There is an interesting book, written by an Italian Professor (Medieval Italian History) named Carlo Ginzburg, the title of which is NIGHT BATTLES (available in English). Based on official Inquisition archives from the 16th & 17th centuries, this is a unique study of an isolated Italian peasant culture deeply rooted in early European Fertility Cults. It deals with a group of witches who called themsel- ves the Benandanti (good walkers). On four ritual occasions of the year, they battled with the Malandanti (evil walkers) in a conflict over the Crops. This Cult was first discovered by the Church in 1575. At first the Benandanti insisted that they went out in the service of Christ, but later admitted to being a Witch Cult. One of the Inquisit- ors recorded the following "confession": " I am a benandante because I go with the others to fight four times a year, that is during the Ember Days, at night; I go invisibly in spirit and the body remains behind; we go forth in the service of Christ, and the witches of the devil; we fight each other, we with bundles of fennel and they with sorghum stalks...in the fighting that we do, one time we fight over the wheat and all the other grains, another time over livestock, and at other times over the vineyards. And so, on four occasions we fight over all the fruits of the earth and for those things won by the Benandanti that year there is abundance".
It is interesting to note the reference to astral travel and the protection (behind the scenes) of the Crops and Livestock.
In Italy there was a split in the Witch Cult, shortly after the Inquisition began. Most witches went "underground" but some decided to fight the Christians on their own terms. They invoked the "Devil" of the Christians as a power which the Christians seemed to fear. This was the origin of the Satanic Cult in Italy. This is why many of the symbols, and tools, of Witchcraft and Satanism resemble each other. Because the Church was becoming wealthy over owner of land, and many peasants were serving as farming labor, the Malandanti chose this as their battleground. The Benandanti fought to protect the Crops, which was the only way peasants had of sustaining themselves.
If you're interested in this curious sub-cult of Italian Witchcraft, you might want to check out Ginzburg's NIGHT BATTLES. He also has a book out now called ECSTASIES, deciphering the witches sabbat. This is an indepth look at the shamanistic roots of Italian Witchcraft. Remember though, that the record of these things comes from the Inquisition, and you have to be able to look at what they are saying, from a pagan's viewpoint (in other words, turn everything around, and delete the references to the Devil).
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