Religio Romana
http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Main_Page
Roman Religion in Antiquity and Today
The Religio Romana is the pre-Christian religion of Rome. Sometimes called "Roman Paganism", the modern practice of the Religio Romana is an attempt to reconstruct the ancient faith of Rome as closely as possible, making as few concessions to modern sensibilities as possible. As with other forms of historical reconstructionist paganism, every attempt is made to rely on actual historical and archaeological evidence, and interpolations are made only when the primary sources are silent, and then we strive to be consistent with them.
The Religio Romana began as the simple earth-based faith of the farmers of the village of Rome. Influenced by their Etruscan (and later Greek) neighbors, the Romans developed a complex State Religion that emphasised duty to the Gods (pietas) and serving them through exactly prescribed rituals. As Cicero stated in his work, "On the Nature of the Gods"--
"I am quite certain that Romulus by instituting auspices, and Numa ritual, laid the foundations of our state, which would never have been able to be so great had not the immortal gods been placated to the utmost extent."
It cannot be approached by inserting Roman deity names into Greek religion, modern Wicca or any other system, for Roman religion is a unique product of the culture that created it. It is a faith that demands steadfastness and devotion to duty. It involves working in harmony with the eternal gods and with universal order, for the benefit not only of ourselves but also the world around us; with right action and attitudes towards the gods, both the State and the individual will prosper. Yet the Religio Romana involves more than pious action and worldly power; there are also Mystery traditions which focus on inner spiritual growth, and these too will be addressed by Nova Roma as we continue to expand and improve our understanding and emulation of our glorious spiritual ancestors.
http://www.novaroma.org/religio_romana/
http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Main_Page
Other sources on reconstructed Roman paganism:
http://www.cultusdeorum.org/home
http://www.romanoimpero.com/2009/09/romano-impero.html
The Religio Romana began as the simple earth-based faith of the farmers of the village of Rome. Influenced by their Etruscan (and later Greek) neighbors, the Romans developed a complex State Religion that emphasised duty to the Gods (pietas) and serving them through exactly prescribed rituals. As Cicero stated in his work, "On the Nature of the Gods"--
"I am quite certain that Romulus by instituting auspices, and Numa ritual, laid the foundations of our state, which would never have been able to be so great had not the immortal gods been placated to the utmost extent."
It cannot be approached by inserting Roman deity names into Greek religion, modern Wicca or any other system, for Roman religion is a unique product of the culture that created it. It is a faith that demands steadfastness and devotion to duty. It involves working in harmony with the eternal gods and with universal order, for the benefit not only of ourselves but also the world around us; with right action and attitudes towards the gods, both the State and the individual will prosper. Yet the Religio Romana involves more than pious action and worldly power; there are also Mystery traditions which focus on inner spiritual growth, and these too will be addressed by Nova Roma as we continue to expand and improve our understanding and emulation of our glorious spiritual ancestors.
http://www.novaroma.org/religio_romana/
http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Main_Page
Other sources on reconstructed Roman paganism:
http://www.cultusdeorum.org/home
http://www.romanoimpero.com/2009/09/romano-impero.html
The Disambiguation of the Goddess Hekate
Hekate is a pre-Olympian goddess, most likely from Asia Minor, playing an integral part in the Eleusinian mysteries. Yet, despite her popularity in neo-paganism, she was neither a triple goddess, mother nor a crone, but like Artemis, traditionally a virgin. Coins found at Stratonikeia show her as a singular torch-bearing figure, symbolic of the sacred fire, namely; the spiritual illumination of seers and prophets (Sybils). Whereas, as guardian of the liminal and sacred spaces, her vigil over the three directions is symbolic of the crossroads of destiny. Very few writings give clue to its practices, as they served a secret and very select society, bound by strict vows and celibacy for the most part of Hellenic tradition, at least until the state took over all religious practices.
It was the Victorian poet Robert Graves (the White Goddess), who much romanticized such depictions into the idea of a triple goddess, inevitably popularized by Aleister Crowley and Margaret Murray in the assumption that proto-religious practices were essentially matriarchal. Just the same, Hekate's importance to those seeking spiritual protection and guidance, scarcely makes her a goddess of witchcraft in Hellenic terms. Rather, the Hellenes not only regarded the metaphysical as a world divided between benign and malevolent influences, but temples were a sanctuary for spiritual cleansing involving fasting and chastity for at least two whole days before entering.
http://home.tiscali.nl/polissanctuary/research-case-lagina.html
It was the Victorian poet Robert Graves (the White Goddess), who much romanticized such depictions into the idea of a triple goddess, inevitably popularized by Aleister Crowley and Margaret Murray in the assumption that proto-religious practices were essentially matriarchal. Just the same, Hekate's importance to those seeking spiritual protection and guidance, scarcely makes her a goddess of witchcraft in Hellenic terms. Rather, the Hellenes not only regarded the metaphysical as a world divided between benign and malevolent influences, but temples were a sanctuary for spiritual cleansing involving fasting and chastity for at least two whole days before entering.
http://home.tiscali.nl/polissanctuary/research-case-lagina.html
Much Ado About Atlantis
Here is the actual dialog:
In the Egyptian Delta, at the head of which the river Nile divides, there is a certain district which is called the district of Sais, and the great city of the district is also called Sais, and is the city from which King Amasis came. The citizens have a deity for their foundress; she is called in the Egyptian tongue Neith, and is asserted by them to be the same whom the Hellenes call Athene; they are great lovers of the Athenians, and say that they are in some way related to them. To this city came Solon, and was received there with great honour; he asked the priests who were most skilful in such matters, about antiquity, and made the discovery that neither he nor any other Hellene knew anything worth mentioning about the times of old. On one occasion, wishing to draw them on to speak of antiquity, he began to tell about the most ancient things in our part of the world-about Phoroneus, who is called “the first man,” and about Niobe; and after the Deluge, of the survival of Deucalion and Pyrrha; and he traced the genealogy of their descendants, and reckoning up the dates, tried to compute how many years ago the events of which he was speaking happened. Thereupon one of the priests, who was of a very great age, said: O Solon, Solon, you Hellenes are never anything but children, and there is not an old man among you. Solon in return asked him what he meant. I mean to say, he replied, that in mind you are all young; there is no old opinion handed down among you by ancient tradition, nor any science which is hoary with age. And I will tell you why. There have been, and will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes; the greatest have been brought about by the agencies of fire and water, and other lesser ones by innumerable other causes. There is a story, which even you have preserved, that once upon a time Paethon, the son of Helios, having yoked the steeds in his father’s chariot, because he was not able to drive them in the path of his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth, and was himself destroyed by a thunderbolt. Now this has the form of a myth, but really signifies a declination of the bodies moving in the heavens around the earth, and a great conflagration of things upon the earth, which recurs after long intervals; at such times those who live upon the mountains and in dry and lofty places are more liable to destruction than those who dwell by rivers or on the seashore. And from this calamity the Nile, who is our never-failing saviour, delivers and preserves us. When, on the other hand, the gods purge the earth with a deluge of water, the survivors in your country are herdsmen and shepherds who dwell on the mountains, but those who, like you, live in cities are carried by the rivers into the sea. Whereas in this land, neither then nor at any other time, does the water come down from above on the fields, having always a tendency to come up from below; for which reason the traditions preserved here are the most ancient.The fact is, that wherever the extremity of winter frost or of summer does not prevent, mankind exist, sometimes in greater, sometimes in lesser numbers. And whatever happened either in your country or in ours, or in any other region of which we are informed-if there were any actions noble or great or in any other way remarkable, they have all been written down by us of old, and are preserved in our temples. Whereas just when you and other nations are beginning to be provided with letters and the other requisites of civilized life, after the usual interval, the stream from heaven, like a pestilence, comes pouring down, and leaves only those of you who are destitute of letters and education; and so you have to begin all over again like children, and know nothing of what happened in ancient times, either among us or among yourselves. As for those genealogies of yours which you just now recounted to us, Solon, they are no better than the tales of children. In the first place you remember a single deluge only, but there were many previous ones; in the next place, you do not know that there formerly dwelt in your land the fairest and noblest race of men which ever lived, and that you and your whole city are descended from a small seed or remnant of them which survived. And this was unknown to you, because, for many generations, the survivors of that destruction died, leaving no written word. For there was a time, Solon, before the great deluge of all, when the city which now is Athens was first in war and in every way the best governed of all cities, is said to have performed the noblest deeds and to have had the fairest constitution of any of which tradition tells, under the face of heaven.Solon marvelled at his words, and earnestly requested the priests to inform him exactly and in order about these former citizens. You are welcome to hear about them, Solon, said the priest, both for your own sake and for that of your city, and above all, for the sake of the goddess who is the common patron and parent and educator of both our cities. She founded your city a thousand years before ours, receiving from the Earth and Hephaestus the seed of your race, and afterwards she founded ours, of which the constitution is recorded in our sacred registers to be eight thousand years old. As touching your citizens of nine thousand years ago, I will briefly inform you of their laws and of their most famous action; the exact particulars of the whole we will hereafter go through at our leisure in the sacred registers themselves. If you compare these very laws with ours you will find that many of ours are the counterpart of yours as they were in the olden time. In the first place, there is the caste of priests, which is separated from all the others; next, there are the artificers, who ply their several crafts by themselves and do not intermix; and also there is the class of shepherds and of hunters, as well as that of husbandmen; and you will observe, too, that the warriors in Egypt are distinct from all the other classes, and are commanded by the law to devote themselves solely to military pursuits; moreover, the weapons which they carry are shields and spears, a style of equipment which the goddess taught of Asiatics first to us, as in your part of the world first to you. Then as to wisdom, do you observe how our law from the very first made a study of the whole order of things, extending even to prophecy and medicine which gives health, out of these divine elements deriving what was needful for human life, and adding every sort of knowledge which was akin to them. All this order and arrangement the goddess first imparted to you when establishing your city; and she chose the spot of earth in which you were born, because she saw that the happy temperament of the seasons in that land would produce the wisest of men. Wherefore the goddess, who was a lover both of war and of wisdom, selected and first of all settled that spot which was the most likely to produce men likest herself. And there you dwelt, having such laws as these and still better ones, and excelled all mankind in all virtue, as became the children and disciples of the gods.Many great and wonderful deeds are recorded of your state in our histories. But one of them exceeds all the rest in greatness and valour. For these histories tell of a mighty power which unprovoked made an expedition against the whole of Europe and Asia, and to which your city put an end. This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Heracles; the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands, and from these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded the true ocean; for this sea which is within the Straits of Heracles is only a harbour, having a narrow entrance, but that other is a real sea, and the surrounding land may be most truly called a boundless continent. Now in this island of Atlantis there was a great and wonderful empire which had rule over the whole island and several others, and over parts of the continent, and, furthermore, the men of Atlantis had subjected the parts of Libya within the columns of Heracles as far as Egypt, and of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia. This vast power, gathered into one, endeavoured to subdue at a blow our country and yours and the whole of the region within the straits; and then, Solon, your country shone forth, in the excellence of her virtue and strength, among all mankind. She was pre-eminent in courage and military skill, and was the leader of the Hellenes. And when the rest fell off from her, being compelled to stand alone, after having undergone the very extremity of danger, she defeated and triumphed over the invaders, and preserved from slavery those who were not yet subjugated, and generously liberated all the rest of us who dwell within the pillars. But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea. For which reason the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by the subsidence of the island.I have told you briefly, Socrates, what the aged Critias heard from Solon and related to us. And when you were speaking yesterday about your city and citizens, the tale which I have just been repeating to you came into my mind, and I remarked with astonishment how, by some mysterious coincidence, you agreed in almost every particular with the narrative of Solon; but I did not like to speak at the moment. For a long time had elapsed, and I had forgotten too much; I thought that I must first of all run over the narrative in my own mind, and then I would speak. And so I readily assented to your request yesterday, considering that in all such cases the chief difficulty is to find a tale suitable to our purpose, and that with such a tale we should be fairly well provided.And therefore, as Hermocrates has told you, on my way home yesterday I at once communicated the tale to my companions as I remembered it; and after I left them, during the night by thinking I recovered nearly the whole it. Truly, as is often said, the lessons of our childhood make wonderful impression on our memories; for I am not sure that I could remember all the discourse of yesterday, but I should be much surprised if I forgot any of these things which I have heard very long ago. I listened at the time with childlike interest to the old man’s narrative; he was very ready to teach me, and I asked him again and again to repeat his words, so that like an indelible picture they were branded into my mind. As soon as the day broke, I rehearsed them as he spoke them to my companions, that they, as well as myself, might have something to say. And now, Socrates, to make an end my preface, I am ready to tell you the whole tale. I will give you not only the general heads, but the particulars, as they were told to me. The city and citizens, which you yesterday described to us in fiction, we will now transfer to the world of reality. It shall be the ancient city of Athens, and we will suppose that the citizens whom you imagined, were our veritable ancestors, of whom the priest spoke; they will perfectly harmonise, and there will be no inconsistency in saying that the citizens of your republic are these ancient Athenians. Let us divide the subject among us, and all endeavour according to our ability gracefully to execute the task which you have imposed upon us. Consider then, Socrates, if this narrative is suited to the purpose, or whether we should seek for some other instead.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Timaeus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis
http://atlantis-today.com/Atlantis_Atlantis_Code.htm
http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com/ice-ages-and-sea-levels.html
http://ethomas.web.wesleyan.edu/ees123/iceages.htm
Construction and Use of Ancient Greek Poppets
This essay addresses the use and construction of ancient Greek poppets (ritual effigies, “voodoo dolls”); it is based primarily on “Binding and Burying the Forces of Evil,” by Christopher Faraone, which is cited in full at the end of this essay. In ancient Greek such a ritual image was usually called a Kolossos (kaw-lawss-SAUCE), a word of uncertain origin, which can refer to an effigy of any kind. The Greek use of these effigies dates from at least the fourth century BCE and is similar to their use throughout the Mediterranean, although of course there are regional differences. One distinguishing characteristic of the Greek use of Kolossoi (kaw-lawss-SOY) is that it is primarily defensive; it is generally aimed at containing a hostile force, rather than destroying it.
II. Purpose
The general purpose of Kolossoi is to bind some Subject, but the binding can be applied to various kinds of beings for various purposes. First, bindings may be applied to deities, which cannot be destroyed, but may be restrained (although even this “restraint” must be understood as a ritual action provided by the God as a specific means by which Their energy is bound in a particular way). Sometimes Kolossoi are used to restrain a dangerous deity, who may cause harm or is believed to be favoring your enemies. Thus Ares, as God of slaughter and death on battlefield, may be bound to bring safety in battle, or to decrease the probability of war.
Protective deities also may be bound to restrain Them from leaving. Thus the Athenians had their “wingless Victory” — wingless to keep Her from leaving the city. This may also be the sense in Pandora’s paradoxical trapping of Hope in the jar after she has released all the evils in the world; we will see that Kolossoi are often bound in jars or pots. Ares is sometimes bound in this way as a protector, and, in the absence of an inscription, it may be difficult to tell whether He is being bound as a hostile or a friendly force. Perhaps He may be bound in both aspects at the same time: constrained to stay here to protect us and prevented from going to the enemy's side. We also have Kolossoi depicting Hephaistos, for He is a God of both binding and unbinding (recall the story of how He trapped Ares and Aphrodite in bed). (See 14.Diabolos in the Pythagorean Tarot for more on Hephaistos as God of Binding and Unbinding.)
Second, Kolossoi can also be used to restrain ghosts and other Hikesioi Apaktoi (hostile visitants). Again, they cannot be killed (since they are already dead), but they can be bound. For ghosts especially, the binding ceremony may follow funerary customs, and so help to ensure that the ghost is properly laid and departs for the Land of the Dead.
Third, Kolossoi are used to restrain mortal enemies. Such might either be a Goês (Sorcerer), who has sent an Eidôlon or Phasma (Phantom) against someone, or it might be a mundane enemy (e.g. in a lawsuit). In cases where the antagonist is unknown, a pair of Kolossoi, one male and one female, are used. Where there are a number of enemies (e.g. a family or an army), three Kolossoi are typically used, on the principal of pars pro toto (a part for the whole). Finally, Kolossoi might be used to bind the partners of an oath.
In passing, we may mention Erotic Kolossoi, which are generally intended to bind someone in love, to constrain them to be faithful, or to restrain a rival. They are large topic, and will not be discussed further in this essay, although most of the same principles apply to their construction and use (see Winkler 1991).
One important defensive use of Kolossoi is the protection of boundaries, for which purpose they may be buried in a wall or at a fence-line or other boundary. Kolossoi are used for both public and private defense. I have already indicated how they might be used to protect a temple or other building; the public might also use them to ward off an invading enemy. Private use would typically be to protect an individuals and their families.
In some cases, where permanent protection is required, the Kolossos is regularly rebound. An example of this is the yearly binding of Ares for the protection of the city of Syedra; He is unbound once a year during a period of general license analogous to the Saturnalia. (This may be symbolized in the story in Book 5 of the Iliad, where Ares is bound in a cauldron for thirteen lunar months.) Other deities regularly bound for the protection of the state include Artemis, Dionysos, Hera, and Athena.
In other cases the Kolossos is constructed and consecrated for a particular crisis. It is bound and buried once (as described later) but, especially if it was successful, may receive a regular (e.g. monthly or yearly) sacrifice thereafter.
III. Construction
I will turn now to the construction of Kolossoi. They may be made of metal (e.g. bronze, wood, silver or lead; the latter being the most common metal), wood, clay, wax or similar malleable materials. The image is not normally realistic, since it does not depend on similarity of appearance to become connected with its Subject; that is accomplished by other means (described below). Typically the figure is nude, and often there is exaggeration of the genitals, feet or other parts; this accords with the general principle of using shocking or obscene images to ward off the evil eye and other dangers (e.g., the sign of the fig and phallic amulets).
Generally some parts of the figure are twisted backward, to indicate the incapacitation of the Subject. Often the head is twisted backward, or at least extremely far to the left, to cause confusion. It is also common for the feet to be backward, and sometimes the arms or the entire torso. (So Hephaistos is sometimes shown with His feet backward.) In some cases the Kolossos is made with these parts backward, but usually they are made normally and then twisted around.
The figure is often pierced with nails or needles (13 is a popular number), typically made of iron or bronze, though animal fangs and other materials may be used. Each nail or needle transfixes some part of the body representing a faculty, which it thereby paralyzes, but without destroying it. For example, nails through the eyes, ears and mouth paralyze cognitive faculties, while one through the heart might restrain will, and nails through the limbs cause paralysis or loss of strength.
The Kolossos may be further mutilated to restrain the enemy; for example the head may be hacked off and buried separately from the body (to prevent them being rejoined), or the effigy may be burned, melted, crushed, trampled under foot, etc. (These aggressive measures are not normally used for laying ghosts; instead the Kolossos is given funeral rites. A ghost is normally called by name for three days or thrice in one day to summon it home for burial.)
Hellenistic Kolossos from Delos
In addition to being transfixed, the figure is normally bound. For example, the arms may be bound (usually behind the back), the legs may be bound, and sometimes the arms are bound to the legs. There may be a collar around the neck, or a binding around the mouth (which could hold a nail or peg in it). Sometimes the Kolossos is bound to another object, such as an erotic amulet.
A number of materials may be used for binding, including lead bands, bronze wires, nails and iron chains (for large Kolossoi). The figure may even bind itself, for example with the right hand over its mouth (perhaps holding in a nail) and the left over its anus.
The Kolossos is identified with its Subject by either incantation or inscription, most often by both. The Subject (deity, ghost, person) is mentioned by name if its name is known, often including a patronymic or mentioning the Subject's mother, e.g., “NN whom NN bore” (“NN” stands for a name). The Subject’s name is usually inscribed on the left side of the Kolossos, most often on the hip, leg or arm; the name may also be written in red ink. The name is often accompanied with a binding formula (described below).
The Kolossos also may be identified with its Subject by embedding in it Ousia (Substances): stuff connected with the Subject, for example, a bit of hair, fingernail parings or a bit of clothing, might be embedded in the navel of a wax figure. Finally, a wax or clay Kolossos might be molded around a papyrus containing a spell mentioning the Subject’s name.
The Kolossoi are really of a kind with the Defixiones or Katadesmoi (so-called “Cursing Tablets”), since a Kolossos may be made nearly flat to better accommodate names and spells. Thus we may have Kolossoi in the form of lead tablets or sheets bearing inscriptions, perhaps with inscribed pictures of the Subject(s) bound by hostile spirits. Such lead sheets, or equivalent papyri, can be folded or rolled, and are often pierced with a nail (hence, defixio from defigo, to fix down) to achieve the binding.
IV. Katadesmoi (Binding Formulas)
In addition to an identification of the Kolossos with its Subject, there is often some formula of binding (Katadesmos, kah-TAH-dess-maws), which may be inscribed on the Kolossos, spoken above it, or both; it may take several forms of greater of less elaborateness. Inscriptions may be written backwards, to increase the Subject’s confusion. The spoken spell is usually accompanied by ritual actions, such as the mutilation, piercing or binding of the figure; further, the Defigens (Binder) may touch the ground while invoking chthonic deities, or raise his or her hands to celestial deities.
In the simplest case, the Defigens simply declares,
I hereby bind NN!
Alternately, the binding may be expressed as a wish:
May NN be defeated!
Let NN be restrained!
The spell may take the form of a prayer to some deities to restrain the subject; often the Subject is handed over or committed to the deity (as though being put under arrest) — a wise thing to do, since then responsibility for the binding resides with the Gods. Although any God or Goddess might be petitioned, it is particularly appropriate to appeal to Hermes Katokhos (Restrainer) in the consecration. Other deities called on for binding are Hermes Khthonios, Gê, Hecate (Khthonia) and Persephone. For example,
O Hermes Katokhos, restrain NN!
I commit NN to the Gods,
to Gê, Hecate and Persephone!
I bind NN, born of NN,
in Your presence, Hermes Katokhos.
May s/he be restrained
in hand and foot and body!
Finally, by the magical principal of Similia Similibus (Similars for Similars), the incantation may call for the Subject to be bound analogically by the binding of the effigy. For example, a simple binding is:
I hereby bind NN in leaden bonds!
Analogies may be invoked with the material of the Kolossos or its disposition:
As this lead is cold and powerless,
also cold and powerless is NN,
cold in knowledge, thinking, memory!
His soul, his mind, his tongue, his plans:
let all these things be twisted round!
For a Kolossos buried in a graveyard:
As the dead are powerless and still,
just so powerless and still will NN be,
his feet and hands and body!
Here is a typical formula for binding the partners of an oath:
Just as this image melts and flows away,
Let he who breaks this promise likewise melt,
And perish all his seed and property!
This is a typical formula for boundary protection:
As long as savage Ares lies within the ground,
So long in this our land will foemen not be found!
The power of the spell is increased by the use of repetition and meter; also, multiple deities may be invoked and more of Their epithets or offices listed.
V. Disposition
Kolossoi in their containers (from a grave in Ceramicus)
Sometimes the Kolossos is ritually destroyed, but for binding the more common disposition involves confinement and burial. First the Kolossos is usually confined tightly in a lead box with a tight cover, or wrapped in a sheet of lead, or placed in a copper of bronze cauldron or box. (Lead, of course, is the supreme symbol of fixation.) Often the container is inscribed, on the inside or the outside, with names, spells, bands, and/or bound figures. These may also be written and drawn on papyrus, which is then used to wrap the Kolossos. In some cases the Kolossos in its container is placed in a clay pot, to further constrain it. Finally, you must dispose of the Kolossos and its container(s). They may be thrown into deep water, such as a well or the ocean, or more commonly buried, for example, in a graveyard, a sanctuary or uncultivated land; both earth and water are paths to the chthonic deities. Such disposition also makes it less likely that the Subject will find the Kolossos and thereby loose the binding (see next).
VI. Unbinding (Eklusis)
It will be worthwhile to say a few words about removing bindings (eklusis, EK-loo-sis, release). In general only the Defigens or the Gods he or she invoked are capable of dissolving the bonds. The best option for the Subject is to pray and sacrifice to the Gods, either to Those who have bound him or her, or, if They are not known, to all deities. The binding is also released if either the Defigens or Subject can find the Kolossos and systematically unbind it (i.e., remove bands and nails, turn the head and limbs around the right way).
http://web.eecs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/GP.html
Antikythera Mechanism
For over 2000 years a shipwreck lay off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera, its hidden treasures slowly corroded by the Mediterranean. It wasn't until 1900 that sponge divers happened upon the loot, and found therein a perplexing device of remarkable engineering - though the divers had no idea how truly remarkable it was at the time. The device sat in a museum for fifty years before historians began to take a serious look at it.
Known as the Antikythera mechanism and called a "clockwork computer," this small bronze instrument is unique because it precedes any machine of comparable complexity by more than a millennium.
The mechanism was built sometime between 150 and 100 BC, and, with over thirty gears hidden behind its dials, it is easily the most advanced technological artifact of the pre-Christian period. Regarded as the first known analog computer, the mechanism can make precise calculations based on astronomical and mathematical principles developed by the ancient Greeks. Although its builder's identity and what it was doing aboard a ship remain mysteries, scientists have worked for a century to piece together the mechanism's history.
Somewhat surprisingly, most consider it unlikely that the Antikythera mechanism was a navigational tool. The harsh environment at sea would have presented a danger to the instrument's delicate gears, and features such as eclipse predictions are unnecessary for navigation. The mechanism's small size, however, does suggest that it was designed with portability in mind. According to some researchers, a more plausible story is that the mechanism was used to teach astronomy to those with little knowledge of the subject.
To use the instrument, you would simply enter a date using a crank, and, when the gears stopped spinning, a wealth of information appear at your fingertips: the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, the lunar phase, the dates of upcoming solar eclipses, the speed of the Moon through the sky, and even the dates of the Olympic games. Perhaps most impressively, the mechanism's calendar dial could compensate for the extra quarter-day in the astronomical year by turning the scale back one day every four years. The Julian calendar, which was the first in the region to include leap years, was not introduced until decades after the instrument was built.
While the Antikythera mechanism is the only known artifact of its kind, its precise engineering and the fact that similar instruments were described in contemporary writing lend strong support to the notion that it was not unique. It is thought that the famous inventor Archimedes of Syracuse constructed comparable devices. Some believe that the instrument came from the school of the astronomer Hipparchus. All that is certain is that the builder was Greek, as evidenced by the written instructions that are attached to the instrument's face.
Today, the Antikythera mechanism is housed is in the Bronze Collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. A replica of the mechanism is also on view at the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, Montana. When Jacques-Yves Cousteau made the last visit to the shipwreck in 1978, he found no additional pieces. Nevertheless, the device continues to reveal its secrets to the researchers of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, an international effort supported by various universities and technology companies.
http://atlasobscura.com/place/antikythera-mechanism
The Benandanti
The Benandanti ("Good Walkers") were an agrarian fertility cult in the Friuli district of Northern Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Benandanti claimed to travel out of their bodies while asleep to struggle against evil witches (streghe) in order to ensure good crops for the season to come. Between 1575 and 1675, in the midst of the Early Modern witch trials, the Benandanti were tried as heretics or witches under the Roman Inquisition, and their beliefs assimilated to Satanism.
According to Early Modern records, benandanta were believed to have been born with a caul on their head, which gave them the ability to take part in nocturnal visionary traditions that occurred on specific Thursdays during the year. During these visions, it was believed that their spirits rode upon various animals into the sky and off to places in the countryside. Here they would take part in various games and other activities with other benandanti, and battle malevolent witches who threatened both their crops and their communities using sticks of sorghum. When not taking part in these visionary journeys, benandanti were also believed to have magical powers that could be used for healing.
In 1575, the benandanti first came to the attention of the Friulian Church authorities when a village priest, Don Bartolomeo Sgabarizza, began investigating the claims made by the benandante Paolo Gaspurotto. Although Sgabarizza soon abandoned his investigations, in 1580 the case was reopened by the inquisitor Fra Felice de Montefalco, who interrogated not only Gaspurotto but also a variety of other local benandanti and spirit mediums, ultimately condemning some of them for the crime of heresy. Under pressure by the Inquisition, these nocturnal spirit travels (which often included sleep paralysis) were assimilated to the diabolised stereotype of the witches' Sabbath, leading to the extinction of the Benandanti cult. The Inquisition's denounciation of the visionary tradition led to the term "benandante" becoming synonymous with the term "stregha" (meaning "witch") in Friulian folklore right through to the 20th century.
The first historian to study the benandanti tradition was the Italian Carlo Ginzburg (1939–), who began an examination of the surviving trial records from the period in the early 1960s, culminating in the publication of his book The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (1966, English translation 1983). In Ginzburg's interpretation of the evidence, the benandanti was a "fertility cult" whose members were "defenders of harvests and the fertility of fields." He furthermore argued that it was only one surviving part of a much wider European tradition of visionary experiences that had its origins in the pre-Christian period, identifying similarities with Livonian werewolf beliefs. Various historians have alternately built on or challenged aspects of Ginzburg's interpretation.
Members
Location of the historical region Friuli in Italy.The Benandanti, who included both males and females, were individuals who believed that they ensured the protection of their community and its crops. They believed themselves to have been marked from birth to join the ranks of the Benandanti, by being born with a caul (the amniotic sac) covering their face. The Benandanti reported leaving their bodies in the shape of mice, cats, rabbits, or butterflies. The men mostly reported flying into the clouds battling against witches to secure fertility for their community; the women more often reported attending great feasts.
Visionary journeys
On Thursdays during the Ember days, periods of fasting for the Catholic Church, the Benandanti claimed their spirits would leave their bodies at night in the form of small animals. The spirits of the men would go to the fields to fight evil witches (malandanti). The Benandanti men fought with fennel stalks, while the witches were armed with sorghum stalks (sorghum was used for witches' brooms, and the "brooms' sorghum" was one of the most current type of sorghum). If the men prevailed, the harvest would be plentiful.
The female Benandanti performed other sacred tasks. When they left their bodies they traveled to a great feast, where they danced, ate and drank with a procession of spirits, animals and faeries, and learned who amongst the villagers would die in the next year. In one account, this feast was presided over by a woman, "the abbess", who sat in splendour on the edge of a well. Carlo Ginzburg has compared these spirit assemblies with others reported by similar groups elsewhere in Italy and Sicily, which were also presided over by a goddess-figure who taught magic and divination.
The earliest accounts of the benandanti's journeys, dating from 1575, did not contain any of the elements then associated with the diabolic witches' sabbat; there was no worshipping of the Devil (a figure whom was not even present), no renunciation of Christianity, no trampling of crucifixes and no defilement of sacraments.
Relationship with witches
The female Benandanti performed other sacred tasks. When they left their bodies they traveled to a great feast, where they danced, ate and drank with a procession of spirits, animals and faeries, and learned who amongst the villagers would die in the next year. In one account, this feast was presided over by a woman, "the abbess", who sat in splendour on the edge of a well. Carlo Ginzburg has compared these spirit assemblies with others reported by similar groups elsewhere in Italy and Sicily, which were also presided over by a goddess-figure who taught magic and divination.
The earliest accounts of the benandanti's journeys, dating from 1575, did not contain any of the elements then associated with the diabolic witches' sabbat; there was no worshipping of the Devil (a figure whom was not even present), no renunciation of Christianity, no trampling of crucifixes and no defilement of sacraments.
Relationship with witches
Ginzburg noted that whether the benandanti were themselves witches or not was an area of confusion in the earliest records. Whilst they combated the malevolent witches and helped heal those who were believed to have been harmed through witchcraft, they also joined the witches on their nocturnal journeys, and the miller Pietro Rotaro was recorded as referring to them as "benandanti witches"; for this reason the priest Don Bartolomeo Sgabarizza, who recorded Rotaro's testimony, believed that while the benandanti were witches, they were 'good' witches who tried to protect their communities from the bad witches who would harm children. Ginzburg remarked that it was this contradiction in the relationship between the benandanti and the malevolent witches that ultimately heavily influenced their persecution at the hands of the Inquisition.
Inquisition and persecution
Sgabarizza's investigation: 1575"Sometimes they go out to one country region and sometimes to another, perhaps to Gradisca or even as far away as Verona, and they appear together jousting and playing games; and... the men and women who are the evil-doers carry and use the sorgham stalks which grow in the fields, and the men and women who are benandanti use fennel storks; and they go now one day and now another, but always on Thursdays, and... when they make their great displays they go to the biggest farms, and they have days fixed for this; and when the warlocks and witches set out it is to do evil, and they must be pursued by the benandanti to thwart them, and also to stop them entering the houses, because if they do not find clear water in the pails they go into the cellars and spoil the wine with certain things, throwing filth in the bungholes."
Sgabarizza's record of what Gaspurotto informed him, 1575.In early 1575, Paolo Gaspurotto, a male benandante who lived in the village of Iassico, gave a charm to a miller from Brazzano named Pietro Rotaro, in the hope of healing his son, who had fallen sick from some unknown illness. This event came to the attention of the local priest, Don Bartolomeo Sgabarizza, who was intrigued by the use of such folk magic, and called Gaspurotto to him to learn more. The benandante told the priest that the sick child had "been possessed by witches" but that he had been saved from certain death by the benandanti, or "vagabonds" as they were also known. He went on to reveal more about his benandanti brethren, relating that "on Thursdays during the Ember Days of the year [they] were forced to go with these witches to many places, such as Cormons, in front of the church at Iassico, and even into the countryside around Verona," where they "fought, played, leaped about, and rode various animals", as well as taking part in an activity during which "the women beat the men who were with them with sorghum stalks, while the men had only bunches of fennel."
Don Sgabarizza was concerned with such talk of witchcraft, and on 21 March 1575, he appeared as a witness before both the vicar general, Monsignor Jacopo Maracco, and the Inquisitor Fra Giulio d'Assis, a member of the Order of the Minor Conventuals, at the monastery of San Francesco di Cividale in Friuli, in the hope that they could offer him guidance in how to proceed in this situation. He brought Gaspurotto with him, who readily furnished more information in front of the Inquisitor, relating that after taking part in their games, "the witches, warlocks and vagabonds" would pass in front of people's houses, looking for "clean, clear water" that they would then drink. According to Gaspurotto, if the witches could not find any clean water to drink, they would "go into the cellars and overturn all the wine."
Sgabarizza did not initially believe Gaspurotto's claim that these events had actually occurred. In response to the priest's disbelief, Gaspurotto invited both him and the Inquisitor to join the benandanti on their next journey, although refused to provide the names of any other members of the brethren, stating that he would be "badly beaten by the witches" should he do so.[7] Not long after, on the Monday following Easter, Sgabarizza visited Iassico in order to say Mass to the assembled congregation, and following the ritual stayed among the locals for a feast held in his honour. During and after the meal, Sgabarizza once more discussed the journeys of the benandanti with both Gaspurotto and the miller Pietro Rotaro, and later learned of another self-professed benandante, the public crier Battista Moduco of Cividale, who offered more information on what occurred during their nocturnal visions. Ultimately, Sgabarizza and the inquisitor Giulio d'Assisi decided to abandon their investigations into the benandanti, something the later historian Carlo Ginzburg believed was probably because they came to believe that their stories of nocturnal flights and battling witches were "tall tales and nothing more."
Montefalco's investigation: 1580–1582
Inquisition and persecution
Sgabarizza's investigation: 1575"Sometimes they go out to one country region and sometimes to another, perhaps to Gradisca or even as far away as Verona, and they appear together jousting and playing games; and... the men and women who are the evil-doers carry and use the sorgham stalks which grow in the fields, and the men and women who are benandanti use fennel storks; and they go now one day and now another, but always on Thursdays, and... when they make their great displays they go to the biggest farms, and they have days fixed for this; and when the warlocks and witches set out it is to do evil, and they must be pursued by the benandanti to thwart them, and also to stop them entering the houses, because if they do not find clear water in the pails they go into the cellars and spoil the wine with certain things, throwing filth in the bungholes."
Sgabarizza's record of what Gaspurotto informed him, 1575.In early 1575, Paolo Gaspurotto, a male benandante who lived in the village of Iassico, gave a charm to a miller from Brazzano named Pietro Rotaro, in the hope of healing his son, who had fallen sick from some unknown illness. This event came to the attention of the local priest, Don Bartolomeo Sgabarizza, who was intrigued by the use of such folk magic, and called Gaspurotto to him to learn more. The benandante told the priest that the sick child had "been possessed by witches" but that he had been saved from certain death by the benandanti, or "vagabonds" as they were also known. He went on to reveal more about his benandanti brethren, relating that "on Thursdays during the Ember Days of the year [they] were forced to go with these witches to many places, such as Cormons, in front of the church at Iassico, and even into the countryside around Verona," where they "fought, played, leaped about, and rode various animals", as well as taking part in an activity during which "the women beat the men who were with them with sorghum stalks, while the men had only bunches of fennel."
Don Sgabarizza was concerned with such talk of witchcraft, and on 21 March 1575, he appeared as a witness before both the vicar general, Monsignor Jacopo Maracco, and the Inquisitor Fra Giulio d'Assis, a member of the Order of the Minor Conventuals, at the monastery of San Francesco di Cividale in Friuli, in the hope that they could offer him guidance in how to proceed in this situation. He brought Gaspurotto with him, who readily furnished more information in front of the Inquisitor, relating that after taking part in their games, "the witches, warlocks and vagabonds" would pass in front of people's houses, looking for "clean, clear water" that they would then drink. According to Gaspurotto, if the witches could not find any clean water to drink, they would "go into the cellars and overturn all the wine."
Sgabarizza did not initially believe Gaspurotto's claim that these events had actually occurred. In response to the priest's disbelief, Gaspurotto invited both him and the Inquisitor to join the benandanti on their next journey, although refused to provide the names of any other members of the brethren, stating that he would be "badly beaten by the witches" should he do so.[7] Not long after, on the Monday following Easter, Sgabarizza visited Iassico in order to say Mass to the assembled congregation, and following the ritual stayed among the locals for a feast held in his honour. During and after the meal, Sgabarizza once more discussed the journeys of the benandanti with both Gaspurotto and the miller Pietro Rotaro, and later learned of another self-professed benandante, the public crier Battista Moduco of Cividale, who offered more information on what occurred during their nocturnal visions. Ultimately, Sgabarizza and the inquisitor Giulio d'Assisi decided to abandon their investigations into the benandanti, something the later historian Carlo Ginzburg believed was probably because they came to believe that their stories of nocturnal flights and battling witches were "tall tales and nothing more."
Montefalco's investigation: 1580–1582
Five years after Sgabarizza's original investigation, on 27 June 1580, the inquisitor Fra Felice da Montefalco decided to revive the case of the benandanti. To do so he ordered Gaspurotto to be brought in for questioning; under interrogation, Gaspurotto repeatedly denied having ever been a benandante and asserted that involvement in such things were against God, contradicting the former claims that he had made to Sgabarizza several years before. The questioning over, Gaspurotto was imprisoned. That same day, the public crier of Cividale, Battista Moduco, who was also known locally to be a benandante, was rounded up and interrogated at Cividale, but unlike Gaspurotto, he openly admitted to Montefalco that he was a benandante, and went on to describe his visionary journeys, in which he battled witches in order to protect the community's crops. Vehemently denouncing the actions of the witches, he claimed that the benandanti were fighting "in service of Christ", and ultimately Montefalco decided to let him go.
"I am a benandante because I go with the others to fight four times a year, that is during the Ember Days, at night; I go invisibly in spirit and the body remains behind; we go forth in the service of Christ, and the witches of the devil; we fight each other, we with bundles of fennel and they with sorghum stalks."
Montefalco's record of what Moduco informed him, 1580.On 28 June, Gaspurotto was brought in for interrogation again. This time he admitted to being a benandante, claiming that he had been too scared to do so in the previous interrogation lest the witches beat him in punishment. Gaspurotto went on to accuse two individuals, one from Gorizia and the other from Chiana, of being witches, and was subsequently released by Montefalco on the proviso that he return for further questioning at a later date. This eventually came about on 26 September, taking place at the monastery of San Francesco in Udine. This time, Gaspurotto added an extra element to his tale, claiming that an angel had summoned him to join the benandanti. For Montefalco, the introduction of this element led him to suspect that the actions of Gaspurotto were themselves heretical and satanic, and his method of interrogation became openly suggestive, putting forward the idea that the angel was actually a demon in disguise.
"I am a benandante because I go with the others to fight four times a year, that is during the Ember Days, at night; I go invisibly in spirit and the body remains behind; we go forth in the service of Christ, and the witches of the devil; we fight each other, we with bundles of fennel and they with sorghum stalks."
Montefalco's record of what Moduco informed him, 1580.On 28 June, Gaspurotto was brought in for interrogation again. This time he admitted to being a benandante, claiming that he had been too scared to do so in the previous interrogation lest the witches beat him in punishment. Gaspurotto went on to accuse two individuals, one from Gorizia and the other from Chiana, of being witches, and was subsequently released by Montefalco on the proviso that he return for further questioning at a later date. This eventually came about on 26 September, taking place at the monastery of San Francesco in Udine. This time, Gaspurotto added an extra element to his tale, claiming that an angel had summoned him to join the benandanti. For Montefalco, the introduction of this element led him to suspect that the actions of Gaspurotto were themselves heretical and satanic, and his method of interrogation became openly suggestive, putting forward the idea that the angel was actually a demon in disguise.
As historian Carlo Ginzburg related, Montefalco had begun to warp Gaspurotto's testimony of the benandanti journey to fit the established clerical image of the diabolical witches' sabbat, while under the stress of interrogation and imprisonment, Gaspurotto himself was losing his self-assurance and beginning to question "the reality of his beliefs". Several days later, Gaspurotto openly told Montefalco that he believed that "the apparition of that angel was really the devil tempting me, since you have told me he can transform himself into an angel." When Moduco was also summoned to Montefalco, on 2 October 1580, he went on to announce the same thing, proclaiming that the Devil must have deceived him into going on the nocturnal journey which he believed was performed for good.[14] Having both confessed to Montefalco that their nocturnal journeying had been caused by the Devil, both Gaspurotto and Moduco were released, pending sentencing for their crime at a later date.[15] Due to a jurisdictional conflict between the Cividale commissioner and the patriarch's vicar, the pronouncement of Gaspurotto and Moduco's punishment was postponed until 26 November 1581. Both denounced as heretics, they were spared from excommunication but condemned to six months imprisonment, and furthermore ordered to offer prayers and penances to God on certain days of the year, including the Ember Days, in order that he might forgive their sins. However, their penalties were soon remitted, on the condition that they remain within the city of Cividale for a fortnight.
Anna la Rossa, Donna Aquilina and Caterina la GuerciaGaspurotto and Moduco would not be the only victims of Montefalco's investigations however, for during late 1581 he had heard of a widow living in Urdine named Anna la Rossa. While she did not claim to be a benandante, she did claim that she could see and communicate with the spirits of the dead, and so Montefalco had her brought in for questioning on 1 January 1582. Initially denying that she had such an ability to the inquisitor, she eventually relented and told him of how she believed that she could see the dead, and how she sold their messages to members of the local community willing to pay, using the money in order to alleviate the poverty of her family. Although Montefalco intended to interrogate her again at a later date, the trial ultimately remained permanently unfinished.
That year, Montefalco also took an interest in the claims regarding the wife of a tailor living in Udine who allegedly had the power to see the dead and to cure diseases with the use of spells and potions. Known among locals as Donna Aquilina, she was said to have become relatively rich through offering her services as a professional healer, but when she learned that she was under suspicion from the Holy Inquisition, she fled the city, and Montefalco did not initially set out to locate her. Later, on 26 August 1583, Montefalco traveled to Aquilina's home in order to interrogate her, but she fled and hid in a neighbouring house. She was finally brought in for interrogation on 27 October, in which she defended her practices, but claimed that she was neither a benandanti nor a witch.
In 1582, Montefalco had also begun investigating a Cividale widow named Caterina la Guercia, whom he had accused of practicing "various maleficent arts". Under interrogation on 14 September, she admitted that she knew several charms which she used to cure children's sicknesses, but that she was not a benandante. She added however that her deceased husband, Andrea of Orsaria, had been a benandante, and that he used to enter trances in which his spirit would leave his body and go with the "processions of the dead".
Later history
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Italian folklorists – such as G. Marcotti, E. Fabris Bellavitis, V. Ostermann, A. Lazzarini and G. Vidossi – who were engaged in the study of Friulian oral traditions, noted that the term benandante had become synonymous with the term "witch", a result of the original Church persecutions of the benandanti.
Related traditions
Related traditions
The themes associated with the Benandanti (leaving the body in spirit, possibly in the form of an animal; fighting for the fertility of the land; banqueting with a queen or goddess; drinking from and soiling wine casks in cellars) are found repeated in other testimonies: from the armiers of the Pyrenees, from the followers of Signora Oriente in 14th century Milan and the followers of Richella and 'the wise Sibillia' in 15th century Northern Italy, and much further afield, from Livonian werewolves, Dalmatian kresniki, Serbian zduhaćs, Hungarian táltos, Romanian căluşari and Ossetian burkudzauta.
Historian Carlo Ginzburg posits a relationship between the Benandanti cult and the shamanism of the Baltic and Slavic cultures, a result of diffusion from a central Eurasian origin, possibly 6,000 years ago. This explains, according to him, the similarities between the Benandanti cult in the Friuli and a distant case in Livonia concerning a benevolent werewolf.
Historian Carlo Ginzburg posits a relationship between the Benandanti cult and the shamanism of the Baltic and Slavic cultures, a result of diffusion from a central Eurasian origin, possibly 6,000 years ago. This explains, according to him, the similarities between the Benandanti cult in the Friuli and a distant case in Livonia concerning a benevolent werewolf.
Indeed, in 1692 in Jurgenburg, Livonia, an area near the Baltic Sea, an old man named Theiss was tried for being a werewolf; his defense was that his spirit (and that of others) transformed into werewolves in order to fight demons and prevent them from stealing grain from the village. Historian Carlo Ginzburg has shown that his arguments, and his denial of belonging to a Satanic cult, corresponded to those used by the Benandanti. On 10 October 1692, Theiss was sentenced to ten whip strikes on charges of superstition and idolatry.
Interpretation
The German anthropologist Hans Peter Duerr briefly discussed the benandanti in his book Dreamtime: Concerning the Boundary between Wilderness and Civilization (1978, English translation 1985). Like Ginzburg before him, he compared them to the Perchtenlaufen and the Livonian werewolf, arguing that they all represented a clash between the forces of order and chaos.
The word Strega or Stregheria (the American terminology of the word), meaning Witch or Witchcraft, is derived from the word Strix or Strege – a Latin word for owl – mainly the screech owl. In myth, this nocturnal bird preyed on human blood. The Romanian word Strigoi relating to the vampire is all tied in to explain in symbolic terms what a Strega is.
To begin with, the Strega is an individual that considers their “bloodline” of great importance, handing their secrets down through word of mouth from generation to generation fulfilling some ancient promise perhaps. This was done by an adult member of the family finding the most “talented” within their bloodline to pass this knowledge on to.
Very seldom was this gift passed to anyone outside of the family bloodline. If the family head had no one to pass it on to, they would die, never to reveal what they knew, burying the ancient knowledge in the sands of time. If by some miracle an outsider was brought in, they were tied to their new family by the intermingling of blood.
Secondly, they do all their magical workings at night while in trance, therefore, mimicking the nocturnal birds night flights whose importance was blood. The Strega move between the realms of the living and those that are hidden from the mundane - they are shape shifters, sorcerers and healers.
In family Stregoneria, it is difficult to pin down a specific organized way of doing things, as each family, depending on the various provinces in Italy, practiced differently. Many came to America via Ellis Island and made their home here in the States. Italian customs blended with American ways to bring about a unique form of Italian-American customs and heritage. The Strega descendants in America are first or second generation children of Italian ancestry. Their diverse ways here are just as unique as they were in Italy.
With Witchcraft and Paganism making its debut in the States, so has Stregheria gotten on the bandwagon. However, these old family traditions are unlike anything Wiccan. The family Strega had no Wiccan Rede or threefold law. They had their own creed by which they lived. They taught honor, respect, loyalty, ethics, ancient wisdom and love. These were taught from an early age, as were many other treasures, including their cultural heritage. Most families had no degree system, nor did they promote initiation in the way Witchcraft sees initiations. Their level of attainment was the child’s spiritual growth throughout the years and their initiations were their trials in life.
No one truly knows what the Strega may have practiced two thousand years ago, nor do we know what religion they may have been, if any. There were many factions in Italy other than Etruscan influence. This also included the Greeks, Samnites, and the Sabines among others. This is probably why the Strega today are so diversified in their ways.
When Christianity came on the scene, their beloved Diana easily blended into the Blessed Mother, while their God Lucifer (the Light-bearer), also known as Apollo, blended into Jesus Christ. Their magic found its way incorporated within the Latin Mass along with the Novena’s of Saints and Angels. To many old time Strega and their descendants, this has not changed. They go every Sunday to Mass, lighting their candles and doing their magic. Those who were fortunate to hold on to their Pagan past retained their old world ways, some combining their old Gods with the Catholic saints, much like Santeria without the sacrifices.
My own family handed down much Christian and folkloric magic whose symbolism had been lost for many years. It wasn’t until I decided to do my own research that brought many things we do to light. Stregoneria is blessed with the richness of its heritage and should not be lost; therefore, I do commend those who have come out of the closet to at least introduce this ancient art to a new world.
One thing I learn each day in my faith is that life is ever changing and we change along with it. We look at change with despise, as though “How dare it enter our lives”. What amazes me is that we are a species who are quick to judge and so very slow to change. We would rather keep our old habits in place of those that could benefit us. And although we crave advice, we are the first to defend those things that have no place in our lives. We are afraid to “go with the wind”. We resist to the point that even if we want to change, our resistance stops that change right in its tracks.
What we forget is that there really is no change as we know it, just movement – just rhythm. Life is movement like the spirit within all things.
In Stregoneria we believe in a form of animism. In other word,s to us, nothing is dead, everything lives and has lif, even the inanimate. When we pick up a stone, it has life. When we bake bread, it has life. When we talk about the “old days” with our families, it has life. Everything has a spirit and a soul which is part of the universal soul called Anima Mundi.
This “spirit” we call Numa or Pneuma from the Greek Pneo “to breathe”. It is the wind, the air, the breath of life and because this breath gives life, we relate it to spirit. However, air is all around us, it flows through us and is part of our world. This pneuma is called many things in many cultures. The yogi’s call it prana – the universal life force. In the Japanese healing system know as Reiki, the energy that flows from the healer is the ki (life force energy). This life force energy is also known as chi and in Hebrew is known as Rauch, also the breath of life.
This breath of life is in all things within our immediate reach and even beyond our known world. It flows in and out of us. It is the rhythm of the universe. It is the cycle of the moon, the ebb and flow of the tides, the inhalation and exhalation of our very being. It is the movement of all things.
The pneuma in Stregoneria is within our reach. It vibrates with every act we do. It is in every implement we use and emanates from our own being so we may put into motion those things we wish to manifest. When we bless, we use pneuma. When we light our sacred fire, we activate the pneuma within the flame. When I use my bastone (spirit stick), I connect with the life force that is all around me – past, present and future. I embrace it as it embraces me. Each breath I take, my bastone breathes with me. We share the same life force, the same spirit. When I drink of the wine and eat of the bread, I partake of the pneuma of the Gods.
To me, I see Diana as the Numina of the Moon and Lucifer as the Numina of the Sun, but they are just as strong and real as the spiritual forces of the ancient Watchers who are now spiritual ancestors. The “spirit” does not lose its force if it does not manifest into a physical form; the Numa is a powerful force regardless.
Although my ancestors are long gone from this material plane, their pneuma is all around me. Their essence is within my flesh, their voices are my voice, and their life is carried within my soul. I am proud as a first generation Italian American to carry their spirit within me. May those who follow La Vecchia Religione continue to cherish it and commit to its growth.
Copyright: ©2006 By Mary Santangelo
The Spirit of Italian Witchcraft by Marie Antonia
Not too many Pagans or Witches are familiar with other traditions of Italian Witchcraft other than information already in existence. What I am going to talk about is the Shamanic side of Italian Witchcraft known to Italians as Stregoneria, as well as its aspects within Christianity.The word Strega or Stregheria (the American terminology of the word), meaning Witch or Witchcraft, is derived from the word Strix or Strege – a Latin word for owl – mainly the screech owl. In myth, this nocturnal bird preyed on human blood. The Romanian word Strigoi relating to the vampire is all tied in to explain in symbolic terms what a Strega is.
To begin with, the Strega is an individual that considers their “bloodline” of great importance, handing their secrets down through word of mouth from generation to generation fulfilling some ancient promise perhaps. This was done by an adult member of the family finding the most “talented” within their bloodline to pass this knowledge on to.
Very seldom was this gift passed to anyone outside of the family bloodline. If the family head had no one to pass it on to, they would die, never to reveal what they knew, burying the ancient knowledge in the sands of time. If by some miracle an outsider was brought in, they were tied to their new family by the intermingling of blood.
Secondly, they do all their magical workings at night while in trance, therefore, mimicking the nocturnal birds night flights whose importance was blood. The Strega move between the realms of the living and those that are hidden from the mundane - they are shape shifters, sorcerers and healers.
In family Stregoneria, it is difficult to pin down a specific organized way of doing things, as each family, depending on the various provinces in Italy, practiced differently. Many came to America via Ellis Island and made their home here in the States. Italian customs blended with American ways to bring about a unique form of Italian-American customs and heritage. The Strega descendants in America are first or second generation children of Italian ancestry. Their diverse ways here are just as unique as they were in Italy.
With Witchcraft and Paganism making its debut in the States, so has Stregheria gotten on the bandwagon. However, these old family traditions are unlike anything Wiccan. The family Strega had no Wiccan Rede or threefold law. They had their own creed by which they lived. They taught honor, respect, loyalty, ethics, ancient wisdom and love. These were taught from an early age, as were many other treasures, including their cultural heritage. Most families had no degree system, nor did they promote initiation in the way Witchcraft sees initiations. Their level of attainment was the child’s spiritual growth throughout the years and their initiations were their trials in life.
No one truly knows what the Strega may have practiced two thousand years ago, nor do we know what religion they may have been, if any. There were many factions in Italy other than Etruscan influence. This also included the Greeks, Samnites, and the Sabines among others. This is probably why the Strega today are so diversified in their ways.
When Christianity came on the scene, their beloved Diana easily blended into the Blessed Mother, while their God Lucifer (the Light-bearer), also known as Apollo, blended into Jesus Christ. Their magic found its way incorporated within the Latin Mass along with the Novena’s of Saints and Angels. To many old time Strega and their descendants, this has not changed. They go every Sunday to Mass, lighting their candles and doing their magic. Those who were fortunate to hold on to their Pagan past retained their old world ways, some combining their old Gods with the Catholic saints, much like Santeria without the sacrifices.
My own family handed down much Christian and folkloric magic whose symbolism had been lost for many years. It wasn’t until I decided to do my own research that brought many things we do to light. Stregoneria is blessed with the richness of its heritage and should not be lost; therefore, I do commend those who have come out of the closet to at least introduce this ancient art to a new world.
One thing I learn each day in my faith is that life is ever changing and we change along with it. We look at change with despise, as though “How dare it enter our lives”. What amazes me is that we are a species who are quick to judge and so very slow to change. We would rather keep our old habits in place of those that could benefit us. And although we crave advice, we are the first to defend those things that have no place in our lives. We are afraid to “go with the wind”. We resist to the point that even if we want to change, our resistance stops that change right in its tracks.
What we forget is that there really is no change as we know it, just movement – just rhythm. Life is movement like the spirit within all things.
In Stregoneria we believe in a form of animism. In other word,s to us, nothing is dead, everything lives and has lif, even the inanimate. When we pick up a stone, it has life. When we bake bread, it has life. When we talk about the “old days” with our families, it has life. Everything has a spirit and a soul which is part of the universal soul called Anima Mundi.
This “spirit” we call Numa or Pneuma from the Greek Pneo “to breathe”. It is the wind, the air, the breath of life and because this breath gives life, we relate it to spirit. However, air is all around us, it flows through us and is part of our world. This pneuma is called many things in many cultures. The yogi’s call it prana – the universal life force. In the Japanese healing system know as Reiki, the energy that flows from the healer is the ki (life force energy). This life force energy is also known as chi and in Hebrew is known as Rauch, also the breath of life.
This breath of life is in all things within our immediate reach and even beyond our known world. It flows in and out of us. It is the rhythm of the universe. It is the cycle of the moon, the ebb and flow of the tides, the inhalation and exhalation of our very being. It is the movement of all things.
The pneuma in Stregoneria is within our reach. It vibrates with every act we do. It is in every implement we use and emanates from our own being so we may put into motion those things we wish to manifest. When we bless, we use pneuma. When we light our sacred fire, we activate the pneuma within the flame. When I use my bastone (spirit stick), I connect with the life force that is all around me – past, present and future. I embrace it as it embraces me. Each breath I take, my bastone breathes with me. We share the same life force, the same spirit. When I drink of the wine and eat of the bread, I partake of the pneuma of the Gods.
To me, I see Diana as the Numina of the Moon and Lucifer as the Numina of the Sun, but they are just as strong and real as the spiritual forces of the ancient Watchers who are now spiritual ancestors. The “spirit” does not lose its force if it does not manifest into a physical form; the Numa is a powerful force regardless.
Although my ancestors are long gone from this material plane, their pneuma is all around me. Their essence is within my flesh, their voices are my voice, and their life is carried within my soul. I am proud as a first generation Italian American to carry their spirit within me. May those who follow La Vecchia Religione continue to cherish it and commit to its growth.
Copyright: ©2006 By Mary Santangelo
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