𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐚/𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚

Women who are logical, strategists and one step ahead of the crowd. They’re destined for greatness, whether they want it or not. Some are open-minded, some are witty and some ambitious. They’re the leaders of the group, the ones who take control without meaning to. People admire and look up to them. 

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑎

𝑂𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑇𝑦𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑙

𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟

𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟 𝐻𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠

𝑅ℎ𝑎𝑒𝑛𝑦𝑠 𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑒𝑛

𝑁𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟

𝑆𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑛 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑒

𝑆𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑛

𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑎 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑓𝑓

Iana Perreault and Sylvester Lunvik, the eccentric duo and later couple responsible for developing the ritual to stabilzie the realm in 1956. Upon marriage two years later, Sylvester requested to take Iana's last name, not wanting any of his or Iana's achievments to be linked to the Lunvik family. Iana suggested the completely new surname "Charm", a variant of Sylvester's father's birth surname "Ducharne" as he had aided in their research and was disillusioned from the rest of the Lunviks like Sylvester was. The two continued to be at the forefront of innovation within the coven while simultaneously growing their family to a house of five with the addition of their 3 daughters: Diana, Minerva, and Victoria. In an unfortunate turn of events the two, along with their eldest (Diana) and her husband were fatally injured during an experiment in 1990.

And related to my previous post on the topic, it kinda bugs me that out of all the diverse and varied accounts of Hephaistos and Athena's births, the one that has come to be treated as the regular and most common version of the myth is the one in which Hera is "jealous" of Zeus' birth of Athena and retaliates with the birth of a lame and imperfect son, when Hephaistos actually seems to be born before Athena in all but one source. Admittedly that one source is Hesiod's Theogony, but the Theogony contains some unique variants that aren't found elsewhere. Even so, Hesiod says nothing about jealousy on Hera's part, and he doesn't even explicitly make a connection between Athena's birth and Hera's asexual production of Hephaistos. In contrast to the Theogony, in one fragment attributed to Hesiod and quoted by the Stoic Chrysippos, Zeus and Hera quarrel for an unspecified reason and she gives birth to Hephaistos without sexual intercourse, whereupon Zeus impregnates and subsequently cannibalizes Metis, and in the Library of Pseudo-Apollodoros Hera's birth of Hephaistos is again mentioned before Zeus' impregnation of Metis. These accounts are also consistent with the tradition that Hephaistos assisted Zeus in delivering Athena, which is well attested in art from the Archaic period onwards and in literary sources too. Homer makes Hephaistos a child of both Zeus and Hera,, in the Iliad scholia he is claimed to be the product of a premarital liaison between them, and in Plato's Critias Hephaistos and Athena are called brother and sister and are said to have sprung from the same father. In the Homeric Hymn to Apollon, which is more or less contemporaneous with the Theogony, Hephaistos already exists at the time of Athena's birth and the child Hera bears parthenogenetically in retaliation to it is Typhon, while according to Ovid Juno produces Mars asexually in response to Minerva's birth from Jupiter. And surprisingly, it seems that there also must have been a tradition in which Hera was not angered by Athena's birth at all, since Philostratos the Elder describes a painting illustrating the subject in which Hera rejoiced "as though Athena were her daughter also".

The Amazing Spider-Man OC Masterlist

(* indicates variants of MCU ocs)

Name: Alvina Strange*

Title: Untitled

Variant: Alvina Strange

Faceclaim: Stella Maeve

Name: Constance Osborn

Title: Rise Above

Faceclaim:  Lily Collins

Love Interest: Peter Parker

Summary: At five years old, Constance Conwell lost her mother.  Suicide, she was told; her fault, the note said.  She never knew the details, but the men in the suits read her the note, made sure she knew just how much her mother had hated her — so much that she chose death over her daughter. It hadn’t made sense, her mother had always seemed so happy to spend time with her daughter, but the note said otherwise.  So Constance was packed up and moved to New York, where she met Norman Osborn — the cold man with empty eyes who was apparently her father — and Harry Osborn — with his warm hugs and soft eyes and endless excitement to have a little sister.  Harry, with his best friend Peter; Peter who had also just lost his parents, and Harry, who always knew when she needed to be distracted and when she just needed someone to sit with her.  At five years old, Constance Conwell lost her mother, and Constance Osborn found her brother.

At eleven years old, Constance Osborn lost her best friend.  Boarding school, her father had explained, packing Constance and Harry into the private jet and sending them to Europe. But they both knew the truth; Norman just didn’t want them.  So they went — first to England, then France, then Switzerland, and so on so forth as various disciplinary infractions kept them shuffling between schools.  With no Peter Parker, with no best friend to keep them in line, the Osborns fell apart faster than the tabloids could keep up with.  At eleven years old, Constance Osborn lost her best friend.  She never found another.

At sixteen years old, Constance Osborn loses herself.  Only a few months out from graduation, her dad asks to see her — the first time he’s asked to see her since she moved in — and she flies back to New York for a couple of weeks.  But whatever cautious optimism she’d harboured for a touching family reunion was crushed almost as soon as she saw what she’d come home to.  A city on the verge of destruction, a father who was losing what little was left of his sanity, a world of heroes and villains that left no one unscarred.  At sixteen years old, Constance Osborn loses herself.  She’s not sure who she found.

Name: Jayden Jameson*

Title: Untitled

Variant: Jaden Jeanie Jameson

Faceclaim: Melissa Benoist

Love Interest: Peter Parker & Harry Osborn

Name: Jill Stacy

Title: Untitled

Faceclaim: Dianna Agron

Name: Katharina Minola*

Title: Untitled

Variant: Katarina Aliano

Faceclaim: Karen Gillan

Name: Minerva Vaughn

Title: Untitled

Faceclaim: Willa Holland

Love Interest: Peter Parker & Harry Osborn

Name: Nicole Rogers*

Title: The Prodigal Daughter

Faceclaim: Candice King

Variant: Nikki Rogers

Love Interest: Peter Parker & Harry Osborn

Name: Posie Parker

Title: Untitled

Faceclaim: Nina Dobrev

Love Interest: Harry Osborn

Name: Tesla Ross-Banner*

Title: Untitled

Faceclaim: Crystal Reed

Variant: Tesla Banner

Love Interest: Peter Parker

Name: Tavi Octavius

Title: Untitled

Variant: Tavia Octavius

Faceclaim: Phoebe Tonkin

Name: Zoelle Emerson

Title: Untitled

Faceclaim: Holland Roden

Love Interest: Peter Parker

Blue lions name etymology:

Many of the blue lions' names have western European origins and have many connections to Gods, Saints and Christianity (perhaps because the Kingdom takes their religion and the crest system so seriously)

(side note, I updated the black eagles one, so check it out if you want!)

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd-

Dimitri: alternative spelling of Demetrius, "devoted to Demeter" (Greek Goddess of the harvest, caused winter after becoming depressed every time her daughter left for the underworld), which was a name given to many kings. Could also relate to the martyr Saint Demetrius, who was depicted wearing armour and holding a spear and died from multiple spear wounds.

Alexandre: "defender of men", also given to many kings

Blaiddyd: "wolf-lord", a legendary king of Briton who was known for encouraging necromancy. He was sent to Athens by his father to learn liberal arts, and the city he founded (Bath) was dedicated to Athena/Minerva, goddess of knowledge and war

Dedue Molinaro-

Dedue: could have origins in the Nubian god Dedun, god of incense and protector of dead Nubian rulers and their funerary rites, who was often depicted as a lion. It could also be related to the name Dudu, originating from Eduardo meaning "guardian of riches"

Molinaro: from the Italian word 'Molino' meaning "mill"

Felix Hugo Fraldarius-

Felix: "lucky, successful"

Hugo: "heart, mind, spirit", may have been chosen because of the link to Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables' with the character Fantine

Fraldarius: The closest anyone can find is 'Fraldario' in Portuguese, meaning "diaper" 😬. If anyone can find something better PLEASE let me know

Ingrid Brandl Galatea-

Ingrid: from the old Norse 'Ingríðr' meaning "Ing is beautiful", Ing or Yngvi is an older name for the god Freyr, god of peace, fertility, rain and sunshine

Brandl: from the Germanic name 'Brando', derived from the element Brand meaning "sword" or "fire", and the crest of Daphnel is from the flame dragon

Galatea: "she who is milk-white" (comes from the myth of Pygmalion, who sculpted a statue of a woman, turned human by Aphrodite, but there were many Galateas in Greek mythology)

Sylvain Jose Gautier-

Sylvain: derived from Sylvanus, Roman god of the countrysides. He was also associated with Pan, god of the wild, shepherds and mountains, but also sex

Jose: Portuguese form of Joseph, "he will add", sometimes used as a feminine middle name

Gautier: French form of Walter, "ruler of the army"

Mercedes Von Martritz-

Mercedes: "mercies", from the Spanish name of the Virgin Mary, María de las Mercedes, "Mary of Mercies"

Martritz: the closest anyone can find is Martlet, meaning "little martin", martlet birds represent swiftness of travel or fighting on the battlefield and martin birds represent a connection to the divine and good luck

Annette Fantine Dominic-

Annette: diminutive of Anne, derived from Hebrew 'hannâ' meaning "grace, gracious"

Fantine: "free", "childlike" or "infant", a character in Les Miserables who was a beautiful and naive girl until she was forced into prostitution for her child

Dominic: from Latin Dominicus, meaning "of the lord", also the name of Saint Dominic, who was described as having reddish hair, beautiful eyes and a pleasingly resonant voice

Ashe Duran-

Ashe: "ash tree", also another spelling of Yoruba concept meaning "the power to make things happen and produce change"

Ubert: could be a variant of the surname Uber, meaning "active, busy, enterprising", or Ebert which comes from the German word for boar. This could also be another variation of Hubert, so as I said in the last post, "bright heart/mind". Ashe's Japanese surname, Duran, means "enduring"

Latin Names - Female: A

ABELIA: From the Latin name of a genus of "honeysuckle." ACACALLIS: Latin form of Greek Akakallis, meaning "daffodil." In mythology, this is the name of a nymph who was the mother of Philandros by Apollo. ACANTHA: Latin form of Greek Akantha, meaning "thorn." In mythology, this is the name of a nymph loved by Apollo. ACCA: In Roman mythology, this is part of the name of the wife of Faustulus, Acca Larentia, who saved the infants Romulus and Remus from drowning in the Tiber river. She was also called lupa, "she-wolf," because of her immoral character, and this is probably what started the tradition that the twins were suckled by a wolf. In another version, she is the mother of the Lares, the dead progenitors of the Roman people. ACCALIA: Latin myth name of the Roman feast held in honor of Acca Larentia, the wife of Faustulus who saved the infants Romulus and Remus from drowning in the Tiber river. ACHILLEA: Feminine form of Latin Achilleus, possibly meaning "he who embodies the grief of the people." This is also the name of a medicinal herb named after Achilles who was said to have treated wounds; but in this case the name is rendered "a thousand leaves" because of the herb's feathery foliage. ACQUILINA: Variant spelling of Roman Latin Aquilina, meaning "eagle." ADALHEIDIS: Latinized form of Old High German Adalheid, meaning "noble sort." ADELA: Latin form of German Adala, meaning "noble." In use by the Danish and Swedish. ADELIA: Variant form of Latin Adela, meaning "noble." ADELPHA: Feminine form of Latin Adelphus (Greek Adelphos), both meaning "born of the same womb; sibling." ADELPHIA: Feminine form of Latin Adelphus, meaning "born of the same womb; sibling." ADOLPHA: Feminine form of Latin Adolphus, meaning "noble wolf." ADORABELLA: Latin name meaning "adored beauty." ADORABELLE: Variant spelling of Latin Adorabella, meaning "adored beauty." ADRASTEA: Variant spelling of Latin Adrastia, meaning "inescapable" or "not running away." ADRASTIA: Latin form of Greek Adrasteia, meaning "inescapable" or "not running away."  In mythology, this is the name of a nymph who cared for the infant Zeus, and also an epithet belonging to the goddess Nemesis. ADREANA: Variant spelling of Latin Adriana, meaning "from Hadria." ADRIANA: Feminine form of Latin Adrianus, Spanish Adrián, and Italian Adriano, all meaning "from Hadria." ADSILTIA: Latin name meaning "fair aspect." AEGLE: Latin form of Greek Aigle, meaning "radiance, splendor." AELLA (Greek ?e??a): Greek and Latin variant form of Greek Aellô, meaning "storm wind; whirlwind." In Greek mythology, this is the name of an Amazon warrior who was killed by Herakles. She was known for wielding a double-axe. AELLAE: Latin form of Greek Aellai, meaning "whirlwinds." AELLO: Latin form of Greek Aellô, meaning "storm wind; whirlwind." ÆMILIA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Æmilius, meaning "rival." AGACIA: Medieval form of Latin Agatha, meaning "good." AGATHA: Latin form of Greek Agathe, meaning "good." AGGIE: Pet form of English Agnes, "chaste," and Latin Agatha, "good." AGLAEA: Latin form of Greek Aglaia, meaning "beauty, splendor." In mythology, this is the name of one of the three Graces. The other two are Thalia, "blossoming, luxuriant," and Euphrosyne, "joy, merriment." AGLEA: Variant spelling of Latin Aglaea, meaning "beauty, splendor." AIGLA: Latin form of Greek Aigle, meaning "radiance, splendor." ALCESTIS: Latin form of Greek Alkestis, meaning "might of the home." In Greek mythology, this is the name of a princess who was rescued by Hercules when she descended into Hades in place of her husband. ALCIPPE: Latin form of Greek Alkippe, meaning "mighty mare." In Greek mythology, this was the name of a daughter of Ares. ALCMENE: Latin form of Greek Alkmene, meaning "might of the moon." In Greek mythology, this is the name of the mortal mother of Hercules by Zeus. ALCYONE: Latin form of Greek Alkyone, meaning "kingfisher." In mythology, this is the name of a star-nymph loved by Poseidon. She is the daughter of Atlas and Plêionê. ALECTO: Latin form of Greek Alekto, meaning "unceasing." In mythology, this is the name of one of the Furies (Gr. Erinyes, Eumenides). Virgil named two others: Megaera "grudge," and Tisiphone "murder-retribution." ALENA: Short form of Latin Magdalena, meaning "of Magdala." Compare with another form of Alena. ALEXA: Feminine form of Latin Alexius, meaning "defender." Compare with another form of Alexa. ALEXANDRA: Feminine form of Latin Alexandrus, meaning "defender of mankind." Compare with other forms of Alexandra. ALEXANDREA: Variant spelling of Latin Alexandria, meaning "defender of mankind." ALEXANDRIA: From the name of an Egyptian city. An elaborated form of Latin Alexandra, meaning "defender of mankind." ALEXIA: Feminine form of Latin Alexius, meaning "defender." ALEXINA: Pet form of Latin Alexia, meaning "defender." ALEXIS: Unisex contracted form of Latin Alexius, meaning "defender." ALEXUS: Unisex contracted form of Latin Alexius, meaning "defender." ALOISIA: Feminine form of Latin Aloisius, meaning "famous warrior." ALTHAEA: Latin form of Greek Althaia, possibly meaning "healing." In mythology, this is the name of the mother of Meleager. ALTHEA: Variant spelling of Latin Althaea, possibly meaning "healing." AMALTHEA: Latin form of Greek Amaltheia, meaning "to soothe." AMARA: Short form of Latin Amarantha, meaning "unfading." Compare with another form of Amara. AMARANDA: Variant spelling of Latin Amarantha, meaning "unfading." AMARANTHA: Feminine form of Latin Amaranthus, meaning "unfading." This is also the name of a flower. AMBROSIA: Feminine form of Latin Ambrosius (Greek Ambrosios), meaning "immortal." In mythology, ambrosia is the name of a food or drink of the gods that gives them immortality. ANASTASIA: Feminine form of Latin Anastasius (Greek Anastasios), meaning "resurrection." ANATOLA: Feminine form of Latin Anatolius, meaning "east" and "sunrise." ANDROMEDA: Latin form of Greek Andromede, meaning "thinks like a man/warrior." In mythology, this is the name of the daughter of Cassiopeia who was to be sacrificed to the sea monster Medusa but was rescued by Perseus. Andromeda was said to be an Ethiopian princess. Ancient Ethiopians considered Perseus and Andromeda the progenitors of the black race. This is also the name of a constellation. ANGELA: Feminine form of Latin Angelus, meaning "angel, messenger." ANGELIA: Elaborated form of Latin Angela, meaning "angel, messenger." ANGELINA: Diminutive form of Latin Angela, meaning "little angel/messenger." ANGERONA: Roman myth name of a goddess who relieved men from pain and sorrow. She was also a protectress of Rome and keeper of its sacred name which could not be pronounced lest it be revealed to enemies. In art, she has been depicted with a bandage over her mouth and a finger pressed to her lips, demanding silence. Her festival is called Divalia or Angeronalia and is celebrated on December 21st. Her name was derived from Latin angere, meaning "to throttle, to strangle," i.e. "to silence." ANGERONIA: Variant spelling of Roman Latin Angerona, meaning "to throttle, to strangle," i.e. "to silence." ANNA: Latin form of Greek Hanna, meaning "favor; grace." In the New Testament bible, this is the name of a prophetess in Jerusalem. ANNTHEA: Variant spelling of Latin Anthea, meaning "flower." ANTHEA: Latin form of Greek Antheia, meaning "flower." ANTONELLA: Pet form of Latin Antonia, possibly meaning "invaluable." ANTONETTA: Diminutive form of Latin Antonia, possibly meaning "invaluable." ANTONIA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Antonius, possibly meaning "invaluable." In use by the English, Italians and Spanish.  ANTONIETTA: Diminutive form of Latin Antonia, possibly meaning "invaluable." In use by the Italians and Spanish. ANTONINA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Antoninus, possibly meaning "invaluable." APHRODISIA: Feminine form of Latin Aphrodisius (Greek Aphrodisios), meaning "risen from the foam." APOLLONIA: Feminine form of Latin Apollonius (Greek Apollonios), meaning "of Apollo." In the New Testament bible, this is the name of a maritime city of Macedonia, about a day's journey from Amphipolis. AQUILINA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Aquila, meaning "eagle." ARCADIA: Feminine form of Latin Arcadius, meaning "of Arcadia." The place name Arcadia was derived from the word arktos, meaning "bear." ARETHUSA: Latin form of Greek Arethousa, meaning "the waterer." ARIADNE: Latin form of Greek Ariadnê, meaning "utterly pure." In mythology, this is the name of the daughter of King Minos. ARISTA: Feminine form of Latin Aristaeus, meaning "excellence." ARTEMISIA: Feminine form of Latin Artemisius, meaning "safe and sound." ASTRAEA: Latin form of Greek Astraia, meaning "starry one." In mythology, this is the name of a goddess of justice. ATALANTA: Latin form of Greek Atalante, meaning "equal in weight." In mythology, this is the name of the fleet-footed maiden who refused to marry any man who could not beat her in a foot-race. ATHANASIA: Feminine form of Latin Athanasius (Greek Athanasios), meaning "immortal." ATHENA: Latin form of Greek Athene, of unknown etymology, fancifully rendered "mind of God" by Plato. In mythology, this is the name of a goddess of wisdom. Her Roman name is Minerva ("intellect"). ATROPUS: Latin form of Greek Atropos, meaning "cannot be turned; inflexible." In mythology, this is the name of one of the original three Fates. AUGUSTA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Augustus, meaning "venerable." Compare with another form of Augusta. AUGUSTINA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Augustinus, meaning "venerable." AURELIA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Aurelius, meaning "golden." AURORA: Latin name meaning "dawn." In Roman mythology, this is the name of a goddess of morning. Equated with Greek Eos. AVELINA: Latin form of Norman French Aveline, meaning "little Eve."

Who Was Aradia? The History and Development of a Legend

The Pomegranate: The Journal of Pagan Studies, Issue 18, Feb. 2002.

by Sabina Magliocco California State University, Northridge

The author wishes to thank Ronald Hutton and Chas S. Clifton for their helpful critiques of an earlier draft of this work.

Aradia is familiar to most contemporary Pagans and Witches as the principal figure in Charles G. Leland’s Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, first published in 1899. Leland presents her as the daughter of Diana, the goddess of the moon, by her brother Lucifer, “the god of the Sun and of the Moon, the god of Light” (Leland, 1899, 1998:1), who is sent to earth to teach the poor to resist the oppression of the wealthy classes through magic and witchcraft. Through Leland’s work, Aradia’s name and legend became central to the Witchcraft revival. Between 1950 and 1960, “Aradia” was probably the secret name of the Goddess in Gardnerian Craft (it has since been changed), and she has also given her name to numerous contemporary Witchcraft traditions (Clifton, 1998:73).

Leland’s Aradia also inspired a number of 20th century works of Pagan literature. In a privately published electronic document entitled The Gospel of Diana [which according to Silvio Baldassare originated as a spoof of the Gnostic Gospels (Baldassare, 1997:15)], Aidan Kelly expands on Leland’s idea of Aradia as a religious leader and heroine of an Italian peasant resistance. Kelly’s Aradia, however, is a notably erotic character; according to her teachings, the sexual act becomes not only an expression of the divine life force, but an act of resistance against all forms of oppression and the primary focus of ritual. Kelly’s document has not achieved broad diffusion in contemporary Pagan circles, however. Much more influential in the perpetuation of Aradia’s legend is the work of Raven Grimassi. Grimassi, the author of a series of popular books on Stregheria, or Italian-American Witchcraft, presents Aradia as a wise woman who lived in Italy during the 14th century, and who brought about a revival of the Old Religion. He claims to practice a tradition founded by Aradia’s followers (Grimassi, 1995:xviii). In Hereditary Witchcraft, Grimassi expands on Leland’s version and the material he presented in Ways of the Strega by adding a chapter on Aradia’s teachings (Grimassi, 1999:191-201), which include a series of predictions about the future of humankind and the return of the Old Religion (1999:207-208). After Aradia’s mysterious disappearance, her twelve disciples spread her gospel, explaining the diffusion of the Old Religion throughout Italy and Europe (1999:203-210).

But who was Aradia? Was she the legendary figure of Leland’s Gospel, or a 14th century teacher of the Craft, as Grimassi proposes? Or is her story more complicated? In this paper, I explore the roots of the legend of Aradia, and in the process attempt to shed light on the formation of some of the most important motifs in the legendcomplex surrounding witchcraft, both traditional and contemporary. While my conclusions differ from those of Leland, Kelly and Grimassi, they may reveal a surprising possibility underlying the legend that has not been considered before. My approach is grounded in the academic discipline of folklore, which regards stories about historical or alleged historical figures as legends. A legend is a story set in the real world about an extraordinary or numinous event. Legends are typically told as true, with many features that root them in a specific time and place and lend them authenticity; but they are not necessarily believed by all who tell them. In fact, according to legend scholars Linda Degh and Andrew Vazsonyi, it is the tension between belief and disbelief that keeps legends alive and circulating, as each new listener must decide “Is this true? Could this have happened?” (Degh and Vazsonyi, 1976). Within any given community, there are legend believers and disbelievers; our community is, of course, no exception when it comes to this particular legend. The truth content of legends—that is, how closely they correspond to actual historical events— can vary widely; although some contain a kernel of reality, many legends are “true” only in the most metaphorical sense, in that they are an accurate reflection of popular attitudes, values and morality at a given time and place.

Legends can take many forms. Most typically, they occur as narratives, either in the first person (“This actually happened to me”) or third person (“This actually happened to a friend of a friend/ long ago, etc.”). Logically, many legends start out as first person accounts and become third person accounts; but just as often, a narrator may retell a third person account as though it had actually happened to him/her, making the story more vivid for the audience. Legends can also exist as simple statements (“The house on the hill is haunted”), and occasionally become dramatic enactments known as “ostension” (Degh and Vazsonyi, 1986), which I will describe later at some length. Legends appear in multiple variants; no one variant is any more correct than any other. At times, legends may cluster together to form what folklorists call a legend complex: a group of interrelated legends and beliefs centered around a particular theme. The multiple legend complexes centering around witchcraft are among the most enduring in Western history. Legends are extraordinarily responsive to social change; in fact, they are one of the most sensitive indices of transformations in cultural values and worldview (Dundes, 1971; Magliocco, 1993). For that reason, it is imperative to understand them in the cultural, political and social context in which they appear. In considering the development of the legend of Aradia, I will be applying all of the above principles, but especially the latter. My goal is to show how each successive historical era added and subtracted elements to this tale in keeping with the cultural preoccupations of the time, giving us not only today’s concept of Aradia, but also a much broader legend complex surrounding the nature of witchcraft itself.

ORIGINS: HERODIAS AND DIANA

The origin of the name “Aradia” is veiled in mystery. I have not been able to find it in written form before the publication of Leland’s Gospel in 1899. However, Leland himself equates Aradia with the legendary figure Herodias, a central character in the development of the witchcraft legend complex in Europe (Leland, 1899/1998:1). According to the Gospel of St. Matthew, Herodias was the sister-in-law of King Herod, the wife of his brother Philip (Matthew 14:3-12). Apparently she hated John the Baptist, and asked Herod to arrest John when the holy man was found in his dominion. But Herodias wanted John dead, so she concocted a plan in which she urged her daughter Salome to dance for King Herod. In exchange, the girl was to demand the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The plan worked: Salome danced, Herod delivered, and here the gospel stops. But according to an early Christian legend derived from the gospel, when Salome saw the head brought before her, she had a fit of remorse, and began to weep and bemoan her sin. A terrible wind began to blow from the saint’s mouth, so strong that it blew the famous dancer into the air, where she is condemned to wander forever (Cattabiani, 1994:208). Since in Roman usage, the wives and daughters of a house were commonly known by the name of the male head of the household, it is easy to see how Salome became confused with her mother Herodias. In medieval Italian, Herodias is rendered as “Erodiade,” only a short linguistic step away from Aradia.

One of the earliest mentions of Herodias is in the work of Raterius of Liegi, Bishop of Verona (890-974 CE). He laments that many believe that Herodias, wife of Herod, is a queen or a goddess, and say that one third of the earth is under her charge (Bonomo, 1959:19). Herodias gets linked with Diana in the Canon Episcopi, a document attributed to the Council of Ancyra in 314 CE, but probably a much later forgery, since the earliest written record of it appears around 872 CE (Caro Baroja, 1961:62). Regino, Abbot of Pr¸m, writing in 899 CE, cites the Canon, telling bishops to warn their flocks against the false beliefs of women who think they follow “Diana the pagan goddess, or Herodias” on their night-time travels. These women believed they rode out on the backs of animals over long distances, following the orders of their mistress who called them to service on certain appointed nights. Three centuries later, Ugo da San Vittore, a 12th century Italian abbot, refers to women who believe they go out at night riding on the backs of animals with “Erodiade,” whom he conflates with Diana and Minerva (Bonomo, 1959:18-19).

In each of these cases, legends about women who travel in spirit at night following Herodias or Diana are being recorded by clerics whose agenda is to eradicate what they see as false beliefs. It is difficult to gauge whether these reports represent a wide diffusion of the legends in north-central Italy and southern Germany between the 9th and 12th centuries, or whether the authors of early medieval decrees and encyclicals simply quoted each other, reproducing the same material. However, the work of German historian Wolfgang Behringer demonstrates that legends of night-flying societies, including followers of Diana, were in oral circulation in the western Alps (a region that now includes parts of Germany, Switzerland and Italy) in the 16th century, and probably well before it as well (Behringer, 1998:52-59). Herodias appears in these legends, as in the New Testament, as a symbol of wantonness (so she remained; as late as the 19th century, prostitutes in Paris were euphemistically referred to by Eliphas Levy as les filles d’Herodiade, “the daughters of Herodias”)—but also as a tragic figure, condemned to wander through the air forever as punishment for her sins. Regino equates her with Diana, and Ugo adds Minerva; we cannot know, based on the evidence, if this was their own interpretation, formed as a result of their educated knowledge of Roman mythology, or whether tellers themselves were merging Herodias with other Roman goddesses in their narratives. It is telling, in any case, that pagan goddesses are being syncretized with one of the most wicked characters in the New Testament.

Whether the association was of scholarly origin or arose from oral tradition, Herodias and Diana are linked in folk legend from the 9th century CE onward; and it is through Diana that the connection to witchcraft is formed. The goddess Diana is associated with witchcraft from early Classical Roman literature. She was often conflated with Selene (a deity from Asia Minor) and Hecate, all three of whom were associated with the moon. Hecate was also the queen of the spirits of the dead, present at tombs and at the hearth, where pre-Roman peoples buried their ancestors. At night she would appear at crossroads, followed by her train of spirits flying through the air and her terrifying, howling dogs (Caro Baroja, 1961:26). Folklore about Diana’s night rides may be a permutation of earlier tales about Hecate and the rade of the unquiet dead, which survived in Europe well into the middle ages and, in northern Europe, fused with the legend of the wild hunt. All three goddesses were known for helping witches: Horace, writing about the witch Canidia, has her invoke “night and Diana, ye faithful witnesses of all my enterprises” to assist her in thwarting her enemies (Horace, Epode 5, vv.49-54; cited in Caro Baroja, 1961:26). In Roman times, women of all social classes worshipped Diana on the kalends of August at her sanctuary near Lake Nemi. Her rituals were conducted at night; the lake was ringed by torches. Archeologists have found votive offerings of tablets seeking Diana’s aid as well as clay statuettes of mother and child (Diana protected women in childbirth) and of uteri, as well as horned stags representing Actaeon, the youth whose desire the goddess punished by transforming him into a stag. Since the rites were women’s mysteries, little information remains to us about their nature (Bernstein, 2000:154). However, we do know that men were often suspicious of women’s mystery rites, and may have circulated legends about them like those cited by Juvenal about the rites of the Bona Dea, another goddess worshipped in secret exclusively by Roman women. According to this 1st century BCE Roman author, men imagined the rites to be of a sexual nature, with feasting, dancing and wild orgies (Juvenal 6.314, cited in Bernstein, 2000:220). It is important to remember that this is a male fantasy of secret women’s rites, rather than a description of their actual content, and that Juvenal was writing about the rites of the Bona Dea and not those of Diana. Nevertheless, it is not impossible that similar kinds of stories circulated about many women’s mysteries, including the rites of Diana. The motif of rites of sexual pleasure may thus have become associated with the legend of Diana and her followers. This motif surfaces again centuries later in association with the witches" sabbat.

Christian legends of Herodias, the flying dancer, may have begun to merge with those of the pagan goddess Diana because of their shared theme of night flight. With the merging of the two traditions, additional motifs become part of the legend complex: a connection with the moon; the practice of witchcraft; the presence of additional spirits, i.e. the spirits of the unquiet dead from Hecate’s rade; and gatherings of women that included feasting, dancing, and sexual license. By the 10th century CE, legends of Diana and Herodias were in wide circulation in Europe, and this continued well into the 12th century. At this point, the legends began to incorporate material from yet another legend complex.

THE FAIRIES

During the 12th century, authors begin to report folk legends about spiritual beings, variously called bonae res (“good things”), dominae nocturnae (“night women”) or fatae (“fairies”), that would visit homes at night to feast. If food was plentiful and the house was in good order, these visits were thought to bring good luck, since the bonae res would restore everything they consumed before the night was out. The bonae res could also punish householders whose homes were not orderly, or who did not have plenty to eat and drink, by withdrawing their blessing. The spirits were sometimes said to be led by a queen who had different names, depending on the source of the legend: Bensoria, Diana or Herodiana (combining Herodias and Diana) in Italy; Satia and Dame Abonde in France; Holde or Berchta in what is now Germany (Bonomo, 1959:22) These female figures were the protectors of spinners and of orderly homes, distributors of fertility and plenty who rewarded the good and punished the lazy. Diana and Herodias became identified, in parts of Europe, as leaders of these spiritual assemblies (Bonomo, 1959:29).

In 1249, William of Alverina, Bishop of Paris, discussed beliefs in night rides by the followers of “Domina Abundia,” who brings abundance and good luck to the homes she visits if there is plenty to eat, but whose followers abandon and scorn houses where they receive no hospitality (Bonomo, 1959:22). Vincent of Beauvais (1190-1264) reports an instance of ostension involving this legend: a group of young men forced their way into the home of a rich farmer, helping themselves to whatever was lying around while dancing and singing “unem premes, cent en rendes” (“we take one, return a hundredfold”). The thieves ransacked the place while the credulous farmer told his wife to keep quiet, for the visitors were bonae res and would increase their riches a hundredfold (Bonomo, 1959:25-26).

A similar story appears in Boccaccio’s Decameron (1348-54) as the “Queen’s Tale” (#9). Two common laborers, Bruno and Buffalmacco, explain to a learned doctor that despite their poverty, they are able to live happily, because they go in corso (“on course,” “on a journey”). “From this we draw anything we want or need, without any harm to others, and from this comes our happy lifestyle which you see,” explains Bruno. The doctor wants to know what this is all about, but Bruno tells him it is a great secret, and that he could never reveal it. The doctor swears he won"t tell a soul, so at last Bruno confides the details to him. He and Buffalmacco are part of a brigade of 25 men with a captain and two council members elected every six months, guided by two disciples of a great necromancer. Twice a month, the brigade assembles; each person states their wishes and all are provided for. The assembly then feasts on delicious food and fine wine, while sweet music plays and beautiful women are available for erotic fun. The doctor can"t wait to go “in corso” himself, and begins to ply the laborers with gifts and money, hoping they will take him. Finally they agree. They tell him that on an appointed night, a dark, hairy beast will appear and carry him to a secret location, but he must not mention God or the saints. On the designated night, Buffalmacco and Bruno appear dressed in a bear-skin and carry the gullible doctor on their backs, leaping and yelping, until they dump him into a sewage ditch while they escape, laughing at his foolishness.

Legends about fairies who reward neatness and plenty and punish want and slovenliness seem to address issues of class conflict and social inequality in pre-modern Europe. One family’s good fortune could be explained as the result of supernatural intervention. At the same time, such legends also gave hope to the lower classes that if they keep a neat enough house, they too might be blessed by the bonae res. In this sense, the stories acted as a form of social control, reinforcing values of orderliness and hospitality while threatening sanction against householders who violated them. The stories also contained compensatory fantasies for the lower classes, a theme that will appear again a few centuries later. For people whose very survival depended on subsistence farming, and who often suffered from hunger and privation, the idea of breaking into the homes of the wealthy and enjoying some of their benefits, even in spirit, must have been a compelling one indeed, especially as the food magically restored itself by morning. It is not surprising that instances of ostension like the one described by Vincent of Beauvais occurred.

These versions also demonstrate that legends about night-time travels in the company of spirits had both believers and skeptics. Moreover, there may have been class differences between the two: lower classes were more likely to know about them and believe in them than the educated classes, for reasons I explained above. In Boccaccio’s tale, the learned doctor, who has never heard of the legend, is taken advantage of by shrewd laborers, who themselves are non-believers, although they are familiar with the legend. They successfully fool and humiliate the learned doctor, reversing the usual power relationships between social classes. However, nowhere in Boccaccio’s version is there mention of a company of women, or of a female leader of the spiritual assembly; instead the company is led by a great necromancer, and the doctor is told he will be borne to the assembly by a hairy beast, perhaps a reference to the diabolization of these legends that was taking place during Boccaccio’s lifetime.

In all accounts discussed so far, the point of view of the Canon Episcopi prevails: the night travels are spiritual journeys; they do not take place in the flesh. The stupidity of the gullible is exactly that they mistake a spiritual tradition for an actual practice. Moreover, while the clerics decried belief in these legends because they diverted parishioners" attention away from God, they were not taken as evidence of the practice of witchcraft, nor did they have any diabolical content. But as the 12th century advanced, a new view began to emerge and compete with that of the Canon. According to this emergent worldview, the women’s nightly journeys were not spiritual, but real. At the same time, older legends about the Society of Diana and Herodias, the bonae res and Dame Abonde begin to merge with tales about maleficent witches. These legends took on a menacing tone. Combined with new attitudes about the nature of the night journeys, they became the building blocks of the witches" sabbat in the subversion myth of diabolical witchcraft.

FAIRIES, HEALING AND SECRET SOCIETIES

Until the 11th century, legends of the society of Diana or Herodias existed side by side with legends about a very different kind of character: women who entered homes at night in sprit form to harm the inhabitants by sucking blood, eating bodies and cooking them before restoring to them the appearance of life. Their victims eventually became ill and died. These are related to the Classical Roman legends of striae, women who could transform into birds of prey to fly out at night and eat their victims, often infants, in their beds (Bonomo, 1959:33). Their victims often appeared perfectly healthy, but over a period of time sickened and died: their souls were thought to have been eaten and, in some cases, cooked by the maleficent beings.

In some parts of Sicily, Sardinia, and Friuli, these two strains still existed separately as recently as the 19th century. In Sardinian folklore, cogas (lit. “cooks;” vampire-like witches) and janas (fairies; from dianas, “followers of Diana;” cf. Neapolitan ianare) are very different types of creatures: while cogas are uniformly malevolent, janas live in caves or Neolithic shaft tombs in the mountains, are expert weavers and singers, and can interact with and even marry humans (Liori, 1992:107- 111). The 19th century country doctor and folklore collector Giuseppe Pitré reported that Sicilian peasants distinguished between the vampiric, maleficent witch (stria, nserra) and the donna di fuori. Sicilian donne di fuori (“women from the outside”) or belle signore (“beautiful ladies”) documented by Pitré are creatures somewhere between fairies and witches. They appear as beautiful women who can enter homes at night through the keyhole. If all is in order, they reward the householders, but they punish dirt and disorder. They love babies, but too much attention from the donne di fuori can also harm children (Pitré, 1889: iv:153). Gustav Henningsen, in his careful review of Spanish Inquisition documents from Sicily, reveals that during the 16th century, the term “donne di fuori” referred to both fairies and people of both genders who were believed to ride out with them at night (Henningsen 1993:195). These individuals were usually folk healers who could cure illnesses caused by the fairies, often as a result of some unwitting offense against them (Henningsen, 1993:195). The usual cure involved a ritual supper offered to the fairies by the victim. The fairies, accompanied by the healers in spirit form, would come to the victim’s home on an appointed night where they would dance, celebrate and spiritually consume the food, thus curing the afflicted person (Henningsen, 1993:200-01).

These medieval Sicilian beliefs have interesting parallels throughout the modern Mediterranean. In rural Greece, as recently as the 1960’s, certain folk healers specialized in curing ills brought about by the fairies, known as exotica (“those from outside;” cf. donne di fuori) (Henningsen, 1993:210). Anthropologist Vincent Crapanzano, working in Morocco in the 1960’s, documented a belief system centered around the jinn (fairies) and their human followers, folk healers belonging to religious brotherhoods who could cure illness by performing a trance-dance to special music. The queen of the jinn, known as ëA"isha Qandisha, could appear either as a beautiful woman or a hideous hag, but always had a non-human feature, such as camel toes. Healers consulted ëA"isha Qandisha in their dreams, where she explained the cause of the illness and its cure (Crapanzano, 1975:147). In the 1970’s, folklorist Gail Kligman documented Romanian brotherhoods of trance dancers who specialized in curing ailments thought to be caused by iele (fairies), whose patron saint was Diana or Irodeasa [cf. Erodiade] (Kligman, 1981). And in Sardinia in the 1980’s, folklorist Clara Gallini studied argismo, a belief system based on the idea that the (often metaphorical) bite of certain insects could be cured only through ecstatic dancing, done to music played by groups of specialized musician-healers (Gallini, 1988). There may also be parallels to tarantismo, the folk belief system documented in southern Italy, especially Calabria, by folklorist Ernesto De Martino (1961); but this is a topic beyond the scope of this paper.

The broad diffusion of similar motifs in the circum-Mediterranean suggests that we are dealing with a belief-system of significant antiquity which may once have existed in many parts of Europe. It involved beliefs about illnesses caused by fairies or spirits, folk healers who specialized in communicating with these spirits through dreams and trances, and the enactment of ritual cures, which may have included special meals, music and trance-dancing. In many cases, healers themselves belonged to a society which may have met either in spirit or in actual ritual enactments of the cures.

THE DIABOLIZATION OF A LEGEND COMPLEX

But in most of Europe, belief systems involving night-time spiritual journeys, folk healers and fairies began to change during the 12th century, merging with motifs about maleficent witches and with the growing diabolical interpretation of witchcraft generated by the Church. John of Salisbury (1110-1180) combines the two by attributing to Herodias the leadership of night-time cannibalistic banquets, where babies were offered to the lamiae, female-headed serpents of Classical provenance. By the 14th century in Italy, Jacopo Passavanti first mentions the tregenda (sabbat) in conjunction with his merging of the two legendary strains. In his description, demons take the place of humans at these gatherings, leaving humans asleep in their beds. The intent of the demons is diabolical: to lead people astray. He mentions that certain women believe they travel with this company, and that its leaders are Herodias and Diana (Bonomo, 1959:64).

An examination of some Italian trial records shows the gradual transformation of legends about the society of Herodias/ Diana into diabolical sabbats, where feasting, drinking and dancing are accompanied by sex acts and cannibalism. Two early trials which have captured a great deal of scholarly attention are those of Sibillia and Pierina of Milan (Bonomo, 1959; Caro Baroja, 1961; Muraro Vaiani, 1976; Ginzburg, 1989). Both trials took place in the late 14th century; both women were probably first identified and persecuted because they practiced divination or folk healing (Muraro Vaiani, 1976:153). Sibillia’s first trial took place in 1384. Accused of heresy, Sibillia confessed to having believed in and told legends about the games of Signora Oriente (“milady of the East”), not thinking it was a sin. Signora Oriente or La Signora del Giuoco (“the lady of the game”) presided over these gatherings, where there was feasting on all manner of delicacies, music and dancing; she could predict the future, reveal secrets and resurrect the animals that had been eaten by the assembly, so that in the morning, all appeared exactly as before.

In 1390, Pierina de Bugatis, also of Milan, confessed under questioning to participating in the “game of Erodiade.” The gatherings would slaughter and feast on livestock, whose bones Signora Oriente would put back into their skins before resurrecting them with her magic wand. The party would visit the homes of the wealthy, where they would eat and drink; they would bless homes that were neat and clean. Signora Oriente instructed her followers about the properties of various herbs and answered their questions about illness and thefts. But the followers were sworn to secrecy. To attend the assembly, Pierina would call upon a spirit named “Lucifelus,” who appeared in the form of a man to take her there.

The tales told by Sibillia and Pierina illustrate the merging of a number of motifs from different traditions into a single legend complex: the night journeys, the company of women led by a female leader, who seems to control both abundance and rebirth, as well as revealing the future and dispensing advice on healing; the magical feasting in which appetites are satisfied; the resurrection of dead animals after the banquet; the fairy visits to the homes of the rich, where hospitality is rewarded and all returns as before at the evening’s conclusion. In Pierina’s version, we have the first appearance of “Lucifelus,” a variant of Lucifero, or Lucifer, as the agent of transport to the games—a minor figure, at this point, who is diabolical in name only.

Italian historian Luisa Muraro Vaiani believes the judges hearing these depositions had a hard time understanding their nature. The women at times spoke as though they were reporting folklore, while at other times they spoke as though they themselves had experienced these night journeys—a characteristic of legend performance I have already remarked upon, and one which makes sense if we accept the hypothesis that both women were folk healers who continued an ancient tradition of consulting with spiritual beings for healing advice. Their tales were dreamlike, mixing familiar elements with supernatural ones. To us, they may even suggest events that took place in an altered state of consciousness, and like many such experiences, they alternate in perspective between the self and a kind of detachment from the self. But the judges, working with a binary system of opposites in which illusion and reality were mutually exclusive concepts, didn"t know what to make of these dream-like visions that seemed so real to the accused. They ended up assuming they were real. Sibillia was sentenced to prison at her first trial for having believed in and told people about the society of Diana, acts that were considered apostasy, not witchcraft. But at her second trial in 1390, she was sentenced to death for recidivism and for having actually participated in the games. Thus, the transition between attitudes of the Canon and later ones hinged on the understanding of legendary material as fact (Muraro Vaiani, 1976:137-142)—a critical transition which had ominous consequences in the development of the witchcraft persecutions.

One of the best-known of the Italian witch trials took place two centuries after Sibillia and Pierina were tried and executed. In 1540, Bellezza Orsini of Colle Vecchio (Perugia), a widely respected folk healer who cured using herb-infused oils, was accused of poisoning. At first she swore her innocence, but under torture, she confessed to being part of a secret society of witches. The secret society she described was a hierar- chical one in which the initiate-to-be apprenticed with a master strega. Initiation involved a formal renunciation of Church teachings, a renegation of baptism, and the invocation of the devil, who was called Mauometto (“Mohammed”), and appeared as a handsome man dressed in black. At the time of Bellezza’s trial, the Islamic Ottoman empire was expanding its reach towards Europe. The use of the name “Mohammed” for the devil reflects widespread popular fear and prejudice towards Muslims in16th century Europe. Sexual intercourse with the devil was part of the initiation. Afterwards, the assembled company would fly off, with the help of flying ointment, to the magic walnut tree of Benevento where they would dance with other devils. Initiates chose new, non-Christian names so they could be used when members got together again. Orsini described witches as organized into teams according to their place of origin. Each team was led by a captain with 20-30 students under her. A “witch queen,” called Befania, ruled over all the teams. Each November 1, there was a “reconciliation,” or gathering of witches, during which a new witch queen would be elected. According to Orsini, the members of the witch society were sworn to help one another, and to help less fortunate teams by sharing baby-meatballs and other ingredients. By then, witch gatherings included cannibalistic feasting, and the dead were no longer brought back to life.

It is evident that drastic changes had taken place in the Diana/Herodias legend complex between 1390 and 1540. Gone are the earlier legends of all-female societies of revelers whose presence brought good luck to the homes they visited, and where all that was consumed was magically restored—a kind of compensatory fantasy for the poor not unlike other contemporary portrayals of utopias of plenty, such as Cuccagna and Bengodi (Del Giudice, 2001). By 1540, Herodias and Diana are no longer players in the dangerous “game.” Instead, it has acquired menacing, diabolical elements introduced by ecclesiastical revisions which interpreted all deviations from Christian doctrine as evidence of a world-wide diabolical conspiracy whose agents were witches. The witch gathering is now presided over by the devil, whose name is identical to that of the Islamic prophet Mohammed—evidence of the demonization of Islam in the popular imagination by the 16th century. Besides the devils" followers, the women present include the witch-queen Befania, a corruption of the word epifania (“epiphany”), and witches who initiate their charges into the diabolical society. According to Cattabiani, there may well be a connection between Befana, the Italian Christmas witch, and earlier legends of Herodias. This link is preserved in the names for the Befana in the region of the Italian Alps near Belluno, where to this day she is known as “Redodesa,” “Redosa,” or “Redosola"—possible corruptions of "Erodiade” (cf. Romanian “Irodeasa”) (Cattabiani, 1994:13). The witches gather at Benevento and fly around the magical walnut tree with the help of flying ointment; cannibalism and sexual intercourse with the devil are integral features of their assemblies. The witch society is a secret society; initiates are brought in by a teacher, and secret names are used to conceal everyday identity. November 1 is now a recognized time for witches" gatherings. Bellezza Orsini’s confession reveals the growing diabolization of the legend of the night journeys, as well as the crystallization of certain folk motifs which continue to be central in contemporary revival Witchcraft: secrecy, the use of ritual names, initiation through a teacher, and the importance of October 31/ November 1 in the year cycle. The transition in the content of the legends was accompanied by a change in the attitudes of the clerics and the elite: material previously understood as legendary was now being understood as fact. The tension between belief and disbelief that had kept the legends circulating was beginning to solidify into an acceptance of the witches" sabbat as an actual event. By 1525, the Canon Episcopi was being called into question: Paolo Grillando writes in De sortilegiis eorumque poenas that the Canon was mistaken about the illusory nature of the witches" sabbats, and that they were in fact real (Bonomo, 1959:110). 

BETWEEN DREAM AND REALITY

But what if the judges were right? If the games of Diana/ Herodias were in fact experiences of the imagination, whether dreams or other alternate states of consciousness, why did many women confess to having attended them? Is it possible that the Society of Diana/ Herodias was a real secret society of women, and that Sibillia, Pierina and Bellezza were members? Could Herodias/ Erodiade/ Aradia have been the secret name of an actual leader of such a society, who then became legendary? If this were true, it would give us an intriguing source for Leland’s legend of Aradia, as well as revolutionizing our understanding of the history of the witch trials and our sense of gender relations in Europe during the middle ages. Let us carefully examine the evidence both for and against this hypothesis. First, it is important to remember that not all women confessed to the reality of their experiences; many maintained their dream-like nature to the bitter end. Other confessions, like Bellezza’s, were produced under torture, and are thus unreliable as historical evidence. Victims would often confess to outrageous acts under torture because the narration of fantastic episodes brought respite from agony and bought the accused time. A strange compact often developed between judges and their victims which may have led some women to manufacture diabolical details they thought would satisfy their accusers, leading to the creation of fantastic trivia such as the baby meatballs in Bellezza’s confession. Other details might have been drawn from the victim’s knowledge of everyday reality; for example, the complex organization of the witch society described by Bellezza parallels the organization of other medieval social institutions such as trade guilds and religious fraternities and sororities, which were led by elected officials chosen at yearly assemblies. These guilds and fraternities functioned as mutual aid societies, much as Bellezza describes for the secret society of witches. Thus we need to be selective in interpreting the nature of these narratives. Some details suggest that certain aspects of the Society of Diana/ Herodias may have been real. The women who reported on it constituted only a small minority of all those accused of witchcraft. Moreover, the narrators had an important element in common: they were folk healers and diviners. A key function of the night-time journeys was the obtaining of answers to divinatory questions and information on cures. This structure parallels that of similar belief-complexes about spirits, healers and night journeys from the circum- Mediterranean. In several of these examples, we know that folk healers indeed were members of a society that convened in the flesh to play music, dance ecstatically and conduct healing rites. In other cases, the societies reported by healers existed only in spirit, and included spiritual members, whether fairies, jinn, exotica or iele. These details, shared with other circum- Mediterranean healing traditions, suggest that the accused may indeed have been part of a secret society of folk healers—either actual, spiritual, or both.

At the same time, other legend elements have content that is clearly dream-like and fantastic: all wishes are granted; food magically regenerates; humans fly. These motifs point to the spiritual nature of at least some of the experiences. Additional elements suggest the creation of a legendary peasant utopia: there is food and drink aplenty for all assembled; humans and nature exist in harmony; death is followed by resurrection or rebirth; relationships, though hierarchical, are based on mutual trust and dignity; knowledge is available to all members; gratification is ubiquitous, and the Christian notion of earthly pleasures as sinful is completely absent. These descriptions suggest a kind of utopia, an “imagined state” whose conditions inversely reflect those of its source (Del Giudice and Porter, 2001:4-5). Muraro Vaiani suggests that Diana/ Herodias was to her followers as Christ was to his, albeit in a parallel universe: the Lady did not judge or deny the Christian universe, but offered an alternative (Muraro Vaiani, 1976:153). Legends of the secret society may have constituted a kind of compensatory fantasy for women— one in which women had power and the ultimate authority rested with a benevolent supernatural female leader. Through legends and perhaps even dreams, they may have offered solace and compensation to women whose real-life experiences reflected the hardships of gender and class oppression in medieval Europe, much as narratives of earthly paradises such as Cuccagna and Bengodi, where rivers flowed with wine and mountains were made of cheese, were created by Italian peasants whose everyday lives were filled with hunger and privation (Del Giudice, 2001:12).

How can we better understand the nature of these narratives, which even after six centuries seem to take place in a world between dream and reality? I would suggest that it is not unreasonable to assume the existence in medieval Italy of legend complexes similar to those in other parts of the circum-Mediterranean, concerning fairies, spiritual journeys and healing. As we have already seen, aspects of these belief systems existed in parts of Europe and North Africa until the end of the 20th century. Henningsen’s work confirms the existence of similar beliefs in Sicily during the 16th century, and Behringer documents their presence in the western Alps. If Sibillia, Pierina and Bellezza were indeed members of such a society, their stories begin to make a certain amount of sense. This is especially true if we consider two additional tentative assumptions: the idea of ostension and that of the autonomous imagination. Ostension is Degh and Vazonyi’s term for the enactment of legends. For example, a Halloween haunted house may portray legends about ghosts, vampires and werewolves, or a Pagan ritual may dramatize the legend of Robin Hood. Ostension always derives from a pre-existing legend: the legend precedes the existence of its enactment. Thus, for instance, legends of contaminated Halloween candy predated the finding of actual contaminants in treats by at least ten years (Degh and Vazsonyi, 1986/1995). Individuals who placed needles, razor blades and other dangerous objects in treats as pranks engaged in a form of ostension. The theory of ostension explains how easily certain elements can pass from legend to ritualized action. Hypothetically, legends about spiritual journeys to dance with the fairies and receive healing can easily be transformed by creative individuals into healing rituals with food offerings to the fairies and ecstatic dancing to special music. What if some women, inspired by utopian legends of the Society of Diana/ Herodias, decided to try to replicate such a society in medieval Europe? Though we have no proof such a society ever existed, it is not inconceivable that a few inspired individuals might have decided to dramatize, once or repeatedly, the gatherings described in legends. The use of the term giuoco (“game”) by Sibillia and Pierina suggests the playful, prankish character of ostension. A “game” based on legends of Diana/ Herodias and the fairies would probably have been secret and limited to the friends and associates of the creative instigators, who might well have been folk healers. One or more women might even have played the role of Diana or Herodias, presiding over the gathering and giving advice. Feasting, drinking and dancing might have taken place, and the women may have exchanged advice on matters of healing and divination. The “game” might even have had a healing intent, as was the case for many comparable circum- Mediterranean rituals, and may have involved trance-dancing. This is one possible explanation for the remarkably consistent reports of Sibillia and Pierina, tried within a few years of each other. The existence of ostension in connection to these legends could also mean that Grimassi’s claim that Aradia was a real person may, in fact, not be entirely out of the question; a healer who was part of the society might have chosen to play the part of, or even take on the name of, Erodiade.

However, it is important to remember that even if a group decided to enact aspects of the legend of Diana/ Herodias, it would not have been a revival of pre-Christian paganism, but an attempt to act out certain ritual aspects described in the legends. Moreover, the more magical aspects from the trial reports—night flights on the backs of animals, ever-replenishing banquets, resurrection of dead livestock—could not have been achieved through ostension. We need to consider these as fantastical legend motifs, reports of experiences from trances or dreams, or both.

One way to explain these motifs is to consider the role of the autonomous imagination in blending cultural and personal material. This term, coined by anthropologist Michele Stephen, refers to a part of the human imagination that operates without our conscious control (Stephen, 1989:55- 61). It emerges in dreams and in alternate states of consciousness such as vision trances and religious ecstasy. The visions it produces are vivid and detailed, appearing “more real than reality” to experiencers. They seem to arise independently of any conscious volition on the part of the subject. The autonomous imagination is more creative and synthetic than ordinary thought processes, easily combining elements from the subject’s personal life with cultural and religious material. Thus dreams and visions seem to speak directly to our most intimate concerns, but also bring religious and cultural symbols to bear upon them. Furthermore, the autonomous imagination processes time and memory differently from ordinary conscious thought. Past, present and future events may blend together; personal memories may combine with cultural material in unusual ways.

It is possible that some of the experiences of the Society of Diana/ Herodias described by the accused are attributable to the autonomous imagination of the experiencers. Please note that I am not claiming that the accusers invented the experiences; in fact, I am saying quite the opposite. To women such as Pierina and Sibillia, the experience of flying out to the games of Herodias may have seemed more real than ordinary, everyday reality if it took place in trance visions. While it is possible that vision trances may have played a part in a hypothetical, ostensive Society of Diana/ Herodias, it is also conceivable that women who were active narrators of these legends as well as folk healers might have experienced altered states of consciousness, either through the use of herbs or by using meditative techniques. This is consistent with the discoveries of Behringer, who studied the trial transcripts of Conrad Stoeckhlin, a 16th century horse herder from Oberstdorf, in the western Alps, who was executed for practicing witchcraft. Stoeckhlin, a folk healer, reported that an angel led him on a series of trance journeys and gave him advice on healing and divination (Behringer, 1998:17-21; 138). We also know that some contemporary Italian folk healers used such techniques well into the 20th century, and that they reported contacting spirits who helped them with their healing (Henningsen, 1993; De Martino, 1961, 1966; Selis, 1978; DiNola, 1993:41).

Of course, spiritual experiences (and their interpretations) vary widely according to culture and historical period. It is not unlikely that contemporary legend material about Diana, Herodias and the fairies may have made its way into the trance visions of medieval Italian folk healers through the mechanism of the autonomous imagination, giving rise to their reports of actually participating in the game of Herodias. The healers were telling the truth; their experiences were real. Both Behringer, in his research on the visionary horse herder Stoeckhlin, and Stuart Clark, in his monumental study of early European demonology, propose early modern European folk culture did not always distinguish sharply between experiences that took place in dreams, ecstatic visions or trances and reality (Behringer, 1998:158-59; Clark, 1997:193-96). The dualistic conception in which “dreamtime” was opposed to “reality” was a product of medieval Church reforms that culminated in the formation of the myth of diabolical witchcraft. Here we must return to Muraro Vaiani’s hypothesis that it was the judges who did not know how to understand the ecstatic experiences of the accused because they fell outside of their dualistic conception of the nature of reality. Therefore, they interpreted them as sorcery—the only mechanism they understood through which illusion could be made to seem real. 

CONCLUSIONS

What can we conclude from this evidence about the legend of Aradia? The evidence I have examined and presented here suggests that the legend of Aradia has roots in archaic, pre-Christian materials concerning societies of healers who trafficked with spirits in order to cure. Healing may have involved trance-journeys as well as ecstatic dancing. These ancient materials combined with Classical legends of Diana and Hecate, and during the middle ages became attached to the New Testament story of Herodias, the eternal dancer. By the 11th century, these elements had become part of a widespread legend complex in Europe that may have involved episodes of ostension, or the enactment of certain legend motifs, probably for the purposes of healing. As clerical and popular attitudes towards the nature of nighttime spiritual journeys changed, these legends merged with parallel folk materials about maleficent witches, and became the building blocks of the subversion myth of the diabolical sabbat, responsible for the death of tens of thousands of innocent women and men between 1300 and 1750.

What Leland collected from Maddalena may represent a 19th century version of this legend that incorporated later materials influenced by medieval diabolism: the presence of “Lucifero,” the Christian devil; the practice of sorcery; the naked dances under the full moon. While there may have been instances of ostension regarding this legend, the evidence does not support the idea that Aradia was an early teacher of the Craft, although some women may have called themselves Erodiade during ostensive episodes. There is no evidence of a widespread revival of pre-Christian religion as a result of the proliferation of this legend. In fact, it is ironic that a compensatory legend that envisioned a society led by women, featuring relationships based on equality, access to knowledge for all, and the fulfillment of all earthly desires became twisted into the subversion myth of the diabolical sabbat, which was responsible for the murder of so many innocent women during the witch craze.

Legends and beliefs about healing, fairies and nighttime spiritual journeys may have continued to exist in pockets throughout Italy until the late 20th century. Because legends always change to reflect their social environment, they became Christianized, and incorporated references to saints. In some cases, saints may have replaced the earlier fairies. Some version of this legend complex may be at the core of both Leland’s discovery of a “witch cult” in Tuscany in the late 1800’s, and Grimassi’s claims that his family practiced a form of folk healing that involved spirits, dancing, and the goddess Diana (Grimassi, pers. communication 8/25/00). These were not, as Leland suggested, survivals of Etruscan religion, but elements of great antiquity reworked into systems that made sense for Italian peasants of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Some parts of these belief systems may even have survived the journey to America, forming the basis of Stregheria, or Italian American revival Witchcraft.

Folklore, of course, seldom dies; it transforms itself according to new paradigms and cultural discourses. So it is not surprising to read new versions of this legend emerging today. Grimassi’s expansion of Leland’s materials must be understood in exactly such a context—as the continuation of the legend begun so long ago. It is intriguing to note that while both Leland’s and Grimassi’s versions may appear to be strictly Neo- Pagan in content, both also contain very strong Christian influences. In the Gospel of the Witches, Diana sends her only daughter Aradia to earth to teach people to resist their oppressors just as in the New Testament, God sends his son Jesus to earth for much the same purpose. In Hereditary Witchcraft, Grimassi describes Aradia as having twelve disciples—six male-female couples—who help spread her teachings after her mysterious disappearance. Do these elements invalidate the legends? Quite the contrary, I would argue. They simply demonstrate how easily legend material absorbs motifs from the surrounding culture. These elaborated new versions show that the legend of Aradia is a living tradition that continues to evolve today, changing to adapt to the individual needs of the narrator as well as the larger changes in society.

REFERENCES CITED

Baldassare, Silvio. 1997. Review of R. Grimassi, Ways of the Strega. In Songs of the Dayshift Foreman: Journal of a Rainforest Witch 69: 12-16.

Behringer, Wolfgang. 1998. Shaman of Oberstdorf. Translated by H.C. Erik Midelfort. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.

Bernstein, Frances. 2000. Classical Living. San Francisco: Harper.

Bonomo, Giuseppe. 1959. Caccia alle streghe. Palermo: Palumbo.

Caro Baroja, Julio. 1961. The World of the Witches. Translated by O.N.V. Glendinning.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Cattabiani, Alfredo. 1994. Lunario. Milano: Arnoldo Mondadori.

Clark, Stuart. 1997. Thinking with Demons: the Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Clifton, Chas S. 1998. “The Significance of Aradia.” In Aradia, of the Gospel of the Witches, by Charles G. Leland, translated by Mario Pazzaglini and Dina Pazzaglini, 59- 80. Blaine, WA: Phoenix Publishing.

Crapanzano, Vincent. 1975. “Saints, Jnun, and Dreams: an Essay in Moroccan Ethnopsychology.” Psychiatry 38:145-159.

Degh, Linda and Andrew Vazsonyi. 1976. “Legend and Belief.” In Folklore Genres, ed. by Dan Ben Amos, 93-124. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

_____. 1995 [1986]. “Does the Word “Dog” Bite? Ostensive Action: a Means of Legend Telling.” In Narratives in Society: a Performer-Centered Study of Narration, 236- 262. Helsinki: Finnish Academy of Sciences. (Reprinted from Journal of Folklore Research, Fall 1983)

Del Giudice, Luisa. 2001. “Mountains of Cheese, Rivers of Wine: Paesi di Cuccagna and Other Gastronomic Utopias.” In Imagined States: Nationalism, Utopia and Longing in Oral Cultures, ed. Luisa Del Giudice and Gerald Porter, 11-63. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press.

_____ and Gerald Porter. 2001. “Introduction.” In Imagined States: Nationalism, Utopia and Longing in Oral Cultures, ed. Luisa Del Giudice and Gerald Porter, 1-10. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press.

De Martino, Ernesto. 1987 [1966] Sud e magia. Milano: Feltrinelli. _____. 1961. La terra del rimorso. Milano: Feltrinelli.

Di Nola, Alfonso. 1993. Lo specchio e l’olio: le superstizioni italiane. Bari: Laterza.

Dundes, Alan. 1971. “On the Psychology of Legend.” In American Folk Legend: a Symposium, ed. by Wayland Hand, 21-36. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gallini, Clara. 1988. La ballerina variopinta. Naples: Liguori.

Ginzburg, Carlo. 1989. Storia notturna: una decifrazione del sabba. Tornio: Einaudi. _____. 1993.. “Deciphering the Sabbath.” In European Witchcraft: Centers and Peripheries. ed. by Gustav Hennigsen and Bengt Ankarloo, 121-137. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Grimassi, Raven. 1999. Hereditary Witchcraft. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Press.

_____. 1995. Ways of the Strega. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Press.

Henningsen, Gustav. 1993. “"The Ladies from Outside”: An Archaic Pattern of the Witches" Sabbath.“ In European Witchcraft: Centers and Peripheries. ed. by Gustav Henningsen and Bengt Ankarloo,191-215. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Kelly, Aidan. 1992. The Gospel of Diana. Privately published manuscript on disk.

Kilgman, Gail. 1981. Calus: Symbolic Transformation in Romanian Ritual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Leland, Charles G. 1899, 1990. Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches. Blaine, WA: Phoenix Publishing [reprint of original edition].

Liori, Antonangelo. 1992. Demoni, miti e riti magici della Sardegna. Rome: Newton Compton.

Magliocco, Sabina. 1993. "Eels, Bananas and Cucumbers: a Sexual Legend and Changing Women’s Values in Rural Sardinia.” Fabula 34-½, 66-77.

Muraro Vaiani, Luisa. 1976. La signora del gioco: episodi della caccia alle streghe. Milano: Feltrinelli.

Pitré, Giuseppe. 1889. Usi, costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo siciliano. Palermo: Giuffé.

Selis, Luisa. 1978. “Prime ricerche sulla presenza delle streghe in Sardegna oggi.” In L"erba delle donne: maghe, streghe, guaritrici. Roma: Roberto Napoleone Editore, 137-147.

Stephen, Michele. 1989. “Self, the Sacred Other and Autonomous Imagination.” In The Religious Imagination in New Guinea. ed. Michele Stephen and Gilbert Herdt, 41-64. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

Sabina Magliocco is Associate Professor of Anthropology at California State University - Northridge. She has done fieldwork in Sardinia (Italy) as well as among contemporary Pagans in the San Francisco Bay area, and is the author of a forthcoming book Neopagan Sacred Art and Altars: Making Things Whole (University Press of Mississippi) and a number of articles. She is a Gardnerian initiate.

www.AradiaGoddess.com

Brighid. goddess of the hearth.

In Irish mythological cycles, Brighid (or Brighit), whose name is derived from the Celtic brig or "exalted one", is the daughter of the Dagda, and therefore one of the Tuatha de Dannan. Her two sisters were also called Brighid, and were associated with healing and crafts. The three Brighids were typically treated as three aspects of a single deity, making her a classic Celtic triple goddess.

Patron and Protector

Brighid was the patron of poets and bards, as well as healers and magicians. She was especially honored when it came to matters of prophecy and divination. She was honored with a sacred flame maintained by a group of priestesses, and her sanctuary at Kildare, Ireland, later became the home of the Christian variant of Brighid, St. Brigid of Kildare. Kildare is also the location of one of several sacred wells in the Celtic regions, many of which are connected to Brighid. Even today, it's not uncommon to see ribbons and other offerings tied to trees near a well as a petition to this healing goddess.

Lisa Lawrence writes in Pagan Imagery in the Early Lives of Brigit: A Transformation from Goddess to Saint?, part of the Harvard Celtic Studies Colloquium, that it is Brighid's role as sacred to both Christianity and Paganism that makes her so hard to figure out. She cites fire as a common thread to both Brighid the saint and Brighid the goddess:

"When two religious systems interact, a shared symbol can provide a bridge from one religious idea to another. During a period of conversion, an archetypical symbol such as fire may acquire a new referent, while not being entirely emptied of a previous one. For example, the fire that clearly signifies the presence of the Holy Spirit in Saint Brigit may continue to signify pagan conceptions of religious power."

Celebrating Brighid

There are a variety of ways to celebrate the many aspects of Brighid at Imbolc. If you're part of a group practice or a coven, why not try honoring her with a group ceremoy? You can also incorporate prayers to Brighid into your rites and rituals for the season. Having trouble figuring out what direction you're headed? Ask Brighid for assistance and guidance with a crossroads-themed divination rite.

Brighid's Many Forms

In northern Britain, Brighid's counterpart was Brigantia, a warlike figure of the Brigantes tribe near Yorkshire, England. She is similar to the Greek goddess Athena and the Roman Minerva. Later, as Christianity moved into the Celtic lands, St. Brigid was the daughter of a Pictish slave who was baptized by St. Patrick, and founded a community of nuns at Kildare.

In addition to her position as a goddess of magic, Brighid was known to watch over women in childbirth, and thus evolved into a goddess of hearth and home. Today, many Pagans honor her on February 2, which has become known as Imbolc or Candlemas.

Winter Cymres at the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, calls her a "complex and contradictory" sort of deity. Specifically,

"She possesses an unusual status as a Sun Goddess Who hangs Her Cloak upon the rays of the Sun and whose dwelling-place radiates light as if on fire. Brigid took over the Cult of the Ewes formerly held by the Goddess Lassar, who also is a Sun Goddess and who made the transition, in the Isles, from Goddess to saint. In this way Brigid's connection to Imbolc is completed, as the worship of Lassar diminished, only to be revived later in Christian sainthood."

Brighid's Mantle

One commonly found symbol of Brighid is her green mantle, or cloak. In Gaelic, the mantle is known as the brat Bhride. The legend has it that Brighid was the daughter of a Pictish chieftain who went to Ireland to learn from St. Patrick. In one story, the girl who later became St. Brighid went to the King of Leinster, and petitioned him for land so she could build an abbey. The King, who still held to the old Pagan practices of Ireland, told her he'd be happy to give her as much land as she could cover with her cloak. Naturally, her cloak grew and grew until it covered as much property as Brighid needed, and she got her abbey. Thanks to her roles as both a Pagan goddess and a Christian saint, Brighid is often seen as being of both worlds; a bridge between the old ways and the new.

In Celtic Pagan stories, Brighid's mantle carries with it blessings and powers of healing. Many people believe that if you place a piece of cloth out upon your hearth at Imbolc, Brighid will bless it in the night. Use the same cloth as your mantle each year, and it will gain strength and power each time Brighid passes by. The mantle can be used to comfort and heal a sick person, and to provide protection for women in labor. A newborn baby can be wrapped in the mantle to help them sleep through the night without fussing.

To make a Brighid's mantle of your own, find a piece of green cloth long enough to comfortably wrap around your shoulders. Leave it on your doorstep on the night of Imbolc, and Brighid will bless it for you. In the morning, wrap yourself in her healing energy. You can also make a Brighid's cross or a Bride's Bed to celebrate her this time of year.

Brighid and Imbolc

Like many Pagan holidays, Imbolc has a Celtic connection, although it wasn’t celebrated in non-Gaelic Celtic societies. The early Celts celebrated a purification festival by honoring Brighid. In some parts of the Scottish Highlands, Brighid was viewed as a sister of Cailleach Bheur, a woman with mystical powers who was older than the land itself. In modern Wicca and Paganism, Brighid is sometimes viewed as the maiden aspect of the maiden/mother/crone cycle, although it might be more accurate for her to be the mother, given her connection with home and childbirth.

Congratulations Dylan and welcome! We’re so happy to accept your application to play Callum Hayes with the faceclaim of Steven R McQueen in Fire & Glory RPG! We can’t wait to begin roleplaying with you so please remember to look over our checklist!

!! tw: death mention !!

Out of Character Information:

Name: Dylan

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: I’m 19 and my birthday is on the 31st of January

Timezone: gmt +2

Activity: I’ll be pretty active. I’m studying a tough degree so I’ll probably only be online at night or early morning my time. I’m normally also pretty quick with replies.

Original Character Application:

Name: Callum Rey Hayes

Age and Birthday: 22. 13 Aug 1995

Faceclaim: Steven R McQueen

Heritage:

Callum is the Son of Cupid. His mother, Vicky, has French heritage, and the surname of Aurélien, which is the French variant of Aurelianus, which was the last name of Emperor Lucius Domitius Aurelianus. With his rise to Emperor and victorious in reuniting the empire, it is safe to say that his mother was the roman god, Victoria. Also, In the books, the emperors where commonly demi-gods.  

His mother was easy going and kind to everyone, however, men used to take advantage of this and all she ever wanted was true love. This attracted Cupid’s attention, he made a man called Craig fall in love with her, but contradicting why he felt sorry for her, he couldn’t help but play with her feelings too. This is when Callum was conceived.

ABILITIES:

fluent in French, as this is the language of love.

Beauty and Allure. He always seems to have that ‘something’ that makes him attractive to anyone. This is because Cupid’s mother is Venus.

Romantic Omniscience. He can tell who the other person is in love with.

Limited Amokinesis. He can make people fall in love for a temporary amount of time. The stronger willed the person, the less of an effect his ability has. His love is harsher however and more erotic than those of Venus’s children.

Affiliation: A centurion for the 4th cohort, member of the cult of Romulus.

Headcanons:

Callum has a strict façade when it comes to official business, which he unwillingly picked up from his adoptive father, but at heart he is more rebellious and playful soul. He’s always causing mischief anonymously around New Rome.

Callum had major mood swings due to his godly heritage and the entity called love that is ever changing. He used to always feel the emotions that others around him would feel. As he grew older, he learnt how to control this, allowing him to make level-headed decisions when it calls for it. However, in moments of emotional or physical weakness, he has lost control over this.

Biography:

!! tw: death mention !!

He had a tender and loving Infancy. His mother was always there for him and played with him. His father was always away at work and his mom was a housewife. Around the age of 7 his dad lost his job, causing him to be around more and induce a strict environment over the household. His mom stopped playing under the kitchen table with him and spent more time in the kitchen and with Craig. This is when he associated the loss of his mother’s playfulness with his father.  His father found another job and was at work for most of the day. This allowed Vicky to spend more time with him after school, but at night the strict atmosphere would return. As he grew older, the dislike also grew, until at the age of 13, he told his dad that he didn’t love him. A heated argument erupted between the three family members and out of rage, Craig announced that he was adopted.

He told Callum that his mother had fallen pregnant when he and Vicky had just met. Vicky had only told him after Callum was born, and out of love, he stayed with her and adopted Callum. He then said that he regrets adopting him, and wished that his mother had had an abortion. Hearing this at the emotional age that he was, lead to his first melt down. He ran up to his room where he stayed for 48hrs straight. He felt betrayed by his mother and he vowed to never pay an ounce of respect or love to Craig. He was torn between running away and staying for his mother, even though she had hurt him. A few weeks went by with a sour atmosphere at home. Callum spent more time at school and by friends and only came home when he had to. Then his mother was hired as a secretary at Craig’s job, which seemed to drain the remaining life from her. This is when Callum truly felt abandoned. On his 14th birthday he ran away from home. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he couldn’t stay. His only known relatives to whom where Craig’s grandparents in Ireland. This is when he found Lupa, who trained him and taught him about his godly heritage and delivered him to Camp Jupiter.

At first, he had a tough time at camp. He was placed into the fourth cohort due to the fact that he was a legacy of Victoria. This is when his strict and disciplined side started to kick in when faced with responsibility. He always pushed himself and tried to better himself as New Rome and the 12th Legion was truly his new home. He tended to be rather lucky when it came to games and competitions. He finally rose up to the challenges that he was faced with, although he kept a rebellious streak by causing mischief and playing match maker, charging those willing to come to him for romantic advice. He would do this under the radar and continued to hold up a disciplined façade. Eventually, through connections, he heard rumours about a cult that stood for a pure roman way of life. He thus continued to climb the ranks of 4th Cohort and tried to join any possible quest. Eventually he had a chance to prove himself to the senate. He participated in defending Camp Jupiter during the second giant war. Unfortunately, a member of his cohort and a close friend of his died in battle, this caused him to have his second mental breakdown. However, this time he felt the emotion of hatred from the monsters and this fueled him, causing him to fight tremendously during this battle. After the fight was over and the hatred left his body, he collapsed in tears and mourned for an extended period. The senate recognized his performance during the battle and when he applied for Centurion later that year, his request was accepted, allowing finally reach Centurion status and accomplish one of his highest goals. He is currently a centurion of the 4th cohort and after receiving centurion status he reached out to the cult of Romulus and joined their ranks.

Para Sample:

“Swoon over me.” He said flicking his wrist in the direction of two guards that he was approaching. His eyes flashed gold and the two dropped their weapons in a daze. It was games night, and what better to play at Camp Jupiter than a game of war.

He then marched past them, avoiding their hands that grasped at him. He rolled his eyes. He would never get used at how desperate people could act when under his spell. Once inside, and the door shut tight behind him, anxiety and doubt flooded his mind. What was he thinking? He had just walked into the 1st and 2nd cohorts fort alone! The battle outside had fueled him, allowing him to muster up enough courage and confidence to sway the two guards, but as soon as he had shut the battle behind the fortified door, his confident fled as fast as first love does when you realize the other isn’t for you.

He poked his head around the stone arch on the opposite side of the tower. It led to a passage that was open on one side to a central courtyard and was walled off on the other. He assessed his situation. Through the colonnade, he counted 5 guards standing by the front gate, obviously acting as a last defense if the enemy cohorts broke through. Other than the guards the central court was empty. Wait… it was empty. Where were the other teams flag? That was the war game they were playing? He furrowed his eyes in confusion before realizing what had been done. The Centurions of the enemy cohorts must have moved their flag! It was an obvious move to make. In fact, Adriana, his co-centurion had even suggested that they move their own flag. He decided that he would seize the courtyard and open the gates for his team, then, he would search the fort for the flag. He readied himself to launch his attack by crouching alongside the arch and reaching behind him for an arrow from his quiver. He breathed in and held it there as he aimed at the closest guard when the creak of a wooden broke his concentration.

Immediately he spun around and was about to release his arrow, hoping it wouldn’t seriously hurt the other when he noticed the intruders face.  “The fuck you think you’re doing?!” He exclaimed in a harsh but hushed tone. The dirty face that was framed by auburn hair was that of a girl from his cohort. Amidst the raging battle, she must have obviously followed him as he had crept away from command. He remembered her name; Olivia. She was a daughter Minerva and you could definitely tell. She was good at what she did, in fact, probably one of the best strategists in his cohort. “Sorry;” He corrected his tone, his face adjusting to being more welcoming. “You probably already know what I’m planning to do, but if you have any idea where the flag is, I’m all ears?”

Latin Names - Female: M

MADELINA: Latin form of Greek Magdalene, meaning "of Magdala." MADRONA: Variant spelling of Latin Matrona, meaning "lady." MAEA: Latin form of Greek Maia, meaning "nursing mother." In mythology, this is the name of the eldest of the Pleiades and mother of Hermes by Zeus. MAGDALENA: Latin form of Greek Magdalene, meaning "of Magdala." In use by the Germans, Scandinavians and Spanish. MARCELLA: Feminine form of Latin Marcellus, meaning "defense" or "of the sea." Compare with another form of Marcella. MARCI: Pet form of Roman Latin Marcia, meaning "defense" or "of the sea." MARCIA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Marcius, meaning "defense" or "of the sea." MARE: Latin name meaning "sea." Compare with another form of Mare. MARGARITA: Latin form of Greek Margarites, meaning "pearl." MARIA: Latin form of Greek or Aramaic Mariam, meaning "obstinacy, rebelliousness" or "their rebellion." Compare with another form of Maria. MARIANA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Marianus, meaning "like Marius." MARICA: Roman Latin name of unknown meaning. In mythology, this is the name of the nymph mother of Latinus by Faunus. Compare with another form of Marica. MARINA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Marinus, meaning "of the sea." MARISA: Modern elaborated form of Latin Maria, meaning "obstinacy, rebelliousness" or "their rebellion." Compare with another form of Marisa. MARLENA: Contracted form of Latin Maria Magdalena, meaning "rebel of Magdala." MARQUITA: Latin form of French Marquite, meaning "awning, canopy." MARTINA: Feminine form of Latin Martinus, meaning "of/like Mars." MATHILDA: Latin form of Teutonic Mechthild, meaning "mighty in battle." Compare with another form of Mathilda. MATHILDIS: Latin form of Gothic Mahthildis, meaning "mighty in battle." MATRONA: Latin name meaning "lady." Originally it meant "married, respectable, noble woman." MEDEA: Latin form of Greek Medeia, meaning "cunning." In mythology, this is the name of the sorceress who helped Jason steal the Golden Fleece from his father. When Jason later abandoned her for another woman, she got revenge by killing two of her own children fathered by him. MEDIA: Modern variant spelling of Latin Medea, meaning "cunning." MEDUSA: Latin form of Greek Medousa, meaning "guardian." In mythology, this is the name of one of the three Gorgons who had snakes for hair, and whose glance turned anyone who looked at them to stone. She was the only Gorgon who was mortal. MEGAERA: Latin form of Greek Megaira, meaning "grudge." In mythology, this is the name of one of the Furies (Erinyes). Virgil named two others: Alecto "unceasing" and Tisiphone "murder-retribution." MELAENA: Latin form of Greek Melaina, meaning "black, dark." In mythology, this is the name of a Naiad Nymph of springs. MELETE: Latin form of Greek Meletê, meaning "practice." In mythology, this is the name of one of the three original Muses, before their number was increased to nine. MELITA: Latin form of Greek Melite, meaning "honey." MELITTA: Variant spelling of Latin Melita, meaning "honey." MELPOMENE: Latin form of Greek Melpomenê, meaning "choir." In mythology, this is the name of the muse of tragedy. MERCIA: Latin form of English Mercy, meaning "mercy." MINERVA: Roman name, possibly derived from Latin mens, meaning "intellect." In mythology, this is the name of a goddess of wisdom and war. Equated with Greek Athene. MINTHA: Latin form of Greek Minthe, meaning "mint." In mythology, this is the name of a water nymph who was turned into a mint plant. MIRABELLA: Latin name derived from the word mirabilis, meaning "wonderful." MNEME: Latin form of Greek Mnêmê, meaning "memory." In mythology, this is the name of one of the three original Muses. MNEMOSYNE: Latin form of Greek Mnêmosynê, meaning "memory." In mythology, this is the name of the personification of memory, a Titaness and daughter of Gaia and Uranus. MODESTA: Feminine form of Roman Latin Modestus, meaning "moderate, sober." MONICA: Latin name, possibly derived from the Latin word monere, meaning "advise, counsel."