by Mother Oak
Early candles were made of vegetable waxes produced from plants such as bayberries, candelilla leaves, candletree bark, esparto grass, and various varieties of palm leaves such as carnauba and ouricury. They were also made of animal tissue and secretions, such as spermaceti(whale oil), ambergris, and beeswax (insect secretions). Sometimes entire animals such as the stormy petrel and the candle fish of the Pacific Northwest were threaded with a wick and burned as candles. Tallow candles were made of sheep, cow, or pig fat. All these candles were rather crude, time-consuming to make and smoky.
Of the two kinds of candle fuel, beeswax was considered the better since it burned cleaner than tallow and had a lovely odor compared to tallow's rancid, smoky smell. Being scarce, beeswax was expensive. Only churches and the wealthy could afford beeswax candles.
By the 17 th century, European state edicts controlled the weight, size and cost of candles. In 1709, an act of the English Parliament banned the making of candles at home unless a license was purchased and a tax paid.
Matches were invented in 1827, using poisonous phosphorus but were improved by the end of the century, eliminating the need for sparking with flint, steel, and tinder, or for keeping a fire burning 24 hours a day.
Probably most important of all, Paraffin was refined from oil around 1850, making petroleum based candles possible. The combination of paraffin, which burns clean and without odor, and stearin's, which harden soft paraffin, with new wick technologies developed in the nineteenth century, revolutionized the candle industry, giving us the tools and materials we still use for candle manufacturing.
Candle Shapes
# Container: Any candle that is poured into a container and intended to be burned in the container is a container candle. These candles are often made of soft wax and would not be able to stand on their own outside their enclosures. The container also prevents soft wax from dripping. Since these candles are safely contained in a vessel, they are often used in restaurants and in religious rituals that require long-burning candles.
# Pillar: A thick candle with a geometrical cross section such as a circle, oval, or hexagon is called a pillar. It is usually referred to by its diameter followed by its height. For example, a 3-by 6-inch pillar would be 3 inches in diameter and 6 inches high. Some pillars come in standard sized for commercial and religious use but you can make many variations of pillars by using molds.
# Novelty: These are irregularly shaped candles made by molding, sculpting and/or pouring.
# Taper: These are the long cylindrical candles that kindle memories of historic candle-dipping. Tapers can be made by dipping wicks into melted wax, by pouring wax into a mold, and by rolling wax around a wick. No matter the method, the result is always candles made to fit into a holder. Tapers are generally made 1/2 inch or 7/8 inch in diameter at the base because most holders are designed to fit these two sizes. There are, of course, exceptions, such as birthday candles (3/16 inch) and Danish tapers (1/4 inch). Some specialty candle holders are designed to hold a taper larger than 7/8 inch.
# Votive and Tea Lights: Although these candles originated in the church, the term now refers to small plug-type candles that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter by 2 to 3 inches high. This shape has become popular for scented candles because their small size allows them to fit easily into small rooms, such as bathrooms. As votive's melt and become liquid in their containers, the wick uses up all the liquid fuel. If you burn a votive on a plate, the burn time will be shorter because the wax will drip and the wick will be unable to use it.
# Tea lights are small votive's used to warm pots of potpourri and to heat foods. They fit in smaller-than-standard votive cups.
CANDLE COLORS
# WHITE: --Self; Protection; Purification; Full Moon Magic; Purity; Innocence; Centering; Truth; Sincerity; Meditation; Peace; Power of a Higher Nature; Greater Attainments in Life; Spirituality.
# RED: -- South; Protection; Strength; Blood; Passion; Courage; Health; Power; Fire Elemental; Sexuality; Vigor; Energy; Enthusiasm; Will Power; To conquer fear or laziness.
# LT. BLUE: --Healing; Patience; Happiness; Psychic Awareness; Quests; Intuition; Opportunity; Tranquillity; Understanding. Ward Depression; Safe Journey; Harmony in the Home; Peace.
# DARK BLUE: --The Goddess; West; Water Elemental; Inspiration; Truth; Dreams; Protection; Change; Impulse; Fidelity; Deep Emotion; Peace; Meditation; Changeability; Psychism.
# GREEN: --North; Money; Fertility; Growth; Employment; Earth Elemental; Herb Magic; Luck; Healing; Balance; Prosperity; Courage; Nature type Faerie-magic; Garden blessing; Abundance; Generosity; Renewal; Marriage.
# YELLOW: --East; Air Elemental; Intellect; Creative Work; Learning; Changes; Confidence; Attraction; Harmony; Clairvoyance; Charm; Imagination; Power of the Mind; Gentle persuasion; Action.
# BROWN: --Earth Elemental; Animal Health; Endurance; Steadiness; Houses & Homes; Physical Objects; Overcoming uncertainty and hesitancy; Attract Money and Financial Success; Concentration; ESP; Intuition; Study.
# PINK: --Love; Peace; Femininity; Friendship; Honor; Morality; Emotional Love; Affection; Romance; Spiritual Awakening; Healing of the Spirit; Togetherness.
# ORANGE: --The God; Attraction; Stimulation; Energy; Healing; Vitality; Encouragement; Adaptability; Luck; Pulling things to you; Clearing the Mind; Dominance, Sudden Changes; Change Luck.
# PURPLE: --Power; Dignity; Spiritual Development; Meditation, Spirituality; Intuition; Ambition; Spirit Communication; Tension; Business Progress; Healing Severe Diseases; Occult Wisdom; Success; Idealism; Higher Psychic Ability; Break Bad Luck; Drive Away Evil; Honors.
# GOLD: --The God; Solar Energy; Physical Strength; Power; Success; Mental Growth; Skill Sought; Healing Energy; Fortune; Divination; Creative Work; Intuition; Money; Fast Luck; Attracts Higher Influences.
# SILVER: --The Goddess; Lunar magic; Removes negative forces; Opens astral gates; Conducts Energy; Meditation; Creative Work; Protection; Money; Psychic Development; Success; Balance; Ward Negativity; Remove Negative Energy; Stability; Victory.
# VIOLET: --Self Improvement; Intuition; Success in searches; Creative Work.
# BLACK: --Endings; Closing of Doors; Psychic Work; Death; Ward Negativity; Remove Hexes; Protection; Spirit Contact; Truth; Remove Discord or Confusion; Reversing; Releasing; Repel Dark Magic and Negative Thought Forms.
# GREENISH-YELLOW: --To Negate; Discord, Sickness, Anger, Jealousy, Cowardice, Anger.
# INDIGO:--Meditation; Spirit Communication; Karma Working; Balance; Learn the Ancient Wisdom; Neutralize Another's Magic; Ward Slander, Lies or Undesirable Competition
# GRAY: --Non-Nature Faerie Magic; Travel to Otherworld; Vision Quests; Veiling; Cancellation; Hesitation; Competition.
# LAVENDER--Spiritual Development; Psychic Growth; Divination; Sensitivity to the Otherworld; Blessings.
# MAGENTA: --Very High Vibrational Frequency that tends to work fast so usually burned with other candles; Quick Change; Spiritual Healing, Exorcism.
CANDLEMAKING METHODS
# Cast and Molded: These candles are made by pouring wax into a preformed mold or shape. Molds can be made of disposable materials such as milk cartons and sand, purchased in metal or plastic, found at garage sales and on the beach, or created by you out of rubber, latex, or silicone rubber. You can make any of the candle types mentioned in the previous section with the molding and casting method.
# Dipped: These candles are made by repeatedly dipping a piece of wick into melted wax in a container, or dipping can. The results are called tapers because this is the natural shape that occurs as a result of dipping.
# Drawn: This is an old method made new by modern technology. It involves pulling long lengths of wick (thousands of yards) through melted wax. This method works well for making small diameter candles such as birthday candles, or the long waxed wicks used to light multiple candles called wax matches. In earlier times, some lamps were designed to hold wound lengths of waxed wick, which were unwound as they burned down. This method allowed a long burning candle without a thick wax product.
# Extruded: This is a machine method that pushes wax out through a shaped template, much like making cookies with a cookie gun. Once they're extruded, these very long candles are then sliced into their proper lengths. This method requires accurate heating and cooling of the wax in order to ensure that the intended shape holds as the wax comes through the die.
# Poured: This term refers to an old-fashioned method of pouring wax repeatedly over a wick to build it up to candle size.
# Pressed: This is a newer method of making commercial candles in which wax is atomized onto a cooling drum, forming wax beads or granules. These beads are then compressed into molds, where they bind to form a candle. The commercial advantage of pressed candles is that they can be removed from molds much more quickly than molten-poured molded candles.
# Rolled: These candles are made by rolling sheets of wax around a wick. Tapers, pillars, and novelty candles can be made with this method.
CANDLE MAGIC
Candle magic can be quite a complicated procedure, but these steps should help make it a little easier.
# Choose an appropriate color: The color of the candle you use is your first concern. You must correlate color with the goal you have in mind.
# Cleanse the candle: Now that you've chosen the appropriate color of candle, your next task is to remove energies infused into the candle during the manufacturing process (Unless you made the candle yourself with a particular goal in mind). Saturate a tissue with rubbing alcohol and, holding the candle in your hand, cleanse its surface, moving from bottom to top. This expels energy from the candle(If you are working with a glass encased candle, clean the exposed wax and the glass with the alcohols.
# Consecrate the candle: Next, dedicate the candle to your purpose. There three methods in which to do this, any or all may be used
# Carve symbols into the candle: Take a sharp object (Such as your Athame or a toothpick) and carve appropriate symbols into the side of the candle(or the top if glass-encased). If you are working for prosperity and dollar sign may be appropriate, if the goal is romance a heart would work. Astrological signs, runes, element signs, or personal signs may also be used. Think intensely of your goal while you carve. Even better is to repeat a verbal formula, such as an incantation or affirmation.
# Oil the candle: Most metaphysical stores carry a wide range of oils for sale, some pre-mixed for particular goals, choose one of these or mix your own. Dip your fingers into the oil and anoint the entire surface of the candle with it. If you want to attract good, oil the candle from the top to bottom. If you want to expel something from your life (such as a bad habit, illness, or an unwanted situation) oil the candle from bottom to top. If you can't decide which direction to oil from, try an alternative method; begin at the center of the candle and apply the oil upward toward the top, then from the center down. If working with a glass-encased candle, oil the exposed wax: clockwise (deosil) to draw good, counter-clockwise (widdershins) to expel negativity. It's important to use a verbal formula while you oil the candle, for this focuses your mind on the work at hand.
# Spray, sprinkle, or anoint the candle with water Purchase or create your own water (such as Prosperity, Love, Success or Healing Water) from a metaphysical store, and pour some into an atomizer or plant mister. Spray the entire surface of the candle as you repeat your affirmation or incantation. If you don't have an atomizer or plant mister, simply sprinkle the candle, or dip your fingers in the water and anoint the candle as you would with an oil.
A cleansed and consecrated candle should be used for one purpose only. If you prepare a candle for prosperity purposes, don't use it for anything else. You should decide how often and for how long a time your are going to burn your candle. Choose your candle size according to your purpose. If your goal is very important, you may wish to burn your candle every day for several days, which means you must use a very large candle. An alternative is to use several smaller candles and burn one each day. If you choose to use smaller candles remember to cleanse and consecrate each one before use. When you light your candle, do so consciously. Be aware that fire has an affinity with the spiritual plane.
Showing posts with label Folk Magic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Folk Magic. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Italian Folk Magic vs Italian Witchcraft
By Raven Grimassi
The contemporary folk magic systems in Italy reflect strong elements of Catholicism, as they have since the late Middle Ages. In America, and elsewhere, we are seeing the rise of what is commonly called Christian witchcraft. The latter is a blending of contemporary Wiccan and witchcraft elements, which are formed around a Christian core. This process is not unlike the evolution of modern folk traditions in Italy.
Modern Italian witchcraft traditions, by contrast to contemporary Italian folk traditions, typically do not contain Christian elements. Instead they focus upon Pagan elements of magic and religion. However a few traditions have adapted certain Catholic aspects of saint veneration, which constitute a Christian veneer masking earlier Pagan deities.
Some contemporary folk traditions erroneously view themselves as practitioners of a form of Italian witchcraft, but are instead a branch of common folk magic and healing traditions that are rooted in Italian Catholic culture. Ironically these folk practitioners reject the authenticity of Italian witchcraft traditions that do not reflect their beliefs and practices. Sadly, being highly active in their judgment and criticism of others, they bring little else than disharmony to the Pagan & Craft community. One example can be found on the website Stregoneria Italiana, a group with members who actively contrive to foster ill feelings toward author Raven Grimassi with frequent erroneous and negative posts in various forums and chat rooms throughout the Internet.
Today we face many problems associated with the misconceptions that do exist regarding Italian folk magic systems and Italian witchcraft. Although they share certain basic elements, the two systems reflect a clear distinction. This is reflected in the 19th century field studies of Charles Leland who comments:
“The witches of Italy form a class who are the repositories of all the folklore; what is not at all generally known, they also keep as strict secrets an immense number of legends of their own, which have nothing in common with the nursery or popular tales, such as are commonly collected and published …the more occult and singular of their secrets are naturally not of a nature to be published”.
Nineteenth century folklorist Lady de Vere describes such a structured witch cult in an article she wrote in 1894: "...the community of Italian witches is regulated by laws, traditions, and customs of the most secret kind, possessing special recipes for sorcery" (La Rivista of Rome, June 1894).
As noted, Italian folk magic traditions possess various aspects of Christian beliefs and practices. These are often rooted in the venerations of saints or the use of sacred or holy objects such as holy water, the communion wafer, or the rosary. In addition various elements of folk magic are liked to important dates in Christianity such as Christmas Eve and festivals celebrating a variety of saints. Many of these displaced earlier Pagan festivals such as the summer solstice, which is now celebrated as St. John’s Day.
Italian witchcraft possesses active elements of pre-Christian religion, and incorporates the aid of spirits, faeries, astronomical forces, and a variety of Pagan deities. Ancient Roman writers depict witches associated with the goddess Hecate, Diana, and Proserpina. Ancient writers in Europe also associate witches in Italy with the goddess Venus, and the god Priapus. None of these elements are found in traditional Italian folk magic traditions, but they do reside in older forms of Italian witchcraft. Most modern scholars have ignored or dismissed the earlier writings that mention pre-Christian elements within Italian witchcraft, and do not consider them as evidence of an actual witches’ sect.
Contemporary scholars investigating folk magic and Italian witchcraft have conducted field studies that involve interviews with folk practitioners in Italy. Almost one hundred percent of these individuals are Catholic or some other denomination of the Christian faith. By contrast the field studies conducted in 19th century Italy, by such folklorists as J.B. Andrews, Lady de Vere, Roma Lister, and Charles Leland involved individuals who claimed to be witches. Naturally, in accord, the material and conclusions gathered by contemporary scholars and 19th century folklorists differ greatly. It is noteworthy that five folklorists in Italy during the 19th century independently discovered a commonality within witchcraft traditions in different regions of Italy (none of which conform to common folk magic or folk traditions then or now).
Most modern scholars focus on the folk healer in Italy, and tend to see the arts and customs of this figure as definitive of the cultural norms. While this view may be true of contemporary traditions in modern culture, it fails to appreciate the significance of the existing Pagan elements preceding the modern folk traditions that contain them. The majority of scholars today view pre-Christian elements as insertions into a Christian framework instead of seeing them as evidence of the survival of ancient pre-Christian religion. One example appears in the feast day of San Domenico in Cocullo (Abruzzo region) whose statue is covered with living snakes and carried in a procession. This site was earlier the home of the Marsi, a pre-Christian Pagan tribe that worshipped the goddess Angizia, a type of snake deity.
The customs associated with the feast of San Domenico strongly suggests that the Pagan elements pre-existed in a readily adoptable form that fit the Christian veneer. However, most scholars appear to believe that such Pagan elements are not evidence of pre-existing sects and their beliefs and practices that were later incorporated into saint veneration in the Christian era. As previously noted, most modern scholars seem to reject the idea that modern folk traditions are actually Christian offshoots of earlier Pagan beliefs and practices.
When exploring for the correct chronology regarding Pagan and Christian elements, it is noteworthy that the Church and its agents seem to have intentionally displaced things as they Christianized. One example is the festival day of the goddess Diana on August 13th, which was displaced with the Ascension of Mary on August 15th. Another example is the birth of Jesus placed near the Winter Solstice, and his resurrection in the spring. The death of Jesus on a tree (wooden cross) also resembles pagan themes in Europe. When we add to this the Pagan elements contained within saint veneration, the evidence seems weighted against the Christian markers in terms of origins, chronology, and who took what from whom.
David Gentilcore, a historian of early modern Italy, held that while it was impossible to draw absolute distinctions between schooled medical professionals, ecclesiastical healers, and illiterate "wise-women," that medical knowledge flowed between these three groups. This is one example of how common elements within a group (or tradition) do not necessarily demonstrate that the systems or organizations are the same. The differences between Italian folk magic/folk customs and Italian witchcraft appear to reveal the truth of such a view. Gentilcore also notes that while some cures were known and accessible to all members of society, others were restricted to community wisewomen:
"Some cures were immediately accessible, being the common lore of all members of society; others were restricted to community wise women (referred to in the Otrantine trial records as magare) and midwives. As we shall see, they belong to the system of the sacred because they attempted to establish relationships with the sacred and influence it, although they did so outside ecclesiastical structures" - From Bishop to Witch, page 129 (Gentilcore).
Gentilcore notes that historians and folklorists lack a full comprehension of folk methods. This has led to an unintentional misrepresentation of the traditions by the academic community. Gentilcore cites the concealment involved in secret societies as a factor in the misunderstanding of academic researchers:
"..to view these 'exorcising techniques' simply as lay versions or applications of ecclesiastical rituals would be to rob them of their richness and miss their other sources of inspiration. The folklorist and historian is not entirely to blame, since the invocations and prayers were often revealed by the healer without the accompanying prescription or magico-medical practices. This is usually the choice of the informant (or, in the case of the episcopal and inquisitional trials, the accused) for whom the secret cannot be revealed to him without both the ritual and the healer losing their efficacy. Because of the importance of secrecy witnesses could not often be sure what the healer said or did" - page 134
Although most modern scholars dismiss or reject the pre-Christian elements of contemporary Italian folk traditions, there are some who do recognize the importance of them in understanding folk systems. Several scholars recognize that Christian themes (particularly related to saints) and biblical associations (historiola) have been constructed around pre-existing Pagan beliefs and practices. Gentilcore notes:
"The brief magical formula that followed the historiola was usually pronouned sotto voce, its very secrecy giving it limitless power. By their nature, such words had to escape the comprehension of the uninitiated in order to be effective. Giuseppe Cocchiara identifies this part of the invocation as a surviving pre-Christian magical formula on to which has been tacked the Christian historiola. Yet often the magical formula itself, which depends on the exorcisng power of words, took on a Christian form..."
This modification and arrogation of the foundational Pagan elements of folk traditions has blinded most scholars to the lore, beliefs, and practices of the earlier pre-existing authentic forms of Italian witchcraft. By choosing to view the modified Christian folk traditions as the original and normal model, modern scholars fail to search in earnest for its Pagan roots (or to recognize it once they encounter it).
Few if any modern scholars have personally interviewed contemporary Italian witches. One of the small numbers of modern scholars to explore the topic of Italian witchcraft today is anthropologist Sabina Magliocco who authored an article titled Spells, Saints, and Streghe (published in Pomegranate, issue #13, August 2000).
In her article, Magliocco states that most of her knowledge of Italian folk magic comes from ethnographic research and fieldwork in Sardinia, where she spent a cumulative 18 months living in a highland community of sheep and goat pastoralists between 1986 and 1990. She makes it clear that her knowledge is in the area of Italian folk magic. There is no claim by her to possess anything resembling an intimate knowledge of Italian witchcraft (as practiced in Italy or elsewhere). It seems likely that shepherds in Sardinia did possess some knowledge of folk magic as many Italian do. However, it seems reasonably certain that these commoners knew little if anything of authentic forms of witchcraft. Therefore they cannot seriously be viewed as expert witnesses on Italian witchcraft.
Magliocco comments on the influence of Charles G. Leland's Aradia, or the Gospel of Witches, and goes on to say that Leland's material does not bear a strong resemblance to Italian folk magical practice as documented in the ethnographic record of the last 100 years. She also claims this is true of modern Italian witchcraft traditions. Naturally there is little reason why they should, because they are two different systems. As we have already seen, the community of Italian witches possesses secret customs and traditions (again noted by 19th century folklorist Roma Lister).
As previously Charles Leland mentions the following from his field studies among self proclaimed witches (as opposed to common people in a shepherd community, as was the case with Magliocco’s field studies):
“The witches of Italy form a class who are the repositories of all the folklore; what is not at all generally known, they also keep as strict secrets an immense number of legends of their own, which have nothing in common with the nursery or popular tales, such as are commonly collected and published ... the more occult and singular of their secrets are naturally not of a nature to be published ....”
In this light Magliocco’s views are difficult to reconcile with those of professional Folklorists in the 19th century who performed field studies among people who defined themselves as witches. She comments that Italian-American Witchcraft or Stregheria traditions differ from Italian folk magical practice in several important ways. She first states that Italian folk magic is not an organized or unified religion, but a varied set of beliefs and practices. This is true, which is one of the primary reasons it differs from Italian witchcraft.
Magliocco writes that while folk magic has deep historical roots, it is not a survival of an ancient religion, but an integral part of a rural peasant economy and way of life, highly syncretized with folk Catholicism. This is another reason why it differs from Italian witchcraft. She continues with the view that knowledge of magical practices was at one time diffused throughout the rural population, rather than limited to a secret group of magical practitioners. Indeed such things were diffused, but they were diffused from the secret societies into the common population. However, the material was never understood by the non-initiated, and was quickly Christianized to conform with the standards of contemporary society. Within the “rural population” it quickly transformed into a diluted and altered form that today is known as folk magic.
Magliocco concedes that the context of Italian folk magical practice differs considerably from that of contemporary Italian-American revival witchcraft, so that materials are not always easily transferable from one system to another. This is precisely one of the main reasons why they need to be understood as different systems. Their differences do not render either as unauthentic but speak to different systems that are not dependent upon one another.
In her article, Magliocco states that all traditions are perpetually in flux as their bearers constantly re-interpret and re-invent them with each individual performance. She further comments that revival and revitalization are part of the process of tradition, even when the result is different from the original practice itself. Ironically her argument is therefore as true of folk magic as it would be of Italian witchcraft. Consequently, since folk traditions transform within the model that Magliocco supports, they cannot be the measure of “authenticity” when comparing them against Italian witchcraft or other systems. This would be particularly true of anything that pre-dated the folk tradition, since the tradition itself has transformed into something different from its roots.
Magliocco writes that one of the problems with the idea of a unified organization of Italian witches is that the Italian peninsula could not be said to have anything resembling an integrated culture between the end of the Roman Empire (453ce) and the beginning of the 20th century, making the existence of a secret, organized Italian witch cult nearly impossible. However, the reality is that five folklorists in Italy (during the 19th century) independently discovered a commonality within witchcraft traditions in different regions of Italy. Magliocco also comments that the development of a unified Italian system of ritual magic, diffused through oral tradition on a popular level, is unlikely before the 20th century. She goes on to add that any generalizations about an Italian folk culture need to be treated with great caution. The latter statement is very true, which is yet another reason why folk traditions and folk magic systems cannot be the universal measurements of authenticity in an investigation and comparison of Italian witchcraft.
To understand Italian folklore and folk magic (as opposed to authentic forms of witchcraft) it is helpful to look at its literary history. According to folklorist Italo Calvino (Italian Folktales) it is generally accepted that Italian tales were recorded from the oral tradition by the early Middle Ages. Gianfrancesco Straparola and Giambattista Basile compiled the earliest works. Straparola wrote tales of wizardry and enchantment. Basile wrote down old tales of enchantment and superstition spoken by Italian peasants in Venice, Crete, and along the Mediterranean coast (circa 1637). Laura Gonzenbach, a Swiss-German born in Sicily, gathered oral tales from the peasants of Sicily, and published her work in 1870.
The writings of Straparola and Basile provide us with a snapshot of common Italian lore, as it existed it Italy around the 15th century. Because we possess no earlier works it is almost impossible to know what alterations were made over the centuries, and how similar the tales are in relationship to the roots of the beliefs and practices depicted in the written accounts. A further problem arises when we ask whether beliefs about witches in folk tales represent what people actually believed, or whether they reflect the fantastic.
In the book Out of the Woods: The Origins of the Literary Fairy Tale in Italy and France, edited by Nancy Canepa (published by Wayne State University Press, 1997) the author points to manipulations and transformations of the earlier folklore tales by certain authors of the 18th century. This resulted in a change of not only the core and flavor of the original folktales, but also altered the social history through which they originally arose. Canepa notes that this dominated fairy-tale scholarship well into the 1970s.
Scholar Jack Zipes, in his book The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Hiding Hood (Routledge, 1993) states that folktales “were told by priests in the vernacular as part of their sermons to reach out to the peasantry”. Canepa points out that “The authors – and audiences – of the first French tales, as of the earlier Italian tales, were the elite frequenters of courts and salons, and these authors lost no opportunity to use the tales to air their views on prevailing social and political conditions…” This leaves us with the problem of how contrived were the retold tales, and what personal gain existed in each occasion of the telling? In such a light, popular lore again becomes unreliable as a standard by which to view the authenticity of folklore as a reliable means of discerning cultural integrity. Instead it can be seen as exposing political stratagem.
Canepa notes the problem with viewing popular lore as reflective of the culture as a whole: “Moreover, in the case of the fairly tale (v. other forms of ‘fantastic’ literature), the situation of a given work in a precise sociocultural context is further obfuscated by the tendency to regard fairy tales, even when they are literary creations of individual authors, along the same lines as oral folkltales: that is, as collective, anonymous, products of a tale-telling community that may span vast chronological and geographic boundaries”.
The problem for scholars is that the written tales (which as we’ve seen have been manipulated and transformed over the centuries) comprise the bulk of the research data used by the academic community. Although some modern scholars still seek out oral accounts, the written tales that people have been exposed to from birth have no doubt contaminated the oral tales that can still be encountered in contemporary times among the common people. The problem is further confounded by the fact that modern scholars reject the field studies of 19th century folklorists who recorded the oral accounts of lore and witchcraft drawn from people professing to be witches. The favoring of exoteric material over esoteric material by the academic community has resulted in a misunderstanding of Italian witchcraft (both old and new) that may never be resolved.
The contemporary folk magic systems in Italy reflect strong elements of Catholicism, as they have since the late Middle Ages. In America, and elsewhere, we are seeing the rise of what is commonly called Christian witchcraft. The latter is a blending of contemporary Wiccan and witchcraft elements, which are formed around a Christian core. This process is not unlike the evolution of modern folk traditions in Italy.
Modern Italian witchcraft traditions, by contrast to contemporary Italian folk traditions, typically do not contain Christian elements. Instead they focus upon Pagan elements of magic and religion. However a few traditions have adapted certain Catholic aspects of saint veneration, which constitute a Christian veneer masking earlier Pagan deities.
Some contemporary folk traditions erroneously view themselves as practitioners of a form of Italian witchcraft, but are instead a branch of common folk magic and healing traditions that are rooted in Italian Catholic culture. Ironically these folk practitioners reject the authenticity of Italian witchcraft traditions that do not reflect their beliefs and practices. Sadly, being highly active in their judgment and criticism of others, they bring little else than disharmony to the Pagan & Craft community. One example can be found on the website Stregoneria Italiana, a group with members who actively contrive to foster ill feelings toward author Raven Grimassi with frequent erroneous and negative posts in various forums and chat rooms throughout the Internet.
Today we face many problems associated with the misconceptions that do exist regarding Italian folk magic systems and Italian witchcraft. Although they share certain basic elements, the two systems reflect a clear distinction. This is reflected in the 19th century field studies of Charles Leland who comments:
“The witches of Italy form a class who are the repositories of all the folklore; what is not at all generally known, they also keep as strict secrets an immense number of legends of their own, which have nothing in common with the nursery or popular tales, such as are commonly collected and published …the more occult and singular of their secrets are naturally not of a nature to be published”.
Nineteenth century folklorist Lady de Vere describes such a structured witch cult in an article she wrote in 1894: "...the community of Italian witches is regulated by laws, traditions, and customs of the most secret kind, possessing special recipes for sorcery" (La Rivista of Rome, June 1894).
As noted, Italian folk magic traditions possess various aspects of Christian beliefs and practices. These are often rooted in the venerations of saints or the use of sacred or holy objects such as holy water, the communion wafer, or the rosary. In addition various elements of folk magic are liked to important dates in Christianity such as Christmas Eve and festivals celebrating a variety of saints. Many of these displaced earlier Pagan festivals such as the summer solstice, which is now celebrated as St. John’s Day.
Italian witchcraft possesses active elements of pre-Christian religion, and incorporates the aid of spirits, faeries, astronomical forces, and a variety of Pagan deities. Ancient Roman writers depict witches associated with the goddess Hecate, Diana, and Proserpina. Ancient writers in Europe also associate witches in Italy with the goddess Venus, and the god Priapus. None of these elements are found in traditional Italian folk magic traditions, but they do reside in older forms of Italian witchcraft. Most modern scholars have ignored or dismissed the earlier writings that mention pre-Christian elements within Italian witchcraft, and do not consider them as evidence of an actual witches’ sect.
Contemporary scholars investigating folk magic and Italian witchcraft have conducted field studies that involve interviews with folk practitioners in Italy. Almost one hundred percent of these individuals are Catholic or some other denomination of the Christian faith. By contrast the field studies conducted in 19th century Italy, by such folklorists as J.B. Andrews, Lady de Vere, Roma Lister, and Charles Leland involved individuals who claimed to be witches. Naturally, in accord, the material and conclusions gathered by contemporary scholars and 19th century folklorists differ greatly. It is noteworthy that five folklorists in Italy during the 19th century independently discovered a commonality within witchcraft traditions in different regions of Italy (none of which conform to common folk magic or folk traditions then or now).
Most modern scholars focus on the folk healer in Italy, and tend to see the arts and customs of this figure as definitive of the cultural norms. While this view may be true of contemporary traditions in modern culture, it fails to appreciate the significance of the existing Pagan elements preceding the modern folk traditions that contain them. The majority of scholars today view pre-Christian elements as insertions into a Christian framework instead of seeing them as evidence of the survival of ancient pre-Christian religion. One example appears in the feast day of San Domenico in Cocullo (Abruzzo region) whose statue is covered with living snakes and carried in a procession. This site was earlier the home of the Marsi, a pre-Christian Pagan tribe that worshipped the goddess Angizia, a type of snake deity.
The customs associated with the feast of San Domenico strongly suggests that the Pagan elements pre-existed in a readily adoptable form that fit the Christian veneer. However, most scholars appear to believe that such Pagan elements are not evidence of pre-existing sects and their beliefs and practices that were later incorporated into saint veneration in the Christian era. As previously noted, most modern scholars seem to reject the idea that modern folk traditions are actually Christian offshoots of earlier Pagan beliefs and practices.
When exploring for the correct chronology regarding Pagan and Christian elements, it is noteworthy that the Church and its agents seem to have intentionally displaced things as they Christianized. One example is the festival day of the goddess Diana on August 13th, which was displaced with the Ascension of Mary on August 15th. Another example is the birth of Jesus placed near the Winter Solstice, and his resurrection in the spring. The death of Jesus on a tree (wooden cross) also resembles pagan themes in Europe. When we add to this the Pagan elements contained within saint veneration, the evidence seems weighted against the Christian markers in terms of origins, chronology, and who took what from whom.
David Gentilcore, a historian of early modern Italy, held that while it was impossible to draw absolute distinctions between schooled medical professionals, ecclesiastical healers, and illiterate "wise-women," that medical knowledge flowed between these three groups. This is one example of how common elements within a group (or tradition) do not necessarily demonstrate that the systems or organizations are the same. The differences between Italian folk magic/folk customs and Italian witchcraft appear to reveal the truth of such a view. Gentilcore also notes that while some cures were known and accessible to all members of society, others were restricted to community wisewomen:
"Some cures were immediately accessible, being the common lore of all members of society; others were restricted to community wise women (referred to in the Otrantine trial records as magare) and midwives. As we shall see, they belong to the system of the sacred because they attempted to establish relationships with the sacred and influence it, although they did so outside ecclesiastical structures" - From Bishop to Witch, page 129 (Gentilcore).
Gentilcore notes that historians and folklorists lack a full comprehension of folk methods. This has led to an unintentional misrepresentation of the traditions by the academic community. Gentilcore cites the concealment involved in secret societies as a factor in the misunderstanding of academic researchers:
"..to view these 'exorcising techniques' simply as lay versions or applications of ecclesiastical rituals would be to rob them of their richness and miss their other sources of inspiration. The folklorist and historian is not entirely to blame, since the invocations and prayers were often revealed by the healer without the accompanying prescription or magico-medical practices. This is usually the choice of the informant (or, in the case of the episcopal and inquisitional trials, the accused) for whom the secret cannot be revealed to him without both the ritual and the healer losing their efficacy. Because of the importance of secrecy witnesses could not often be sure what the healer said or did" - page 134
Although most modern scholars dismiss or reject the pre-Christian elements of contemporary Italian folk traditions, there are some who do recognize the importance of them in understanding folk systems. Several scholars recognize that Christian themes (particularly related to saints) and biblical associations (historiola) have been constructed around pre-existing Pagan beliefs and practices. Gentilcore notes:
"The brief magical formula that followed the historiola was usually pronouned sotto voce, its very secrecy giving it limitless power. By their nature, such words had to escape the comprehension of the uninitiated in order to be effective. Giuseppe Cocchiara identifies this part of the invocation as a surviving pre-Christian magical formula on to which has been tacked the Christian historiola. Yet often the magical formula itself, which depends on the exorcisng power of words, took on a Christian form..."
This modification and arrogation of the foundational Pagan elements of folk traditions has blinded most scholars to the lore, beliefs, and practices of the earlier pre-existing authentic forms of Italian witchcraft. By choosing to view the modified Christian folk traditions as the original and normal model, modern scholars fail to search in earnest for its Pagan roots (or to recognize it once they encounter it).
Few if any modern scholars have personally interviewed contemporary Italian witches. One of the small numbers of modern scholars to explore the topic of Italian witchcraft today is anthropologist Sabina Magliocco who authored an article titled Spells, Saints, and Streghe (published in Pomegranate, issue #13, August 2000).
In her article, Magliocco states that most of her knowledge of Italian folk magic comes from ethnographic research and fieldwork in Sardinia, where she spent a cumulative 18 months living in a highland community of sheep and goat pastoralists between 1986 and 1990. She makes it clear that her knowledge is in the area of Italian folk magic. There is no claim by her to possess anything resembling an intimate knowledge of Italian witchcraft (as practiced in Italy or elsewhere). It seems likely that shepherds in Sardinia did possess some knowledge of folk magic as many Italian do. However, it seems reasonably certain that these commoners knew little if anything of authentic forms of witchcraft. Therefore they cannot seriously be viewed as expert witnesses on Italian witchcraft.
Magliocco comments on the influence of Charles G. Leland's Aradia, or the Gospel of Witches, and goes on to say that Leland's material does not bear a strong resemblance to Italian folk magical practice as documented in the ethnographic record of the last 100 years. She also claims this is true of modern Italian witchcraft traditions. Naturally there is little reason why they should, because they are two different systems. As we have already seen, the community of Italian witches possesses secret customs and traditions (again noted by 19th century folklorist Roma Lister).
As previously Charles Leland mentions the following from his field studies among self proclaimed witches (as opposed to common people in a shepherd community, as was the case with Magliocco’s field studies):
“The witches of Italy form a class who are the repositories of all the folklore; what is not at all generally known, they also keep as strict secrets an immense number of legends of their own, which have nothing in common with the nursery or popular tales, such as are commonly collected and published ... the more occult and singular of their secrets are naturally not of a nature to be published ....”
In this light Magliocco’s views are difficult to reconcile with those of professional Folklorists in the 19th century who performed field studies among people who defined themselves as witches. She comments that Italian-American Witchcraft or Stregheria traditions differ from Italian folk magical practice in several important ways. She first states that Italian folk magic is not an organized or unified religion, but a varied set of beliefs and practices. This is true, which is one of the primary reasons it differs from Italian witchcraft.
Magliocco writes that while folk magic has deep historical roots, it is not a survival of an ancient religion, but an integral part of a rural peasant economy and way of life, highly syncretized with folk Catholicism. This is another reason why it differs from Italian witchcraft. She continues with the view that knowledge of magical practices was at one time diffused throughout the rural population, rather than limited to a secret group of magical practitioners. Indeed such things were diffused, but they were diffused from the secret societies into the common population. However, the material was never understood by the non-initiated, and was quickly Christianized to conform with the standards of contemporary society. Within the “rural population” it quickly transformed into a diluted and altered form that today is known as folk magic.
Magliocco concedes that the context of Italian folk magical practice differs considerably from that of contemporary Italian-American revival witchcraft, so that materials are not always easily transferable from one system to another. This is precisely one of the main reasons why they need to be understood as different systems. Their differences do not render either as unauthentic but speak to different systems that are not dependent upon one another.
In her article, Magliocco states that all traditions are perpetually in flux as their bearers constantly re-interpret and re-invent them with each individual performance. She further comments that revival and revitalization are part of the process of tradition, even when the result is different from the original practice itself. Ironically her argument is therefore as true of folk magic as it would be of Italian witchcraft. Consequently, since folk traditions transform within the model that Magliocco supports, they cannot be the measure of “authenticity” when comparing them against Italian witchcraft or other systems. This would be particularly true of anything that pre-dated the folk tradition, since the tradition itself has transformed into something different from its roots.
Magliocco writes that one of the problems with the idea of a unified organization of Italian witches is that the Italian peninsula could not be said to have anything resembling an integrated culture between the end of the Roman Empire (453ce) and the beginning of the 20th century, making the existence of a secret, organized Italian witch cult nearly impossible. However, the reality is that five folklorists in Italy (during the 19th century) independently discovered a commonality within witchcraft traditions in different regions of Italy. Magliocco also comments that the development of a unified Italian system of ritual magic, diffused through oral tradition on a popular level, is unlikely before the 20th century. She goes on to add that any generalizations about an Italian folk culture need to be treated with great caution. The latter statement is very true, which is yet another reason why folk traditions and folk magic systems cannot be the universal measurements of authenticity in an investigation and comparison of Italian witchcraft.
To understand Italian folklore and folk magic (as opposed to authentic forms of witchcraft) it is helpful to look at its literary history. According to folklorist Italo Calvino (Italian Folktales) it is generally accepted that Italian tales were recorded from the oral tradition by the early Middle Ages. Gianfrancesco Straparola and Giambattista Basile compiled the earliest works. Straparola wrote tales of wizardry and enchantment. Basile wrote down old tales of enchantment and superstition spoken by Italian peasants in Venice, Crete, and along the Mediterranean coast (circa 1637). Laura Gonzenbach, a Swiss-German born in Sicily, gathered oral tales from the peasants of Sicily, and published her work in 1870.
The writings of Straparola and Basile provide us with a snapshot of common Italian lore, as it existed it Italy around the 15th century. Because we possess no earlier works it is almost impossible to know what alterations were made over the centuries, and how similar the tales are in relationship to the roots of the beliefs and practices depicted in the written accounts. A further problem arises when we ask whether beliefs about witches in folk tales represent what people actually believed, or whether they reflect the fantastic.
In the book Out of the Woods: The Origins of the Literary Fairy Tale in Italy and France, edited by Nancy Canepa (published by Wayne State University Press, 1997) the author points to manipulations and transformations of the earlier folklore tales by certain authors of the 18th century. This resulted in a change of not only the core and flavor of the original folktales, but also altered the social history through which they originally arose. Canepa notes that this dominated fairy-tale scholarship well into the 1970s.
Scholar Jack Zipes, in his book The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Hiding Hood (Routledge, 1993) states that folktales “were told by priests in the vernacular as part of their sermons to reach out to the peasantry”. Canepa points out that “The authors – and audiences – of the first French tales, as of the earlier Italian tales, were the elite frequenters of courts and salons, and these authors lost no opportunity to use the tales to air their views on prevailing social and political conditions…” This leaves us with the problem of how contrived were the retold tales, and what personal gain existed in each occasion of the telling? In such a light, popular lore again becomes unreliable as a standard by which to view the authenticity of folklore as a reliable means of discerning cultural integrity. Instead it can be seen as exposing political stratagem.
Canepa notes the problem with viewing popular lore as reflective of the culture as a whole: “Moreover, in the case of the fairly tale (v. other forms of ‘fantastic’ literature), the situation of a given work in a precise sociocultural context is further obfuscated by the tendency to regard fairy tales, even when they are literary creations of individual authors, along the same lines as oral folkltales: that is, as collective, anonymous, products of a tale-telling community that may span vast chronological and geographic boundaries”.
The problem for scholars is that the written tales (which as we’ve seen have been manipulated and transformed over the centuries) comprise the bulk of the research data used by the academic community. Although some modern scholars still seek out oral accounts, the written tales that people have been exposed to from birth have no doubt contaminated the oral tales that can still be encountered in contemporary times among the common people. The problem is further confounded by the fact that modern scholars reject the field studies of 19th century folklorists who recorded the oral accounts of lore and witchcraft drawn from people professing to be witches. The favoring of exoteric material over esoteric material by the academic community has resulted in a misunderstanding of Italian witchcraft (both old and new) that may never be resolved.
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