Sisterhood

Germanitas

How easy it is to ignore the deep bonds of women. There is no need to compete against your sisters. Gossiping about other women is a betrayal. Your sister, or a woman who is like a sister to you, needs your attention at this time.

The softness, the grace,

The heart woven in mine,

My sister is like me,

I will never leave her behind.

Our curves are a sigil,

Our hair long and free.

So deeply we weave,

My sister is like me.

The Gospel of Aradia originally appealed to women because it offered a freedom not available in general society at the time. Women were increasingly seen as the property of their families or of men and had very few legal rights. However, if it was the home to which a woman must be confined, then it was in the home that a woman could make her own magic and rule.

Planting, growing, gathering, preparing, and cooking-these were all considered women’s work. This meant that ingredients for rites and rituals could be secretly obtained under the guise of feeding the family. And tasks like weaving and knitting could be used to induce a trance for magic. Those and other needlecrafts could also be put to use to make charms and talismans-an no one would notice anything out of the ordinary was happening!
In many stories about Aradia, women either betray Aradia, or alternatively, they risk their lives in devotion and loyalty to her. This shows us that it is women who, paradoxically, have the most to lose, but also the most inherent power. For example, in the story in which the king’s sister has Aradia arrested in the forest, we see Aradia being betrayed by a woman. Yet in the end, because Aradia heals the woman’s child, this female betrayer comes to understand the deeper bonds between women and reconciles with Aradia.

Through many such stories, the Gospel of Aradia teaches us the primal power of women-and how much we can achieve if we do not compete but, rather, work to support one another.