Speculations and Evidence About the Use of the
Name Aradia in Wicca
by Aidan A. Kelly
In Toronto, as I leafed through "Ye Bok of ye Art Magickal," when I reached the point
in the Third Degree ritual where the names would be given, what I saw was a word written
in Theban script in gold, outlined in red. There was some additional writing in Theban
script entered in ballpen above it and to the right. It looks most impressive--and my
heart sank. "Oh, my God!" I thought. "He did write the secret names in here." I thought
I might be able to find a copy of the Theban script somewhere in Gardner's library--but
time was short, so I just transcribed the Theban letters.
(I had the great pleasure one evening of telling this story to two Garnerian High
Priestesses, Alison Harlow and Margot Adler. by the time I reached this point, they
were, naturally, on the edge of their chairs, mouths wide open, ready for the worst.)
The name was: Abracadabra!
I fell back in my desk chair, and roared with laughter. It is an incredible
experience to have your leg so thoroughly pulled by a "booby trap" set thirty years
ago.
(Likewise, margot and Alison, when they heard "The Name," simply collapsed, and rolled
on the floor, shrieking with laughter. Finally Alison recovered enough to say, "Oh,
Aidan, yes, you've discovered the truly secret name! Abracadabra!" and my friends,
and I know they weren't pulling my leg--their glee was too heartfelt--but the part of
me that appreciates a good practical joke insists that "Abracadabra" might not be a
bad choice for a secret name. It was a magical name for the Gnostics. It would be
easy to keep secret, because who would want to admit it in public? And even if someone
did, who would believe it.)
I was glad to be able to write to Derek Copperthwaite, calling off my "red alert"--but
the story's not finished. There were also those Theban entries in ballpen on the page
in question, that is, the names given out by "Rex Nemorensis." Had he, in fact
revealed the secret names? I asked Alison and Margot about this also--when they had
calmed down--and they assured me these were similar to one pair of the lesser names,
but not the truly secret ones. I still wonder, however: if these were not the names
then being given as the third-degree passwords, why were they written on this
crucial page, in code?
T. C. Lethbridge thought he knew the secret name used for the Goddess. On page 62 of
of his Witches, he wrote,
Aidan A. Kelly, Hippie Commie Beatnik Witches: A History of the Craft in California,
1967-1977, (1993) pp. 11-13. Used with author's permission.
Myth's Notes
The Hippie Commie Beatnik Witches: A History of the Craft in California,
1967-1977 was privately published and is a little difficult to get ahold of now.
Much of this same information was reported in Crafting the Art of Magic, Vol. I
(1991) and Inventing Witchcraft (2007).
Yet I have to agree with Aidan Kelly that Abracadabra is not such an unreasonable
secret magic word. It was used for centuries among the ancient Romans and throughout
the Mediteranean and among the Gnostics. I am reminded of something I saw a long time
ago about a discussion between an eastern master and his disciple.
Disciple: "Master, why is the truth hidden?"
Eastern master: "The truth is hidden because it is obvious. Whatever is obvious
is hidden."
Disciple: "And if it were truly obvious?"
Master: "It would still remain hidden."
I happen to have been told the name under which the modern witches adore Diana,
but since they are not supposed to divulge it, I think it would be unfair to
mention it here. Their reticence, however, seems to me to be unnecessary, for
it does not appear to be the secret name of the goddess. It seems to translate
without difficulty from a garbled Celtic into "The Lady of the Summer Pasture."
No one could use it to work magic against her."
Now, in Ripley's files is a letter from Lethbridge to Gardner dated June 15, 1959. It
reads in part as follows.
Is not this the Gaelic "Airaidheach," or something similar, meaning "The Lady of
the Summer Pastures"? In the same way that Cailleach is the "Lady of the Woods"?
She would be the same as the Irish Macha, who must have been "The Lady of the
Fertile Plain." In the highlands and islands the people moved up to the
airaidh for the summer grazing. ... The difficulties all hinge on the danger of
using the real names for fear of hostile magic. Isis had 10,000 names, and Macha
over 30. But if this explanation is correct, the witches need have no fear in
mentioning Aradia, for it is not the goddess' real name, but just a roundabout
way of saying who they are taling about.
Perhaps Lethbridge misunderstood the import of a hypothetical question--but I doubt
it. More likely Gardner approached Lethbridge, a Cambridge don and one of the few
scholars in the world then inclined to be friendly toward the Craft, in order to
get an expert opinion on the meaning of an obscure name, and had to take him into
confidence in order to do so. Hence Aradia and Cernunnos probably were the secret
names until "Rex" destroyed their usefulness as shibboleths, and they had to be
replaced.