Product Description

When Charles Godfrey Leland published "Aradia or the Gospel of the Witches" at the end of the nineteenth century as the crowning product of his Italian researches of the 1880s and 1890s, he believed he was preserving what remained of an ancient but dying tradition before it was too late. He could not have known that in so doing he was providing one of the key source-books which would inspire a vigorous revival of the tradition half a century after his death. Had he been able to foresee it, he would have been astonished, probably amused, and almost certainly gratified; for in spite of the occasional Victorian caution with which he expressed himself, his research was clearly a labour of love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #98321 in Books
• Published on: 1990-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 134 pages

About the Author
This expanded edition features contributions by several eminent authorities: Mario Pazzaglini, PhD, whose family origins on both sides are deeply rooted in the area where Aradia originated, has spent 25 years working on this new translation. He gives a line-by-line transcription showing where Leland made his original errors as a result of his lack of comprehension of the dialect of the area. The new translation is then presented in the same format as the original edition (which is included here as well). Mario's research notes are also included. Chas Clifton has been studying witchcraft and the occult for over 25 years. He teaches at the University of Colorado and has a long list of published books to his name, including: Iron Mountain: A Journal of Magical Religion, The Modern Rites of Passage, Witchcraft and Shamanism and Sacred Mask, Sacred Dance. He discusses the significance of Aradia on the revival of modern witchcraft. Robert Mathieson Ph.D., has been a member of the faculty of Brown University for over 30 years. During the last decade most of his research has been on the historical development of magical theories and practices form the Middle Ages to the present. He writes on the origins of Aradia, including the culture and religion of the area, as well as the difficulties involved in retranslating the book. Stewart Farrar was a professional journalist and author of many books on the occult including The Witches' Goddess, The Pagan Path, Spells and How They Work and The Witches' Way. He regularly appeared on television and radio and was featured in a film on witchcraft. He died in 2000.

Customer Reviews

Well researched and detailed work on the Aradia Manuscript.
This book is a very well researched work upon the subject of the Aradia manuscript - the editors are very well acquainted with the dialects of the Romagna, essential for the proper translation of the work - this volume gives a number of translations alongside the Italian and ends with a new version which does shed more light on this ancient work. Aradia has been gathered from many different sources and is properly a compendium of chants probably handed down from Etruscan times. The book includes other collected works not included in the Aradia manuscript. This volume is very scholarly - it is a serious work far removed from the usual popular "potted history" books. The more serious students of Wicca and Witchcraft will find this volume of great interest - it needs patience - but what worthwhile persuit does not. I recommend this book and its companion Etruscan Roman Remains to all who would seek to know more about the very earliest foundations of the modern Wiccan Movement.
Blessings
Steve

The Definitive Book on Aradia
I just finished reading this book and I'm pleased I chose this extended version of 'Aradia or Gospel of the Witches' put together by the folklorist Charles Leland, to read my first time around.

Aradia basically consists of the remnants of a Witchcraft tradition in Northern Italy in the late 19th century; collected by Leland whilst he was travelling in the area. He became friends with a Witch or 'Strega' (Italian for 'Witch') whom he referred to as Maddalena -- Leland claimed that she provided him with the manuscript and the various sources for what became 'Aradia or Gospel of the Witches'. There is much contention however, as to whether Leland merely fabricated the material but this book about Aradia proves otherwise, conclusively, that aspects of Aradia are in fact genuine.

This extended version of Aradia contains the original transcription by Leland and a second version which has been retranslated to account for all the mistakes he made in the first translation. So, what we have in this second translation of Aradia is a far more accurate transcription of the meaning of the original Italian -- albeit far less beautiful as Leland added in meter and verse to his original translation for effect. It was interesting to see what had changed and I feel the book is worth the money just for these two translations; luckily the book also contains a third version which is a line by line translation and also some very interesting essays connected to Aradia and Leland himself, as well as speculation on the veracity of the manuscript (the manuscript of which was written by Maddalena has never been found, only a letter from her to Leland plus a photograph points to her existence.) If there's one thing one takes away from this book, it's that pieces of Aradia are very real and very alive to this day. Also that Charles Leland preserved a very real and evocative piece of folklore and witchlore; it's something that will keep those of us interested in Traditional Witchcraft compelled for a many years to come.

Now onto Aradia itself (more for those who are interested in Witchcraft):
The manuscript contains the loose details and the mythology associated with this regions Witches. The mythology is very interesting and most certainly my favourite part of the manuscript. In a very brief sense, Aradia tells the story of Lucifer and his consort Diana the Greco-Roman Goddess of the hunt, and how their daughter (a Christ like figure) came to earth. Like all forms of myth these myths are supposed to contain deeper truths and should not be taken literally, contemplating the imagery is helpful to get to its core.

A work of entertainment
No doubt it's a fun book to read. And it is certainly an important book in the history of modern paganism: it's a prop for those arrogating the seniority of "ancient wisdom" to Wicca. But let's not distract ourselves with claims that this is a convincing work of scholarship. It isn't. It was largely a concoction by Leland himself. Certainly his gloss or spin is paramount. While it has at its core a fascinating set of folklore about Italian rural people's beliefs about witches, it does not present historical evidence of "traditional witchcraft". Wicca began in the 50s; its antecedence is far more complex, and interesting, than the facile, naive myth of unbroken descent from the neolithic which that delightful trickster Gardner and his acolytes propagandised.