Aradia

Gospel Of The Witches

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 from a knife - with such money witches cut the earth from mens 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 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 -

Invocation to the Holy-Stone

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 wouldst keep all evil folk afar,

Then ever keep the vervain and the rue

Safely beside thee!

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.

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 greatest 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..]

The Spell or Conjuration of the Round Stone

The finding of a round stone, be it great or small, is a good sign, 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 -

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 obstinant,

Go at him with thy cry of Brie - brie!

And if he sleeps, awake him with a twitch,

And pull the covering off and frighten him!

And follow him about whereer he goes.

So teach him with thy ceaseless Brie - brie!

That he who obligation eer 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,