Festivals of the Moon

originally published

March 1, 2011

Greetings! Instead of a two-for-one special month, you get a three-for-one special! The theme for this month’s spells is centered on the Moon and the sacred days that fall in February for two Moon Goddesses. Selene had two festivals set aside for her, February 7th through the 9th and February 27th. Diana had a feast day this month as well, February 12th. February 7-9 and February 27th: The Day of Selene (Day of Diana) Selene, the goddess of the Full Moon, is one of the original, and sadly a minor, Greek deity. Selene was described as a beautiful silvery woman with wings and a golden or crescent crown. Her name means “radiant” and she was called The Radiant One or the Bright-Dressed Queen. Selene began as a deity unto herself, but over time she became synchronized with Artemis (the Roman Diana) and Hecate. When Selene was “adopted” by the Romans, they renamed her as Luna (who was also comparable to Hecate by the Romans) for obvious reasons. Selene was also sometimes called Phoebe/Phoebus (the Bright Moon), Helene or Mene. The name Mene was a reference to how the Moon’s shape would change over the course of the month. It is also important to note that there is also a Phrygian Moon God named Men or Mene. Who her parents were is a matter up for debate. Some say that Selene’s father is the Titan Hyperion while others believe it was the Sun God Helios. In either case, her mother is the Titaness Thea/Theia (sometimes called Tethys), the Titan of Light. When Helios isn’t named as her father, he is named as her brother, and as such, Selene is thought of as both the sister and the spouse of the Sun. Selene also has two sisters; Phoebus Apollo and Eos, whose name means “the Dawn”. Selene also had children of her own. There is a story where she was so beautiful that Zeus couldn’t help himself (and when did he, really?) and gave her three daughters; Pandia, Erse and Nemea. And some say that Selene is the mother of Leto and Hecate. And it seems that Zeus wasn’t the only one caught up in Selene’s radiant beauty. It’s said that the woodland god Pan greatly loved her. The poet Virgil told of how he lured Selene into his home with a white sheep’s fleece. Her worshippers loved her as well. They built for her a temple on Rome’s Aventine Hill. To the ancient Greeks, Selene was the second aspect of the Triple Goddess along with Hecate and Artemis (who became Diana to the Romans). Although she represented the Full Moon, the Greeks worshipped her at both the Full moon and the New Moon. They did so because they felt that Selene had power over the fecundity of Earth’s life forms. And, during the Hellenistic era, they also felt that the Moon was the destination of the dead. And, the mysterious Moon has long been associated with magic and enchantments. Selene has long been a protectress of magicians, said to be the teacher of magicians and sorcerers, and holds great importance is Spell-Work. Call upon Selene when searching for a solution to a problem, for love spells, for intuition and women’s rights. If Selene appears as the Moon in your dreams, this is an auspicious omen that is thought of as favorable for travelers and business people. Because of her association with the Moon, she is tied to the tides of the ocean and her herb is Moonwort. Selene’s time is the Full Moon, a seven-day period (three days before the Full Moon, the day of the Full Moon and three days after the Full Moon) and it is her power that is invoked during the Drawing Down the Moon Ritual. Selene isn’t only associated with the Moon, she is also aligned with the planet Mercury. She has two stones; the Moonstone for obvious reasons, and Selenite which was named after her. Besides the metal Silver, Selene is associated with Iron because it was so abundant in meteorites. Selene is often depicted riding on a bull, horse or a mule or driving a lunar chariot that is pulled by either two white winged horses (the Pegasus) or oxen (whose horns represent the crescent Moon). Her chariot had a specific purpose, she used it to guide the Moon through the heavens each night. Selene is best known for her love affair with a mortal by the name of Endymion. She had been with many men, both mortal and god, but she always made sure to never get emotionally attached. At least, not until she spied the young Endymion; who was a shepherd, hunter, or the King of Elis, depending on which story you read. Regardless as to his station in life, Selene noticed Endymion’s beauty and was absolutely fascinated. In the more popular version of the tale, Endymion is a shepherd that falls asleep on Mount Latmus one night. This is when Selene first sees him. Her job is to guide the Moon through the night skies, but she slacks in her duties so she can spend time with Endymion. Night after night, while the shepherd sleeps on the mountain, Selene visits him in his sleep. She caresses him and showers him with kisses. In one version of the story, he awakens and finds himself as enamored with her as she is with him. He wishes to spend eternity with Selene and begs Zeus for help. Zeus agrees to grant Endymion immortality on one condition; that he stays asleep for all eternity. In the other version of the story, Endymion does not awaken on his own. Instead, Selene visits Endymion on a nightly basis instead of guiding the Moon. The other gods notice that Selene is not doing her job and reports this to Zeus, who is not pleased to say the least. To intervene, Zeus calls Endymion to stand before him and gives him a choice. Although Endymion is innocent in this matter, Zeus tells him to choose between a death in a manner of his own choosing, or an ageless, immortal sleep from which he would never wake. Endymion chose life over death and it is said that he sleeps to this day with his eyes wide open in a dark Carian cave on Mount Latmus. And, of course, Selene still visits him on a regular basis. This explains away the waxing and waning of the Moon. When Selene, as the Moon, visits Endymion, the Moon wanes away until it is no longer visible in the sky. Then as she returns to guiding the Moon through the night sky, the Moon waxes yet again and becomes Full. From these visits, Endymion has fathered fifty daughters with Selene. Endymion represents the part of the brain that is influenced by the Moon’s phases, divine dreaming and the “sleeping” part of the brain. This is the part of the mind that is receptive during times of rest (sleeping, meditating or daydreaming), when we can be fertilized with creativity. Endymion also gave his name to the Bluebell flower. THE SPELL Since Selene is best known for her love affair with Endymion, this spell will focus on love. After all, February has the holiday Valentine’s Day and perhaps you currently do not have a ‘Valentine’ of your own. Supplies: a bowl of saltwater, one of Selene’s stones (either Moonstone or Selenite) either on a pendant or a stone small enough to fit inside your pocket, incense, lighter Gather all of your supplies on your altar. Either create Sacred Space or cast a Circle in the manner of your tradition. Call Selene to aid in your spell work: “Tonight I call to the Radiant One, Lady of the Moon, Sister to the Sun; I ask that you bring love’s embrace to me, With a love so deep as the sparkling sea.” Pick up the stone, and cleanse it with the saltwater while saying: “By the power of Water and Earth, A new phase of my life is now birthed; I cleanse this stone of negativity, As my will, so mote it be.” Now light the incense and use the smoke to cleanse the stone while saying: “By the power of Air and Fire, I draw forth my heart’s desire; I cleanse this stone of negativity, As my will, so mote it be.” Hold the stone up to the sky while saying: “I ask for your aid, Bright-Dress Queen, Bring to me the man/woman of my dreams; Make this stone my amulet, Bringing love to me like a magnet; I will carry this stone with me everyday, Until to my heart he/she finds his/her way; The one that is best suited for me, As my will, so mote it be!” Hold the stone next to your head, and give thanks to Selene either in your own words of by saying: “I give thanks to you, the Radiant One, Lady of the Moon, Sister to the Sun; For the good of all and with harm to none, So say I, so shall it be done.” Carry the stone on your person for the next Moon. February 12th: Roman Festival of Diana Diana was a Roman goddess, based off of the Greek Artemis, and one of the deities worshipped by practitioners of Strega (Italian Witchcraft). The most ancient name for the goddess in Italian Witchcraft is Uni, but the most common is Diana. Diana has other names that are used to call upon her, depending upon which of her aspects you wish to employ or which tradition you happen to follow; Tana, Losna, Atimite or Jana. Although Diana’s obvious roots are in the Greek Artemis, she is more ancient than that. Artemis was a reformation of the Cretan-Minoan goddess Britomartis and Cretan-Greek goddess Dictynna. Artemis wasn’t the only Cretan goddess to be assimilated into the Greek mythos, but she may be one of the most famous. Artemis/Diana came to be known by other names over the years, including the Greek Nemetona, the Roman Nemorensis and the Romano-Celtic Nemetona. As a Roman ‘incarnation’ of Artemis, Diana kept many of her attributes. She was a virgin in the original sense of the word; she was self-sufficient and belonged to herself. Like her predecessor, Diana protected animals and young and helpless humans. She is unmarried and not a mother, but she was protective of animals, children and women in labor. Pregnant with possibility and in charge of fertility, she is the midwife who watches over the birth of life in all its forms; human, animal and vegetation. As a woodland and nature goddess, called the Lady of the Wild Beasts or the Ruler of the Wildwood, Diana lived in the forest, loved the sparkling water and roamed over moonlit hills accompanied by dancing nymphs. These nymphs were symbolic of the carefree and youthful part of the psyche. Animals under her dominion included lions, tigers, panthers, wolves, hounds, and deer. As a Moon goddess, her color is white, she wears a crescent-shaped crown and carries a torch (which links her to Hecate). As a Huntress, she always had with her a crescent-moon shaped bow and a quiver of arrows. This is her Death aspect, and she is either pictured next to hunting dogs or a stag. This is the aspect where she is linked to Hecate and the combination of their two names is common in the lore of the ancients. Like a Virgin? It is said that Diana was virginal like Artemis, her predecessor. And this may have been true, for a while. But because she was also a Mother Earth Goddess, it was unlikely that Diana was a virgin in the sexual sense. Most likely she was a virgin in the true sense of the word; that she belonged to no man and only belonged to herself. Offerings were made to Diana at her Temple at Lake Nemi. Archeologists have discovered offerings of the phallus and the vulva made of stone, which not only suggests fertility but also suggests that Diana was not virginal is the sexual sense. The Ephesian Diana, who began as the Ephesian Artemis, was depicted with numerous breasts that were exposed to an assortment of woodland creatures. This also suggests that both Artemis and Diana were goddesses of fertility and motherhood. Offerings were also made to Diana by pregnant women for safe and easy childbirth. Sometimes Diana was linked to the goddess Juno who was also known as Juno Lucina. In this aspect, Juno was the goddess of both light and childbirth, and she conducted the soul into this world, bringing the newborn baby into the light. Diana, the Goddess of the Moon Today it is quite common to think of the Sun being masculine and the Moon being feminine, but this is not always true for all cultures and this may not have always been true for Diana. It has been theorized that Diana was originally the goddess of both the Moon and the Sun because she was the Queen of the Open Sky. Long before temples were built for her, she was originally worshipped only outdoors under the canopy of the heavens. The Scythians had assigned Artemis/Diana as the deity of the Sun and it wasn’t until her adoption by the Greeks that she became a lunar deity and her solar attributes were assigned to her twin brother Apollo. The early Italians did not have a god for the Sun, and only after “adopting” Artemis and transforming her into Diana, they also “adopted” Apollo for that purpose. Diana, and the masculine version Dianus, comes from Latin adjectives that mean “light”, “luminous’ and Luminous sky”; and both the Sun and the Moon give off light. Ancient writers such as Cicero and Catullus wrote how Diana got her name from being a light-bringer and lighting up the night. The Moon and magick have been intricately linked since ancient times. Diana has been called upon for fertility, love and issues concerning female reproduction. In literature Moon magick was associated with Artemis, Diana, Hecate, Persephone, Prosperina and Selene. Those that worshipped Diana at Lake Nemi believed that she and the souls of her dead worshippers lived on the Moon. Lake Nemi was also called “Diana’s Mirror” because when standing at the temple ruins (which were located at the northeast shore of the lake), the Moon’s reflection appeared upon the watery surface. Strega mythology tells that the dark areas of the Moon were the sacred groves where Diana hunted with her dogs and the brighter areas were the fields. Moonlight was considered to be the power of the Moon itself and therefore the power of Diana as well as the source of the power of the Witch. During the evolution of the Lunar Cult, the Moon became the symbol of the presence of deity. To capture the power that the lunar goddesses wielded, ancient artists depicted both Hecate and Diana Lucifera as holding torches. Later, to capture this same concept, worshippers would begin to use candlelight, torches and bonfires during their rituals to try to incite the power of the moonlight. Ancient writers, including the poet Horace (30 BCE) said that Witches would draw the Moon down from the sky (Drawing Down the Moon). Most people see the Moon as having three phases that line up with the Triple Goddess; the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. But there are actually four Moon phases and each one has a significant role to play.

• The Full Moon is under the power of the Mother and the goddess Selene or Jana. This is the time of energy; it’s when Diana hands over the power to Selene. Hereditary Italian Witches see the Full Moon as under the domain of Losna who is the goddess Diana as the Great Mother.

• The Waning Moon or Last Quarter is under the power of the Crone and the goddess Mania or Manea who is the goddess of departed souls and the spirits of the night. This is the time for decline, death and stagnation.

• The Dark Moon is under the power of the Enchantress and the goddess Hecate. This is when the Moon is invisible for three days. Hereditary Italian witches see this phase as being under the domain of Underworld goddess Umbrea, whose name means “shadow”. Dis, the God of the Dead is her husband. Shadows, secrets and hidden things are under her power.

• The New Moon or Waxing Moon or First Quarter is under the power of the Maiden and the goddess Diana. This is the time of new beginnings and growth. Sometimes the Dark Moon is also called the New Moon, which can be confusing.

The New Moon gets its name because after three days, the Crone comes out of hiding and peeks out in the sky as the Maiden. At this point the Moon is a thin sliver or sickle in the night sky and is often called Diana’s Bow. This is a reference to the silver celestial longbow of the Huntress who shoots a fiery arrow across the night sky. Diana was sometimes not just the Mother or Full Moon, but also the Trinity; Maiden, Mother and Crone. There was an Italian Witch Cult during the Middle Ages worshipped Diana exclusively. To differentiate between her three phases and to evoke a certain aspect of the Goddess, her name was pronounced differently. For the Maiden, she was called die-anna; for the Mother, she was called dee-ah-nah and as the Crone, she was called dea-nuh. The Feminine Trinity and the Goddess of the Crossroads Diana was also known as Diana Triformis; the Triple Goddess or the Maiden-Mother-Crone. In the first century BCE, the Roman poet Catullus wrote that Diana was a threefold goddess as well as being the Queen of the Underworld. Hecate was known as the Queen of the Underworld, and she and Diana were linked, as well as Juno. The image of the Triple Goddess was also the precursor for the Three Fates which later became the Norns of northern Europe. In the 1st century BCE, the Roman scholar Varro wrote that Diana was the Trivian Titaness Hecate, and they both were called Trivia because both of their images were seen at Greek crossroads. For safe travel, Diana is invoke in her aspect of Diana of the Crossways. Diana’s Sacred Days Diana ha a few feast days throughout the year, but her most significant is August 13th. February 12: Roman Festival of Diana in Rome May 15: Roman Festival of Diana May 26-31: Roman Festival of Diana August 3: Roman Festival of Diana August 17: Roman Festival of Diana and Festival of Selene August 13 and August 15: Holy Festival Day of Diana (Nemoralia) and the Festival of Hecate

• This was a slave’s holiday

• Hunting dogs were crowned but kept on leashes so they would not harm any woodland creatures

• Wild animals had a reprieve from hunting

• Children were purified

• Women made their way to the Temple of Diana in Diana’s grove at Aricia so they could give thanks for the previous year and to ask her to keep the Autumn storms at bay so the harvest would be safe from destruction

• Later the worshippers moved to Aventine Hill in the city of Rome where women would converge to her shrine. Here they ritually washed their hair and requested Diana to aid them in childbirth.

• A ritual meal was prepared and people feasted on goat kid, apples still attached to their boughs and cakes that were dished up on leaves

• Later, this date became a holy day in the Church, the Catholic feast day of Mary’s Assumption to heaven

Totemic Animals of Diana Diana, like many other deities associated with Witchcraft, was thought to possess the power to shape-shift, or transform themselves into the form of an animal. Diana also had many totemic power animals linked to her and her worship. Antelope/Gazelle: Diana was associated with the antelope as well as the gazelle. Bear: the bear came from Diana’s predecessor, Artemis as the prefix “art” means “bear”. As Diana was called upon to aid in childbirth, the image of the bear or an amulet of the bear claw was worn by the woman in labor. Those women not in childbirth would wear the amulet to increase their physical strength and now some wear it to invoke the powers of Diana. Bee: this was one of Diana’s symbols that represented plenty, fertility, wisdom, happiness and prosperity. Because it was a lunar and feminine symbol, the bee was also associated with the goddesses Artemis, Venus, Demeter, Cybele and Rhea. The High Priest of Diana was known as the Essen, or the King Bee. Later, the bee when pictured inside of the mouth of a lion, became the symbol for the Word of God by the Christians. As such, it was symbolic of the Great Revealer. Some scholars theorize that the fleur-de-lys, the royal symbol used by Charlemagne, was actually derived form the bee and not a flower. Boar/Pig: In artwork Diana was seen with the head of a boar which represented her triumph in the hunt as well as the triumph over enemies. There is even a woodcut showing the Roman Emperor Trajan worshipping Diana by burning incense and a boar’s head is in the tree branches. Bull/Oxen: Like many other Moon goddesses, Diana was associated with the Bull since the horns resemble the Crescent Moon. Sacrifices of bulls were made as late as the 17th century on August 13th in some parts of England. Cat: Diana, like Artemis before her was called the Mother of Cats. Diana, as Artemis before her, has been linked to the Egyptian goddess Bast which was called Pasht in her darker aspect as well as Pakhet which was an Artemis-Bast hybrid. Deer/Stag: Both Diana and the stag have been long associated with the Witch Cult and in her classic Roman statue, she has a stag next to her. Diana the Moon Goddess being associated with the stag goes back as far as the 4th millennium BCE where religious reliefs showed deer alongside crescent Moons. The earliest statuary also had a stag next to her. The stag represents the woodland and horned consort of this otherwise unmatched goddess. Other artistic depictions showed Diana with the woodland god Pan, who would be a ‘domesticated’ version of the wild stag. From Diana comes the Season of the Stag and the Season of the Wolf. Dogs/Wolves: Dogs or hounds are domesticated wolves and accompanied Diana, Artemis, Hecate, Cybele and the Celtic goddess Nehalennia. Wolves have been long associated with the Moon and therefore sacred to lunar goddesses. This link goes as far back to ancient artifacts which depict wolves alongside crescent moons. Later, goddesses like Artemis and Diana were portrayed with hunting dogs. These hounds didn’t always represent the positive aspects of the Moon, however. Packs of hunting dogs called the Alani represented the Moon’s dangerous energies. Mice: In the lore of Italian Witchcraft (Strega), Diana made the stars from mice. In the book Aradia: or the Gospel of the Witches, many references are made that link Diana with mice. Another connection between Diana and mice is through the god Apollo, her brother-consort, as he was also sometimes called Smintheus, the Mouse God. Serpent/Snake: there are many links between Diana and the Madonna or Mother Mary. The Church taught that it wasn’t just her son, but also Mary as well that would defeat the “evil serpent” (Lucifer). This concept came from images of Diana, who was sometimes pictured holding the severed head of a snake in one of her hands. Unicorns: Diana, like Artemis before her, was depicted as driving a chariot that was pulled by eight Unicorns. Perhaps this chariot was passed down form Selene and it may go as far back as artwork from ancient Sumeria. Metals, Stones and Crystals of Diana Because of her lunar associations, Diana’s metal is silver. Alchemists even named the metal after her, calling it either Luna or Diana. They also used the symbol of the crescent Moon as the symbol for the metal. As for crystals and other stones, Diana is associated with amethyst, pearl, moonstone and chalcedony, which is sacred to her and should be either kept on her shrine or worn by her followers when worshipping her. Moonstone is an obvious choice and this was the stone of choice for the carving of the image of the Ephesian Diana. Anther stone that is considered special to Diana is a holed stone, a stone that has one or more holes naturally bored through them. These stones are considered feminine, have been used during fertility rites and are said to bring the finder good fortune and luck from Diana. Before statuary, stones were one of the earliest representations for a Moon deity. Sometimes they were cone-shaped which would explain why it was said that these stones had fallen from the sky. Other times, they were in the form of a crude pillar. The Plants and Trees of Diana Sacred to Diana are Acacia, Apple, Beech, Dittany, Fennel, Fir, Hazel, Ivy, Jasmine, Mandrake, Moonwort, Mugwort, Mulberry, Oak, Poppy, Rue, Sycamore, Verbena, Vervain, Walnut and Wormwood. Apple: not only sacred to Diana, but offered to other goddesses as well including Cerridwen, Dame Holda, Demeter, Hera, Kore, Celtic Crone goddesses and even the Virgin Mary. Oak: this tree has had a long association with Diana, at least since one stood in her grove at Lake Nemi. Rue: Rue is sacred to both Diana and her daughter Aradia, who are both the Protectress of Witches and Magicians. Because Rue is a plant that has three branches, it represents Diana in her triple aspect; Diana Triformis. This herb has uses in Italian Witchcraft (Strega); because it was sacred to Atimite/Artimiti (Diana) by the Etruscans, sprigs were used to make charms. Vervain: Because of its five petals, the Vervain blossom symbolizes protection and magick. Its connection with Diana is due to her being the Queen of the Witches and the Queen of the Faeries. Sycamore: the Sycamore Tree is associated with the many-breasted Ephesian Diana because its fruit grows on the stalk instead of on the branches. This fruit also produces a milky-fluid so the tree has been called both the Mother Tree and the Tree of Life. Walnut: the Walnut has been associated with Diana and the Faeries since the times of Italian Witchcraft if not before. It is sacred to practitioners of Strega as well as to the goddesses Prosperina and Hecate. Diana in Northern and Western Europe It has been theorized that Diana made her way to the peoples of Northern and Western Europe, albeit in other ‘incarnations’. British mythology tells how Diana instructed Brutus, the Prince of Troy to flee to Britain after the city fell. Brutus is said to have founded the British royal family. The story goes on to say that Brutus built an altar devoted to Diana at the modern-day site of St. Paul’s Cathedral. One theory is that the Irish goddess Dana is a variation of the Roman Diana and that the Tuatha de Danaan, “the peoples of the goddess Dana”, were a group of Diana worshippers who migrated from the Mediterranean/Aegean region. Here is the basis for this theory. The name “Dana” is D-Ana and it means “the goddess Ana” and the name “Diana” is Di-Ana which means “the divine Ana”. The Romans, who occupied Britain for nearly 400 years, would have brought the name “Diana” with them. Also, Diana was the Queen of the Faeries, and the Tuatha de Danaan were considered to be the originators of the Celtic Faeries in mythology. They were said to have had superior technology, and the peoples of the Mediterranean/Aegean region were known to be more advanced than those of the Northern and Western Europeans. Other Irish goddesses that may have roots in the goddess Diana are the Cally Berry, Flidais and Brigit. Cally Berry, who is possibly equated with the Scottish Cailleach, has been linked to Diana (and Artemis before her). Flidais is a goddess of the woodland and its creatures. She is sometimes called the Mistress of Stags and her name means “deer”. Brigit is a goddess who can also be linked to Hecate and Vesta/Hestia. Like Diana, she was a patroness of women in labor and she provided like a Mother Goddess. Other Celtic goddess that might be “relatives” of Diana are Abnoba and Arduinna. Diana and the Arthurian Legend Nimue, which is also sometimes spelled Vivienne, is either the Lady of the Lake or her daughter, depending upon which version of the story you are told. In either version, she is the unscrupulous lover of Merlin who craved more and more power. Some scholars believe that this section of the Arthurian legend was not part of the original tale and was added later, most likely to reduce the power of a powerful woman. Nimue is deeply connected to the goddess Diana. Nimue’s father, Dionas (whose name is derived from Diana’s), was a hunter who worshipped the goddess who claimed him as his godson. It is also possible that Nimue is the daughter of Diana. Nimue was often called “The Huntress” which ties her to Diana. Also, Merlin knew who her mother was, and Nimue a story about the Lake of Diana, named after the goddess, but he never told her about the connection. Another connection between Nimue and Diana is the White Hart or the White Doe. This is a shape that a Faery will take when appearing before a human. The Faery Cult of Medieval Sicily was well documented by the Inquisitors who linked Diana with the Faeries as she was called the Queen of the Faeries. The Lady of the Lake’s predecessor was likely the Water Nymph Egeria. She was linked to the stream that flowed from the sacred grove directly into Lake Nemi. Another iconic symbol of the Arthurian mythos is the sword Excalibur. King Arthur’s sword, which gave him power to rule, may have originally started out as a staff, a staff of the Lake Nemi’s King of the Sanctuary, the Guardian of the Grove, also called the Nemorensis, the King of the Grove or the Hooded One. Whoever was strong enough to draw the sword from the stone or strong enough to break the branch from the tree was the man who would rule. The tree in question was the sacred oak, which represented the Sun God, the Moon Goddess’ counterpart. And, to be balanced, you can’t have a sword without a cauldron (the Holy Grail) in the Arthurian legend. The Celtic Cauldron of Cerridwen is a cauldron that combines the three different cauldrons into one; the Cauldron of Transformation, the Cauldron of Rebirth and the Cauldron of Inspiration. This is another link to the Triple Moon Goddess; the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. The Devil’s in the Details Diana has been the victim of the Church for a long time now. As stated before, Diana’s roots lie in the Greek Artemis whose cult thrived throughout the Mediterranean area during the Bronze Age. The Amazons built a temple to Artemis at Ephesus around 900 BCE. It was shaped like a beehive and was considered the Seventh Wonder of the world. Inside was a statue of the Black Artemis which later became the Black Diana (and also made way for the Black Isis and the Black Madonna). In 380 CE, the Roman Emperor Theodosius, allegedly because he hated the female religion, closed the temple and in 400 CE, the statue was destroyed by the early Christians because of Diana’s worshippers were supposedly “devil worshippers”. Sadly, Diana and Witchcraft in general, has had a longtime link to Satan by the Church. This misconception usually comes from Diana’s link to Lucifer; her brother, lover and the father of Aradia. In the book Aradia: the Gospel of the Witches, Leland tells us that both Diana and Lucifer were deities of the light, the light of night and the light of day, respectively. Both of these lights were vital to the lifecycles of not only plant and animals, but humans as well. Because of this, both Diana and Lucifer were worshipped; Lucifer turns the Wheel of Fate while Diana weaves web of human life. They were considered consorts to each other due to the fact that Venus, the Morning and Evening Star (Lucifer) was often seen in the night sky next to the Moon (Diana). Diana’s roots come from Artemis, whose brother and consort was the Sun God Apollo. It has been theorized that Apollo can be equated to the stag-horned woodland god Cernunnos. As the Greek Artemis transformed into the Roman Diana, Apollo also transformed into either Aplu or Dianus, her brother and consort. Apollo is also linked to Lucifer, who was originally a Roman god of the planet Venus, known as the Morning and Evening Star at that time. Lucifer became the name for the Church’s boogieman and therefore Diana and her worshippers were evil. Trial transcripts recorded during the Inquisition showed that despite torture, those of the Italian Witch Cult repeatedly attested that they worshipped the Goddess and not Satan. In an effort to further demonize her (pun intended), the Church also turned Diana into Herodias, the wife of King Herod. This was the woman that was responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist. In the story, she is transformed by God into a demon that will live for all eternity, but is condemned to wander through the sky during the day, but from midnight until dawn she allowed to rest in the branches of trees. Later, during the time of Italian Witchcraft lore, Herodias became Aradia, the daughter of Diana and Lucifer. Some eve say that the name “Aradia” comes from the name Herodias. During the early Middle Ages, the Church also put Diana in charge of the Teutonic Wild Hunt, the “evil” procession of female souls that destroyed the countryside on their way to the Witches Sabbath. Supposedly, these souls were from those people that had either died violently or had not been buried. The Canon Episcopi, which was an ecclesiastical law written in the tenth century, stated that the woman who had sent their souls to ride in the Wild Hunt, had been tricked by Satan who was masquerading as Diana and that even though they had been seduced, they were still wicked. Dianic Wicca The western European traditions of Witchcraft can be linked to Margaret Murray, a prominent British Egyptologist and Anthropologist of the early 1900s. Sadly, Murray relied heavily on the above-mentioned Canon Episcopi on developing her ideas about a Dianic Cult which she believed had survived throughout the Middle Ages and the centuries of the Witch Hunt. Murray wrote that the feminine form of the god of Italian Witchcraft, Dianus (sometimes called Lucifer), was the goddess Diana who was known as the Queen of the Witches throughout Western Europe and called the religion of these Witches the Dianic Cult. In the mid-1900s, these ideas were embraced by Gerald Gardner who was prominent in the British Witchcraft revival. In the 1970s, Zsuzsuanna Budapest founded a tradition of Witchcraft called Dianic Wicca. It is goddess-centered focusing mostly on Diana and while it excludes gods, it does not exclude male practitioners. Dianic Wicca is a blend of many different traditions and does not require initiation. Another Moon Goddess in the Dianic Tradition is Selene who is called upon for solving problems. How Diana Gave Birth to Aradia According to Leland’s Aradia: Or the Gospel of the Witches, Aradia was the daughter of Diana and was sent to Earth by her to revive the Old Religion. How Aradia came to be conceived is an interesting story. According to the lore, Diana was the first to be created and within her resided all things. She divided herself into two halves, one being darkness and the other being light. Diana was the darkness and Lucifer/Dianus was her brother and the light. Being opposites and opposites attract, Diana saw how beautiful the light was and ached for it. Diana perused Lucifer/Dianus, but he eluded her. Heartbroken, Diana pled with the Mothers and Fathers of the Beginning and the spirits. They informed her that she must go to Earth in mortal form like Lucifer/Dianus did. While there, she taught magick to those that would be known as the first Witches and Magicians. Lucifer/Dianus had a pet cat, which slept on his bed. Diana had a plan and shape-shifted into the form of that cat and laid in wait upon his bed. During the night while he slept, Diana changed back into her human form and seduced him. Once he realized what had occurred, Lucifer/Dianus was quite angry, so Diana cast a silencing spell upon him. During this Union, Diana had conceived Aradia, who was later sent to earth to bring about a revival of the Old Religion. THE SPELL For this spell we are going to tap into Diana’s protector aspect, the protector of animals and children. Diana was called upon as Diana of the Crossways by travelers for safe passage, and you can call upon her to protect your human and four-legged children. If you wish to protect your pets, carve or paint the symbol of the Crescent Moon on the back of their pet tag. If you wish to protect your child, you could either have them wear a Crescent Moon necklace or zipper-pull, or simply draw the symbol on their forehead with your power hand. To empower the charm, call upon Diana and say: “Diana, Queen of the Open Sky, I ask that you watch low and high; Keep my child/pet safe from harm, Queen of the Witches, please grant this charm. Diana of the Crossways, I call for your aid, Safe passage for (name) now is laid; Every night bring them home to me, As my will, so mote it be!” As an offering of thanksgiving, place some birdseed or apples outside for the woodland creatures or give something shinny to the Faeries. For extra safety, renew this spell monthly (every Moon). Aradia: the Daughter of Diana? Aradia de Toscano, better known as Aradia the Queen of the Witches was born on August 13th, in the year 1313 in Volerra Italy. Her date of birth also happens to be the feast day of the Roman Moon Goddess Diana, who is sometimes called her mother. Being born in the year 1313, Aradia is linked to the Moon and the Moon Goddess Diana as the number 13 is a powerful one. Depending on who you ask, Aradia was either a goddess born to the goddess Diana, or, she was a “mere mortal” who answered a calling and taught the Old Religion against the wishes of her parents and the Church itself. Aradia was also sometimes called Arada or Irodeasa. Due to her association with the goddess Diana, Aradia had the titles of the Queen of the Witches, the Queen of the Faeries and the Mistress of the Faeries. Some compare Aradia to the Welsh goddess Arianrhod. Aradia has at least two symbols; one being the red garter and the other a crescent-shaped bowl with a three-armed flame burning in it. Aradia has certain herbs associated with her, including Vervain and Rue. The name for Rue comes from the Greek reuo which translates into “to set free”. Rue is associated with Aradia because she taught that all Witches must be free. Rue is also connected to the goddess Diana due to being Aradia’s mother and because of this; it is also linked to the Strega talisman called the cimaruta. Aradia is called upon for magick in general and Spell-Work concerning fertility, legal issues and binding spells. She is associated with the Element of Air. Aradia protects Witches, so you could call upon her protection spells. You could also evoke the power of Aradia during Healing-Work since she was a natural healer and in her time, her herbal potions were legendary. Besides Diana’s Feast Day, Aradia is also aligned with other sacred days of the year, including Imbolc/Candlemas (February 2nd) and Ostara/Vernal Equinox (around March 21st). The Story of Aradia’s Life Legend suggests that Aradia was an only child and born to Catholic parents in the city of Voterra in the Tuscany region. It seems that Aradia was strong-willed; her parents expected her to become a nun and she flatly refused even though she was severely beaten for doing so. Feeling that she couldn’t control her child, Aradia’s mother hired a governess, who some say was Aradia’s aunt, to deal with the headstrong child. It turns out that this plan backfired, because the governess was not a Catholic, but a woman of Witch Blood descent which dates back to pre-Christian times. And, it is important to note that if the governess was indeed Aradia’s aunt, Aradia was also of Witch Blood descent. The governess taught Aradia about the Old Religion and on Aradia’s thirteenth birthday, she initiated Aradia into the Old Religion. It was at this point that something inside of Aradia awoke, she began to remember other realities and she heard a voice that told her about her mission. She was the one chosen to challenge the Church and the wealthy patriarchy. Sometime after this, Aradia’s mother discovered what had happened and the governess was fired. Wishing to sweep this incident under the rug, Aradia’s parents moved the family to central Italy in the region of the Alban Hills which is near Lake Nemi, which is Diana’s Mirror. Aradia’s parents wanted her to renounce the Old Religion, but like before, she flatly refused. Fearing the worst, they locked her inside a tower cell, but somehow she was able to escape. Aradia is said to have worn a pilgrim’s dress and began teaching the Old Religion. She traveled to may areas and it is likely that she began these travels at the grove of Lake Nemi. This grove was a sanctuary for the outlaws and the outcasts from the patriarchal city of the oppressive nobles. It was at Lake Nemi that Diana still held the title of the Goddess of the Witches and she also became the Goddess of the Outcasts. Aradia lived in the outlaw camps in the woods next to Lake Nemi, among the ruins of the Temple of Diana, along with the other followers of the Old Religion. Aradia is said to have taught around the year 1353, which would put her at the age of 40, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that she started teaching and traveling before then. She taught Old Religion, or the religion of Diana, and people called her “La Bella Pelegrina, or The Beautiful Pilgrim. The fame of Aradia’s wisdom traveled the land along with her and she revived the Old Religion. Additionally, she also preached that women should be treated the same as men, in a patriarchal age. Besides defying the Church, she also fought against how the wealthy nobles oppressed the peasants. Between the Church, the men and the wealthy, Aradia made many enemies and she was arrested under the charges of heresy and treason. While imprisoned, Aradia was tortured and humiliated, but it is said that she never gave up on her spiritual mission. During one of her imprisonments, Aradia used her “womanly wiles” to escape. It is said that she imprisoned many times, and while awaiting execution during one of these times, an earthquake brought the building down. She used this opportunity to escape once again, but the rumor was that Aradia had died. Aradia found her way back to the outlaw camp and chose a few of the followers to accompany her on her travels. She initiated them into the Old Religion and taught them the Old Ways. One day Aradia proclaimed that she would be leaving her initiates. Before she left and was never seen again, she gave them nine scrolls. Aradia traveled outside the region and possibly went east. After Aradia vanished, her followers starting worshipping her as a goddess. They formed additional groves than spanned throughout the kingdom of Naples. This caused great concern for the Church and they hired soldiers to hunt down Aradia’s followers. Even the Nine Scrolls of Aradia were apprehended by the Church. The brutal persecution of Witches blanketed Italy. A few of Aradia’s followers survived by either going underground or taking refuge in the town of Benevento. At one time, Benevento was the central meeting place for Witches in Italy, and so it became a sanctuary where they passed on Aradia’s teachings. One of Aradia’s followers that had been taught how to read and write wrote down everything that she could remember that she learned from Aradia and were called “The Words of Aradia”. Meanwhile, those in hiding had secret meetings and abided by strict rules to keep from being caught. This seclusion was maintained until the early nineteenth century and many Witches continued to practice, disguised as members of Masonic lodges or similar organizations. There is no way to know if Aradia truly existed, but there is possible evidence. After studying trail manuscripts, the Italian Inquisitor Bernardo Rategno wrote in 1508 that the Witch Cult started 150 years prior, which would have been the year 1358. As stated earlier, it is thought that Aradia taught around the year 1353. The Gospel of the Witches The other version of Aradia is that she was the daughter of the goddess Diana, who sent Aradia to Earth to revive the Old religion and to liberate the oppressed. Although a controversial tome, in the book Aradia: or the Gospel of the Witches by Charles Godfrey Leland, there are listed the Gifts of Aradia which she bestowed to her followers:

• To do good or evil

• To converse with spirits

• To find hidden treasures

• To conjure spirits

• To understand the voice of the wind

• To change water into wine

• To divine with cards

• To know the secrets of the hand (palmistry)

• To cure diseases

• To make those that are ugly beautiful

• To tame wild beasts

Of the above-mentioned gifts, the one most perplexing would be the one listed as “to understand the voice of the wind”. This has been explained as being in harmony with the Akashic energies. Such a person would be able to obtain lost wisdom. Aradia and the Spirit Flame Part of Aradia’s teachings included the Spirit Flame. According to Aradia, fire was a gift from the Gods. She used it as a symbol for the teachings of the Old Religion and her followers used it the same way. Aradia also taught that firelight symbolized personal enlightenment, the human soul, and the “soul” of the Old Religion. The Spirit Flame is a blue fire that represents the presence of the Gods; the Divine Spark or divine consciousness that resides within each of us. As a symbol of practitioners of Italian Witchcraft, the Strega who are the Keepers of the Flame, the Spirit Flame is the foundation for magickal power and is one of the most powerful tools to those who preserve the Old Religion. Aradia and the Moon According to the legend of Aradia as the daughter of Diana, she was conceived at the time of the New Moon. Since Aradia is associated with the New Moon, this is an ideal time to call upon her for her aid in magick. At the time of the New Moon, the energies of the Sun and Moon are combined which boosts new ideas and new projects. Aradia instructed her followers to enlist the powers of the Moon and the Moon Goddess over all things when practicing magick. Aradia taught that the souls of the deceased and the Moon were intricately linked. She said that this was one of the places where they went after death. Many modern practitioners of Italian Witchcraft feel that when Aradia said that the Moon was the Realm of the Dead, that she meant that the Moon as a symbol for the Astral Realms. After death, the first stop on the journey after leaving Earth was the Lunar Realm, called the Summerland by some practitioners. The ancients believed that while the Moon waxed to Full, it received the souls of the dead and while the Moon waned to Dark, the souls were discharged. The souls stayed here in the World of Luna until it was renewed, purified and no longer yearned for physical existence. The second stop in the journey was the Solar Realm. Now the souls of the dead were drawn in by the Sun God at sunrise. While in the Solar Kingdom, the souls was forged with Divine Fire and was transformed into a new body of light. Now that the souls are completely spiritual, they had two options as to where to travel next. The souls would have been sent through the portal of the constellation Cancer and returned to Earth if they had not yet evolved past the realm of the Physical Plane. If the souls were evolved however, they traveled to the Stellar Plane. Over the course of the time of the Stellar mysteries, the stars were considered souls. They were sometimes thought of as the souls of the Gods, the souls of the dead or a combination of the two. The Evening and Morning Star, which we now know as the planet Venus, was once called the Star Goddess and she was in charge of the Cycles of the Soul mentioned above. Her consort, the Star God was seen as the Pole Star. The Watchers, or Grigori, were linked to the stars and were though of as the one who guided the souls to each of the realms referred to above. Aradia and the Wheel of the Year Another of Aradia’s teachings concerned where a Witch’s power comes from. She said that they are not only awakened but cultivated by celebrating each of the Treguenda (pronounced tray-gwen-dah), or Sabbats, of the Wheel of the Year. By doing so, the Witch becomes in tune with Nature and becomes aware of their own personal power which boosts their self-confidence. THE SPELL Because Aradia is known as the Protectress of Witches, this spell will be about protection; protecting your belongings, your person or your home. Supplies: the herbs Rue and Vervain, a Thurible or a fire-proof bowl, lighter, fan or feather, sand or pebbles and charcoal briquettes (not the kind for a BBQ!). Gather all of your supplies together on your altar. If you will be protecting a certain object, place the item either on or next to the altar. If you are protecting an item that will not fit inside your house (like your vehicle), then you may wish to set up your altar outside. To protect your Thurible/bowl, pour the sand/pebbles to coat the bottom. This will also help contain the heat of the charcoal briquettes, but you may need to either place your Thurible/bowl on a trivet/stand or hold it with a potholder if it will be carried around the house. Place three or more of the briquettes on the sand/pebbles and light them. Sprinkle the Rue and Vervain on the briquettes and you can add or substitute and other protective herbs if you choose. Keep in mind that you may need to add more herbs if you will be cleansing a lot of items or an entire home, so have them at the ready. Use the fan to waft the smoke onto or around the item to be protected. I you are smudging a vehicle or a car, make sure to get both inside and out and all the little “nooks and crannies”. While you are doing this, either call upon Aradia’s protective powers in your own words, or use these: “I call upon Aradia and the power of her fire, I call upon the Great Queen to grant my desire; Protect this (house/car/person) from all possible harm, And if danger comes my/their way, please sound the alarm.” When finished, thank Aradia in your own words and renew your protection spell every New Moon.