The Craft has all been traced for the last 25,000 years, even before the Christian religion. The lines have been unbroken right up to today's presence in today's society. The Craft was born out of "Animistic Cults." The God of this controlled the wind, rain, hunts, waters, etc... It was at this time that Magic was first mixed with religion.Together with the God the Goddess evolved. She was the symbol of fertility. She was just as important as the God because she was fertility to all animals, and people. This meant the continuance of life for both species. The God has changed little over the intervening millennia, while the Goddess changed dramatically with the advent of the agricultural society, and the Goddess expanded to cover the fertility of the crops. The year then fell into two halves, the Summer, when the Goddess expanded and the crops predominated and the Winter, when the people had to resort to hunting and the God predominated. With the Goddess and the God of hunting growing empowered in the society, as the chiefs among deities, the other Gods fell into secondary roles, and then were finally forgotten. As the race spread across Europe, the Goddess and God were carried with them, and as the nations rose, and languages changed, the Names of the deities changed, but the essential force of the deities remained the same. The Celts, Heathens, Nordic, Greek, Latin's, and all other races have the same Goddess and God at the centre of the religions.

The pantheon of all ages of Italy is a complex civilization and there are many components to the identity of a God. Both Gods & Goddesses are an integral part of Stregheria. This two-gendered pantheon mirrors the duality of nature. Here is a partial listing of numerous Gods & Goddesses of some Stregheria traditions and of ancient Etruria. AGENORIA - Etruscan Goddess to arouse action ANTEROS - God of passion APLU - Etruscan weather god ASTREA - Goddess of justice BELCHANS - Etruscan god of fire CARMEN/CARMINA - Goddess of the casting of spells and of enchantments CAUTHA - Etruscan Sun God; he is depicted rising from the sea CLOACINA - Etruscan Goddess of Sewers and Filth; also the protector of sexual intercourse in marriage CHARUN - Etruscan God of the Underworld; his function was to lead the dead to the Underworld to enjoy a happy afterlife COMUS - God of revelry, feasting and drinking CORVUS - Messenger of the Gods COPIA - Goddess of wealth and plenty DIANA - The Triad goddess: Maiden, Mother & Crone, the goddess of all witches (remember that 'Diana' is a name associated with the goddess in several traditions, places and times. There are many variations and faces of 'Diana') DIANUS - Nature God of fertility, Horned God of the Woods, consort of Diana EGERIA - Etruscan Goddess of Fountains, she possessed the gift of prophecy EGESTA - Sicillian Goddess of Grain FANA - Goddess of the Earth , forests wildlife and of fertility FAUNUS - Etruscan nature god of the forest, wildlife and of fertility FEBRUUS - Etruscan God of purification, initiation and of the dead FELICITAS - Etruscan Goddess of Good Luck FERONIA - Etruscan Goddess who protects freedmen; she made her home in woodlands or at the foot of mountains. FORTUNA - Goddess of fortune, fate, blessing, luck and fertility FUFLUNS - Etruscan God of wine, vegetation, vitality and gaiety FURINA - Etruscan Goddess of darkness and robbers GIUNONE - Goddess of childbirth; also jealous and haughty HORTA - Etruscan Goddess of Agriculture HYBLA or HYBLAEA - Sicillian Earth Goddess IBLA - Sicillian Godess of beauty, love and fertility JANA - Goddess of the Moon JANUS or GIANO - Etruscan God of the Sun and of all beginnnings, portals, doorways and threshholds; associated with journeys LALAL - Etruscan Moon Godddess LARAN - Etruscan God of War; depicted as a youth armed with a lance and helmet and wearing a cape LOSNA - Etruscan Moon Goddess LUPERCUS - God of agriculture, the Wolf God MENRVA - Etruscan Goddess of Wisdom and the Arts MLUKUKH - Etrtuscan Goddess of Love MUNTHUKH - Etruscan Goddess of Health MURCIDA - Etruscan Goddess to make a person extremely inactive NETHUNS - Etruscan God of Fresh Water; identified with wells and springs and depicted as a naked and bearded figure NORTIA - Etruscan Goddess of Healing and Fate NOX - Goddess of the Night PERTUNDA - Goddess of sexual love and pleasure PICUS - Etruscan Woodland God; agricultural deity associated with the fertilization of the soil with manure SENTINUS - Etruscan God who gives sensibility STRENIA - Etruscan Goddess to make man especially strenuous SUMMAMUS - Etruscan Storm God; he is responsible for lightening and thunderbolts TAGNI - Most ancient name for the God of Witchcraft TANA - The Star Goddess TANUS - The Star God, consort to Tana TERMINUS - God of boundaries and fields, protector of personal property THALNA - Etruscan Goddess of Childbirth; depicted as a youthful woman TINIA or TIN - Supreme Etruscan Sky God, married to UNI TUCHULCHA - Etruscan Goddess of Death; she is part human, part bird, and part animal, with snakes in her hair and around her arms. TURAN - Etruscan Goddess of Love, Health and Fertility; usually portrayed as a young woman with wings on her back TURMS - Etruscan messenger God UMBRIA - Goddess of the shadows and of things which are hidden or secret UNI - Etruscan name for the Goddess of witchcraft VANTH - Etruscan Goddess of Death; she is depicted with wings, a cap on her head, and a key to open tombs in her hand. VEIVE - Etruscan God of Revenge; portrayed as a young man wearing a laurel wreath and holding arrows in his hand VESTA - Goddess of the hearth and fire VIRBIUS - God of outcasts and outlaws, guardian of sanctuaries VITUMNUS - Etruscan Goddess who gives life to the fetus ZIRNA - Etruscan Moon Goddess; she was represented with a half-moon hanging from her neck.

With the development of civilization and the learning of the ability to store food, hunting became less important, and the God took the role of God of Nature and the Wild Places in general. The Goddess grew into both the Goddess of Fertility and the Goddess of Rebirth, as life after death and in reincarnation had evolved into the religion. As time progressed and the Rituals became more involved, a Priest class developed to insure the Rituals were carried out properly and the knowledge was carried on. These people became known as the Wicca, "The Wise Ones." The power of the Wicca was such that it infused the entire religious and political structure of the nations. The Kings of Anglo Saxon England would never make any important decisions without consulting the Witan, "The Counsel of Wise Ones."

With the coming of Christianity, there never was the mass conversions that the Christians claim. While whole nations were classified as Christian due to the fact that the leaders had converted, the populace, in general, kept the old ways. The most important attempt at mass conversion was imposed on the Wicca by pope Gregory the Great. He ordered the construction of new churches on the sites of the old temples and the creation of new holy days on Wicca Sabbots. The reality, the attempt was only partially successful, for the only available craftsman to build these temples were the Wiccan, and these craftsman very cleverly hid their Goddess and their God in the decorations of these churches. That way, when Wicca were forced to worship here, their Goddess and God images were also present. It was at this time that Lucifer, became the Horned Satan, the new Christianized Image of the Goddess. The charge of Devil Worship is therefore a contrivance of the Christian church in an attempt to eradicate it's rival for the attentions of the populace. The contrived God of the new religions is the God of a complex civilization, developed to control a rebellious people, rather then the loving embrace of the people, as they are, that the more Human Old Gods offer. As the influence of the new religion grew, through force of arms, the old ways only survived in the outlying districts and countries. These people became known as Pagans, from the Latin Pagan meaning people who live in the country and the Heathens, which means "One who dwells on the heath." The derogatory connotations are again undeserved and a contrivance of the new religion.

The persecution of the Old Way continued and grew with the advent of the Papal Bull against Witches of pope Innocent the VIII, in 1484. Two years later, two infamous German Monks, Henric Isnstitoris Krammer and Jacob Sprenger, produced the most baleful contrivance of anti Witchery ever produced. The Malleus Maleficarum (the Witch Hammer). In this book they provided definite instruction for the persecution of Witches. Although this book was never accepted by the appointed church censor, the approval was forged by the authors, and then the hysteria spread like wildfire throughout all of Europe. The forgery was not discovered until 1898.

Throughout all of Europe the new religion used Witchcraft as an excuse to murder any people they felt were an enemy to their church and god. The old, invalid, mentally ill, women, healers, and of course the true Witches. Since the Witches held fertility as an object of great importance, the Christian Judges gave these sexual rites unnecessary prominence and seem to delight in the prying, often through torture the details concerning them from those accused of participating in them. The religion of Wicca is an extremely happy and joyous religion that was totally incomprehensible to the dour and repressed inquisitors and reformers. The total estimated number of people burned, hung, or tortured to death on the charge of Witchcraft 9 million.

It was during these times, the burning times, that the Craft began to go underground for safety. Also the members of the Craft realized that the Craft was in danger of losing all it's knowledge, as the Craft was being so mercilessly hunted and killed. The High Priestesses and High Priests began to keep records of the Rites, Rituals, and Esoteric knowledge. These books of the Craft were kept hidden from the enemies of the Craft, they were kept "In the Shadows" and it was thus that gave rise to the term "The Witches Book Of Shadows." It, The Burning Times, there was but one such book in a Coven, and all were contributors, but with the reassurance of above ground Witchcraft, in these modern times. It was to become accepted for each individual member of the Craft to have their own personal Book Of Shadows, which is, in the view of the Coven of the Fiery Skies, a very good thing, as this will help insure the dissemination of reclaimed knowledge, and there by help insure that it is not lost again. Modern Witches still use this as the title for their book to Honour our lost Sisters and Brothers. The Coven of the Fiery Skies encourages each of it's Witches to both maintain their own personal Book as well as contribute to the Covens Book Of Shadows.

By the late 17th century, the Craft was well underground, as it was also illegal to be a Witch, as well as against the Cannons of the church. In 1951, the last of these laws was repealed, and the first Witch to speak up in defence of his religion was Gardener, and through him, all of Witchcraft was able to resurface, in it's many forms. Now there are many Covens out in the open and many many more still in hiding and who practice solitary, fearing a resurgence of the persecutions. In America, the first Witch to come forward was Raymond Buckland. Sybil Leek, Gavin, Yvonne Frost followed in his footsteps, then a rush as more and more Covens came out into the open. Now, even the U.S. Army, with the publication of the Army pamphlet 165-13, A Handbook for Chaplin's, recognizes Witchcraft as a religion.

 

	Sacred Texts: The Internet Book of Shadows - A large collection of articles and spells gathered from posts to BBS. A wide range of topics, including sabbats, the rede, spells for many purposes, editorials.
	Book of Shadows - Online, downloadable, collection of lore, rituals, and poetry of the Riders of the Crystal Wind. Available in plain text format in 35 installations of about 100 pages each.
	A Witch's Cauldron -  Construction of ritual, deities, magic, a Witchcraft 101 course, basic tenants of Wicca, recipes, networking, chants and tools.
	Bewitchingways.com -  Bewitching Ways is a free, one-stop informational resource for all your Witch needs including history of Wicca, divination, rituals, spells, free classes and more.
	Faded's Book of Shadows - Collection of original information, many spell based.

	My Wiccan Spells - Spellcraft including romance, wealth, beauty, love, candle spells, and incense and herbs.
	The Magick Circle -  A Wiccan Book of Shadows, including rituals, recipes, lotions and potions.
	White Witch - Spellcraft information.
	Magickal Witchery - A collection of spells and rituals for the aspiring Wiccan.
	Burning White Cauldron - Online Book of Shadows with many rituals and blessings.

	Dalry Witches -  Based in Edinburgh, Scotland the Witches of Dalry would settle your every fear and calm your restless mind with their goodwill spells.
	Gruenwold Cottage -  An enchanting cottage filled with spells, rituals and recipes - a bit of Magick in every room.
	Wicca and Witchcraft,Book of Shadows -  A collection of easy-to-use spells with the beginning practitioner in mind.
	Mystical World Devine -  A collection of various spells.
	Herbs and Magic -  Spells aimed at younger witches, and beginners.

The Silver Broomstick - Large collection of spells available on this otherwise commercial site.

Witchcraft by David Teniers. (1632)

Copyright © 2005 Paranormal-Hampshire U.K - Missmistye1. All rights reserved.