ARADIA: The Gospel of the Witches by Charles G. Leland (pub. 1899) PREFACE If the reader has ever met with the works of the learned folk-lorist G. Pitré, or the articles contributed by "Lady Vere De Vere" to the Italian Rivista, or that of J. H. Andrews to Folk-Lore,[1] he will be aware that there are in Italy great numbers of strege, fortune-tellers or witches, who divine by cards, perform strange ceremonies in which spirits are supposed to be invoked, make and sell amulets, and, in fact, comport themselves generally as their reputed kind are wont to do, be they Black Voodoos in America or sorceresses anywhere. But the Italian strega or sorceress is in certain respects a different character from these. In most cases she comes of a family in which her calling or art has been practised for many gen erations. I have no doubt that there are in stances in which the ancestry remounts to medięval, Roman, or it may be Etruscan times. The result has naturally been the accumulation in such families of much tradition. But in North ern Italy, as its literature indicates, though there [1. March, 1897: "Neapolitan Witchcraft."] has been some slight gathering of fairy tales and popular superstitions by scholars, there has never existed the least interest as regarded the strange lore of the witches, nor any suspicion that it embraced an incredible quantity of old Roman minor myths and legends, such as Ovid has recorded, but of which much escaped him and all other Latin writers.[1] This ignorance was greatly aided by the wizards themselves, in making a profound secret of all their traditions, urged thereto by fear of the priests. In fact, the latter all unconsciously actually contributed immensely to the preservation of such lore, since the charm of the forbidden is very great, and witchcraft, like the truffle, grows best and has its raciest flavour when most deeply hidden. However this may be, both priest and wizard are vanishing now with incredible rapidity-it has even struck a French writer that a Franciscan in a railway carriage is a strange anomaly-and a few more years of newspapers and bicycles (Heaven knows what it [1. Thus we may imagine what the case would have been as regards German fairy-tales if nothing bad survived to a future day except the collections of Grimm and Musęus. The world would fall into the belief that these constituted all the works of the kind which had ever existed, when, in fact they form only a small part of the whole. And folklore was unknown to classic authors: there is really no evidence in any ancient Latin writer that he gathered traditions and the like among the vulgar, as men collect at present. They all made books entirely out of books-there being still "a few left of the same sort" of literati.] will be when flying-machines appear!) will probably cause an evanishment of all. However, they die slowly, and even yet there are old people in the Romagna of the North who know the Etruscan names of the Twelve Gods, and invocations to Bacchus, Jupiter, and Venus, Mercury, and the Lares or ancestral spirits, and in the cities are women who prepare strange amulets, over which they mutter spells, all known in the old Roman time, and who can astonish even the learned by their legends of Latin gods, mingled with lore which may be found in Cato or Theocritus. With one of these I became intimately acquainted in 1886, and have ever since employed her specially to collect among her sisters of the hidden spell in many places all the traditions of the olden time known to them. It is true that I have drawn from other sources, but this woman by long practice has perfectly learned what few understand, or just what I want, and how to extract it from those of her kind. Among other strange relics, she succeeded, after many years, in obtaining the following "Gospel," which I have in her handwriting. A full account of its nature with many details will be found in an Appendix. I do not know definitely whether my informant derived a part of these traditions from written sources or oral narration, but believe it was chiefly the latter. However, there are a few wizards who copy or preserve documents relative to their art. I have not seen my collector since the "Gospel" was sent to me. I hope at some future time to be better informed. For brief explanation I may say that witch craft is known to its votaries as la vecchia religione, or the old religion, of which Diana is the Goddess, her daughter Aradia (or Herodias) the female Messiah, and that this little work sets forth how the latter was born, came down to earth, established witches and witchcraft, and then returned to heaven. With it are given the ceremonies and invocations or incantations to be addressed to Diana and Aradia, the exorcism of Cain, and the spells of the holy-stone, rue, and verbena, constituting, as the text declares, the regular church-service, so to speak, which is to be chanted or pronounced at the witch-meetings. There are also included the very curious incantations or benedictions of the honey, meal, and salt, or cakes of the witch-supper, which is curiously classical, and evidently a relic of the Roman Mysteries. The work could have been extended ad infinitum by adding to it the ceremonies and incantations which actually form a part of the Scripture of Witchcraft, but as these are nearly all-or at least in great number-to be found in my works entitled Etruscan-Roman Remains and Legends of Florence, I have hesitated to compile such a volume before ascertaining whether there is a sufficiently large number of the public who would buy such a work. Since writing the foregoing I have met with and read a very clever and entertaining work entitled Il Romanzo dei Settimani, G. Cavagnari, 1889, in which the author, in the form of a novel, vividly depicts the manners, habits of thought, and especially the nature of witchcraft, and the many superstitions current among the peasants in Lombardy. Unfortunately, notwithstanding his extensive knowledge of the subject, it never seems to have once occurred to the narrator that these traditions were anything but noxious nonsense or abominably un-Christian folly. That there exists in them marvellous relics of ancient mythology and valuable folklore, which is the very cor cordium of history, is as uncared for by him as it would be by a common Zoccolone or tramping Franciscan. One would think it might have been suspected by a man who knew that a witch really endeavoured to kill seven people as a ceremony or rite, in order to get the secret of endless wealth, that such a sorceress must have had a store of wondrous legends; but of all this there is no trace, and it is very evident that nothing could be further from his mind than that there was anything interesting from a higher or more genial point of view in it all. His book, in fine, belongs to the very great number of those written on ghosts and superstition since the latter has fallen into discredit, in which the authors indulge in much satirical and very safe but cheap ridicule of what to them is merely vulgar and false. Like Sir Charles Coldstream, they have peeped into the crater of Vesuvius after it had ceased to "erupt," and found "nothing in it." But there was something in it once; and the man of science, which Sir Charles was not, still finds a great deal in the remains, and the antiquarian a Pompeii or a Herculaneum-'tis said there are still seven buried cities to unearth. I have done what little (it is really very little) I could, to disinter something from the dead volcano of Italian sorcery. If this be the manner in which Italian witchcraft is treated by the most intelligent writer who has depicted it, it will not be deemed remarkable that there are few indeed who will care whether there is a veritable Gospel of Witches, apparently of extreme antiquity, em bodying the belief in a strange counter- religion which has held its own from pre-historic time to the present day. "Witchcraft is all rubbish, or something worse," said old writers, "and therefore all books about it are nothing better." I sincerely trust, however, that these pages may fall into the hands of at least a few who will think better of them. I should, however, in justice to those who do care to explore dark and bewildering paths, explain clearly that witch-lore is hidden with most scrupulous care from all save a very few in Italy, just as it is among the Chippeway Medas or the Black Voodoo. In the novel to the life of I Settimani an aspirant is represented as living with a witch and acquiring or picking up with pain, scrap by scrap, her spells and incantations, giving years to it. So my friend the late M. Dragomanoff told me how a certain man in Hungary, having learned that he had collected many spells (which were indeed subsequently published in folklore journals), stole into the scholar's room and surreptitiously copied them, so that the next year when Dragomanoff returned, he found the thief in full practice as a blooming magician. Truly he had not got many incantations, only a dozen or so, but a very little will go a great way in the business, and I venture to say there is perhaps hardly a single witch in Italy who knows as many as I have published, mine having been assiduously collected from many, far and wide. Everything of the kind which is written is, moreover, often destroyed with scrupulous care by priests or penitents, or the vast number who have a superstitious fear of even being in the same house with such documents, so that I regard the rescue of the Vangelo as something which is to say the least remarkable. CONTENTS PREFACE CHAPTER I How Diana Gave Birth to Aradia (Herodias) Of the sufferings of Mankind, and how Diana sent Aradia on earth to relieve them by teaching resistance and Sorcery-Poem addressed to Mankind-How to invoke Diana or Aradia. CHAPTER II The Sabbat-Treguenda or Witch-Meeting How to consecrate the supper- Conjuration of the meal and of Salt-Invocation to Cain- Conjuration of Diana and to Aradia. CHAPTER III How Diana Made the Stars and the Rain CHAPTER IV Thn, Charm of the Stones Consecrated to Diana-The Incantation of Perforated Stones-The Spell or Conjuration of the Round Stone CHAPTER V The Conjuration of the Lemon and Pins-Incantation to Diana CHAPTER VI A Spell to Win Love CHAPTER VII To Find or Buy Anything, or to Have Good Fortune Thereby CHAPTER VIII How Have a Good Vintage and Very Good Wine By the Aid of Diana CHAPTER IX Tana and Endamone, or Diana and Endymion CHAPTER X Madonna Diana A Legend of Cettardo, and how Diana appeared with ten Bridesmaids to give away a Bride- Incantation to Diana for a Wedding. CHAPTER XI The House of the Wind Showing how Diana rescued a Lady from Death at the House ol the Wind in Volterra. CHAPTER XII Tana or Diana, The Moon-Goddess CHAPTER XIII Diana and the Children CHAPTER XIV The Goblin Messengers of Diana and Mercury CHAPTER XV Laverna APPENDIX ARADIA OR THE GOSPEL OF THE WITCHES CHAPTER I How Diana Gave Birth to Aradia (Herodias) "It is Diana! Lo! She rises crescented."                               -Keats' Endymion "Make more bright The Star Queen's crescent on her marriage night."                 -Ibid. This is the Gospel (Vangelo) of the Witches: Diana greatly loved her brother Lucifer, the god of the Sun and of the Moon, the god of Light (Splendor), who was so proud of his beauty, and who for his pride was driven from Paradise. Diana had by, her brother a daughter, to whom they gave the name of Aradia [i.e. Herodias]. In those days there were on earth many rich and many poor. The rich made slaves of all the poor. In those days were many slaves who were cruelly treated; in every palace tortures, in every castle prisoners. Many slaves escaped. They fled to the country; thus they became thieves and evil folk. Instead of sleeping by night, they plotted escape and robbed their masters, and then slew them. So they dwelt in the mountains and forests as robbers and assassins, all to avoid slavery. Diana said one day to her daughter Aradia: E vero che tu set uno spinto, Ma tu set nata per essere ancora. Mortale, e tu devi andare Sulla terra e fare da maestra A donne e a' uormni che avranno Volentą di inparare la tua scuola Che sara cornposta di stregonerle. Non devi essere come la figlia di Camo, E della razza che sono devenuti Scellerati infami a causa del maltrattamenti, Come Giudel e Zingari, Tutti ladri e briganti, Tu non divieni... Tu sarai (sempre) la prima strega, La prima strega divenuta nel mondo, Tu insegnerai l'arte di avvelenare, Di avvelenare (tutti) I signori, Di farli morti nei loro palazzi, Di legare il spiritu del oppressore, E dove si trova un contadino ricco e avaro, Insegnare alle strege tue alunne, Come rovinare suo raccolto Con tempesta, folgore e balen, Con grandine e vento. Quando un prete ti fara del male, Del male colle sue bene di'Zion, Tu le farei (sempre) un dopplo male Col mio nome, col nome di Diana, Regina delle streghe... Quando i nobili e prete vi diranno Dovete credere nel Padre, Figlio, E Maria, rispondete gli sempre, "IL vostro dio Padre e Maria Sono tre diavoli... Il vero dio Padre non e il vostro Il vostro dio-io sono venuta Per distruggere la gente cattiva E la distruggero.... "Vol altri poveri soffrite anche la fame, E lavorato malo e molte volte; Soffrite anche la prigione; Mapero avete una anima, Una aninia pił buona, e nell'altra, Nell'altra mondo voi starete bene, E gli altri male."... Translation. 'Tis true indeed that thou a spirit art, But thou wert born but to become again A mortal; thou must go to earth below To be a teacher unto women and men Who fain would study witchcraft in thy school Yet like Cain's daughter thou shalt never be, Nor like the race who have become at last Wicked and infamous from suffering, As are the Jews and wandering Zingari, Who are all thieves and knaves; like unto them Ye shall not be.... And thou shalt be the first of witches known; And thou shalt be the first of all i' the world; And thou shalt teach the art of poisoning, Of poisoning those who are great lords of all; Yea, thou shalt make them die in their palaces; And thou shalt bind the oppressor's soul (with power);[1] And when ye find a peasant who is rich, Then ye shall teach the witch, your pupil, how To ruin all his crops with tempests dire, With lightning and with thunder (terrible), And the hall and wind.... [1. Legare, the binding and paralysing human faculties by means of witchcraft.] And when a priest shall do you injury By his benedictions, ye shall do to him Double the harm, and do it in the name Of me, Diana, Queen of witches all! And when the priests or the nobility Shall say to you that you should put your faith In the Father, Son, and Mary, then reply: "Your God, the Father, and Maria are Three devils.... "For the true God the Father is not yours; For I have come to sweep away the bad, The men of evil, all will I destroy! "Ye who are poor suffer with hunger keen, And toll in wretchedness, and suffer too Full oft imprisonment; yet with it all Ye have a soul, and for your sufferings Ye shall be happy in the other world, But ill the fate of all who do ye wrong!" Now when Aradia had been taught, taught to work all witchcraft, how to destroy the evil race (of oppressors) she (imparted it to her pupils) and said unto them: Quando io saro partita da questo mondo, Qualunque cosa che avrete bisogna, Una volta al mese quando la luna E piena... Dovete venire in luogo deserto, In una selva tutte insieme, E adorare lo spirito potente Di mia madre Diana, e chi vorra Imparare la stregonerie, Che non la sopra, Mia madre le insegnera, Tutte cose.... Sarete liberi della schiavitł! E cosi diverrete tutti liberi! Pero uonum e donne Sarete tutti nudi, per fino. Che non sara morto l'ultimo Degli oppressori e morto, Farete il gluoco della moccola Di Benevento, e farete poi Una cena cosi: Translation. When I shall have departed from this world, Whenever ye have need of anything, Once in the month, and when the moon is full, Ye shall assemble in some desert place, Or in a forest all together join To adore the potent spirit of your queen, My mother, great Diana. She who fain Would learn all sorcery yet has not won Its deepest secrets, them my mother will Teach her, in truth all things as yet unknown. And ye shall all be freed from slavery, And so ye shall be free in everything; And as the sign that ye are truly free, Ye shall be naked in your rites, both men And women also: this shall last until The last of your oppressors shall be dead; And ye shall make the game of Benevento, Extinguishing the lights, and after that Shall hold your supper thus: CHAPTER II The Sabbat: Treguenda or Witch-Meeting- How to Consecrate the Supper Here follows the supper, of what It must consist, and what shall be said and done to consecrate it to Diana. You shall take meal and salt, honey and water, and make this incantation: Scongiurazione della Farina. Scongiuro te, o farina! Che sei il corpo nostro-senza di te Non si potrebbe vivere-tu che Prima di divenire la farina, Sei stata sotto terra, dove tutti Sono nascosti tutti in segreti, Maccinata che siei a metterte al vento, Tu spolveri per l'aria e te ne fuggi Portando con te i tuoi segreti! Ma quando grano sarai in spighe, In spige belle che le lucciole, Vengeno a farti lume perche tu Possa crescere piś bella, altrimenti Tu non potresti crescere a divenire bella, Dunque anche tu appartieni Alle Strege o alle Fate, perche Le lucclole appartengono Al Sol... Lucciola caporala, Vieni corri e vieni a gara, Metti la briglia a la cavalla! Metti la briglia al figluolo del ré! Vieni, corri e portala a mé! Il figluol del ré te lasciera andare Pero voglio te pigliare, Giache siei bella e lucente, Ti voglio mettere sotto un bicchiere E quardari, colla lente; Sotto un bicchiere in staraķ Fino che tutti i segreti, Di questo mondo e di quell'altro non mi farai Sapere e anche quelle del grano, E della farina appena, Questi segreti io saprņ, Lucciola mia libera ti lascieró Quando i segreti della terra io sapró Tu sia benedetta ti diro! Scongiarazione del Sale. Scongiuro il sale suona mezza giņrno, In punto in mezzo a un fiume, Entro e qui miro I'acqua. L'acqua e al sol altro non penso, Che a I'acqua e al sol, alloro La mia menta tutta e rivolta, Altro pensier non ho desidero, Saper la verissima che tanto tempo é Che soffro, vorrei saper il mio avenir, Se cattivo fosse, acqua e sol Migliorate il destino mio! The Conjuration of Meal. I conjure thee, O Meal! Who art indeed our body, since without thee We could not live, thou who (at first as seed) Before becoming flower went in the earth, Where all deep secrets hide, and then when ground Didst dance like, dust in the wind, and yet meanwhile Didst bear with thee in flitting, secrets strange! And yet erewhile, when thou wert in the ear, Even as a (golden) glittering grain, even then The fireflies came to cast on thee their light[1] And aid thy growth, because without their help Thou couldst not grow nor beautiful become; Therefore thou clost belong unto the race Of witches or fairies, and because The fireflies do belong unto the sun.... Queen of the Fireflies! hurry apace,[2] Come to me now as if running a race, Bridle the horse as you hear me now sing! Bridle, O bridle the son of the king! Come in a hurry and bring him to me! The son of the king will ere long set thee free! [1. There is an evident association here of the body of the firefly (which much resembles a grain of wheat) with the latter. 2. The six lines following are often heard as a nursery rhyme.] And because thou for ever art brilliant and fair, Under a glass I will keep thee; while there, With a lens I will study thy secrets concealed, Till all their bright mysteries are fully revealed, Yea, all the wondrous lore perplexed Of this life of our cross and of the next. Thus to all mysteries I shall attain, Yea, even to that at last of the grain; And when this at last I shall truly know, Firefly, freely I'll let thee go! When Earth's dark secrets are known to me, My blessing at last I will give to thee! Here follows the Conjuration of the Salt. Conjuration of the Salt. I do conjure thee, salt, lo! here at noon, Exactly in the middle of a stream I take my place and see the water round, Likewise the sun, and think of nothing else While here besides the water and the sun: For all my soul is turned in truth to them; I do indeed desire no other thought, I yearn to learn the very truth of truths, For I have suffered long with the desire To know my future or my coming fate, If good or evil will prevail in it. Water and sun, be gracious unto me! Here follows the Conjuration of Cain. Scongiurazione di Caļno. Tuo Caļno, tu non possa aver Ne pace e ne bene fino che Dal sole[1] andate non sarai col piedi Correndo, le mani battendo, E pregarlo per me che mi faccia sapere, Il mio destino, se cattiva fosse, Allora me to faccia cambiare, Se questa grazia nil farete, L'acqua al lo splendor del sol la guardero: E tu Caļno colla tua bocca mi dirai Il mio destino quale sarą: Se questa grazia o Caļno non mi farai, Pace e bene non avrai! The Conjuration of Cain. I conjure thee, O Cain, as thou canst ne'er Have rest or peace until thou shalt be freed From the sun where thou art prisoned, and must go Beating thy hands and running fast meanwhile:[2] I pray thee let me know my destiny; And if 'tis evil, change its course for me! If thou wilt grant this grace, I'll see it clear In the water in the splendour of the sun; and thou, O Cain, shalt tell by word of mouth Whatever this my destiny is to be. And unless thou grantest this, May'st thou ne'er know peace or bliss! [1. Probably a mistake for Luna. 2. This implies keeping himself warm, and is proof positive that moon should here be read for sun. According to another legend Cain suffers from cold in the moon] Then shall follow the Conjuration of Diana. Scongiurazione a Diana. You shall make cakes of meal, wine, salt, and honey in the shape of a (crescent or horned) moon, and then put them to bake, and say: Non cuoco ne il pane ne il sale, Non cuoco ne il vino ne il miele, Cuoco il corpo il sangue e l'anima, L'anima di Diana, che non possa Avere ne la pace e ne bene, Possa essere sempre in mezzo alle pene Fino che la grazia non mi farą, Che glielo chiesta egliela chiedo di cuore! Se questa grazia, o Diana, mi farai, La cena in tua lode in molti la faremo, Mangiaremo, beveremo, Balleremo, salteremo, Se questa grazia che ti ho chiesta, Se questa grazia tu mi farai, Nel tempo che balliamo, Il lume spengnerai, Cosi al l'amore Liberamente la faremo! Conjuration of Diana. I do not bake the bread, nor with it salt, Nor do I cook the honey with the wine, I bake the body and the blood and soul, The soul of (great) Diana, that she shall Know neither rest nor peace, and ever be In cruel suffering till she will grant What I request, what I do most desire, I beg it of her from my very heart! And if the grace be granted, O Diana! In honour of thee I will hold this feast, Feast and drain the goblet deep, We, will dance and wildly leap, And if thou grant'st the grace which I require, Then when the dance is wildest, all the lamps Shall be extinguished and we'll freely love! And thus shall it be done: all shall sit down to the supper all naked, men and women, and, the feast over, they shall dance, sing, make music, and then love in the darkness, with all the lights extinguished: for it is the Spirit of Diana who extinguishes them, and so they will dance and make music in her praise. And it came to pass that Diana, after her daughter had accomplished her mission or spent her time on earth among the living (mortals), recalled her, and gave her the power that when she had been invoked... having done some good deed... she gave her the power to gratify those who had conjured her by granting her or him success in love: To bless or curse with power friends or enemies [to do good or evil]. To converse with spitrits. To find hidden treasures in ancient ruins. To conjure the spirits of priests who died leaving treasures. To understand the voice of the wind. To change water into wine. To divine with cards. To know the secrets of the hand (palmistry). To cure diseases. To make those who are ugly beautiful. To tame wild beasts. Whatever thing should be asked from the spirit of Aradia, that should be granted unto those who merited her favour. And thus must they invoke her: Thus do I seek Aradia! Aradia! Aradia![1] At mid night, at midnight I go into a field, and with me I bear water, wine, and salt, I bear water, wine, and salt, and my talisman-my talisman, my talisman, and a red small bag which I ever hold in my hand con dentro, con dentro, sale, with salt in it, in it. With the water and wine I bless myself, I bless myself with devotion to implore a favour from Aradia, Aradia. Sconjurazione di Aradia. Aradia, Aradia mia! Tu che siei figlia del pił peggiore Che si trova nell Inferno, Che dal Paradiso fu discacciata, [1. This is a formula which is to be slowly recited, emphasising the repetitions.] E con una sorella, te ha creata, Ma tua madre pentita del suo fallo, A voluto di fare di te uno spirito, Un spirito benigno, E non maligno! Aradia! Aradia! Tanto ti prego Per I'amore che por ti ha tua madre, E a I'amor tuo che tanto l'ami, Ti prego di farmi la grazia, La grazia che lo ti chiedo Se questa grazia mi farei, Tre cose mi farai vedere,     Serpe strisciare,     Lucciola volare,     E rana cantare Se questa grazia non mi farai, Desidero tu non possa avere, Avere pił pace e ne bene, E che da lontano tu debba scomodarti. E a me raccomodarti, Che ti obri... che tu possa tornar Presto al tuo destino. The Invocation to Aradia. Aradia! my Aradia! Thou who art daughter unto him who was Most evil of all spirits, who of old Once reigned in hell when driven away from heaven, Who by his sister did thy sire become, But as thy mother did repent her fault, And wished to mate thee to a spirit who Should be benevolent, And not malevolent! Aradia, Aradia! I implore Thee by the love which she did bear for thee! And by the love which I too feel for thee! I pray thee grant the grace which I require! And if this grace be granted, may there be One of three signs distinctly clear to me:     The hiss of a serpent,     The light of a firefly,     The sound of a frog! But if you do refuse this favour, then May you in future know no peace not- joy, And be obliged to seek me from afar, Until you come to grant me my desire, In haste, and then thou may'st return again Unto thy destiny. Therewith, Amen! CHAPTER III How Diana Made the Stars and the Rain Diana was the first created before all creation; in her were all things; out of herself, the first darkness, she divided herself; into darkness and light she was divided. Lucifer, her brother and son, herself and her other half, was the light. And when Diana saw that the light was so beautiful, the light which was her other half, her brother Lucifer, she yearned for it with exceeding great desire. Wishing to receive the light again into her darkness, to swallow it up in rapture, in delight, she trembled with desire. This desire was the Dawn. But Lucifer, the light, fled from her, and would not yield to her wishes; he was the light which files into the most distant parts of heaven, the mouse which files before the cat. Then Diana went to the fathers of the Beginning, to the mothers, the spirits who were before the first spirit, and lamented unto them that she could not prevail with Lucifer. And they praised her for her courage, they told her that to rise she must fall; to become the chief of goddesses she must become a mortal. And in the ages, in the course of time, when the world was made, Diana went on earth, as did Lucifer, who had fallen, and Diana taught magic and sorcery, whence came witches and fairies and goblins-all that is like man, yet not mortal. And it came thus that Diana took the form of a cat. Her brother had a cat whom he loved beyond all creatures, and it slept every night on his bed, a cat beautiful beyond all other creatures, a fairy: he did not know it. Diana prevailed with the cat to change forms with her, so she lay with her brother, and in the darkness assumed her own form, and so by Lucifer became the mother of Aradia. But when in the morning he found that he lay by his sister, and that light had been conquered by darkness, Lucifer was extremely angry; but Diana sang to him a spell, a song of power, and he was silent, the song of the night which soothes to sleep; he could say nothing. So Diana with her wiles of witchcraft so charmed him that he yielded to her love. This was the first fascination, she hummed the song, it was as the buzzing of bees (or a top spinning round), a spinning-wheel spinning life. She spun the lives of all men; all things were spun from the wheel of Diana. Lucifer turned the wheel. Diana was not known to the witches and spirits, the fairies and elves who dwell in desert place, the goblins, as their mother; she hid herself in humility and was a mortal, but by her will she rose again above all. She had such passion for witchcraft, and became so powerful therein, that her greatness could not be hidden. And thus it came to pass one night, at the meeting of all the sorceresses and fairies, she declared that she would darken the heavens and turn all the stars into mice. All those who were present said- "If thou canst do such a strange thing, having risen to such power, thou shalt be our queen." Diana went into the street; she took the bladder of an ox and a piece of witch-money, which has an edge like a knife-with such money witches cut the earth from men's foot-tracks-and she cut the earth, and with it and many mice she filled the bladder, and blew into the bladder till it burst. And there came a great marvel, for the earth which was in the bladder became the round heaven above, and for three days there was a great rain; the mice became stars or rain. And having made the heaven and the stars and the rain, Diana became Queen of the Witches; she was the cat who ruled the star-mice, the heaven and the rain. CHAPTER IV The Charm of the Stones Consecrated to Diana To find a stone with a hole in it is a special sign of the favour of Diana. He who does so shall take it in his hand and repeat the following, having observed the ceremony as enjoined:- Scongiurazione della pietra bucata. Una pietra bucata L'ho trovato; Ne ringrazio il destin, E lo spirito che su questa via Mi ha portata, Che passa essere il mio bene, E la mia buona fortuna! Mi alzo la mattina al alba, E a passegio me ne vo Nelle valli, monti e campi, La fortuna cercarvo Della ruta e la verbena, Quello so porta fortuna Me lo tengo in senno chiuso E saperlo nessuno no le deve, E cosi cio che commendo, La verbena far ben per me! Benedica quella strege! Quella fąta che mi segna!" Diana fu quella Che mi venne la notte in sogno E nu disse: "Se tu voir tener, Le cattive persone da te lontano, Devi tenere sempre ruta con te, Sempre ruta con te e verbena!" Diana, tu che siei la regina Del cielo e della terra e dell'inferno, E siei la prottetrice degli infelici, Dei ladri, degli assassini, e anche Di donne di mali affari se hai conosciuto, Che non sia stato l'indole cattivo Delle persone, tu Diana, Diana il hai fatti tutti felici! Una altra volta ti scongiuro Che tu non abbia ne pace ne bene, Tu possa essere sempre in mezzo alle pene, Fino che la grazia che to ti chiedo Non mi farai! Invocation to the Holy-Stone.[1] I have found A holy-stone upon the ground. O Fate! I thank thee for the happy find, Also the spirit who upon this road Hath given it to me; And may it prove to be for my true good And my good fortune! I rise in the morning by the earliest dawn, And I go forth to walk through (pleasant) vales, All in the mountains or the meadows fair, Seeking for luck while onward still I roam, Seeking for rue and vervain scented sweet, Because they bring good fortune unto all. I keep them safely guarded in my bosom, That none may know it-'tis a secret thing, And sacred too, and thus I speak the spell: "O vervain! ever be a benefit, And may thy blessing be upon the witch Or on the fairy who did give thee to me!" It was Diana who did come to me, All in the night in a dream, and said to me: "If thou would'st keep all evil folk afar, Then ever keep the vervain and the rue Safely beside thee!" [1. Properly, the stone with a hole in it. But such a stone is called holy on shipboard, and here it has really a claim to the name.] Great Diana! thou Who art the queen of heaven and of earth, And of the infernal lands-yea, thou who art Protectress of all men unfortunate, Of thieves and murderers, and of women too Who lead an evil life, and yet hast known That their nature was not evil, thou, Diana, Hast still conferred on them some joy in life.[1] Or I may truly at another time So conjure thee that thou shalt have no peace Or happiness, for thou shalt ever be In suffering until thou grantest that Which I require in strictest faith from thee! [Here we have again the threatening the deity, just as in Eskimo or other Shamanism, which represents the rudest primitive form of conjuring, the spirits are menaced. A trace of this is to be found among rude Roman Catholics. Thus when St. Bruno, some years ago, at a town in the Romagna, did not listen to the prayers of his devotees for rain, they stuck his image in the mud of the river, head downwards. A rain speedily followed, and the saint was restored in honour to his place in the church.] [1. This is an obscure passage, but I believe that I have given it as the poet ineant or felt it.] The Spell or Conjuration of the Round Stone.[1] The finding a round stone, be it great or small, is a good sign (e buono augurio), but it should never be given away, because the receiver will then get the good luck, and some disaster befall the giver. On finding a round stone, raise the eyes to heaven, and throw the stone up three times (catching it every time), and say:- Spirito del buono augurio! Sei venuto in mio soccorso, Credi ne avevo gran bisogno, Spirito del folletino rosso Giacche sei venuto in mio soccorso, Ti prego di non mi abbandonare! Ti prego dentro questa palla d'intrare, E nella mia tasca tu possa portare, Cosi in qualunque mia bisogna, In mio aiuto ti posso chiamare, E di giorno e di notte, Tu non mi possa abbandonare. Se danari da qualchuno avanzerņ E non mi vorra pagare, Tu folletino rosso me il farei dare! Si questo di non darmeli, Si in testera tu vi anderai E col tua Brié- brié! [1.Il sasso a palla.] Se dorme to desterai, Panni dal letto laceraģ, Le farai tanta paura Che allora di andare a dormire, Andra alle bische a giuocare, E tu nunqua lu seguirai. E tu col tuo Brié-brié, le dirai, Chi non paga delliti Avranno pene e guai. Cosi il debitare il giorno appresso, O mi portera i danari, O mi il mandera; E cosi, folletino rosso! Mi farai felice in mia vita, Perche in qualcunque mia bisogna, Verai in mio soccorso! Se colla mia amante saro' adirato, Tu spirito del buon augurio mio! Andrai la notte da lei Per i capelli la prenderai, E nel letto mio la porterai; E la mattina quando tutti gli spiriti Vanno a riposare, Tu prima di si' entrare Nella tua palla si porterai La mia bella nel suo letto, Cosi te prego folletino, Di entrare in questa mia palla! E di ubbidire a tutti miei commandi! Ed io ti porteró Sempre nella tasca mia, Che tu non mi vada via. The Conjuration. Spirit of good omen, Who art come to aid me, Believe I had great need of thee. Spirit of the Red Goblin, Since thou hast come to aid me in my need, I pray of thee do not abandon me: I beg of thee to enter now this stone, That in my pocket I may carry thee, And so when anything Is needed by me, I can call unto thee: be what it may, Do not abandon me by night or day. Should I lend money unto any man Who will not pay when due, I pray of thee, Thou the Red Goblin, make him pay his debt! And if he will not and is obstinate, Go at him with thy cry of "Brié- brié!" And if he sleeps, awake him with a twitch, And pull the covering off and frighten him! And follow him about where'er he goes. So teach him with thy ceaseless "Brié- brié!" That he who obligation e'er forgets Shall be in trouble till he pays his debts. And so my debtor on the following day Shall either bring the money which he owes, Or send it promptly: so I pray of thee, O my Red Goblin, come unto my aid! Or should I quarrel with her whom I love, Then, spirit of good luck, I pray thee go To her while sleeping-pull her by the hair, And bear her through the night unto my bed! And in the morning, when all spirits go To their repose, do thou, ere thou return'st Into thy stone, carry her home again, And leave her there asleep. Therefore, O Sprite! I beg thee in this pebble make thy home! Obey in every way all I command. So in my pocket thou shalt ever be, And thou and I will ne'er part company! CHAPTER V The Conjuration of the Lemon and Pins Scongiurazione al Limone appuntato un Spille. Sacred to Diana. A lemon stuck full of pins of different colours always brings good fortune. If you receive as a gift a lemon full of pins of divers colours, without any black ones among them, it signifies that your life will be perfectly happy and prosper ous and joyful. But if some black pins are among them, you may enjoy good fortune and health, yet mingled with trou bles which may be of small account. [However, to lessen their influence, you must perform the following ceremony, and pronounce this incantation, wherein all is also described.[1]] The Incantation to Diana. Al punto di mezza notte Un limone ho raccolto, Lo raccolto nel giardino Ho raccolto un limone, [1. This passage is not given in the original MS., but it is necessary to clearly explain what follows abruptly.] Un arancio e un mandarino, Cogliendo queste cose, Cogliendo, io ho detto; Tu, o Regina del sole Delia luna e delle stelle, Ti chiamo in mio ajuto E con quanta forza ho a te scongiuro Che una grazia tu mi voglia fare, Tre cose ho racolto nel giardino; Un limone, un arancio, E un mandarino; una Di queste cose per mia fortuna, Voglio tenere due Di questi oggetti di mano, E quello che dovra servirmi Per la buona fortuna Regina delle stelle: Fa lo rimanare in mia mano! At the instant when the midnight came, I have picked a lemon in the garden, I have picked a lemon, and with it An orange and a (fragrant) mandarin. Gathering with care these (precious) things, And while gathering I said with care: "Thou who art Queen of the sun and of the moon And of the stars-lo! here I call to thee! And with what power I have I conjure thee To grant to me the favour I implore! Three things I've gathered in the garden here: A lemon, orange, and a mandarin; I've gathered them to bring good luck to me. Two of them I do grasp here in my hand, And that which is to serve me for my fate, Queen of the stars! Then make that fruit remain firm in my grasp. [Something is here omitted in the MS. I conjecture that the two are tossed without seeing them into the air, and if the lemon remains, the ceremony proceeds as follows. This is evident, since in it the incantation is confused with a prose direction how to act.] Saying this, one looks up at the sky, and I found the lemon in one hand, and a voice said to me- "Take many pins, and carefully stick them in the lemon, pins of many colours; and as thou wilt have good luck, and if thou desirest to give the lemon to any one or to a friend, thou shouldst stick in it many pins of varied colours. "But if thou wilt that evil befall any one, put in it black pins. "But for this thou must pronounce a different incantation (thus)":- Dia Diana, a te scongiuro! E te chiamo ad alta voce! Che tu non abbia pace ne bene Se non viene in nuo aiuto Domani al punto di mezzo giorno, Ti aspetto a quello punto Un bicchiere di vino portero, E una piccola lente al occhio E dentro tredici spilli, Spilli neri vi metterņ, E tu Diana tutti I diavoli dell' inferno chiamerai, E in compagma del sole il manderai, E tutto il fuoco dell'inferno preso di se Lo porteranno, e daranno forza, Al sole di farmi questo vino bollire, Perche questi spilli possano arroventire, E con questi il limone apunteró Per non dare pił pace, E ne bene alla persona Che questo limone le presenterņ! Se questa grazia mi farete, Un segnale mi darete, Dentro tre giorni, Una cosa voglio vedere, O vento, o acqua, o grandine, Se questo segnale non avró, Piu pace Diana non te darņ, Tanto di giorno che di notte, Sempre ti tormenterņ. The Invocation to Diana. Goddess Diana, I do conjure thee And with uplifted voice to thee I call, That thou shalt never have content or peace Until thou comest to give me all thy aid. Therefore to-morrow at the stroke of noon I'll wait for thee, bearing a cup of wine, Therewith a lens or a small burning-glass.[1] And thirteen pins I'll put into the charm; Those which I put shall all indeed be black, But thou, Diana, thou wilt place them all! And thou shalt call for me the fiends from hell; Thou'lt send them as companions of the Sun, And all the fire infernal of itself Those fiends shall bring, and bring with it the, power Unto the Sun to make this (red) wine boil,[2] So that these pins by heat may be red-hot, And with them I do fill the lemon here, That unto her or him to who 'tis given is Peace and prosperity shall be unknown.     If this grace I gain from thee     Give a sign, I pray, to me! [1. This appears from very early ages, as in Roman times, to have been regarded as gifted with magic properties, and was used in occult ceremonies. 2 That is, Diana is invoked to send demons with the very life of the fire of hell to still more increase that of the sun to intensify the wine.]     Ere the third day     Shall pass away, Let me either hear or see A roaring wind, a rattling rain, Or hall a clattering on the plain; Till one of these three signs you show, Peace, Diana, thou shalt not know. Answer well the prayer I've sent thee, Or day and night will I torment thee! As the orange was the fruit of the Sun, so is the lemon suggestive of the Moon or Diana, its colour being of the lighter yellow. However, the lemon specially chosen for the charm is always a green one, because it "sets hard" and turns black. It is not generally known that orange and lemon peel, subjected to pressure and combined with an adhesive may be made into a hard substance which can be moulded or used for many purposes. I have devoted a chapter to this in an as yet unpublished work entitled One Hundred Minor Arts. This was suggested to me by the hardened lemon given to me for a charm by a witch. CHAPTER VI A Spell To Win Love When a wizard, a worshipper of Diana, one who worships the Moon, desires the love of a woman, he can change her into the form of a dog, when she, forgetting who she is, and all things besides, will at once come to his house, and there, when by him, take on again her natural form and remain with him. And when it is time for her to depart, she will again become a dog and go home, where she will turn into a girl. And she will remember nothing of what has taken place, or at least but little or mere fragments, which will seem as a confused dream. And she will take the form of a dog because Diana has ever a dog by her side. And this is the spell to be repeated by him who would bring a love to his home.[1] To day is Friday, and I wish to rise very early, not having been able to sleep all night, having seen a very beautiful girl, the daughter of a rich lord, whom I dare not hope to win. Were she poor, I could gain her with money; but as she is rich, I have no hope to do so. (Therefore will I conjure Diana to aid me.) [1. The beginning of this spell seems to be inerely a prose introduction explaining the nature of the ceremony.] Scongiurazione a Diana. Diana, bella Diana! Che tanto bella e, buona siei, E tanto ti é piacere Ti ho fatto, Anche a te di fare al amore, Dunque spero che anche in questa cosa Tu mi voglia aiutare, E se tu vorrai Tutto tu potrai, Se questa grazia mi vorrai fare: Chiamerai tua figlia Aradia, Al letto della bella fanciulla La mandera Aradia, La fanciulla in una canina convertira, Alla camera mia la in mandera, Ma entrata in camera mia, Non sara pił una canina, Ma tornerą una bella fanciulla, Bella cane era prima, E cosi potrņ fare al amore A mio piacimento, Come a me piacera. Quando mi saro divertito A mi piacere dirņ. "Per volere della Fata Diana, E di sua figlia Aradia, Torna una canina Come tu eri prima!" Invocation to Diana. Diana, beautiful Diana! Who art indeed as good as beautiful, By all the worship I have given thee, And all the joy of love which thou hast known, I do implore thee aid me in my love!     What thou wilt 'tis true     Thou canst ever do: And if the grace I seek thou'lt grant to me, Then call, I pray, thy daughter Aradia, And send her to the bedside of the girl, And give that girl the likeness of a dog, And make her then come to me in my room, But when she once has entered it, I pray That she may reassume her human form, As beautiful as e'er she was before, And may I then make love to her until Our souls w ith joy are fully satisfied. Then by the aid of the great Fairy Queen And of her daughter, fair-Aradia, May she be turned into a dog again, And then to human form as once before! Thus it will come to pass that the girl as a dog will return to her home unseen and unsuspected, for thus will it be effected by Aradlia; and the girl will think it is all a dream, because she will have been enchanted by Aradia. CHAPTER VII To Find or Buy Anything, or to Have Good Fortune Thereby An Invocation or Incantation to Diana. The man or woman who, when about to go go forth into the town, would fain be free from danger or risk of an accident: or to have good fortune in buying, as, for instance, if a scholar hopes that he may find somerare old book or manuscript for sale very cheaply, or if any one wishes to buy anything very desirable or to find bargains or rarities. This scongiurazione one serves for good health, cheerfulness of heart, and absence of evil or the overcoming enmity. These are words of gold unto the believer. The Invocation. Siamo di Martedi e a buon ora Mi voglio levare la buona fortuna, Voglio andare e cercare, E coll aiuto della bella Diana, La voglio trovare prima d'andare, Prima di sortir di casa Il malocchio mi levero Con tre gocciole d'olio,[1] E te bella Diana io invoco Che tu possa mandarmi via Il malocchio da dosse a me E mandala al mio pił nemico! Quando il malocchio Mi saro levato In mezza alla via lo gettero, Se questa grazia mi farei Diana bella, Tuttl i campanelli Di mia casa bene suonerai, Allora contento di casa me ne andro, Perche col tuo aiuto (saro) certo di trovare, Buona fortuna, certo di trovare Un bel libro antico, E a buon mercato Me lo farai comprare! Tu stessa dal proprietario Che avra il libro Te ne andrai tu stessa Lo troverai e lo farei, [1. This refers to a small ceremony which I have seen performed scores of times, and have indeed had it performed over me almost as often, as an act of courtesy common among wizards and witches. It consists of making certain signs and crosses over a few drops of oil and the head of the one blessed. accompanied by a short incantation. I have had the ceremony seriously commended or prescribed to me as a means of keeping in good health and prosperity.] Capitare in mano al padrone, E le farai capitare In mano al padrone, E le farai entrare Nel cervello che se di quel libro Non si disfara la scomunica, Le portera, cosi questo dell'libro, Verra disfarsi e col tuo aiuto, Verra portato alla mia presenza, E a poco me to vendera, Oppure se e'un manoscritto, Invece di libro per la via to gettera, E col tuo aiuto verra in mia presenza, E potrņ acquistarlo Senza nessuna spesa; E cosi per me Sara grande fortuna! To Diana. 'Tis Tuesday now, and at an early hour I fain would turn good fortune to myself, Firstly at home and then when I go forth, And with the aid of beautiful Diana I pray for luck ere I do leave this house! First with three drops of oil I do remove All evil influence, and I humbly pray, O beautiful Diana, unto thee That thou wilt take it all away from me, And send it all to my worst enemy! When the evil fortune Is taken from me, I'll cast it out to the middle of the street: And if thou wilt grant me this favour, O beautiful Diana, Every bell in my house shall merrily ring! Then well contented I will go forth to roam, Because I shall be sure that with thy aid I shall discover ere I return Some fine and ancient books, And at a moderate price. And thou shalt find the man, The one who owns the book, And thou thyself wilt go And put it in his mind, Inspiring him to know What 'tis that thou would'st find And move him into doing All that thou dost require. Or if a manuscript Written in ancient days, Thou'lt gain it all the same, It shall come in thy way, And thus at little cost. Thou shalt buy what thou wilt, By great Diana's aid. The foregoing was obtained, after some delay, in reply to a query as to what conjuration would be required before going forth, to make sure that one should find for sale some rare book, or other object desired, at a very moderate price. Therefore the invocation has been so worded as to make it applicable to literary finds; but those who wish to buy anything whatever on equally favourable terms, have but to vary the request, retaining the introduction, in which the magic virtue consists. I cannot, however, resist the conviction that it is most applicable to, and will succeed best with, researches for objects of antiquity, scholarship, and art, and it should accordingly be deeply impressed on the memory of every bric-ą-brac hunter and bibliographer. It should be observed, and that earnestly, that the prayer, far from being answered, will turn to the contrary or misfortune, unless the one who repeats it does so in fullest faith, and this cannot be acquired by merely saying to oneself, "I believe." For to acquire real faith in anything requires long and serious mental discipline, there being, in fact, no subject which is so generally spoken of and so little understood. Here, indeed, I am speaking seriously, for the man who can train his faith to actually believe in and cultivate or develop his will can really work what the world by common consent regards as miracles. A time will come when this principle will form not only the basis of all education, but also that of all moral and social culture. I have, I trust, fully set it forth in a work entitled "Have you a Strong Will? or how to Develop it or any other Faculty or Attribute of the Mind, and render it Habitual," &c. London: George Redway. The reader, however, who has devout faith, can, as the witches declare, apply this spell daily before going forth to procuring or obtaining any kind of bargains at shops, to picking up or discovering lost objects, or, in fact, to finds of any kind. If he incline to beauty in female form, he will meet with bonnes fortunes; if a man of business, bargains will be his. The botanist who repeats it before going into the fields will probably discover some new plant, and the astronomer by night be almost certain to run against a brand new planet, or at least an asteroid. It should be repeated before going to the races, to visit friends, places of amusement, to buy or sell, to make speeches, and specially before hunting or any nocturnal goings-forth, since Diana is the goddess of the chase and of night. But woe to him who does it for a jest! CHAPTER VIII To Have a Good Vintage and Very Good Wine by the Aid of Diana "Sweet is the vintage when the showering grapes In Bacchanal profusion reel to earth, Purple and gushing."     -Byron, Don Juan, c. 124. "Vinum bonum et suave, Bonis bonum, pravis prave, O quam dulcis sapor-ave! Mundana Iętitia! "     -Latin Songs, E. du Merit. He who would have a good vintage and fine wine, should take a horn full of wine and with this go into the vineyards or farms wherever vines grow, and then drinking from the horn, say:- Bevo ma non bevo il vino, Bevo il sangue di Diana, Che da vino nel sangue di Diana Si deve convertire, E in tutte le mie viti Lo spandera, E buona raccolta nu verra E quando avro avuto buona raccolta, Non saro ancora fuori di sciagura, Perche il vino cattivo tui puol venire Perche puol nascere l'uva A luna vecchia... E cosi li mio vino puole sempre andare In malora-ma io bevendo In questo corno, e bevendo il sangue, Il sangue di Diana col suo aiuto La mano alla Luna nuova io bacero, Che la mia uva possa guardare, Al momento che crea l'occhiolo Alla crescenza del uva E fino alla raccolta, Che possa venire il mio vino buono, E che si possa mantenere Da prendere molti quattrini, E possa entrare la buona fortuna Nelle mi e vigne, E nel miei poderi! Quando il mio vino pendera Di andare male., il corno prendero, E forte, forte lo suonero, Nel punto della mezza notte, Dentro alla mia cantina lo suonero, Lo suonero tanto forte Che tu bella Diana anche da molto lontano, Tu lo possa sentire, E finestre e porte Con gran forza tu possa spalancare, A gran corsa tu mi possa venire, A trovare, e tu possa salvarmi Il mio vino, e tu possa salvare, Salvare me da grande sciagura, Perche se il mio vino a male andera La miseria mi prendera. E col tuo aiuto bella Diana, lo saro salvato. I drink, and yet it is not wine I drink, I drink the blood of Diana, Since from wine it has changed into her blood, And spread itself through all my growing vines, Whence it will give me good return in wines, Though even if good vintage should be mine, I'll not be free from care, for should it chance That the grape ripens in the waning moon, Then all the wine would come to sorrow, but If drinking from this horn I drink the blood The blood of great Diana -by her aid If I do kiss my hand to the new moon, Praying the Queen that she will guard my grapes, Even from the instant when the bud is horn Until it is a ripe and perfect grape, And onward to the vintage, and to the last Until the wine is made-may it be good! And may it so succeed that I from it May draw good profit when at last 'tis sold, So may good fortune come unto my vines, And into all my land where'er it be! But should my vines seem in an evil way, I'll take my horn, and bravely will I blow In the wine-vault at midnight, and I'll make Such a tremendous and a terrible sound That thou, Diana fair, however far Away thou may'st be, still shalt hear the call, And casting open door or window wide, Shalt headlong come upon the rushing wind, And find and save me-that is, save my vines, Which will be saving me from dire distress; For should I lose them I'd be lost myself, But with thy aid, Diana, I'll be saved. This is a very interesting invocation and tradition, and probably of great antiquity from very striking intrinsic evidence. For it is firstly devoted to a subject which has received little attention-the connection of Diana as the moon with Bacchus, although in the great Dizionario Storico Mitologico, by Pozzoli and others, it is expressly asserted that in Greece her worship was associated with that of Bacchus, Esculapius, and Apollo. The connecting link is the horn. In a medal of Alexander Severus, Diana of Ephesus bears the horn of plenty. This is the horn or horns of the new moon, sacred to Diana. According to Callimachus, Apollo himself built an altar consisting entirely of horns to Diana. The connection of the horn with wine is obvious. It was usual among the old Slavonians for the priest of Svantevit, the Sun-god, to see if the horn which the idol held in his hand was full of wine, in order to prophesy a good harvest for the coming year. If it was filled, all was right; if not, he filled the horn, drank from it, and replaced the horn in the hand, and predicted that all would eventually go well.[1] It cannot fail to strike the reader that this ceremony is strangely like that of the Italian invocation, the only difference being that in one the Sun, and in the other the Moon is invoked to secure a good harvest. In the Legends of Florence there is one of the Via del Corno, in which the hero, falling into a vast tun or tina of wine, is saved from drowning by sounding a horn with tremendous power. At the sound, which penetrates to an incredible distance, even to unknown lands, all come rushing as if enchanted to save him. In this conjuration, Diana, in the depths of heaven, is represented as rushing at the sound of the horn, and leaping through doors or windows to save the vintage of the one who blows. There is a certain singular affinity in these stories. In the story of the Via del Corno, the hero is [1. Kreussler, Sorbenwendische Alterthümer, Pt. 1. p. 272.] saved by the Red Goblin or Robin Goodfellow, who gives him a horn, and it is the same sprite who appears in the conjuration of the Round Stone, which is sacred to Diana. This is because the spirit is nocturnal, and attendant on Diana Titania. Kissing the hand to the new moon is a ceremony of unknown antiquity, and Job, even in his time, regarded it as heathenish and forbidden which always means antiquated and out of fashion-as when he declared (xxxi. 26, 27), "If I beheld the moon walking in brightness... and my heart hath been secretly enticed or my mouth hath kissed my hand...this also were an iniquity to be punished by the Judge, for I should have denied the God that is above." From which it may or ought to be inferred that Job did not understand that God made the moon and appeared in all His works, or else he really believed the moon was an independent deity. In any case, it is curious to see the old forbidden rite still living, and as heretical as ever. The tradition, as given to me, very evidently omits a part of the ceremony, which may be supplied from classic authority. When the peasant performs the rite, he must not act as once a certain African, who was a servant of a friend of mine, did. The coloured man's duty was to pour out every morning a libation of rum to a fetish and he poured it down his own throat. The peasant should also sprinkle the vines, just as the Devonshire farmers, who observed all Christmas ceremonies, sprinkled, also from a horn, their apple-trees. CHAPTER IX Tana and Endamone, or Diana and Endyinion "Hic ultra Endymionem indormit negligentię." "Now it is fabled that Endymion, admitted to Olympus, whence he was expelled for want of respect to Juno, was banished for thirty years to earth. And having been allowed to sleep this time in a cave of Mount Latmos, Diana, smitten with his beauty, visited him every night till she had by him fifty daughters and one son. And after this Endymion was recalled to Olympus."     -Diz. Stor. Mitol. The following legend and the spells were given under the name or title of Tana. This was the old Etruscan name for Diana, which is still preserved in the Romagna Toscana. In more than one Italian and French work I have found some account or tale how a witch charmed a girl to sleep for a lover, but this is the only explanation of the whole ceremony known to me. Tana. Tana is a beautiful goddess, and she loved a marvelously handsome youth named Endamone; but her love was crossed by a witch who was her rival, although Endamone did not care for the latter. But the witch resolved to win him, whether he would or not, and with this intent she induced the servant of Endamone to let her pass the night in the latter's room. And when there, she assumed the appearance of Tana, whom he loved, so that he was delighted to behold her, as he thought, and welcomed her with passionate embraces. Yet this gave him into her power, for it enabled her to perform a certain magic spell by clipping a lock of his hair.[1] Then she went home, and taking a piece of sheep's intestine, formed of it a purse, and in this she put that which she had taken, with a red and a black ribbon bound together, with a feather, and pepper and salt, and then sang a song. These were the words, a song of witchcraft of the very old time. Scongiurazione. Ho formato questo sachetto a Endamone, E la mia vendetta per I'amore, Ch'io ti portavo, e non ero corrisposta, Una altra tu l'amavi: La bella dea Tana tu amavi, E tu non I'avrai: di passione Ti struggerai, volonta di fare, Di fare al amore tu avrai, [1. According to all evil witchcraft in the world - especially among the black Voodoos -any individual can be injured or killed if the magician can obtain any portion of the person, however small, especially a lock of hair. This is specially described in Thiodolf the Islander, a romance by La Motte Fouqué. The exchange of locks by lovers is possibly connected with magic.] E non la potral fare. Sempre addormentato resterai, Di un sonno che tutto sentirai, E la tua bella tu vedrai, Ma parlare non potrai Nel vedere la tua bella, Volontą di fare al amore Verra e non la potrai fare Come una candela ti struggera, Ti struggerai poco a poco, Come una candele a fuoco, Tu non potrai vivčre Tu non potrai stare, Ti sentirai mancare, Che il tuo cuore ritto sempre possa stare E al amore pił non potrai fare Per I'amore che io te ho portata vo, Sia convertito intanto odio Che questo Endamone e la mia vendetta, E cosi sono contenta. The Spell. This bag for Endamon' I wove, It is my vengeance for the love., For the deep love I had for thee, Which thou would'st not return to me, But bore it all to Tana's shrine., And Tana never shall be thine! Now every night in agony By me thou shalt oppressed be! From day to day, from hour to hour, I'll make thee feel the witch's power, With passion thou shalt be tormented, And yet with pleasure ne'er contented; Enwrapped in slumber thou shalt lie, To know that thy beloved is by, And, ever dying, never die, Without the power to speak a word, Nor shall tier voice by thee be heard; Tormented by Love's agony, There shall be no relief for thee! For my strong spell thou canst not break, And from that sleep thou ne'er shalt wake: Little by little thou shalt waste, Like taper by the embers placed. Little by little thou shalt die, Yet, ever living, tortured lie, Strong in desire, yet ever weak, Without the power to move or speak, With all the love I had for thee Shalt thou thyself tormented be, Since all the love I felt of late I'll make thee feel in burning hate, For ever on thy torture bent, I am revenged, and now content. But Tana, who was far more powerful than the witch, though not able to break the spell by which he was compelled to sleep, took from him all pain (he knew her in dreams), and embracing him, she sang this counter-charm. The Song of Diana. Endamone, Endamone, Endamone! Per I'amore chi mi porti e che io pure, Ti porto tre croci su questo letto! Vengo a fare, e tre marroni d'India, Nel tuo letto vengo a posare, E questa finestra aperta che la Luna, Su il tuo letto risplende, Come risplende il nostro amore La, e la prego con gran calore, Che voglia dare sfogo a queste due cuore, Che tanto ci amiamo, e se questa grazia, Mi verrą fatta chiunque sia innamorata, Se mi scongiurera In suo aiuto correro! Endamone, Endamone, Endamone! Sopra te io mi metto al lume, Il tuo (cuore) io dimeno, E mi dimeno io pure e cosi, E cosi tanto farņ, Tanto farņ e tanto faremmo, Che uniti ne veremmo. The Counter-Charm. Endamone, Endamone, Encianione! By the love I feel, which I Shall ever feel until I die, Three crosses on thy bed I make, And then three wild horse-chestnuts take;[1] In that bed the nuts I hide, And then the window open wide, That the full moon may cast her light Upon a love as fair and bright, And so I pray to her above To give wild rapture to our love, And cast her fire in either heart, Which wildly loves to never part; And one thing more I beg of thee! If any one enamoured be, And in my aid his love hath placed, Unto his call I'll come in haste. So it came to pass that the fair goddess made love with Endamone as if they had been awake (yet communing in dreams). And so it is to this day, that who ever would make love with him or her who sleeps, should have recourse to the beautiful Tana, and so doing there will be success. This legend, while agreeing in many details with the classical myth, is strangely intermingled with practices of witchcraft, but even these, if investigated, would all prove to be as ancient as the rest of the text. Thus the sheep's intestine used instead of the red woollen bag which is employed in beneficent magic-the red and black [1. Marroni d' India. A strong charm against evil, hence frequently carried against rheumatism, &c. The three should come from one shell.] ribbon, which mingles threads of joy and woe the (peacock's) feather or la penna maligna-pepper and salt, occur in many other incantations, but always to bring evil and cause suffering.[1] I have never seen it observed, but it is true, that Keats in his exquisite poem of Endymion completely departs from or ignores the whole spirit and meaning of the ancient myth, while in this rude witch-song it is minutely developed. The conception is that of a beautiful youth furtively kissed in his slumber by Dian of reputed chastity. The ancient myth is, to begin with, one of darkness and light, or day and night, from which are born the fifty-one (now fifty-two) weeks of the year. This is Diana, the night, and Apollo, the sun, or light in another form. It is expressed as love-making during sleep, which, when it occurs in real life, generally has for active agent some one who, without being absolutely modest, wishes to preserve appearances. The established character of Diana among the Initiated (for which she was bitterly reviled by the Fathers of the Church) was that of a beautiful hypocrite who pursued amours in silent secrecy. "Thus as the moon Endynnon lay with her, So did Hippolytus and Verbio." [1. The reader will find them described in my Etrusco-Roman Remains.] (On which the reader may consult Tertullian, De Falsa Religione, lib. ii. cap. 17, and Pico de Mirandula, La Strega.) But there is an exquisitely subtle, delicately strange idea or ideal in the conception of the apparently chaste "clear cold moon" casting her living light by stealth into the hidden recesses of darkness and acting in the occult mysteries of love or dreams. So it struck Byron[1] as an original thought that the sun does not shine on half the forbidden deeds which the moon witnesses, and this is emphasised in the Italian witch-poem. In it the moon is distinctly invoked as the protectress of a strange and secret amour, and as the deity to be especially invoked for such love-making. The one invoking says that the window is opened, that the moon may shine splendidly on the bed, even as our love is bright and beautiful... and I pray her to give great rapture -sfogo -to us. The quivering, mysteriously beautiful light of the moon, which seems to cast a spirit of intelligence or emotion over silent Nature, and dimly [1. "The sun set and uprose the yellow moon: The devil's in the moon for mischief; they Who called her chaste, methinks, began too soon Their nomenclature; there is not a day The longest, not the twenty-first of June, Sees half the business in a wicked way On which three single hours of moonshine smile." -Don Juan, cxiii.] half awaken it-raising shadows into thoughts and causing every tree and rock to assume the semblance of a living form, but one which, while shimmering and breathing, still sleeps in a dream-could not escape the Greeks, and they expressed it as Diana embracing Endymion. But as night is the time sacred to secrecy, and as the true Diana of the Mysteries was the Queen of Night, who wore the crescent moon, and mistress of all hidden things, including "sweet secret sins and loved iniquities," there was attached to this myth far more than meets the eye. And Just in the degree to which Diana was believed to be Queen of the emancipated witches and of Night, or the nocturnal Venus-Astarte herself, so far would the love for the sleeping Endymion be understood as sensual, yet sacred and allegorical. and it is entirely in this sense that the witches in Italy, who, may claim with some right to be its true inheritors, have preserved and understood the myth. It is a realisation of forbidden or secret love, with attraction to the dimly seen beautiful-by moonlight, with the fairy or witch-like charm of the supernatural-a romance all combined in a single strange form-the spell of Night! "There is a dangerous silence in that hour, A stillness which leaves rooni for the full soul To open all itself, without the power Of calling wholly back its self-control; The silver light which, hallowing tree and tower, Sheds beauty and deep softness o'er the whole, Breathes also to the heart, and o'er it throws A loving languor which is not repose." This is what is meant by the myth of Diana and Endymion. It is the making divine or ęsthetic (which to the Greeks was one and the same) that which is impassioned, secret, and forbidden. It was the charm of the stolen waters which are sweet, intensified to poetry. And it is remarkable that it has been so strangely preserved in Italian witch traditions. CHAPTER X Madonna Diana "The Madonna is essentially the goddess of the moon. _"Naples in the Nineties," by E. N. Rolfe. Once there was, in the very old time in Cettardo Alto, a girl of astonishing beauty, and she was betrothed to a young man who was as remarkable for good looks as herself; but though well born and bred, the fortune or misfortunes of war or fate had made them both extremely poor. And if the young lady had one fault, it was her great pride, nor would she willingly be married unless in good style, with luxury and festivity, in a fine garment, with many bridesmaids of rank. And this became to the beautiful Rorasa-for such was her name-such an object of desire, that her head was half turned with it, and the other girls of her acquaintance, to say nothing of the many men whom she had refused, mocked her so bitterly, asking her when the fine, wedding was to be, with many other jeers and sneers, that at last in a moment of madness she went to the top of a high tower, whence she cast herself; and to make it worse. there was below a terrible ravine (balza), into which she fell. Yet she took no harm, for as she fell there appeared to her a very beautiful woman, truly not of earth, who took her by the hand and bore her through the air to a safe place. Then all the people round about who saw or heard of this thing cried out, "Lo, a miracle!" and they came and made a great festival, and would fain persuade Rorasa that she had been saved by the Madonna. But the lady who had saved her, coming to her secretly, said: "If thou hast any desire, follow the Gospel of Diana, or what is called the Gospel of the Witches (Il Vangelo delle Strege), who worship the moon." "Se la Luna adorerai Tutto tu otterai" "If thou adorest Luna, then What thou desir'st thou shalt obtain!" Then the beautiful girl went forth alone by night to the fields, and kneeling on a stone in an old ruin, she worshipped the moon and invoked Diana thus:- Diana, bella Diana! Tu che della grande caduta Mi ai bene salvata! Ti prego di farmi una altra grazia, Di farmi far' un bello sposalizio, Una sposalizio ricco e 'compagnato Da molte signore... Se questa grazia mi farai Sempre il Vangelo delle Strege lo asseriro. Diana, beautiful Diana! Thou who didst save from a dreadful death When I did fall into the dark ravine! I pray thee grant me still another grace. Give me one glorious wedding, and with it Full many bridesmaids, beautiful and grand; And if this favour thou wilt grant to me, True to the Witches' Gospel I will be! When Rorasa awoke in the morning, she found her self in another house, where all was far more magnificent, and having risen, a beautiful maid led her into another room, where she was dressed in a superb wedding-garment of white silk with diamonds, for it was her wedding-dress indeed. Then there appeared ten young ladies, all splendidly attired, and with them and many distinguished persons she went to the church in a carriage. And all the streets were filled with music and people bearing flowers. So she found the bridegroom, and was wedded to her heart's desire, ten times more grandly than she had ever dreamed of. Then, after the ceremony, there was spread a feast at which all the nobility of Cettardo were present, and, moreover, the whole town, rich and poor, were feasted. When the wedding was finished, the bridesmaids made every one a magnificent present to the bride-one gave diamonds, another a parchment (written) in gold, after which they asked permission to go all together into the sacristy. And there they remained for some hours undisturbed, till the priest sent his chierico to inquire whether they wanted anything. But what was the youth's amazement at beholding, not the ten bridesmaids, but their ten Images or likenesses in wood and in terra-cotta, with that of Diana standing on a moon, and they were all so magnificently made and adorned as to be of immense value. Therefore the priest put these images into the church, which is the most ancient in Cettardo, and now in many churches you may see the Madonna and the Moon, but it is Diana-la Dea della Luna. The name Rorasa seems to indicate the Latin ros the dew, rorare, to bedew, rorulenta, bedewed-in fact, the goddess of the dew. Her great fall and being lifted by Diana suggest the fall of dew by night, and its rising in vapour under the influence of the moon. It is possible that this is a very old Latin mythic tale. The white silk and diamonds indicate the dew. CHAPTER X1 The House of the Wind "List to the whoop and whistle of the winds, Their hollow drone as they come roaring on, For strength hath many a voice, and when aroused The flying tempest calls with awful joy And echoes as it strikes the mountain-side, Then crashes in the forest. Hear the cry! Surely a god hath set his lions loose And laughs to hear them as they rage afar."     -C. G. Leland. The following story does not belong to the Gospel of the Witches, but I add it as it confirms the fact that the worship of Diana existed for a long time contemporary with Christianity. Its full title in the original MS., which was written out by Maddalena, after hearing it from a man who was native of Volterra, is La Pellegrina delta Casa al Vento-"The Female Pilgrim of the House of the Wind." It may be added that, as the tale declares, the house in question is still standing. There is a peasant's house at the beginning of the hill or ascent leading to Volterra, and it is called the House of the Wind. Near it there once stood a small place, wherein dwelt a married couple, who had but one child, a daughter, whom they adored. Truly if the child had but a headache, they each had a worse attack from fear. Little by little the girl grew older, and all the thought of the mother, who was very devout, was that she should become a nun. But the girl did not like this, and declared that she hoped to be married like others. And when looking from her window one day, she saw and heard the birds singing in the vines and among the trees all so merrily, she said to her mother that she hoped some day to have a family of little birds of her own, singing round her in a cheerful nest. At which the mother was so angry that she gave her daughter a cuff. And the young lady wept, but replied with spirit, that if beaten or treated in any such manner, that she would certainly soon find some way to escape and get married, for she had no idea of being made a nun of against her will. At hearing this the mother was seriously frightened, for she knew the spirit of her child, and was afraid lest the girl already had a lover, and would make a great scandal over the blow; and turning it all over, she thought of an elderly lady of good family, but much reduced, who was famous for her intelligence, learning, and power of persuasion, and she thought, "This will be just the person to induce my daughter to become pious, and fill her head with devotion and make a nun of her." So she sent for this clever person, who was at once appointed the governess and constant attendant of the young lady, who, instead of quarrelling with her guardian, became devoted to her. However, everything this world does not go exactly as we would have it, and no one knows what fish or crab may hide under a rock in a river. For it so happened that the governess was not a Catholic at all, as will presently appear, and did not vex her pupil with any threats of a nun's life, nor even with an approval of it. It came to pass that the young lady, who was in the habit of lying awake on moonlight nights to hear the nightingales sing, thought she heard her governess in the next room, of which the door was open, rise and go forth on the great balcony. The next night the same thing took place, and rising very softly and unseen, she beheld the lady praying, or at least kneeling in the moonlight, which seemed to her to be very singular conduct, the more so because the lady kneeling uttered words which the younger could not understand, and which certainly formed no part of the Church service. And being much exercised over the strange occurrence, she at last, with timid excuses, told her governess what she had seen. Then the latter, after a little reflection, first binding her to a secrecy of life and death, for, as she declared, it was a matter of great peril, spoke a follows:- "I, like thee, was instructed when young by priests to worship an invisible god. But an old woman in whom I had great confidence once said to me, 'Why worship a deity whom you cannot see, when there is the Moon in all her splendour visible? Worship her. Invoke Diana, the goddess of the Moon, and she will grant your prayers.' This shalt thou do, obeying the Vangelo, the Gospel of (the Witches and of) Diana, who is Queen of the Fairies and of the Moon." Now the young lady being persuaded, was converted to the worship of Diana and the Moon, and having prayed with all her heart for a lover (having learned the conjuration to the goddess),[1] was soon rewarded by the attention and devotion of a brave and wealthy cavalier, who was indeed as admirable a suitor as any one could desire. But the mother, who was far more bent on gratifying vindictiveness and cruel vanity than on her daughter's happiness, was infuriated at this, and when the gentleman came to her, she bade him begone, for her daughter was vowed to become a nun, and a nun she should be or die. Then the young lady was shut up in a cell in a tower, without even the company of her governess, and put to strong and hard pain, being made to sleep on the stone floor, and would have died of hunger had her mother had her way. Then in this dire need she prayed to Diana to set her free; when lo! she found the prison door unfastened, and easily escaped. Then having obtained a pilgrim's dress, she travelled far and wide, teaching and preaching the religion of old times, the religion of Diana, the Queen of the Fairies and of the Moon, the goddess of the poor and the oppressed. And the fame of her wisdom and beauty went forth over all the land, and people worshipped her, calling her La Bella Pellegrina. At last her mother, hearing of [1. This incantation is given in the chapter entitled "A Spell to Win Love."] her, was in a greater rage than ever, and, in fine, after much trouble, succeeded in having her again arrested and cast into prison. And then in evil temper indeed she asked her whether she would become a nun; to which she replied that it was not possible, because she had left the Catholic Church and become a worshipper of Diana and of the Moon. And the end of it was that the mother, regarding her daughter as lost, gave her up to the priests to be put to torture and death, as they did all who would not agree with them or who left their religion. But the people were not well pleased with this, be cause. they adored her beauty and goodness, and there were few who had not enjoyed her charity. But by the aid of her lover she obtained, as a last grace, that on the night before she was to be tortured and executed she might, with a guard, go forth into the garden of the palace and pray. This she did, and standing by the door of the house, which is still there, prayed in the light of the full moon to Diana, that she might be delivered from the dire persecution to which she had been subjected, since even her own parents had willingly given her over to an awful death. Now her parents and the priests, and all who sought her death, were in the palace watching lest she should escape. When lo! in answer to her prayer there came a terrible tempest and overwhelming wind., a storm such as man had never seen before, which overthrew and swept away the palace with all who were in it; there was not one stone left upon another, nor one soul alive of all who were there. The gods had replied to the prayer. The young lady escaped happily with her lover, wedded him, and the house of the peasant where the lady stood is still called La Casa al Vento, or the House of the Wind. This is very accurately the story as I received it, but I freely admit that I have very much condensed the language of the original text, which consists of twenty pages, and which, as regards needless padding, indicates a capacity on the part of the narrator to write an average modern fashionable novel, even a second-rate French one, which is saying a great deal. It is true that there are in it no detailed descriptions of scenery, skies, trees, or clouds-and a great deal might be made of Volterra in that way-but it is prolonged in a manner which shows a gift for it. However, the narrative itself is strangely original and vigorous, for it is such a relic of pure classic heathenism, and such a survival of faith in the old mythology, as all the reflected second-hand Hellenism of the Ęsthetes cannot equal. That a real worship of or belief in classic divinities should have survived to the present day in the very land of Papacy itself, is a much more curious fact than if a living mammoth had been dis covered in some out of the way corner of the earth, because the former is a human phenomenon. I foresee that the day will come, and that perhaps not so very far distant, when the world of scholars will be amazed to consider to what a late period an immense body of antique tradition survived in Northern Italy, and how indifferent the learned were regarding it; there having been in very truth only one man, and he a foreigner, who earnestly occupied himself with collecting and preserving it. It is very probably that there were as many touching episodes among the heathen martyrs who were forced to give up their beloved deities, such as Diana, Venus, the Graces, and others, who were worshipped for beauty, as there were even among the Christians who were thrown to the lions. For the heathen loved their gods with a human personal sympathy, without mysticism or fear, as if they had been blood -relations; and there were many among them who really believed that such was the case when some damsel who had made a faux pas got out of it by attributing it all to some god, faun, or satyr; which is very touching. There is a great deal to be said for as well as against the idolaters or worshippers of dolls, as I heard a small girl define them. CHAPTER XII Tana, The Moon-Goddess The following story, which appeared originally in the Legends of Florence, collected from the people by me, does not properly belong to the Witch's Gospel, as it is not strictly in accordance with it; and yet it could not well be omitted, since it is on the same subject. In it Diana appears simply as the lunar goddess of chastity, therefore not as a witch. It was given to me as Fana, but my informant said that it might be Tana; she was not sure. As Tana occurs in another tale, and as the subject is certainly Diana, there can hardly be a question of this. Tana, la Dea della Luna. Tana was a very beautiful girl, but extremely poor, and as modest and pure as she was beautiful and hum ble. She went from one contadino to another, or from farm to farm to work, and thus led an honest life. There was a young boor, a very ugly, bestial, and brutish fellow, who was after his fashion raging with love for her, but she could not so much as bear to look at him, and repelled all his advances. But late one night, when she was returning alone from the farmhouse where she had worked to her home, this man, who had hidden himself in a thicket, leaped out on her and cried, "Non mi' sfuggerai; sara mia!"-"Thou canst not flee; mine thou shalt be!" And seeing no help near, and only the full moon looking down on her from heaven, Tana in despair cast herself on her knees and cried to it: - I have no one on earth to defend me, Thou alone dost see me in this strait, Therefore I pray to thee, O Moon! As thou art beautiful so thou art bright, Flashing thy splendour over all mankind; Even so I pray thee light up the mind Of this poor ruffian, who would wrong me here, Even to the worst. Cast light into his soul, That he may let me be in peace, and then Return in all thy light unto my home!" When she had said this, there appeared before her a bright but shadowy form-uno ombra blanca which said: - "Rise, and go to thy home! Thou hast well deserved this grace; No one shall trouble thee more, Purest of all on earth! thou shalt a goddess be, The Goddess of the Moon, Of all enchantment queen!" Thus it came to pass that Tana became the dea or spirit of the Moon. Though the air be set to a different key, this is a poem of pure melody, and the same as Wordsworth's "Goody Blake and Harry Gill." Both Tana and the old dame are surprised and terrified; both pray to a power above: - "The cold, cold moon above her head, Thus on her knees did Goody pray; Young Harry heard what she had said, And icy cold he turned away." The dramatic centre is just the same in both. The English ballad soberly turns into an incurable fit of ague inflicted on a greedy young boor; the Italian witch-poetess, with finer sense, or with more sympathy for the heroine, casts the brute aside without further mention, and apotheosises the maiden, identifying her with the Moon. The former is more practical and probable, the latter more poetical. And here it is worth while, despite digression, to remark what an immense majority there are of people who can perceive, feel, and value poetry in mere words or form-that is to say, objectively-and hardly know or note it when it is presented subjectively or as thought, but not put into some kind of verse or measure, or regulated form. This is a curious experiment and worth studying. Take a passage from some famous poet; write it out in pure simple prose, doing full justice to its real meaning, and if it still actually thrills or moves as poetry, then it is of the first class. But if it has lost its glamour absolutely, it is second-rate or inferior; for the best cannot be made out of mere words varnished with associations, be they of thought or feeling. This is not such a far cry from the subject as might be deemed. Reading and feeling them subjectively, I am often struck by the fact that in these witch traditions which I have gathered there is a wondrous poetry of thought, which far excels the efforts of many modern bards, and which only requires the aid of some clever workman in words to assume the highest rank. A proof of what I have asserted may be found in the fact that, in such famous poems as the Finding of the Lyre, by James Russell Lowell, and that on the invention of the pipe by Pan, by Mrs. Browning, that which formed the most exquisite and refined portion of the original myths is omitted by both authors, simply because they missed or did not perceive it. For in the former we are not told that it was the breathing of the god Air (who was the inspiring soul of ancient music, and the Bellaria of modern witch-mythology) on the dried filament of the tortoise, which suggested to Hermes the making an instrument wherewith he made the music of the spheres and guided the course of the planets. As for Mrs. Browning, she leaves out Syrinx altogether, that is to say, the voice of the nymph still lingering in the pipe which had been her body. Now to my mind the old prose narrative of these myths is much more deeply poetical and moving, and far more inspired with beauty and romance, than are the well-rhymed and measured, but very imperfect versions given by our poets. And in fact, such want of intelligence or perception may be found in all the "classic" poems, not only of Keats, but of almost every poet of the age who has dealt in Greek subjects. Great license is allowed to painters and poets, but when they take a subject, especially a deep tradition, and fail to perceive its real meaning or catch its point, and simply give us something very pretty, but not so inspired with meaning as the original, it can hardly be claimed that they have done their work as it might, or, in fact, should have been done. I find that this fault does not occur in the Italian or Tuscan witch-versions of the ancient fables; on the contrary, they keenly appreciate, and even expand, the antique spirit. Hence I have often had occasion to remark that it was not impossible that in some cases popular tradition, even as it now exists, has been preserved more fully and accurately than we find it in any Latin writer. Now apropos of missing the point, I would remind certain very literal readers that if they find many faults of grammar, mis-spelling, and worse in the Italian texts in this book, they will not, as a distinguished reviewer has done, attribute them all to the ignorance of the author, but to the imperfect education of the person who collected and recorded them. I am reminded of this by having seen in a circulating library a copy of my Legends of Florence, in which some good careful soul had taken pains with a pencil to correct all the archaisms. Wherein he or she was like a certain Boston proof-reader, who in a book of mine changed the spelling of many citations from Chaucer, Spenser, and others into the purest, or impurest, Webster; he being under the impression that I was extremely ignorant of orthography. As for the writing in or injuring books, which always belong partly to posterity, it is a sin of vulgarity as well as morality, and indicates what people are more than they dream. "Only a cad as low as a thief Would write in a book or turn down a leaf, Since 'tis thievery, as well is known, To make free with that which is not our own. CHAPTER XIII Diana and the Children "And there withall Diana gan appere With bowe in hand right as an Hunteresse, And saydź, 'Daughter, stint thine heavinesse!' And forth she wente and made a vanishing."     -Chaucer (C.T), "The Knight's Tale." There was in Florence in the oldest time a noble farmily, but grown so poor that their giorni di festa or feast-days were few and far between. However, they dwelt in their old palace (which was in the street now called La Via Cittadella), which was a fine old building, and so they kept up a brave show before the world, when many a day they hardly had anything to eat. Round this palace was a large garden, in which stood an ancient marble statue of Diana, like a beautiful woman who seemed to be running with a dog by her side. She held in her hand a bow, and on her forehead was a small moon. And it was said that by night, when all was still, the statue became like life, and fled, and did not return till the moon set or the sun rose. The father of the family had two children, who were good and intelligent. One day they came home with many flowers which had been given to them, and the little girl said to her brother:- "The beautiful lady with the bow ought to have some of these!" Saying this, they laid flowers before the stature and made a wreath which the boy placed on her head. Just then the great poet and magician Virgil, who knew everything about the gods and fairies, entered the garden and said, smiling:- "You have made, the offering of flowers to the goddess quite correctly, as they did of old; all that remains is to pronounce the prayer properly,[1] and it is this:" So he repeated the Invocation to Diana. Bella dea dell'arco! Bella dea delle freccie! Della caccia e dei cani! Tu vegli colle stelle, Quando il sole va dormir Tu colla luna in fronte Cacci la notte meglio del di. Colle tue Ninfe, al suono Di trombe-Sel la regina Del cacclatori-regina delle notte, Tu che sei la cacciatrice Pił potente di ogni, Cacciator-ti prego Pensa un poco a noi! [1. The most important part of witchcraft is to intone or accent the incantations accurately, in a manner like that of church chanting or Arab recitations. Hence the apparently prose form of most spells.] To Diana. Lovely Goddess of the bow! Lovely Goddess of the arrows! Of all hounds and of all hunting Thou who wakest in starry heaven When the sun is sunk in slumber Thou with moon upon they forehead, Who the chase by night preferrest Unto hunting in the daylight, With thy nymphs unto the music Of the horn-thyself the huntress, And most powerful: I pray thee Think, although but for an instant, Upon us who pray unto thee!' Then Virgil taught them also the Scongiurazione or spell to be uttered when good fortune or aught is specially required. The Conjuration of Diana. "Bella dea del arco del cielo! Delle stelle e della luna! La regina pił potente Del cacciatori e della notte!     A te ricorriamo,     E chiediamo il tuo aiuto     Che tu possa darci Sempre la buona fortuna!" [1. It is to be observed that the invocation is strictly a psalm of praise or a hymn; the scongiurazione is a request or prwer, though it often takes the form of a threat or menace. This only exists in classic witchcraft.] Fair goddess of the rainbow, Of the stars and of the moon! The queen most powerful Of hunters and the night!     We beg of thee thy aid,     That thou may'st give to us The best of fortune ever! Then he added. the conclusion:- "Se la nostra scongiurazione Ascolterai, E buona fortuna ci darei, Un segnale a noi lo darei!" If thou heed'st our evocation And wilt give good fortune to us, Then in proof give us a token![1] [1. Something is here omitted, which can, however, be supplied from many other sit nilar incantations. It was probably as follows:- If thou art favourable And wilt grant my prayer, Then may I hear The bark of a dog, The neigh of a horse, The croaking of a frog, The chirp of a bird, The song of a cricket, et cętera. Three or four of these sounds were generally selected. They vary more or less, but seldom materially, from these. Sometimes visible manifestations, as, for instance, lightning, are requested. To see a white horse is a sign that the prayer will be granted after some delay. It also signifies victory.] And having taught them this, Virgil departed. Then the children ran to tell their parents all that had happened, and the latter impressed it on them to keep it a secret, nor breathe a word or hint thereof to any one. But what was their amazement when they found early the next morning before the statue a deer freshly killed, which gave them good dinners for many a day; nor did they want thereafter at any time game of all kinds, when the prayer had been devoutly pronounced. There was a neighbour of this family, a priest, who held in hate all the ways and worship of the gods of the old time, and whatever did not belong to his religion, and he, passing the garden one day, beheld the statue of Diana crowned with roses and other flowers. And being in a rage, and seeing in the street a decayed cabbage, he rolled it in the mud, and threw itall dripping at the face Of the goddess, saying:-   "Ecco mala bestia d'idoll! Questo e l'omaggio che to ti do, Gia che il diavolo ti aiuta!" Behold, thou vile beast of idolatry, This is the worship which thou hast from me, And the devil do the rest for thee! Then the priest heard a voice in the gloom where the leaves were dense, and it said:- "Bene, bene! Tu mi hai fatto L'offrando-tu avrai La tua porzione Della mia caccia. Aspetta!" It is well! I give thee warning, Since thou hast made thy offering, Sonic of the game to thee I'll bring; Thou'lt have thy share in the morning. All that night the priest suffered from horrible dreams and dread, and when at last, just before three o'clock, he fell asleep, he suddenly awoke from a nightmare in which it seemed as if something heavy rested on his chest. And something indeed fell from him and rolled on the floor. And when he rose and picked it up, and looked at it by the light of the moon, he saw that it was a human head, half decayed.[1] Another priest, who had heard his cry of terror, entered his room, and having looked at the head, said:- "I know that face! It is of a man whom I confessed, and who was beheaded three months ago at Siena." And three days after the priest who had insulted the goddess died. The foregoing tale was not given to me as belonging to the Gospel of the Witches, but as one of a very large series of traditions relating to Virgil as a magician. But it has its proper place in this book, because it contains the invocation to and incantation of Diana, these being remarkably beautiful and original. When we remember [1. "La testa d'un uomo piena di verme e puzzolente." A parody in kind for the decayed cabbage, much completer than the end of the German tale resembling it.] how these "hymns" have been handed down or preserved by old women, and doubtless much garbled, changed, and deformed by transmission, it cannot but seem wonderful that so much classic beauty still remains in them, as, for instance, in "Lovely goddess of the bow! Lovely goddess of the arrow! Thou who walk'st in starry heaven!" Robert Browning was a great poet, but if we compare all the Italian witch-poems of and to Diana with the former's much-admired speech of Diana-Artemis, it will certainly be admitted by impartial critics that the spells are fully equal to the following by the bard- "I am a goddess of the ambrosial courts, And save by Here, Queen of Pride, surpassed By none whose temples whiten this the world: Through Heaven I roll my lucid moon along, I shed in Hell o'er my pate people peace, On Earth, I, caring for the creatures, guard Each pregnant yellow wolf and fox-bitch sleek, And every feathered mother's callow brood, And all the love green haunts and loneliness." This is pretty, but it is only imitation, and neither in form or spirit really equal to the incantations, which are sincere in faith. And it may here be observed in sorrow, yet in very truth, that in a very great number of modern poetical handlings of classic mythic subjects, the writers have, despite all their genius as artists, produced rococo work which will appear to be such to an other generation, simply from their having missed the point, or omitted from ignorance something vital which the folk-lorist would probably not have lost. Achilles may be admirably drawn, as I have seen him, in a Louis XIV. wig with a Turkish scimitar, but still one could wish that the designer had been a little more familiar with Greek garments and weapons. CHAPTER XIV The Goblin Messengers of Diana and Mercury The following tale was not given to me as connected with the Gospel of the Witches, but as Diana appears in it, and as the whole conception is that of Diana and Apollo in another form, I include it in the series. Many centuries ago there was a folletto, goblin, or spirit, or devil-angel-chi sa?-who knows what? and Mercurio, who was the god of speed and of quickness, being much pleased with this imp, bestowed on him the gift of running like the wind, with the privilege that whatever he pursued, be it spirit, a human being, or animal, he should certainly overtake or catch it. This folletto had a beautiful sister, who, like him, ran errands, not for the. gods, but for the goddess (there was a female god for every male, even down to the small spirits); and Diana on the same day gave to this fairy the power that, whoever nught chase her, she should, if pursued, never be overtaken. One day the brother saw his sister speeding like a flash of lightning across the heaven, and he felt a sudden strange desire in rivalry to overtake her. So he dashed after as she flitted on; but though it was his destiny to catch, she had been fated never to be caught, and so the will of one supreme god was balanced by that of another. So the two kept flying round and round the edge of heaven, and at first all the gods roared with laughter, but when they understood the case, they grew serious, and asked one another how it was to end. Then the great father-god said:- "Behold the earth, which is in darkness and gloom! I will change the sister into a moon, and her brother into a sun. And so shall she ever escape him, yet will he ever catch her with his light, which shall fall on her from afar; for the rays of the sun are his hands, which reach forth with burning grasp, yet which are ever eluded." And thus it is said that this race begins anew with the first of every month, when the moon being cold, is covered with as many coats as an onion. But while the race is being run, as the moon becomes warm she casts off one garment after another, till she is naked and then stops, and then when dressed the race begins again. As the vast storm-cloud falls in glittering drops, even so the great myths of the olden time are broken up into small fairy-tales, and as these drops in turn reunite "En rivičre ou sur 1'estang," ("On silent lake or streamlet lone,") as Villon hath it, even so minor myths are again formed from the fallen waters. In this story we clearly have the dog made by Vulcan and the wolf-Jupiter settled the question by petrifying them-as you may read in Julius Pollux his fifth book, or any other on mythology. Is canis fuit postea ą Jove in lapidem conversus. 'Which hunting hound, as well is known, Was changed by Jupiter to stone." It is remarkable that in this story the moon is compared to an onion. "The onion," says Friedrich (Symbolik der Natur, p. 348), "was, on account of its many skins, among the Egyptians the emblem and hieroglyph of the many-formed moon, whose different phases are so clearly seen in the root when it is cut through, also because its growth or decrease corresponds with that of the planet. Therefore it was dedicated to Isis, the Moon-Goddess." And for this reason the onion was so holy as to be regarded as having in itself something of deity; for which reason juvenal remarks that the Egyptians were happy people to have gods growing in their gardens. CHAPTER XV Laverna The following very curious tale, with the incantation, was not in the text of the Vangelo, but it very evidently belongs to the cycle or series of legends connected with it. Diana is declared to be the protectress of all outcasts, those to whom the night is their day, consequently of thieves; and Laverna, as we may learn from Horace (Epistles, 16, 1) and Plautus, was preeminently the patroness of pilfering and all rascality. In this story she also appears as a witch and humourist. It was given to me as a tradition of Virgil, who often appears as one familiar with the marvellous and hidden lore of the olden time. It happened on a time that Virgil, who knew all things hidden or magical, he who was a magician and poet, having heard a speech (or oration) by a famous talker who had not much in him, was asked what he thought of it? And he replied:- "It seems to me to be impossible to tell whether it was all introduction or all conclusion; certainly there was no body in it. It was like certain fish of whom one is in doubt whether they are all head or all tall, or only head and tall; or the goddess Laverna, of whom no one ever knew whether she was all head or all body, or neither or both." Then the emperor inquired who this deity might be, for he had never heard of her. And Virgil replied:- "Among the gods or spirits who were of ancient times-may they be ever favourable to us! Among them (was) one female who was the craftiest and most knavish of them all. She was called Laverna. She was a thief, and very little known to the other deities, who were honest and dignified, for she was rarely in heaven or in the country of the fairies. "She was almost always on earth, among thieves, pickpockets, and panders-she lived in darkness. Once it happened that she went (to a mortal), a great priest in the form and guise of a very beautiful stately priestess (of some goddess), and said to him: - "'You have an estate which I wish to buy. I intend to build on it a temple to (our) God. I swear to you on my body that I will pay thee within a year.' "Therefore the priest transferred to her the estate. "And very soon Laverna had sold off all the crops, grain, cattle, wood, and poultry. There was not left the value of four farthings. "But on the day fixed for payment there was no Laverna to be seen. The goddess was far away, and had left her creditor in asso-in the lurch! "At the same time Laverna went to a great lord and bought of him a castle, well-furnished within and broad rich lands without. "But this time she swore on her head to pay in full in six months. "And as she had done by the priest, so she acted to the lord of the castle, and stole and sold every stick, furniture, cattle, men, and mice-there was not left wherewith to feed a fly. "Then the priest and the lord, finding out who this was, appealed to the gods, complaining that they had been robbed by a goddess. "And it was soon made known to them all that this was Laverna. "Therefore she was called to judgment before all the gods. "And when she was asked what she had done with the property of the pr I est, unto whom she had sworn by her body to make payment at the time appointed (and why had she broken her oath)? "She replied by a strange deed which amazed them all, for she made her body disappear, so that only her head remained visible, and it cried:- "'Behold me! I swore by my body, but body have I none!' "Then all the gods laughed. "After the priest came the lord who had also been tricked, and to whom she had sworn by her head. And in reply to him Laverna showed to all present her whole body without mincing matters, and it was one of extreme beauty, but without a head; and from the neck thereof came a voice which said:- 'Behold me, for I am Laverna, who Have come to answer to that lord's complaint, Who swears that I contracted debt to him, And have not paid although the time is o'er, And that I am a thief because I swore Upon my head- but, as you all can see, I have no head at all, and therefore I Assuredly ne'er swore by such an oath.' "Then there was indeed a storm of laughter among the gods, who made the matter right by ordering the head to join the body, and bidding Laverna pay up her debts, which she did. "Then Jove spoke and said: - "'Here is a roguish goddess without a duty (or a worshipper), while there are in Rome innumerable thieves, sharpers, cheats, and rascals-ladri, bindolini, truffatori e scrocconi-who live by deceit. "'These good folk have neither a church nor a god, and it is a great pity, for even the very devils have their master, Satan, as the head of the family. There fore, I command that in future Laverna shall be the goddess of all the knaves or dishonest tradesmen, with the whole rubbish and refuse of the human race, who have been hitherto without a god or a devil, inasmuch as they have been too despicable for the one or the other.' "And so Laverna became the goddess of all dishonest and shabby people. "Whenever any one planned or intended any knavery or aught wicked, he entered her temple, and invoked Laverna, who appeared to him as a woman's head. But if he did his work of knavery badly or maladroitly, when he again invoked her he saw only the body; but if he was clever, then he beheld the whole goddess, head and body. "Laverna was no more chaste than she was honest, and had many lovers and many children. It was said that not being bad at heart or cruel, she often repented her life and sins; but do what she might, she could not reform, because her passions were so invetcrate. "And if a man had got any woman with child or any maid found herself enceinte, and would hide it from the world and escape scandal, they would go[1] every day to invoke Laverna. "Then when the time came for the suppliant to be delivered, Laverna would bear her in sleep during the night to her temple, and after the birth cast her into slumber again, and bear her back to her bed at home. and when she awoke in the morning, she was ever in vigorous health and felt no weariness, and all seemed to her as a dream. [2] "But to those who desired in time to reclaim their [1. This was a very peculiar characteristic of Diana, who was in volved in a similar manner. I have here omitted much needless verbiage or repetition in the original MS. and also abbreviated what follows. 2. All of this indicates unmistakably, in several respects, a genuine tradition. In the hands of crafty priests this would prove a great aid to popularity.] children, Laverna was indulgent if they led such lives as pleased her and faithfully worshiped her. "And this is the ceremony to be performed and the incantation to be offered every night to Laverna. "There must be a set place devoted to the goddess, be it a room, a cellar, or a grove, but ever a solitary place. "Then take a small table of the size of forty playing-cards set close together, and this must be hid in the same place, and going there at night... "Take forty cards and spread them on the table, making of them a close carpet or cover on it. "Take of the herbs Paura and concordia, and boil the two together, repeating meanwhile the following: - Scongiurazione. Fa bollire la mano della concordia, Per tenere a me concordo, La Laverna che possa portare a me Il mio figlio, e che possa Guardarmele da qualun pericolo. Bollo questa erba, man non bollo 1'erba. Bollo la paura[1] che possa tenere lontano Qualunque persona e se le viene L'idea a qualchuno di avvicinarsi, Possa essere preso da paura E fuggire lontano! [1. I conjecture that this is wild poppy. The poppy was specially sacred to Ceres, but also to the Night and its rites, and Laverna was a nocturnal deity -a play on the word paura, or fear.] Incantation. I boil the cluster of concordia To keep in concord and at peace with me Laverna, that she may restore to me My child, and that she by her favouring care May guard me well from danger all my life!, I boil this herb, yet 'tis not it which boils; I boll the fear, that it may keep afar Any intruder, and if such should come (To spy upon my rite), may he be struck With fear and in his terror haste away![1] Having said thus, put the boiled herbs in a bottle and spread the cards on the table one by one, saying: - Battezzo queste quaranta carte! Ma non batezzo le quaranta carte, Battezzo quaranta dei superi, Alla dea Laverna che le sue Persone divengono un Vulcano Fino che la Laverna non sara Venuta da me colla mia creatura, E questi del dal naso dalla bocca, E dal' orecchio possino buttare Fiammi di fuoco e cenere, [1. This passage recalls strangely enough the worship of the Gręco-Roman goddess Pavor or Fear, the attendant on Mars. She was much invoked, as in the present instance, to terrify intruders or an enemy. Ęschylus makes the seven chiefs before Thebes swear by Fear, Mars, and Bellona. Mem. Acad. of Inscriptions, v. 9.] E lasciare pace e bene alla dea Laverna, che possa anche essa Abbraciare i suoi fighi A sua volunta! Incantation. I spread before me now the forty cards, Yet 'tis not forty cards which here I spread, But forty of the gods superior To the deity Laverna, that their forms May each and all become volcanoes hot, Until Laverna comes and brings my child; And 'till 'tis done may they all cast at her Hot flames of fire, and with them glowing coals From noses, mouths, and ears (until she yields); Then may they leave Laverna to her peace, Free to embrace her children at her will! "Laverna was the Roman goddess of thieves, pickpockets, shopkeepers or dealers, plagiarists, rascals, and hypocrites. There was near Rome a temple in a grove where robbers went to divide their plunder. There was a statue of the goddess. Her image, according to some, was a head without a body; according to others, a body without a head; but the epithet of 'beautiful' applied to her by Horace indicates that she who gave disguises to her worshippers had kept one to her self." She was worshipped in perfect silence. This is confirmed by a passage in Horace (Epist. 16, lib. 1), where an impostor, hardly daring to move his lips, repeats the following prayer or incantation: - "O Goddess Laverna! Give me the art of cheating and deceiving, Of making men believe that I am just, Holy, and innocent! extend all darkness And deep obscurity o'er my misdeeds!" It is interesting to compare this unquestionably ancient classic invocation to Laverna with the one which is before given. The goddess was extensively known to the lower orders, and in Plautus a cook who has been robbed of his implements calls on her to revenge him. I call special attention to the fact that in this, as in a great number of Italian witch-incantations, the deity or spirit who is worshipped, be it Diana herself or Laverna, is threatened with torment by a higher power until he or she grants the favour demanded. This is quite classic, i.e., Gręco-Roman or Oriental, in all of which sources the magician relies not on favour, aid, or power granted by either God or Satan, but simply on what he has been able to wrench and wring, as it were, out of infinite nature or the primal source by penance and study. I mention this because a reviewer has reproached me with exaggerating the degree to which diabolism-introduced by the Church since 1500-is deficient in Italy. But in fact, among the higher class of witches, or in their traditions, it is hardly to be found at all. In Christian diabolism the witch never dares to threaten Satan or God, or any of the Trinity or angels, for the whole system is based on the conception of a Church and of obedience. The herb concordia probably takes its name from that of the goddess Concordia, who was represented as holding a branch. It plays a great part in witchcraft, after verbena and rue. APPENDIX Comments on the Foregoing Texts So long ago as the year 1886 I learned that there was in existence a manuscript setting forth the doctrines of Italian witchcraft, and I was promised that, if possible, it should be obtained for me. In this I was for a time disappointed. But having urged it on Maddalena, my collector of folk-lore, while she was leading a wandering life in Tuscany, to make an effort to obtain or recover something of the kind, I at last received from her, o