Aradia or the Gospel of the Witches: Or Gospel of the Witches - Softcover

Drew, A.J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1564146790 ISBN 13: 9781564146793

Publisher: Career Press, 2008

Synopsis

Aradia Before Gerald Gardner ever thought to write his first book, there was an explorer named Charles Leland who felt he could discover and preserve the secrets of Italian Witchcraft. Leland's original quest was to make contact with practicing Italian Witches. After years of trying he met one by the name of Maddelena, who transmitted to him the teachings he was searching for. The words (stories) have be... Full description

About this title

About the Author:

Charles G. Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist. He became interested in folklore and folk linguistics, publishing books and articles on American and European languages and folk traditions. He studied languages, wrote poetry, and pursued a variety of other interests, including hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, and the writings of Rabelais and Villon. After college, he went to Europe to continue his studies. In his travels, he made a study of the Gypsies, on whom he wrote more than one book. He began to publish a number of books on ethnography, folklore and language. His writings on Algonquian and gypsy culture were part of the contemporary interest in pagan and Aryan traditions. He erroneously claimed to have discovered 'the fifth Celtic tongue': the form of Cant, spoken among Irish Travellers, which he named Shelta. He became president of the English Gypsy-Lore Society in 1888. He wrote Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, reportedly containing the traditional beliefs of Italian witchcraft as conveyed him in a manuscript provided by a woman named Maddalena, whom he refers to as his "witch informant." This remains his most influential book.

Synopsis:

When Charles Leland published Aradia at the end of the nineteenth century he did not realise that he was providing the key source book which would be the missing link between ancient and modern witchcraft. Indeed, this book was the foundation upon which Gerald Gardner built his revival in the 1940s and 50s. Not only did Aradia inspire Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente and the other founders/revivers of twentieth century neopagan witchcraft, it continues to serve as a reference, check point and inspiration for others. Probably the first major influence (on the lineage of modern witchcraft) in relatively modern times is that of Charles Leland said Doreen Valiente. When Gardener gave her the responsibility for rewriting some of their coven's key rituals, she took Leland's translation of Aradia and using it for inspiration, wrote the new standards version of the Charge of the Goddess, which is one of the most important rituals in modern Wicca. This edition of Aradia includes an introduction and commentary by A J Drew on of today's newest and strongest voices in neopaganism.

About this edition

• Publisher: Career Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1564146790
• ISBN 13: 9781564146793
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160