Aradia: Gospel of the Witches [Paperback]

Charles Godfrey Leland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

Its accuracy is disputed by some, while others consider it a vital resource for studying and understanding Italian witch folklore of the 19th century. What is certain is that this 1899 classic has become a foundational document of modern Wicca and neopaganism. Leland claimed his "witch informant," a fortune-teller named Maddalena, supplied him with the secret writings that he translated and combined with his research on Italian pagan tradition to create a gospel of pagan belief and practice. Here, in the story of the goddess Aradia, who came to Earth to champion oppressed peasants in their fight against their feudal overlords and the Catholic Church, are the chants, prayers, spells, and rituals that have become the centerpieces of contemporary pagan faiths. American journalist and folklorist CHARLES GODFREY LELAND (1824-1903) was editor of Continental Monthly during the Civil War and coined the term emancipation as an alternative to abolition, but he is best remembered for his books on ethnography, folklore, and language, including The Gypsies (1882), The Hundred Riddles of the Fairy Bellaria (1892), and Unpublished Legends of Virgil (1899).

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leland was born to Charles Leland, a commission merchant, and Charlotte Godfrey August 15, 1824 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Shortly after his birth, Leland's nurse took the child to the family attic and performed a ritual on him involving a Bible, a key, a knife, lighted candles, money and salt to ensure a long life as a "scholar and a wizard", a fact which Leland's biographers have commented upon as foreshadowing his interest in folk traditions and magic. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensively, and became interested in folklore and folk linguistics, publishing books and articles on American and European languages and folk traditions. By the end of his life shortly after the turn of the century, Leland had worked in a wide variety of trades, achieved recognition as the author of the comic Hans Breitmann’s Ballads, fought in two conflicts, and had written what was to become a primary source text for Neopaganism half a century later, Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Cosimo Classics (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602063028
• ISBN-13: 978-1602063020
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,482,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Witchcraft
  • #70 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Occult > Magic
  • #74 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Wicca

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd like to make a correction, April 15, 2000

By 

Pagan Vixen (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Paperback)

I would like to make a few corrections of people's assumptions. Everyone who reviewed this book made these assumptions which are grossly incorrect. 1) Lucifer(latin for light-bearer) is mentioned only once in the Bible, Isaiah 14:12 where it is used to refer to the king of Babylon. In Aradia the title of Light Bearer or Dawn Bringer is used to refer to the God Dianus who was Diana's other half/soulmate in Etruscan Mythology. 2)Aradia was never meant to be "a forerunner to Wicca". It was a scholarly work by Charles Leland documenting the vestiges of witchcraft in Northern Italy. Against popular opinion Wicca does NOT mean "practicer of the Celtic paths" it has become the title of a religion (thanks to Gerald Gardner...who apparently wasn't able to determine the meanings of "simple words"). If you claim to follow the Old Ways you should at least understand that *all* Old Ways are worthy of respect, even the Italian ones.

Obviously, Aradia greatly influenced the creators of the modern Wicca religion. It is the first time the Charge appeared in print. (It was later taken by Gardner for his covens and rewritten by Doreen Valiente.) There is a lot of negative magick in this book. Then again, it is thought that Maddalena either belonged to a group of witches who were called "Malandanti" (evil witches) or she was purposely feeding Leland false information. However, the roots of the witchcraft are evident. They were descendants of Etruria, still living in the ancestral homeland of Tuscany. They were still worshipping their ancient Goddess of Light, Diana and Her other half, Dianus called Lucifer or Light Bringer.

I highly recommend this book for historical purposes. The serious student of traditional witchcraft should definitely consider this book, especially at the relatively inexpensive price. I do not recommend this book to Wiccans unless they are interested in the roots of their religion i.e. important documents co-opted or plundered by Gardner et al.

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable presentation of a primary document, December 23, 1999

By 

Vincent M. Silenzio "progressive.doc" (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aradia: Gospel of the Witches, Expanded Edition (Paperback)

The controversies surrounding Leland's book aside, this edition, which includes several essays as well as side-by-side translations of the origianl texts, is an invaluable resource. No matter what its faults, "Aradia" remains an important link in the chain of neopaganism in the past century. This expanded edition will remain an important reference work for folklorists and ethnographers, and for Wiccans, Witches, and neopagans whose traditions have been heavily influenced by this work.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Folk Craft - Not to be Confused with Wicca, April 13, 2001

By 

Elderbear (Loma Linda, Aztlan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Aradia: Gospel of the Witches (Paperback)

This is a turn-of-the century work of folklore recording. Charles Leland set out to record as much about Strega, the Italian witchcraft tradition. As is typical of many other folk traditions in western culture, it incorporates many aspects of the Judeo-Christian tradition. This book impacted contemporary Wicca in one powerful way: it presented the basis for the first portion of "The Charge of the Goddess." Leland also put forward the claim, echoed by Gerald Gardner, that strega, the Old Religion, had its roots in ancient, pre-Christian religions.

Modern Wiccans will find this view of magic and craft interesting. Some practices, such as "forcing" deities to do the bidding of mortals, seem to be radically less prevalent now. Although some Wiccan traditions (Reclaiming, for one) espouse political activism, the violent class-war material presented here also will seem out of place.

An interesting bit of reading, showcasing a very different view of the world than most currently Wiccans share. More important reading than the latest "tradition" of the day to hit the shelves. A more scholarly, expanded edition has recently been published. I look forward to reading it and seeing what light it casts on this material.