Aradia
Aradia is the daughter of Diana in a nineteenth-century Italian witches' gospel, sent to earth to teach the poor the craft and to overturn their masters. Whether she is an older goddess or a modern invention is a live argument, and her entry records both readings.
Aradia is the figure of Charles Godfrey Leland's Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches (1899), a book whose claim to report a genuine Tuscan witches' gospel is disputed - the mainstream scholarly view (Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 1999) treats it as a mix of Italian folk material and Leland's own shaping, and Magliocco finds genuine Sardinian/Italian folk figures (s'Araja, sa Rejusta) behind the name; Leland himself linked it to Herodias. There is no evidence of an ancient cult of Aradia, and the planetary, elemental and tarot values given here are modern attributions to a modern/literary figure. The title 'The First Witch' is accurate only inside Leland's text.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Moon
Offerings
- Offerings
- MealSaltHoneyWaterWineMoon cakes
Sacred timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Aradia di ToscanoThe Daughter of Diana
- Gender Expression
- Feminine
- Titles
- The First WitchDaughter of DianaTeacher of the Poor
- Symbols
- Crescent moonFull moonRed bag of saltTalisman
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- TonePlain rebelliousAddressAradiaThe First WitchDaughter of DianaRelationshipThe witch who goes to the poor rather than the courtWarningHer gospel is nineteenth century and the tradition still uses itResonanceWitches those without power those teaching what they were given
- Modern Practice
Aradia is called on in the craft, in work against the powerful, and at the full moon. Her practice is the spell said plainly and the help given to someone with less than you.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- WitchcraftRebellionThe teachingThe moonThe peopleLiberationThe gospel
- Mythology Summary
Aradia is the daughter of Diana in a nineteenth-century Italian witches' gospel, sent to earth to teach the poor the craft and to overturn their masters. Whether she is an older goddess or a modern invention is a live argument, and her entry records both readings.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsGreenBrownBlackScentsPatchouliCedarVetiverMetalsSilverAnimalsOwlHareCrab
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