Aradia, or the Gospel of the WitchesWicca / WitchcraftLegend / Oral TraditionEnglish with Italian incantation materialShareAradia 1Wikisource proofread 1899 - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableWikisource proofread 1899LanguageEnglishEspañol‹Aradia 1Aradia 2Aradia 3Aradia 4Aradia 5Aradia 6Aradia 7Aradia 8Aradia 9Aradia 10Aradia 11Aradia 12Aradia 13Aradia 14Aradia 15›Aradia: How Diana Gave Birth To Aradia (Herodias)Aradia 1ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1"It is Diana! Lo! She rises crescented." — Keats' Endymion. "Make more bright The Star Queen's crescent on her marriage night." — Ibid. This is the Gospel ( Vangelo ) of the Witches: Diana greatly loved her brother Lucifer, the god of the Sun and of the Moon, the god of Light ( Splendor ), who was so proud of his beauty, and who for his pride was driven from Paradise. Diana had by her brother a daughter, to whom they gave the name of Aradia [ i.e. Herodias]. In those days there were on earth many rich and many poor. The rich made slaves of all the poor. In those days were many slaves who were cruelly treated; in every palace tortures, in every castle prisoners. Many slaves escaped. They fled to the country; thus they became thieves and evil folk. Instead of sleeping by night, they plotted escape and robbed their masters, and then slew them. So they dwelt in the mountains and forests as robbers and assassins, all to avoid slavery. Diana said one day to her daughter Aradia: 2E vero che tu sei uno spirito, Ma tu sei nata per essere ancora Mortale, e tu devi andare Sulla terra e fare da maestra A donne e a' uomini che avranno Volentà di inparare la tua scuola Che sara composta di stregonerie. Non devi essere come la figlia di Caino, E della razza che sono divenuti Scellerati infami a causa dei maltrattamenti, Come Giudei e Zingari, Tutti ladri e briganti, Tu non divieni.... Tu sarai (sempre) la prima strega, La prima strega divenuta nel mondo, Tu insegnerai l' arte di avvelenare, Di avvelenare (tutti) i signori, Di farli morti nei loro palazzi, Di legare il spirito del oppressore, E dove si trova un contadino ricco e avaro, Insegnerai alle strege tue alunne, Come rovinare il suo raccolto Con tempesta, folgore e balen, Con grandine e vento. Quando un prete ti fara del male, Del male colle sue bene di' Zioni, Tu le farai (sempre) un doppio male Col mio nome, col nome di Diana, Regina delle strege.... Quando i nobili e i preti vi diranno Dovete credere nel Padre, Figlio, E Maria, rispondete gli sempre, "Il vostro dio Padre e Maria Sono tre diavoli.... 3"Il vero dio Padre non e il vostro— Il vostro dio—io sono venuta Per distruggere la gente cattiva E la distruggero.... "Voi altri poveri soffrite anche la fame, E lavorato malo e molte volte; Soffrite anche la prigione; Mapero avete una anima, Una anima più buona, e nell' altra, Nell' altra mondo voi starete bene, E gli altri male."... 'Tis true indeed that thou a spirit art, But thou wert born but to become again A mortal; thou must go to earth below To be a teacher unto women and men Who fain would study witchcraft in thy schoo Yet like Cain's daughter thou shalt never be, Nor like the race who have become at last Wicked and infamous from suffering, As are the Jews and wandering Zingari, Who are all thieves and knaves; like unto them Ye shall not be.... And thou shalt be the first of witches known; And thou shalt be the first of all i' the world; And thou shalt teach the art of poisoning, Of poisoning those who are great lords of all; Yea, thou shalt make them die in their palaces; And thou shalt bind the oppressor's soul (with power); 4And when ye find a peasant who is rich, Then ye shall teach the witch, your pupil, how To ruin all his crops with tempests dire, With lightning and with thunder (terrible), And with the hail and wind.... And when a priest shall do you injury By his benedictions, ye shall do to him Double the harm, and do it in the name Of me, Diana, Queen of witches all! And when the priests or the nobility Shall say to you that you should put your faith In the Father, Son, and Mary, then reply: "Your God, the Father, and Maria are Three devils.... "For the true God the Father is not yours; For I have come to sweep away the bad, The men of evil, all will I destroy! "Ye who are poor suffer with hunger keen, And toil in wretchedness, and suffer too Full oft imprisonment; yet with it all Ye have a soul, and for your sufferings Ye shall be happy in the other world, But ill the fate of all who do ye wrong!" Now when Aradia had been taught, taught to work all witchcraft, how to destroy the evil race (of oppressors), she (imparted it to her pupils) and said unto them: 5Quando io saro partita da questo mondo, Qualunque cosa che avrete bisogna, Una volta al mese quando la luna E piena... Dovete venire in luogo deserto, In una selva tutte insieme, E adorare lo spirito potente Di mia madre Diana, e chi vorra Imparare la stregonerie, Che non la sopra, Mia madre le insegnera, Tutte cose.... Sarete liberi dalla schiavitù! E cosi diverrete tutti liberi! Pero uomini e donne Sarete tutti nudi, per fino. Che non sara morto l'ultimo Degli oppressori e morto, Farete il giuoco della moccola Di Benevento, e farete poi Una cena cosi: When I shall have departed from this world, Whenever ye have need of anything, Once in the month, and when the moon is full, Ye shall assemble in some desert place, Or in a forest all together join To adore the potent spirit of your queen, My mother, great Diana. She who fain Would learn all sorcery yet has not won Its deepest secrets, them my mother will Teach her, in truth all things as yet unknown. And ye shall all be freed from slavery, And so ye shall be free in everything; 6And as the sign that ye are truly free, Ye shall be naked in your rites, both men And women also: this shall last until The last of your oppressors shall be dead; And ye shall make the game of Benevento, Extinguishing the lights, and after that Shall hold your supper thus: Next chapterAradia 2›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public-domain 1899 work; proofread Wikisource transcription