Aradia Quotes

“Pessimism is the result of too much culture and introversion.”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

“Only a cad as low as a thief
Would write in a book or turn down a leaf,
Since 'tis thievery, as well is known,
To make free with that which is not our own.”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

“And having made the heaven and the stars and the rain, Diana became Queen of the Witches; she was the cat who ruled the star-mice, the heaven and the rain.”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

“The growth of Sentiment is the increase of suffering; man is never entirely miserable until he finds out how wronged he is and fancies that he sees far ahead a possible freedom.”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

“Only a cad as low as a thief
Would write in a book or turn down a leaf,
Since 'tis thievery, as well is known,
To make free with that which is not our own.”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

“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 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.”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

“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 practised 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 • March, 1S97: "Neapolitan Witchcraft." Italy, as its literature indicates, 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”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia, Gospel of the Witches

“For every woman is at heart a witch.”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

“If thou hast any desire, follow the Gospel of Diana, or what is called the Gospel of the Witches (Il Vangelo delle Strege), who worship the moon.”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

“For brief explanation I may say that witch craft is known to its votaries as la vecchia religione, or the old religion, of which Diana is the Goddess, her daughter Aradia (or Herodias) 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.”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia: Gospel of the Witches

“[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.]”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia, Gospel of the Witches

“THE CHARM OF THE STONES CONSECRATED TO DIANA 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: — Scongiurazione della pietra bucata. Una pietra bucata U ho trovato; Ne ringrazio il destin, E k) spirito che su questa via Mi ha portata, Che passa essere il mio bene, E la mia buona fortuna! Mi alzo la mattina al alba, E a passegio me ne vo Nelle valli, monti e campi, La fortuna cercarvo Della ruta e la verbena, Quello so porta fortuna Me lo tengo in senno chiuso £ saperlo nessuno no le deve, £ cosi cio che commendo, " La verbena far ben per me ! Benedica quella strege! Quella fata che mi segna!" Diana fu quella Che mi venne la notte in sogno E mi disse : " Se tu voir tener Le cattive persone da te lontano, Devi tenere sempre ruta con te, Sempre ruta con te e verbena!" Diana, tu che siei la regina Del cielo e della terra e dell* inferno, E siei la prottetrice degli infelici, Dei ladri, degli assassini, e anche Di donne di mali afifari se hai conosciuto, Che non sia stato V indole cattivo Delle persone, tu Diana, Diana li hai fatti tutti felici! Una altra volta ti scongiuro Che tu non abbia ne pace ne bene, Tu possa essere sempre in mezzo alle pene^ Fino che la grazia che io ti chiedo Non mi farai! THE CHARM OF THE STONES Invocation to the Holy-Stone} 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 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 I" I hole ii . But such a slone is IS really a claim to the ARADIA Great Diana I thou Who art the queen of heaven and of earth, And of the inferna! lands—yea, thou who art Protectress of all men unfortunate, Of thieves and murderers, and c 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 grantest that Which 1 require in strictest faith from thee! [Here”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia, Gospel of the Witches

“TTien shall follow the Conjuration of Diana. Scongiurazione a Diana. You shall make cakes of meal, wine, salt, and honey in the shape of a (crescent or homed) moon, and then put them to bake, and say: Non cuoco ne il pane re il sale, Non cuoco re il vino ne il miele, Cuoco il corpo il sangue e 1' anima, L' anima di Diana, che non possa Avere ne la pace e ne bene, Possa essere sempre in mezzo alle pene Fino che la grazia non mi fari, Che glielo chiesta egliela chiedo di cuore! Se qaesla grazia, o Diana, mi farai, La cena In tua lode in molti la faremo, Mangiaremo, beveremo, Ealleremo, salteremo, Se questa grazia che ti ho chiesta, Se questa grazia tu mi farai, Nel tempo che balliamo, H lume spengnerai, Cosi al 1' amore liberamente la faremo I Conjuration of Diana. 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 ARABIA 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 I In honour 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”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia, Gospel of the Witches

“And yet erewhile, when thou wert 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 couldsl 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; ' Theie is an evident association here of [he body of the firefly which much resembles a grain of wheat) wilh the latter. ' The six lines followiDg are oilen heard as 3. nursery rhyme. And because thou for ever art brilliant and fair, Under a glass I will keep thee; while there, With a lens I will study thy 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. 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 round, Likewise the sun, and think of nothing else White 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. AMDU Scongiurasione di Caino. Tuo Caino, tu non possa aver Ne pace e ne bene fino che Dal sole' andaCe non sarai coi piedi Correndo, le mani battendo, E pregarlo per me che mi faccia sapere, II mio destino, se cattiva fosse, Allora me lo faccia cambiare, Se questa grazia mi farete, L' acqua al lo splendor del sol la guardero: E tu Caino colla tua bocca mi diiai II mio destino quale sark: Se questa grazia o Caino non mi farai, Pace e bene non avrai! The”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia, Gospel of the Witches

“THE SABBAT, TREGUENDA OR WITCH-MEETING— HOW TO CONSECRATE THE SUPPER. 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: Scongiurasione alia Farina. Scongiuro te, o farina! Che sei i! corpo nostro—senia di te Non si potrebbe vivere—tu che Prima di divenire la farina, Sei stata sotto terra, dove tutti Sono nascosti tutti in segreti, Maccinata che siei a metterte al vento, Tu spolveri per 1' aria e te ne fuggi Portando con te i tuoi segreti! Ma quando grano sarai in spighe, In spige belle che le lucciole, Vengeno a ferti lume perche tu Possa crescere piii bella, altrimenti Tu non polresd crescere a divenire bella, Dunque anche tu appartieni THE SABBAT Alle Strege o alle Fate, perche IjC lucciole appartengono AIsol. . . . Lucciola caporala, Vieni corri e vieni a gara, Metti la briglia a la cavalla! Metti la briglia al figluol del t6 ! Vieni, corri e portala a m^ ! II figluol del i6 te lasciera andare Pero voglio te pigliare, Giache siei bella e lucente, Ti voglio mettere sotto un bicchiere £ guardarti coUa lente; Sotto un bicchiere tu staiai Fino che tutti i segreti, Di questo mondo e di quell' altro non n Sapere e anche quelle del grano, E della farina appena, Questi segreti io saprb, Lucciola mia libera ti lascierd Quando i segreti della terra io saprtS Tu sia benedetta ti diro! Scongiurazione del Sale. Scongiuro il sale suona mezza gibmo. In punlo in mezza a un fiume, Entro e qui miro 1' acqua, L' acqua e al sol altro non penso, Che a r acqua e al sol, alloro La mia mente tutta e rivolta, Altra pensier non ho desidero. Saper la, verissima che tanto tempo 6 Che soffro, vorrei saper il mio avenir, Se cattivo fosse, acqua e sol Migliorate il destino mio! 7Sb Conjuration of Meal. I conjure thee, O Meal! Who art indeed our body, since without thee We could not live, Ehou 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”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia, Gospel of the Witches

“CONTENTS Preface CHAPTER I PAGE V How Diana gave Birth to Arabia (Herodias) Of the sufferings of Mankind, and how Diana sent Aradia on earth to relieve them by teaching resistance and Sorcery—Poem addressed to Mankind—How to invoke Diana or Aradia, CHAPTER II The Sabbat—Treguenda or Witch-Meeting . 8 How to consecrate the supper—Conjuration of the meal and of Salt—Invocation to Cain—Conjuration of Diana and to Aradia, CHAPTER III How Diana made the Stars and the Rain i8 CHAPTER IV The Charm of the Stones consecrated to Diana—The Incantation of Perforated Stones—The Spell or Conjuration of the Round Stone . 21 PAGE CHAPTER V The Conjuration of the Lemon and Pins—Incantation TO Diana 29 CHAPTER VI A Spell to Win Love 35 CHAPTER VII To Find or Buy anything, or to have Good Fortune thereby 38 CHAPTER VIII To HAVE A Good Vintage and very Good Wine BY THE Aid of Diana 44 CHAPTER IX Tana and Endamone, or Diana and Endymion 51 CHAPTER X Madonna Diana 61 A Legend of Cettardo, and how Diana appeared with ten Bridesmaids to give away a Bride—Incantation to Diana for a Wedding. CHAPTER XI The House of the Wind 65 Showing how Diana rescued a Lady from Death at the Honse of the Wind in Volterra. PAGE CHAPTER XII Tana or Diana, the Moon-Goddess ... 72 CHAPTER XIII Diana and the Children 78 CHAPTER XIV The Goblin Messengers of Diana and Mercury 86 CHAPTER XV Laverna 89 APPENDIX loi ARADIA OR THE GOSPEL OF THE WITCHES CHAPTER”
― Charles Godfrey Leland, Aradia, Gospel of the Witches