The goddess Diana loved her brother, Lucifer, the god of the Sun and the Moon; the god of Light. One night, Diana changed shape with Lucifer's pet cat in order to seduce him. The product of the union was Aradia, whom we now call Queen of the Witches, after her mother who taught her all about witchcraft and its power. What followed was the both Diana and Lucifer were banished from Paradise and were condemned to spend the rest of their lives as mere mortals.
In 1899 Charles Godfrey Leland wrote a book called "Aradia", or "The Gospel of the Witches" and the sacred text therein has been adopted by modern day Wiccans.
The Gospel of Aradia
When I shall have departed from this world,
When I shall have departed from this world,
Whenever ye have need of anything,
Once in the month, and when the moon is full,
Ye shall assemble in some desert place,
Or in a forest all together join to adore the potent spirit of your queen,
My mother, great Diana.
She who fain would learn all sorcery yet has not won its' deepest secrets,
them my mother will teach her, in truth all things as yet unknown.
And ye shall all be freed from slavery,
And so ye shall be free in everything;
And as the sign that ye are truly free,
Ye shall be naked in your rites, both men and women also:
this shall last until the last of your oppressors shall be dead;
And ye shall make the game of Benevento,
Extinguishing the lights, and after that shall hold your supper thus:
The supper will be described in a different post.
This is but one of the sacred texts that witches use. It was a promise, made by Aradia to help the downtrodden peasants, to learn the wise ways to liberate themselves from their feudal lords.
