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Aradia is one of the principal figures in the American folklorist
Charles Godfrey Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensivel ...
's 1899 work '' Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'', which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group of
pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
witches Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
in
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, a claim that has subsequently been disputed by other folklorists and historians. In Leland's ''Gospel'', Aradia is portrayed as a
messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
who was sent to Earth in order to teach the oppressed peasants how to perform witchcraft to use against the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and the upper classes. The folklorist
Sabina Magliocco Sabina Magliocco (born December 30, 1959) is a professor of anthropology and religion at the University of British Columbia and formerly at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She is an author of non-fiction books and journal article ...
has theorised that prior to being used in Leland's ''Gospel'', Aradia was originally a supernatural figure in Italian folklore, who was later merged with other folkloric figures such as ''sa Rejusta'' of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
. Since the publication of Leland's ''Gospel'', Aradia has become "arguably one of the central figures of the modern pagan witchcraft revival" and as such has featured in various forms of
Neopaganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the Paganism, beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some comm ...
, including
Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...
and Stregheria, as an actual deity. Raven Grimassi, founder of the Wiccan-inspired tradition of Stregheria, claims that Aradia was a historical figure named ''Aradia di Toscana'', who led a group of "Diana-worshipping witches" in 14th-century Tuscany.


Folklore

The Italian form of the name ''
Herodias Herodias (; , ''Hērōidiás''; c. 15 BC – after AD 39) was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judea, Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with the Beheading of John the Baptist, execution of John the Ba ...
'' is ''Erodiade''. It appears that Herodias, the wife of
Herod Antipas Herod Antipas (, ''Hērṓidēs Antípas''; ) was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea. He bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament. He was a s ...
, in
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
of the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
, came to be seen as a spirit condemned to wander the sky forever due to her part in the death of
John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
, permitted only to rest in treetops between midnight and dawn. By the
High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
, this figure seems to have become attached to the train of nymphs of Diana, now also seen as a host of spirits flying through the night across the Italian countryside. Other names attached to the night flight of Herodias included ''Minerva'' and ''Noctiluca''. The canon ''Episcopi'' is a passage from the work ''De ecclesiasticis disciplinis'' by
Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum (, ; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine Order, Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm Abbey, Prüm (892–99) and later of St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is ...
(written ). It became notable as a paragraph of
canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
dealing with witchcraft by the 12th century. Regino reports that there were groups of women who believed that they could go on night journeys where they would fly across the sky to meet Diana and her train. The name of Herodias is not present in the text as attributed to Regino, but in the version by Burchard of Worms, written c. 1012, the reference to Diana (''cum Diana paganorum dea'') was augmented by "or with Herodias" (''vel cum Herodiade''). Magliocco (2002) suggests that the legends surrounding this figure, known as ''Aradia'', ''Arada'' or ''Araja'', spread throughout various areas of Italy, and she traced records that showed that two beings known as ''s'Araja dimoniu'' (Araja the demon) and ''s'Araja justa'' (Araja the just) were found in
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
. Magliocco believed that the latter of these two figures, ''s'Araja justa'', was the antecedent of a supernatural witch-like figure known as ''sa Rejusta'' in Sardinian folklore. Judika Illes, in her ''Encyclopedia of Spirits'', noted: "Although venerated elsewhere in Europe, Herodias was especially beloved in Italy. She and Diana are the goddesses most frequently mentioned in witch-trial transcripts and were apparently worshipped together". The Romanian historian of religion
Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and in ...
also noted that ''Arada'', along with ''Irodiada'', was a name used for a Romanian folkloric Queen of the Fairies (''Doamna Zînelor''), who he believed was a "metamorphosis of Diana". She was viewed as the patroness of a secretive group of dancers known as the calusari who operated up until at least the 19th century.


Leland's Aradia

In 1899, the American folklorist
Charles Godfrey Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensivel ...
published '' Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'', a book which he claimed was the religious text belonging to a group of Tuscan witches who venerated Diana as the Queen of the Witches. He also claimed that he had been given the book by a Tuscan woman named Maddalena, although historians such as Ronald Hutton have disputed the truth of these such claims. ''Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'' begins with the tale of Aradia's birth to Diana and
Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...
, who is described as "the god of the Sun and of the Moon, the god of Light (Splendour), who was so proud of his beauty, and who for his pride was driven from Paradise". Diana instructs Aradia to "go to earth below / To be a teacher unto women and men / Who fain would study witchcraft." When Aradia descends, she becomes the first of all
witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
es, and promises her students that "ye shall all be freed from slavery, / And so ye shall be free in everything." Aradia is described as having continuing power to affect the world after she returns to the sphere of Diana. For example, in "A Spell to Win Love", the "Invocation to Diana" asks Diana to send her daughter Aradia to perform the magic. Leland's ''Aradia'' has a chapter containing folklore about the night assembly or banquet, titled "The Sabbat: Tregunda or Witch Meeting", which involves Diana. Leland comments in the Appendix, "I also believe that in this Gospel of the Witches we have a trustworthy outline at least of the doctrine and rites observed at these meetings he witches' Sabbat They adored forbidden deities and practised forbidden deeds, inspired as much by rebellion against Society as by their own passions."Leland, Appendix Leland speculates that this folklore ultimately has roots in ancient Etruscan mythology. Leland also equates Aradia with Herodias, explaining his speculation that Herodias was actually Lilith: "This was not ... derived from the Herodias of the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
, but from an earlier replica of
Lilith Lilith (; ), also spelled Lilit, Lilitu, or Lilis, is a feminine figure in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, theorized to be the first wife of Adam and a primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Eden ...
, bearing the same name ... So far back as the sixth century the worship of Herodias and Diana by witches was condemned by a Church Council at Ancyra." Pipernus and other writers have noted the evident identification of Herodias with Lilith. Historian Ronald Hutton suggests in ''Triumph of the Moon'' that this identification with Herodias was inspired by the work of
Jules Michelet Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and writer. He is best known for his multivolume work ''Histoire de France'' (History of France). Michelet was influenced by Giambattista Vico; he admired Vico's emphas ...
in '' Satanism and Witchcraft''. Anthropologist and field folklorist
Sabina Magliocco Sabina Magliocco (born December 30, 1959) is a professor of anthropology and religion at the University of British Columbia and formerly at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She is an author of non-fiction books and journal article ...
, on the other hand, is willing to consider a connection between the Italian Erodiade (Herodias), the Cult of Herodias, the night assembly, and Aradia.


Neopaganism

Aradia has become an important figure in witchcraft including
Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...
and other forms of Neo-Paganism. Some Wiccan traditions use the name ''Aradia'' as one of the names of the Great Goddess, Moon Goddess, or "Queen of the Witches". Portions of Leland's text influenced the Gardnerian Book of Shadows, especially the Charge of the Goddess. Alex Sanders invoked Aradia as a moon goddess in the 1960s.
Janet Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psychologist and psychotherapist * Maur ...
and Stewart Farrar used the name in their ''Eight Sabbats for Witches'' and ''The Witches' Way''. Aradia was invoked in spellcraft in Z. Budapest's ''The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries''. Aradia is a central figure in Stregheria, an "ethnic Italian" form of Wicca introduced by Raven Grimassi in the 1980s. Grimassi claims that there was a historical figure called "Aradia di Toscano", whom he portrays as the founder of a revivalist religion of Italian witchcraft in the 14th century. Grimassi claims that Leland's ''Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'' is a "distorted Christianized version" of the story of Aradia. Neo-Pagan narratives of Aradia include ''The Book of the Holy Strega'' (1981), by Raven Grimassi; ''The Gospel of Diana'' (1993), by Aidan Kelly; and ''Secret Story of Aradia'', by Myth Woodling (2001). In 1992, Aidan Kelly, co-founder of the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn, distributed a document titled ''The Gospel of Diana'' (a reference to ''Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches''). The text contained a list of mother and daughter
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
esses who had taught religious
witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
through the centuries. Instead of Leland's goddess Diana and her messianic daughter Aradia, Kelly's text described mortal human beings. The priestesses' names alternated between ''Aradia'' and ''Diana''. Magliocco describes the character of Aradia in Kelly's accompanying narrative as "a notably erotic character; according to her teachings, the sexual act becomes not only an expression of the divine life force, but an act of resistance against all forms of oppression and the primary focus of
ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...
". Magliocco also notes that the text "has not achieved broad diffusion in contemporary Pagan circles". In 2017, author and artist Laura Tempest Zakroff inspired by a tweet from Storm Faerywolf launched the "#WeAreAradia" campaign to encourage witches and magical practitioners to embody Aradia’s spirit of collective empowerment rather than wait for an outside force.The hashtag was positioned as "A call to action to build and use your practices to protect and to empower. Stand up. Speak out. Cast proud." In 2018, Revelore Press published The New Aradia: A Witch’s Handbook to Magical Resistance which brings together essays, sigils, invocations and rituals relating to Aradia, framing witchcraft explicitly as a tool in political activism. Contributors situate their magic within
class conflict In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...
, opposing economic injustice and white supremacy, and advocate for solidarity with laborers, queer communities, and other marginalized groups. The New Aradia positions Aradia not just as a folklore figure but also a symbol of 21st-century magical resistance against oppression.


See also

*
Etruscan mythology Etruscan religion comprises a set of stories, beliefs, and religious practices of the Etruscan civilization, heavily influenced by the mythology of ancient Greece, and sharing similarities with concurrent Roman mythology and religion. As the ...
* Triple Goddess (Neopaganism)


Notes


References


External links


"Aradia or the Gospel of the Witches"
The complete text of "Aradia" by Charles Leland. * , which contains an academic discussion of the history and controversies associated with Leland and Aradia.

, Stregheria.com, an article by Raven Grimassi about the legend of Aradia and its evolution.
Goddess Aradia and Related Subjects
a Web site devoted to Aradia as a Wiccan goddess and as a powerful spirit in Italian folklore. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aradia (Goddess) 14th century in Italy Children of Lucifer Diana (mythology) Lilith Magic goddesses Messianism New religious movement deities Night goddesses European people whose existence is disputed Religion in Italy Witchcraft in folklore and mythology Witchcraft in Italy Lunar goddesses