Strega

Pythonissa

You have power-it is real. Do not fear what you do not understand, but, rather, seek to understand it. Weave your magic everywhere you go. You can create something from nothing.

I am the weaver.

I make something from nothing,

Hated and loved, misunderstood,

Potions made, herbs-a—crushing.

There is The Way,

The method. The magic.

Let me teach you the healing,

The incantations fantastic.

“Strega” which in English means “witch,” refers to one who is a weaver of magic. “Streghe” is plural for “strega,” and magara and maga are other Italian terms for witch.

Folklore tells of women (and sometimes men) who were the healers of their villages. These wise folk offered cures for the hearth, heath, and the health of animals and ensured the fertility and receptivity of the land. In some villages, wise women also blessed newborn babies, watched over marriages and funerals, and performed the duties of midwife and matchmaker.

By the 1300s, though, the reputation of those following the old ways began to suffer under the spread of Christianity, and the witch-hunts began. At about the same time, new kinds of remedies were being introduced-and only men were permitted to practice this new medicine. Now, rather than having their worth as healers appreciated, streghe-who were often blamed for the deaths of newborns, for blighting the farmland, and for causing destructive weather-were maligned and in some cases, shamed and chased away.

Today, streghe practice stregoneria, a modern witchcraft with some basis in ancient Italian folklore and witchcraft. Streghe claim that some of their practices date back to Etruscan times. While they also recognize the contributions of Medieval witchcraft and more recent Wiccan practices in their craft, through the streghe, Aradia’s word still lives and the practices she taught continue to grow and be passed on.