Aradia: Gospel of the Witches Paperback – October 1, 2010

This book is great ! Another well put together book by Charles Leland. He shares is accounts , italian magical /healing traditions through his books. This one ,the Gospal Of Aradia ,included commentary by the author himself with English translationsSuch beautiful, well written and translated Italian. Aradia ,the witch and daughter of Lucifer and Diana , is an important figure in Italain Stregerhia . This book is a needed on anyone's craft artillery. After I have read through this book , you can find expensive online book/blog information on the Aradian practice as it is practiced today. Lots of info on blessings ,spells,the lores and bones of the Aradian traditions. This book unlocks a wealth of information if you read between the lines as well, do research on words and rituals presented . Traditions presented.Buy this . You won't regret it !

Charles Godfrey Leland’s work, including “Aradia or the Gospel of the Witches” is similar to many other armchair anthropologists of the nineteenth century. Certainly, Leland was a traveler. However, he entrusted the collection of data to a woman named Maddalena instead of conducting ethnographic research on his own.Regardless, this is one of the key foundational texts that earlier neo-pagans like Crowley and Gardner used in order to recreate pagan rites and, eventually, the religion known as Wicca. As a result, this is a key reading for those interested either in the religion or in the history of the Wiccan religion.

So yes, it is insulting to read about prayers/spells/enchantments that use threats against the Goddess. My take on it though is considering when these interviews were done, it was still when pagans had it fresh in their minds to keep our rituals & history secret. What better way then to give the truth and then twist it a little so that anyone that is not of the path wouldn't be able to fully access the knowledge of the Goddess. Or it could've been the personal beliefs of the author reflected in the writing. Either way, I personally noticed if you take the last paragraph out of these prayers/spells/enchantments, it makes it much better and more believable. Whether you choose to believe these threats were used or not, it is a very educational book and I would recommend reading it just to get an idea of our history.

Charles Leland was an ethnographer in the 19th century. He traveled around finding and documenting folkways of minority groups, Gypsies, for example. While on travel in Italy he met an old woman who told him tales of witchcraft and gave him some of their words. Aradia is a short little book containing translations of the words that Leland got from the old woman. It contains the oldest known version of what pagans now call "The Charge of the Goddess," although it was not called that in this book. It also advises witches to be naked in their rites, and after the feast is over to make love in the darkness.First published in 1890, Aradia is must reading for anyone who is studying pagan or Wiccan traditions. Its not the cookbook approach to magick like so many Wiccan books today. Its honest history of nineteenth century witches as told to a wandering ethnographer.

ARADIA is considered the foundation text for modern witchcraft, especially British Traditional Wicca. It was from this book that Aleister Crowley “borrowed” the invocation of Diana and Aradia for his Thelemic text The Book of the Law, which Gerald Gardner paraphrased for his own original BOS that Doreen Valiente later rewrote into her liturgical masterpiece The Charge of The Goddess (versions 1 & 2).It amazes me the book's importance given its size. In many ways it reads like a children’s book on Italian folklore. Only in this case the folklore is about witches. The writing style certainly is easy and suitable for all reading levels. You can read Aradia in one sitting. The content, however, is anything but suitable for young readers or anybody who thinks witchcraft is all white light and pretty crystals.Aradia is hardcore. The person who authored this text (there is some debate whether Leland’s collaborator “Maddalena” ever actually existed) clearly had a deep seated hatred of aristocracy. Cursing, poisoning and controlling type love spells are all advocated as a means to exact revenge on economic oppressors (i.e. land holders). Liars and thieves are perceived in a rather favorable light as members of the lower classes forced into lives of crime for survival.Throughout recorded history witchcraft has been an illegal practice. It was illegal in pagan Rome and a crime punishable by death. Aradia reaffirms the status of the witch as a person who lives on the edge of society: the person you go to when you are powerless and have no one else to turn to for help or justice.I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars because the text fails somewhat in measuring up to book's religious significance. Still, it is a must read for any Craft leader if for no other reason than to say that you've read it. Of all the reprints available this one (illus. red cover) is the most attractive.

This book came in on time and was in excellent condition from Amazon. I was glad the seller had it as it is somewhat old (1899); however it was reprinted in 2009. The book is almost a required reading for those studying or a part of the Old Religion, or Wicca. Several of the passages used by Wicca come from "Aradia" and it contains several Myths of Diana and others that Wiccans find dear. Much information in here was used by Gerald Moore in his development of modern Wicca. Much of what the pursuit of Witchcraft is comes directly from or is derived from Aradia, by Charles G. Leland. I enjoy this book, get much from it, and hope others find it as well as I did on Amazon.

Truly enjoyed this book