The Charge of Aradia
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, then 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.
In the fourteenth century, Aradia taught that the traditional powers of a witch would belong to any who followed in the ways of the Old Religion. Aradia called these powers gifts, because she stressed the point that these powers were the benefits of adhering to the Old Ways, and not the reason for becoming a witch. Aradia taught that a witch must observe the Seasonal Rites and the time of the Full Moon, in order to keep these powers.
)0( To bless or curse with power friends or enemies (to do good or evil). )0(
)0( To converse with spirits. )0(
)0( To find hidden treasures in ancient ruins. )0(
)0( To conjure the spirits of priests who died leaving treasures. )0(
)0( To understand the voice of the wind. )0(
)0( To change water into wine. )0(
)0( To divine with cards. )0(
)0( To know the secrets of the hand. )0(
)0( To cure diseases. )0(
)0( To make those who are ugly beautiful. )0(
)0( To tame wild beasts )0(
Aradia - lovely and charismatic.
Aradia (her name is derived from Herodias, queen of witches) was the daughter of moon goddess Diana. She is a timeless spiritual entity, embodying Kore in her power, Aphrodite in her beauty, and Diana in her courage and love of wild places.
She was sent to Earth as prophetess of the religion of witchcraft, with the mission of protecting women from the oppressions of feudalism. With her broomstave of power, her cloak of mystery, and her knowledge of every plant, she gave fright to the Inquisition. Aradia taught women how to invoke the full moon at midnight, sprinkling salt from a red bag while asking favors fo the Goddess. With quiet authority she proclaims “Never Again the Burning!”
Who is Aradia?
Aradia is a Tuscany Goddess (or a Tuscany teacher of witchcraft, depending on who's info you follow) who's name I borrowed for my on-line handle. She is the daughter of Diana and Lucifer (a sun god, NOT the Christian fallen angel).
The myth goes something like this:Diana used magic to charm Lucifer. He was afraid of her, probably because she is a moon goddess and therefore very dark next to his light. She decided she liked magic and wanted to develop it. She disguised herself as a mortal woman and went to earth. She found that times were very hard. Many people were oppressed; so she decided to teach them magic so they could take care of themselves and protect themselves from their oppressors.
She became a Witch and taught many people. At one point she had to reveal herself as a goddess so she went back into the heavens. But she knew more teaching was necessary so she sent her daughter, Aradia back in her place with instructions.
Now generally Wiccans tend to be very careful about their "karmic" baggage. Most Wiccans try very hard to never do anything manipulative, even if it's for someone's good.... like healing them without permission. They would NEVER hex someone no matter how evil and dangerous that person is. At most they might do a spell asking that the evil person make some mistake that would aid the authorities in catching them.
Aradia's instructions were different from what most Wiccans accept as guidelines. She was given permission to teach more aggressive magics in order to help oppressed people. So now there are some Wiccans that consider themselves "Aradian". They believe that a hex on someone VERY VERY bad (like serial killers, for instance) is justified and if there is a karmic debt, they are willing to pay it.
I am Aradia,
daughter of the sea
and daughter of the wind;
daughter of the Sun,
and daughter of the Moon;
daughter of dawn,
and daughter of sunset;
daughter of night,
and daughter of the mountains.
And I have sung the song of the sea,
and I have listened to the sighing of the wind;
I have heard the hidden secrets of the Sun,
and I have drunk the tears of the Moon;
I have seen the beauty of the dawn,
and the sorrow of the sunset;
I have lain 'neath the darkest dark of night
and I have beheld the might of the mountains.
For I am stronger than the sea,
and freer than the wind;
I am brighter than the sun,
and more changing than the Moon;
I am the hope of the dawn,
and peace of the sunset;
I am more mysterious than night,
and older than the mountains,
older than time it's self.
For I am she who was,
who is,
and who will be;
for I am Aradia
-"Wicca" by Vivianne Crowley
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