The Book of the Holy Strega

Unknown to many outside of Italy and the Pagan world there was a female holy person in the 14th century named Aradia. In reading her biography one will find her to be like a female counter part to Jesus, or even a Mother Theresa. In the 14th century she wandered the Italian Countryside helping the poor, and healing the sick. Aradia was often persecuted herself by the Catholic clergy. She and her followers were hounded and torn. The Savior herself was imprisoned many times before she fled the country to Serbia or Albania. This is the story of the real Aradia.There is also a mythological Aradia who was born from the union of the Goddess Diana and her brother Lucifero. Diana, the Italian Lunar Goddess, brought Aradia down to earth to help save the poor. They were enslaved by the rich land owners and often very cruelly treated. Aradia was sent to earth to teach them the ways of herbs, magic and how to poison their oppressor. Italian witch lore is markedly different from Graeco_Roman Mytholgy.The Author, Raven Grimassi, wrote this book some thirty years. This book is a total overhaul of the original. Raven is a priest in several Wiccan traditions as well as having a family tradition of witchcraft that goes back some five or six generations. His critics have accused him of making the story of Aradia up. He has also been accused of making an Italian form of Wicca. He spent the chapter of his book refuting this and explaining his position. I say no need his book convinced me of he is sincerity and scholarship. In the late 1800's it was American folklorist Charles Leland Godfrey who brought Aradia to world attention. He too was accused of making it up or his information source was accused of making it up to bilk him for money. Of course a careful review of the story will tell you that his informants were speaking the truth as they knew it.Raven Grimassi launches into a detailed history of witchcraft in general and how the church has maligned it's practice by aligning it with Satan worship. The Devil is a Christian concept and there have been witches around since ancient time that preceded the birth and rise of Christianity. It was through the efforts of the Church inquisitors that things got twisted up. Witches of old used to call upon the the powers of the night, the stars and various goddesses. The one most frequently called upon was "Diana" other Goddesses who were called upon were Hekate and Prosperina. It should be noted that the Italian inquisition was not out to kill witches rather it wanted them to repent. Only if they were part of an organized group would they be burned at the stake.The name Aradia is thought to be a transmutation of the name Herodias , who was the woman who wanted John the Baptist beheaded. How an Italian Goddess could send a savior with such a name is mysterious. Certain authors believe that ARadia is a corruption of the name Her Diana. The rights of Diana included skyclad gathering under a full moon with dancing eating and drinking. Everyone was equal. The Walnut tree was central and there are woodcuts showing the witches plucking the walnuts. Walnuts are a fruit of Jupiter. It is also said that Walnut trees will not allow anything else to grow near them. People threw stones at Walnut trees an beat them with sticks. this could be used to help fertility There are legends surrounding this concept.Diana is called Queen of the Fairies and Queen of the Witches. It is thought that when people die they become fairies. Fairies often times take up habitation in trees and sometime souls are born into the world from trees. Diana was believed to have triple forms. Her first form is Diana of course but her second form is that of Hekate and thirdly either Prosperina or Luna. With the introduction of Artemis from Greece it has been thought that Diana was the Roman form of that Lunar Goddess. While both are Lunar Goddess there are several key differences. The most notable is that Artemis was never considered a Goddess of Witchcraft. Diana was! Artemis was a virgin goddess who never took a lover. Diana consorted with other males. Diana took on attributes of Artemis when her statue was brought from Greece to Lake Nemi in Italy. There seems to have been separate worship of Diana in Italy and Greece.Raven Grimassi thank you for making this book available on Kindle. Information like this needs to be made more accessible. THe book is well researched and there is a sizeable bibliography for further research if you want to probe even further. The footnotes offered rich explanation of concepts and there are books mentioned there for even further research.

Witchcraft is one of the most misrepresented religions of our time. Sadly, as far back as it roots seem to lead us, the symbol of the witch has been distorted until it is nothing more than a Halloween creature with a green face and a wart on her nose. Yet, stepping into the pages of Raven Grimassi’s “The Book of the Holy Strega” is like walking through history with new eyes. Grimassi offers more than simple accounts of Aradia, the most famous prophets of “the old religion” to live; he offers a well-sourced history of witchcraft, its evolution, the roots of many of its symbols and much more.It’s clear that Grimassi has done his work and that, as he notes in his preface, “The things that I teach are written in my blood by those who came before me.”(Grimassi, 2009) It is a beautiful testament to his passion. While it became clear to me that this book was more suited to someone who has some deeper sense of this faith and culture, I found this book quite accessible even to the novice. Even more so, Grimassi’s upfront attitude about how he developed this book, its organization as well as the goals for this book, allow the reader to quickly see that this is not a book to be taken lightly.Upon examination of this book, it seems that not all of his findings have been well received by his greater community. However, Grimassi is open as he addresses these issues throughout the book with solid evidence from a variety of sources. Grimassi is continuously refining his work, digging deeper and uncovering a mostly hidden tradition. In the process his clarity has become refined as well. Heavily researched, this book familiarizes the reader with the breadth of research that exists around the topic of witchcraft and, in particular, with Aradia and The Society of Diana. I found myself wishing I could meet this writer, simply to learn more. While this is not Grimassi’s only work, it does represent a deepened analysis of one aspect of the religion rather than the broader overview that some of his other books seem to present. Regardless, it’s clear to me that I will be reading more by this author.

This is another amazing book by the Maestro. Raven presents the story of Aradia beautifully. Her story is amazing. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes touching but never boring. I read this book in one long sitting. For those of us who practice Stregheria as founded by Raven Grimassi this is an important book. This is the TRUE Witches Gospel.If you are interested in Stregheria I recommend that you read this book first and then read "Italian Witchcraft" and "Hereditary Witchcraft" by Raven Grimassi.

I would rather give this book 4.5 stars. I guess Raven lost me a bit amongst the discussion on history in the middle of the book, but then again I was trying to use the book to understand Aradia as a Light Figure/spiritual guide. The real jewel of the book is toward the end with the teachings of Aradia, which are worth the price of the book many times over. I would love to read more about Aradia and am so curious why the Wiccan/Witchcraft/Pagan community does not have her as a household name. She is an incredibly inspirational figure, champion of the Old Ways in the face of persecution and oppression, and is my personal heroine. She is definitely worth learning about and incorporating into one's practice in some capacity as a spiritual ancestor, guide, etc. Thank you, Aradia. May I ever follow in providing a Voice for the Voiceless, just as you did. Thank you, Raven, for the gift of this work.

Thank you so very much! This offers invaluable information and as I walk my path helps me to help my pupils. Thank you!

Book was not what I had expected, it's mostly wicca.

Son was happy