The Aradia or The Gospel of the Witches Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Charm of the Stones Consecrated to Diana

To find a stone with a hole in it is a special sign of the favor of Diana. He who does so shall take it in his hand and repeat the following, having observed the ceremony as enjoined -

Invocation to the Holy-Stone

I have found A holy-stone upon the ground. O Fate! I thank thee for the happy find. Also the spirit who upon this road Hath given it to me; And may it prove to be for my true good And my good fortune!

I rise in the morning by the earliest dawn, And I go forth to walk through (pleasant) vales, All in the mountains or the meadows fair, Seeking for luck while onward still I roam, Seeking for rue and vervain scented sweet, Because they bring good fortune unto all. I keep them safely guarded in my bosom, That none may know it - 'tis a secret thing, And sacred too, and thus I speak the spell: "O vervain! ever be a benefit, And may thy blessing be upon the witch Or on the fairy who did give thee to me!"

It was Diana who did come to me, All in the night in a dream, and said to me: "If thou would'st keep all evil folk afar, Then ever keep the vervain and the rue Safely beside thee!"

Great Diana! thou Who art the queen of heaven and of earth, And of the infernal lands - yea, thou who art Protectress of all men unfortunate, Of thieves and murderers, and of women too Who lead an evil life, and yet hast known That their nature was not evil, thou, Diana Hast still conferred on them some joy in life.

Or I may truly at another time So conjure thee that thou shalt have no peace Or happiness, for thou shalt ever be In suffering until thou greatest that Which I require in strictest faith from thee!

[Here we have again the threatening the deity, just as in Eskimo or other Shamanism, which represents the rudest primitive form of conjuring, the spirits are menaced. A trace of this is to be found among rude Roman Catholics. Thus when St. Bruno, some years ago, at a town in the Romagna, did not listen to the prayers of his devotees for rain, they stuck his image in the mud of the river, head downwards. A rain speedily followed, and the saint was restored in honor to his place in the church..]

The Spell or Conjuration of the Round Stone

The finding of a round stone, be it great or small, is a good sign, but it should never be given away, because the receiver will then get the good luck, and some disaster befall the giver. On finding a round stone, raise the eyes to heaven, and throw the stone up three times (catching it every time), and say -

Spirit of good omen, Who art come to aid me, Believe I had great need of thee. Spirit of the Red Goblin, Since thou hast come to aid me in my need, I pray of thee do not abandon me; I beg of thee to enter now this stone, That in my pocket I may carry thee, And so when anything is needed by me, I can call unto thee: be what it may, Do not abandon me by night or day.

Should I lend money unto any man Who will not pay when due, I pray of thee, Thou the Red Goblin, make him pay his debt! And if he will not and is obstinate, Go at him with thy cry of "Brie - brie!" And if he sleeps, awake him with a twitch, And pull the covering off and frighten him! And follow him about where'er he goes.

So teach him with thy ceaseless "Brie - brie!" That he who obligation e'er forgets Shall be in trouble till he pays his debts. And so my debtor on the following day Shall either bring the money which he owes, Or send it promptly: so I pray of thee, O my Red Goblin, come unto my aid! Or should I quarrel with her whom I love, Then, spirit of good luck, I pray thee go To her while sleeping - pull her by the hair, And bear her through the night unto my bed! And in the morning, when all spirits go To their repose, do thou, ere thou return'st Into thy stone, carry her home again, And leave her there asleep. Therefore, O Sprite! I beg thee in this pebble make thy home! Obey in every way all I command. So in my pocket thou shalt ever be, And thou and I will ne'er part company!

This page was last updated 4/28/2005