The Essential Witch Stregheria Show
Ravenwings
If you missed the original show you can listen to it here! Learn about Italian Witchcraft!
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I didn't agree with every single part of this lecture, but it was fine in that it explored the history and essence of Stregheria.... the only true work of it's kind up there. I'm surprised that this video only has about one thousand views in over a year and a half. I wouldn't be surprised if there were only about two thousand adherents to Stregheria in all of North America. Still, the work by Raven Grimassi and the importance of Aradia would seem to suggest more interest... including YouTube searches for "Stregheria Aradia." Even Raven Grimassi's YouTube channel only has 383 subscriptions; surprising in that he is also an important figure among Wiccans.
It reminds of me the excellent four-part interview of Heimgest, the leader of the international organization of the Odinic Rite, on YouTube. After twelve years up there, only 37,000 views for the first video? The interview took place somewhere in Alberta, Canada, where Heimgest was visiting and naturally promoting Asatru/Odinism. He assesses the current state of the movement; in other words this is important! With the subtle rise of Asatru, large in a relative-time sense, why not more interest in a video such as this?
The Neo-Pagan movement is still somewhat shrouded in mystery. We're still mostly solitary practitioners, who may be holding ritual three miles away from where a like-minded person might be holding ritual. I once gave the example of seeing a stained-glass Valknut in a front window of a home nearby; and of once coming upon (inadvertently interrupting) a black robed woman seemingly holding a ritual when I was hiking at dusk. She then disappeared away into the shadows. "We're around".. yet we're strangers....
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Italian Spell from the movie Sleepers
Indi Geaux
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An interesting, if perhaps unflattering, "Stregheria" reference from popular culture. Of course, some form of Stregheria was present in every part of the Italian peninsula. This film was to have taken place in New York City (some say that this film was based on real events).
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Drawing the Magic Circle
I conjure thee, O Circle of Power, that thou beest a meeting-place of love and joy and truth; a shield against all wickedness and evil; a boundary between the world of men and the realms of the Mighty Ones; a rampart and protection that shall preserve and contain the power that we shall raise within thee. Wherefore I bless thee and consecrate thee, in the names of Cernunnos and Aradia.
-- Wiccan circle-casting ritual
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Human Rites: The Role of Ritual in Witchcraft
The High Priestess stands skyclad within the circle, arms outstretched, clothed only in the flickering candle-light. The High Priest kneels before her and, drawing an inverted triangle upon her from right breast, begins the incantation:
'I invoke thee and call upon thee, Mighty Mother of us all, bringer of all fruitfulness; by seed and by root, by stem and bud, by leaf and flower and fruit do I invoke thee to descend upon the body of this thy servant and priestess.'
He throws up his arms:
Hail Aradia! From the Amalthean Horn
Pour forth thy store of love; I lowly bend
Before thee, I adore thee to the end,
With loving sacrifice thy shrine adorn.
Thy foot is to my lip [kisses] my prayer upborne
Upon the rising incense-smoke; then spend
Thine ancient love, O Mighty One, descend
To aid me, who without thee am forlorn.
As he rises and steps back the High Priestess draws a pentagram in the air before her with her wand:
Of the Mother darksome and divine
Mine the scourge, and mine the kiss;
The five-point star of love and bliss--
Here I charge you in this sign.
They have drawn down the moon.
-- From page 187 of 'Witchcraft Out of the Shadows' (Ruickbie; 2004)
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A few more thoughts
The above ritual is Wiccan, and reflected the common Neopagan "borrowing," which is fine since so much was lost to us over the ages. In some cases, as with utilizing an alternate name of a god/goddess or anything else, the borrowing may be slipping a missing puzzle piece back into place which already existed in the other tradition over time. However, the story of Aradia is distinctly Tuscan; but it could be thought of as relating to the larger picture; if the Goddess Diana were to send her daughter to the Earth to live among us, she had to be send to some locale.
In this manner, Aradia, the Horned God, Hecate, "The Sorcerer" cave art; Stonehenge, the Carnac stones, the Temple of Mona, the Temple of Artemis, Venus of Willendorf, the Nebra sky disk, the Bosnian pyramids, or the Megalithic Temples of Malta.... ALL could be part of the same general ancient collective Proto-European spiritual tradition. That's not necessarily "borrowing." The megalithic structures go back beyond the Celtic/Gaulish/Druidic cultures; and "Mona" was the Proto-European name of the Great Mother. Nationalistic/ethnic perceptions could, in certain instances, get in the way of the larger folklore. They're sort've.... both.
The nudity and direct sexual aspects of Wiccan rituals have some basis in the ancient history of the Proto-European tradition(s). Stregheria has this aspect as well. However, we should also think about the type and volume of people we want to attract. Nude rituals would tend to keep away some of the best people.. if for not any other reason than if, for example, a family with younger children was interested. This is kind've a no-brainer I think.
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Academically at least, it should be acknowledged that there was a certain relative social/spiritual intimacy in ancient times. Beyond our control, the West is now both oversexualized and oversensitive to almost everything. Male and/or female non-sexual energy is lost within this condition. The above ritual was clearly an attempt to bring forth the divine feminine, which would be best conducted today in a non-sexualized manner. Our ancient ancestors would not have been socially corrupted by the insanely incongruent "American Pie" (contrasted by the Me Too movement) culture that we live in. If we ever do free ourselves from this clusterbleep, it probably won't be during our lifetimes.
At times, the midnight "witching hour" is of course very appropriate. However, at times the energy might not be there. Someone may have gotten up early, and fifteen or sixteen hours later they may be mentally fatigued. It's often easier to get out and away in the evening, compared to daylight hours, but a daytime ritual may be just as beautiful and more energetic.. and not as dependent on the weather.
One idea that I have mentioned prior, is the utilizing of music in ritual... outdoors. Although an iPod would work, I was thinking more of a group experience. Imagine the 'Wytches Chant' playing amid a forest clearing, upon a full moon, loudly humming through the trees! This is not an original idea, but something that deserves more exploration. A simpler idea would be to sing, individually or as a group. How about singing the Wytches Chant? That hymn is the Neopagan equivalent of 'Amazing Grace'. For the most part, the goddesses in the chant were based on our Almother. Who's to say that you couldn't change the names to reflect this if you felt the need? Personally, I wouldn't feel the need for that. That simple hymn was a work of genius by Inkubus Sukkubus. Call it silly, but the idea of that hymn echoing through the forest--or emanating from a mountaintop--on a warm evening almost gives me goose bumps.
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