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Original post: Dianus

Stregheria is a medieval/archaic Italian word meaning witchcraft. It is also referred to as La Vecchia Religione.
Widespread notoriety of Stregheria was first made available by Charles Leland in his works "Etruscan Roman Remains" and "Aradia: Gospel of Witches."
Many practitioners consider these works to be important in gaining an understanding
of the background of their tradition.

Stregheria has many similarities and differences with Wicca, and in some ways resembles many other culturally-based Neopagan religions. Practices include the celebration of seasonal holidays, ritual magic, and reverence for gods, ancestors, and tradition specific spirits. Stregheria itself has many variant traditions, and individual practices do vary considerably.

Like Wicca, Stregheria makes use of the Pentagram as an important symbol. The usage of the Pentagram can be traced back to the Roman Pythagoreans.
Stregheria uses the ritual tools of cup, wand, pentacle and blade, which are seen in the suits of the tarot and amongst many systems of Western occultism. Stregheria rituals take place in a circle, with an altar facing North. Ritual actions include prayer, and the blessing of food.

The Arician tradition contains a rite of initiation, similar to some Wiccan traditions, and celebrates eight holidays known as Treguendas, as well as the practice of ancestor reverence through spirits known as "Lare."
Practitioners of Stregheria are encouraged to consider themselves as practicing mages or witches, and to believe that magic can have an effect upon reality.
Stregheria contains a specific belief about the influence of spiritual beings on magic. It is believed that the Grigori, or "Watchers," a kind of guardian Lare, must witness the display of prescribed signs and gestures, and that they have the power to negate energy from the astral plane.

The Goddess Diana, The God Dianus/Lucifer, and the Grigori, therefore constitute some of the chief entities with which the Stregherian Mage works. This tradition in many ways seems to echo another legend wherein an elder race known as the Grigori descended to the Earth in ages past and brought the gifts of civilization, and interbred with human men and women.
This excerpt from Leland's "Aradia: Gospel of Witches" will alert the careful reader to such implications.



How Diana Made the Stars and the Rain

Diana was the first created before all creation; in her were all things; out of herself, the first darkness, she divided herself; into darkness and light she was divided. Lucifer, her brother and son, herself and her other half, was the light.

And when Diana saw that the light was so beautiful, the light which was her other half, her brother Lucifer, she yearned for it with exceeding great desire. Wishing to receive the light again into her darkness, to swallow it up in rapture, in delight, she trembled with desire. This desire was the Dawn.

But Lucifer, the light, fled from her, and would not yield to her wishes; he was the light which files into the most distant parts of heaven, the mouse which flies before the cat.

Then Diana went to the fathers of the Beginning, to the mothers, the spirits who were before the first spirit, and lamented unto them that she could not prevail with Lucifer. And they praised her for her courage, they told her that to rise she must fall; to become the chief of goddesses she must become a mortal.

And in the ages, in the course of time, when the world was made, Diana went on earth, as did Lucifer,
who had fallen, and Diana taught magic and sorcery, whence came witches and fairies and goblins--all that is like man, yet not mortal.

And it came thus that Diana took the form of a cat. Her brother had a cat whom he loved beyond all creatures, and it slept every night on his bed, a cat beautiful beyond all other creatures, a fairy: he did not know it.

Diana prevailed with the cat to change forms with her, so she lay with her brother, and in the darkness assumed her own form, and so by Lucifer became the mother of Aradia. But when in the morning he found that he lay by his sister, and that light had been conquered by darkness, Lucifer was extremely angry; but Diana sang to him a spell, a song of power, and he was silent, the song of the night which soothes to sleep; he could say nothing. So Diana with her wiles of witchcraft so charmed him that he yielded to her love. This was the first fascination, she hummed the song, it was as the buzzing of bees (or a top spinning round), a spinning-wheel spinning life. She spun the lives of all men; all things were spun from the wheel of Diana. Lucifer turned the wheel.

I would be happy to address any questions that may arise concerning Stregheria in general, and my personal practice in particular.

Blessings,

Dianus Moonshadowe

Original post: The JuanKurse

What do you suggest for further reading? Any good books / websites ?

Original post: 21stCenturySchizoidMan

A good book that will explain much of this is Raven Grimassi, "Italian Witchcraft"
Dianus: Great post. You might find of interest that I am a composer and have recently finished an orchestral work entitled "Stregherian Nocturne" with movements titled 'The Virgin Tarot' - 'Diana The Holy Strega' - 'Lucifer' - The Golden Dawn of Seduction' - The Dance of La Bella Pelligrina' and 'The Invocation of Aradia'

Thank you for inspiring me to talk about this.

Original post: Dante II

How is the pentacle used as a tool?
And in what way does the pentagram trace back to roman pythagoreans? magikally or aesthetically?

Original post: Dianus

The pentagram and hexagram were both used for protection in ancient Greece (5th cent. BCE). In Babylon, five-, six- and seven-rayed stars were all used. The pentagram appears in the earliest writing of Mesopotamia (precuneiform pictographic writing), c. 3000 BCE, as the Sumerian sign UB. Its meaning in the cuneiform period (by 2600 BCE) seems to be a Heavenly Quarter and also the four directions (forward, backward, left, right); the fifth direction was "above." The four directions corresponded to the planets Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn, with Venus the Queen of Heaven (Schekina) above. These are the "Smaller Planets" (omitting Sun and Moon). Ishtar (Venus) was represented by the Eight-rayed Star

Pythagoras may have become acquainted with the Pentagram during his sojourns in Egypt and Babylon (perhaps 554-533 BCE). Pythagoreans used it as a sign of recognition. They called the Pentagram "Hugieia," which is usually translated as "Health," but has more the sense of Soundness or Wholeness, and, more generally, any Divine Blessing. (Hugieia comes from the same Indo-European root, and gives us "quick" [i.e. living], "viva," "vital," "bios" [life], "zôê" [life] and "azoth." It has been traditionally associated with "vigor", "vigil" and the Latin words "vegetus" [lively, vigorous] and "vegeo" [to quicken], which come from the same Indo-European root at "Wicca" and "Witch.")

Many Italian witches use the pentagram engraved upon a stone as the symbol of Elemental Earth, or foundation, upon their altars.
Magically, the use of the pentagram is more passive than active, but is occasionally drawn in the air as a means of protection from malevolent entities. The rationale behind the pentagram as an image of protection stems from its "holy" numerical associations known as The Tetractys.
The Tetractys, the sequence I-II-III-IIII, which together add to the Decad, was another holy symbol of the Pythagoreans. It would look something like this: I hope this has been useful.

Blessings,
Dianus Moonshadowe

Original post: Dante II

not quite sure of the connection between the tetractys and the pentacle.

My train of thought is that i cant seem to find an actual method of using the pentacle anywhere. Apart from tracing it in the air with my finger... which i am not going to do. Just drawing it in the circle isnt enough of a method by the way... there is nothing worse than doing a spell and finding out it is just a pretty picture. heh.

Original post: 21stCenturySchizoidMan

I believe your answers lie in the books "The Golden Dawn" & " The Black Pullet"
Grimassi's book om 'Italian Witchcraft' as mentioned earlier will also teach you what the Pentacles are used for

Original post: The JuanKurse

Perhaps this article should help make things a bit clearer :
The Pythegorian Pentacle

Original post: 21stCenturySchizoidMan

Perfect TJK!

Original post: Nera

Hello Dianus and everybody,

I read with interest your post.. I only would like to say that Stregheria is much more and includes a lot of "traditions/forms".

If you come to Italy you could see how different is Stregheria/Stregoneria and what a lot of practices exist, really different by that of Arician Tradition..

I think that is time to say that doesn't exist a unic form of Italian Witchcfrat and that the Italian-American Witchcraft is quiet different of the Italian Witchcraft.

I would like to advise some good books about Stregoneria Italiana but they are in italian...

In respect,

Nera

Original post: 21stCenturySchizoidMan

Advise away, I will translate the books.

Original post: Nera

Okay, here there are some books by italian autors/practioners of Italian Witchcraft:

- L' antica stregoneria italiana (autor: Dragon Rouge)
- La Vecchia Religione (autor: Dragon Rouge)
- Autoiniziazione alla Vecchia Religione (autor: Dragon Rouge)
- Vivere la Vecchia Religione (autor Dragon Rouge)
- Il Sabba Italiano (autor: Sheanan e ArdathLili)
- I Canti di Aradia - Il Vangelo delle Streghe Italiane (Charles Godfrey Leland) edited by Aradia Edizioni, it includes a mini book called Il Libro di Aradia (autor: Dragon Rouge)
- Il Vandara (autor: Roberto Rinaldi) That one includes various practices of Witchcraft, and not only the italian one.

These are some of the books I read and that I apprecieted, and wrote by italian practitioners.

See you :-)

In respect,

Nera

Original post: 21stCenturySchizoidMan

Most gracious of you Nera, a wealth of information.
I thank you deeply
21

Original post: Xirian

I agree with 21, Nera. I am pleased to see you here, by the way, and I will most certainly read your information.

[quote=""Nera""]I only would like to say that Stregheria is much more and includes a lot of "traditions/forms".[/quote]
That is true, I believe that Dianus mentioned that there are variations of Stregheria, but I want to understand him better, as there was nothing specific mentioned about these variations.

Dianus, are you saying that Stregheria is similar to Christianity, in that there are many off-shoots of Christianity, like Baptists, etc... and that the same can be said for Stregheria? Are you implying that Stregheria was an organized pagan religion in antiquity in Italy and that it is possibly the basis for many other neopagan religions that we see today? If this is what you are saying, how do you know it was the organized old pagan religion of italy? The statement, "La Vecchia Religione" implies only one old pagan religion of italy. How are you sure that it was the only organized pagan religion of italy?

It is my personal belief that if you study the culture and history of italy, that you will find that many of the beliefs that Raven states in two of his books, Italian Witchcraft and Hereditary Witchcraft, many things are an impossibility. Especially in regards to the Cults, Jannarra, Fanarra, and Tanarra. He makes it seem as if communication between these cults was easy. However, it goes against the obvious fact that many regions in Italy are completely different from the one right next to them in many ways, even to this day. Much like going to another country. They appear to be very consistent in this throughout much of their ancient and modern history. That is still one thing I am trying to understand about Stregheria supposedly being the unified pagan religion of ancient Italy. Perhaps you can explain this to me.

[quote=""Nera""]If you come to Italy you could see how different is Stregheria/Stregoneria and what a lot of practices exist, really different by that of Arician Tradition..

I think that is time to say that doesn't exist a unic form of Italian Witchcfrat and that the Italian-American Witchcraft is quiet different of the Italian Witchcraft.[/quote]
From my studies over the past 6 years on Stregheria, stregoneria, the Etruscans and Italy on a whole, including culture, history and religion, I would have to agree with you Nera.

Original post: Dianus

I am inclined to agree with you, Nera. However, due to the vastness and variations present within the myriad traditions of Italian witchcraft in existence, I believe what Raven presents is certainly "a" tradition, and not "the" tradition of Italian lore. Here in the United States it can be difficult for a practitioner who is interested in such things to reconstruct a workable system. At best most of the accounts we have throughout history are fragmented. What authors like Raven Grimassi do is piece the parts together to make a workable system for seekers who cannot otherwise do this for themselves. I respect this. Many sources that you mentioned are in fact cited in his work on Italian Witchcraft to invite the reader/practitioner to further enrich his/her art. Unfortunately, his works have caused much, in my opinion, needless contention in the witchcraft community. You see a lot of this in Christianity with their varying sets of dogmatic tenets. Witchcraft and the Old Religion was never intended to be dogmatic or fixed in any way, and I really don't feel, based on my personal experience with Raven's material, that it should be considered in any way dogmatic or absolute.
A practitioner of the Old Religion has always taken what is useful in terms of spell work and its related components, and discarded the rest. A very good example of this is found in the personal grimoires of individuals who have copied portions of The Greater Key of Solomon and incorporated it into their art. If approaching the Old Religion from merely a scholarly or academic standpoint, this can be a problem. But this isn't archeology, this is a living, evolving tradition. Tradition is certainly important, but it becomes useless when it restricts free-thought and creativity.
So please, know that I don't claim to have all of the answers. I only share what has worked for and has been of interest to me in the past.

Dianus

Original post: Xirian

[QUOTE=Dianus;248224]I am inclined to agree with you, Nera. However, due to the vastness and variations present within the myriad traditions of Italian witchcraft in existence, I believe what Raven presents is certainly "a" tradition, and not "the" tradition of Italian lore.[/quote]
What my issue is then, you gave a very good an open-minded answer to this question, but when I question Raven about this, he made sure to tell me that it was the old pagan religion of Italy at that time, the only organized pagan religion that worshiped Diana. I find that impossible that he would know such a thing based on the historical information that he has at his fingertips.

[QUOTE=Dianus;248224]Here in the United States it can be difficult for a practitioner who is interested in such things to reconstruct a workable system. At best most of the accounts we have throughout history are fragmented. What authors like Raven Grimassi do is piece the parts together to make a workable system for seekers who cannot otherwise do this for themselves.[/quote]
I agree that this is what he started out doing, but something has changed. I feel that he believes that he has found that Stregheria was the old religion of ancient italy and that his systems, Arician and Aridian are simply offshoots of that ancient religion. (This is what he and some of his followers told me.) That there is fact that Stregheria was the ancient pagan religion of italy and was practiced equally in all parts of italy, especially North and Central, even though it is historically and culturally probably not the case. And that many Italians disagree with his statements and have told him so.

[QUOTE=Dianus;248224]I respect this.[/quote]I would respect it if that was as far as he would have taken things.

[QUOTE=Dianus;248224]Many sources that you mentioned are in fact cited in his work on Italian Witchcraft to invite the reader/practitioner to further enrich his/her art. Unfortunately, his works have caused much, in my opinion, needless contention in the witchcraft community. You see a lot of this in Christianity with their varying sets of dogmatic tenets. Witchcraft and the Old Religion was never intended to be dogmatic or fixed in any way, and I really don't feel, based on my personal experience with Raven's material, that it should be considered in any way dogmatic or absolute.[/quote]
I agree that this was not intended to be fixed in anyway, but perhaps there someone else who should know this as well.

[QUOTE=Dianus;248224]A practitioner of the Old Religion has always taken what is useful in terms of spell work and its related components, and discarded the rest. A very good example of this is found in the personal grimoires of individuals who have copied portions of The Greater Key of Solomon and incorporated it into their art. If approaching the Old Religion from merely a scholarly or academic standpoint, this can be a problem. But this isn't archeology, this is a living, evolving tradition. Tradition is certainly important, but it becomes useless when it restricts free-thought and creativity.[/quote]
I agree with you completely. This is the problem I am having with some of the information in Raven's books. The fact that in order to make the traditions he is forming, which is all fine and good, he is doing it on the backs of those who actually live(d) the tradition that he is taking from. Italians. He is taking their culture and history and twisting parts of it to suit this new tradition of his. He makes claims about things that most likely could not have taken place. He is using Christian titles that were given to witches in a negative way and propogating those titles, so that the word stregheria is not put in connection with stregoneria. He is telling people that those who are Italian or Italian-American and claim to be practioners of stregoneria, are really not practioners of stregoneria, but of catholic folk magic and those who are not practicing catholic folk magic, are evil and only practice baneful magic. (This information is on his website.)

He is doing those who feel that Stregoneria is an old religion of italy a true disservice by teaming up with the Christians who persecuted them and Wiccans for that matter and claiming they are bad or do not know what they actually worship and that only he knows.

He is claiming that because some of his family is from Italy, that he knows and understands how things about italy really are, but if you talk to italians, you would hear many contradictions to his statements. The fact that he has claimed to not speak Italian or to never have even visited Italy (this information can be found at Mystic Wicks in Raven Grimassi's posts when asked these questions), speaks volumes to me about the accuracy of his information. Maybe not to some, but to me and many italians that I speak to about this very subject.

I would prefer if he simply said that he has found a religion that he thinks was practiced in antiquity in Italy, that worshiped Diana. That he has named it Stregheria and believe that it may be the old religion, but that his traditions from it are from Wiccan beliefs mixed with what he believes are ancient Italian beliefs. And stop doing the italian people such a disservice.

[QUOTE=Dianus;248224]So please, know that I don't claim to have all of the answers. I only share what has worked for and has been of interest to me in the past.

Dianus[/QUOTE]
I do understand and thank you for trying to answer my questions.

Original post: Xirian

By the way, I am eager to be proven wrong. This will also be a way to get my questions answered, perhaps not the best way, but I've tried being straight forward and asking questions to the source flat out, and I have been met with elusive answers, personal flaming of my person, circular arguments and just plain ignorance to my questions.

So, at this point, I'll take it anyway I can get it. I just want truthful answers to my questions even if those answers are, "I don't know". At least then I will be able to move on and learn more about this particular religion of Stregheria. I have been met with many blocks to my questions in the past, and frankly, I do not believe the source actually has the answers that I'm looking for, but I am ever hopeful.

So for now, I will move on with studying and practicing Stregoneria, something that I actually feel a connection to completely, and leave Stregheria for the rest, until my questions are asnwered sufficiently.

Original post: Nera

[QUOTE=Dianus;248224]
So please, know that I don't claim to have all of the answers. I only share what has worked for and has been of interest to me in the past.

Dianus[/QUOTE]


Hi Dianus,
Thank you for your post.

I know that you' re sharing what you know about Stregheria, I also use to talk about what I know by my studing and my practices.

But to talk about Italian Wicthcraft is really really hard..

Well, I don't have nothing more to say for the moment, 'cause I agree with Xirian in big part of her messages :-)

Hugs

Nera

Original post: *rasenna*

[QUOTE=Xirian;248095]Are you implying that Stregheria was an organized pagan religion in antiquity in Italy and that it is possibly the basis for many other neopagan religions that we see today? If this is what you are saying, how do you know it was the organized old pagan religion of italy? The statement, "La Vecchia Religione" implies only one old pagan religion of italy.[/QUOTE]

I think you're painting here with too broad a brush. Personally I've never heard anyone claim Italy had only one pagan religion. Certainly Stregheria is only one sect within paganism. To my knowledge the title "La Vecchia Religione" isnâ??t meant to be taken as broad and literally as you seem to have done. Consider for example, by parallel, that the word "Christianity" doesn't mean that all Christian denominations are the same. Even the term "The Christian Faith" doesn't reflect the different beliefs and practices that can be found in the denominational churches of Christianity. Likewise the term "The Old Religion" refers only to a commonality of core beliefs and not to pockets of clones spead across Italy.

[QUOTE=Xirian;248095]It is my personal belief that if you study the culture and history of italy, that you will find that many of the beliefs that Raven states in two of his books, Italian Witchcraft and Hereditary Witchcraft, many things are an impossibility. [/QUOTE]

And yet several 19th century folklorists in Italy, who performed field studies among people claiming to be witches, discovered almost identical beliefs and practices. Among the folklorists were J.B. Andrews in Naples, Roma Lister in Florence, and Lady De Vere in Rome. These were independent field studies. Despite regional differences, different dialects, and different cultural folk ways, the investigations uncovered more in common than not. So in this light the "impossibility" vanishes in light of the facts.

[QUOTE=Xirian;248095]That is still one thing I am trying to understand about Stregheria supposedly being the unified pagan religion of ancient Italy.[/QUOTE]

I think you misunderstood something.

[QUOTE=Xirian;248253]What my issue is then, you gave a very good an open-minded answer to this question, but when I question Raven about this, he made sure to tell me that it was the old pagan religion of Italy at that time, the only organized pagan religion that worshiped Diana. I find that impossible that he would know such a thing based on the historical information that he has at his fingertips.[/QUOTE]

Two things strike me odd about your statement. As one of Raven's assistants I know he does not personally believe as indicated in your statements, and so it seems questionable that he would say to you what he never says to anyone else or in his writings.

The second thing that strikes me odd is that Raven has no recollection of private communication with you. Now this could be that you used a different name, but again what you claim he said doesn't fit with his personal beliefs. He does know the name you use here as the same one you use on the Mystic Wicks forum. But on that forum you made it clear in your public posts that you ignore him on the forums. So I think true communication between you two is a problem.

[QUOTE=Xirian;248253] This is the problem I am having with some of the information in Raven's books. The fact that in order to make the traditions he is forming, which is all fine and good, he is doing it on the backs of those who actually live(d) the tradition that he is taking from. Italians.[/QUOTE]

That's laughable since he was actually taught by native Italians. I and others have personally met and know his Italian relatives, his mother included.

[QUOTE=Xirian;248253]He is using Christian titles that were given to witches in a negative way and propogating those titles, so that the word stregheria is not put in connection with stregoneria. [/QUOTE]

Actually he is reclaiming an older word (stregheria) which was used to denote Italian witchcraft as it relates to the veneration of the goddess Diana. In 1751, Girolama produced his work titled Apologia del congresso notturno delle lammie which depicts "stregheria" as the worship of Diana, and "stregoneria" as simple sorcery. So it's an old idea, and it's not one invented by Grimassi.

[QUOTE=Xirian;248253] He is telling people that those who are Italian or Italian-American and claim to be practioners of stregoneria, are really not practioners of stregoneria, but of catholic folk magic and those who are not practicing catholic folk magic, are evil and only practice baneful magic. (This information is on his website.)[/QUOTE]

Again that's not Grimassi's position. He believes that stregoneria has ancient roots and was once part of Stregheria (its magical practices versus its religious practices). But, as he has written and lectured on many times, he believes that stregoneria became Christianized and transformed over the centuries into a Catholic-based system of sorcery. As far as the label of evil goes, any Italian dictionary defines stregoneria as evil or harmful. You can't blame Grimassi for that view. But in any case I've never heard him say that he feels stregoneria is evil. Where did you come up with that?

[QUOTE=Xirian;248253] He is doing those who feel that Stregoneria is an old religion of italy a true disservice by teaming up with the Christians who persecuted them and Wiccans for that matter and claiming they are bad or do not know what they actually worship and that only he knows.[/QUOTE]

Once again you appear to be misinformed regarding what Grimassi believes, writes about, and lectures on.

Original post: Venefica

The book Italian Witchcraft was recommended. But from the rewivs on Amazon it seams many do not think this book is about strega but rather is about wiccan like witchcraft whit a twist. Is it really a good book on strega?

Original post: *rasenna*

[QUOTE=Venefica;272388]I am a bit interested in Stregheria and I was wondering if anyone could recommend any good books on the subject? I would be very thankful for any suggestions and advice.[/QUOTE]

There are very few books in Enlgish. For English books, Italian Witchcraft (by Raven Grimassi) and his book Hereditary Witchcraft, present material on the subject. The first one blends some Wiccan elements as it presents a modern system along with a look at very old authentic elements of the Italian Craft.

You can also check out this website for some good articles:

http://www.stregheria.com


[QUOTE=Venefica;272522]The book Italian Witchcraft was recommended. But from the rewivs on Amazon it seams many do not think this book is about strega but rather is about wiccan like witchcraft whit a twist. Is it really a good book on strega?[/QUOTE]

The book actually has a four star rating, which indicates that more people found it of value than did not.

Original post: Xirian

I don't know that I trust your comments *Rasenna*, but what does that matter to you or RG for that matter? lol