| Italian | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Aradia, bella Aradia, la donna di potere, la regina della streghe, a te invoco e te chiamo ad alta voce, appari di fronte noi. | Aradia, beautiful Aradia, powerful woman, queen of the witches, I invoke you and call you with an upraised voice, come now to us. |
Myth's notes
Raven Grimassi wrote in Italian Witchcraft (2000), previously titled Ways of the Strega (1995):
In fourteenth-century Italy, a Wise Woman who called herself Aradia brought about a revival of the Old Religion, La Vecchia Religione. From her efforts there arose three separate Traditions, which were originally one. Today, these Traditions are known as the Fanarra, Janarra, and Tanarra. Collectively they are referred to as the Triad Traditions.As indicated by the rituals in Grimassi's books, Italian Witchcraft and Hereditary Witchcraft, most of the rituals of the Aridian Tradition are in English. Some rituals have portions that are in Italian. Yet this "modern Tradition" was apparently very influential on other Wiccan Traditions. The 1970's and early 1980's were a time of fertile cross-pollination among various Traditions of Wicca. Raven Grimassi published The Book of the Holy Strega in 1981 through Nemi Enterprises in San Diego. Yet he first began teaching about Italian witchcraft and incorporating its elements into mainstream Wiccan concepts in the late 1970's. One of Grimassi's students was Scott Cunningham, who later became a noted Wiccan author. Victor Anderson incorporated portions of Aridian Tradition into his Faery Tradition, later spelled Feri. Interestingly, Victor Anderson was one of Starhawk's teachers. Her well-known The Spiral Dance (first published in 1979), containing a lot of material from Anderson's Faery Tradtion, spawned a lot of non-lineage covens, that were not directly connected with the Reclaiming tradition.
....
The Aridian Tradition, originally established in North America as a branch of the Tanarra, is based upon a blending of the Triad Traditions in an attempt to restore the original Tradition, which Aradia had returned to the people. It is, however, a modern Tradition and, as such, does contain some modern elements. The Aridian name is derived from an old Italian village called, Arida....Unlike the Triad, which is in Italy, Aridians have adopted a few Wiccan elements into their ways, having been more exposed here in the United States. (p. xvi)
If you are interested in the Aridian Tradition, please read Raven Grimassi's Italian Witchcraft and Hereditary Witchcraft. Both contain a great deal of material relating to Aradia. Hereditary Witchcraft (1999) contained a lot of Aridian materials which were distributed by Grimassi in the 1970's.
The above invocation is not from either Italian Witchcraft or Hereditary Witchcraft, but is very similar to invocations in both books.
ABC's of Aradia: Aradia, the book
ABC's of Aradia: Aradia, the goddess
Farrar-Alexandrian Invocation of Aradia
Wiccan Offering for Aradia
Aradia Essay by Grimassi