain some interesting bits of Lore.
In my Tradition we do have the legend of Aradia, but she differs from the Aradia presented in Leland's book (not from this legend, but from his portrayal of her character). In my Tradition, Aradia was a great teacher who brought about a "revival" of The Old Religion, in 14th Century Italy. We honor her memory, but we do not worship her. We call her The Holy Strega . Strega (pronounced stray-gah) is the Italian word for Witch. Aradia taught that certain "powers" would be gained through the practice of The Old Religion, if one was truly dedicated. These are the "traditional" powers of which she spoke:
To bring success in love
to bless and consecrate
to speak with spirits
to know of hidden things
to call forth spirits
to know the voice of the wind
to possess the knowledge of changing forms
to possess the knowledge of divination
to know secret signs
to cure disease
to bring forth beauty
to have influence over wild beasts
to know the secrets of the hand
In my tradition it is that taught we are descended from those covens which Aradia established in the 14th Century.
Design & Graphics© 1997-1999 Catherine B. Hicks, Starweaver Creations/Cyberpanic Web Design. All rights for the work remain with the authors as stated. All rights reserved. Copying this page without permission is a violation of United States copyright laws.