The Aradia or The Gospel of the Witches The Children of Diana

The Children of Diana, or How the Fairies Were Born

All things were made by Diana, the great spirits of the stars, men in their time and place, the giants which were of old, and the dwarfs who dwell in the rocks, and once a month worship her with cakes. There was once a young man who was poor, without parents, yet he was good. One night he sat in a lonely place, yet it was very beautiful, and there he saw a thousand little fairies, shining white, dancing in the light of the full moon. "Gladly would I be like you, O fairies!" said the youth, "free from care, needing no food. But what are ye?" "We are moon rays, the children of Diana," replied one - We are children of the Moon. We are born of shining light; When the Moon shoots forth a ray, Then it takes a fairy's form. "And thou art one of us because thou were born when the Moon, our mother Diana, was full; yes, our brother, kin to us, belonging to our band. "And if thou art hungry and poor...and wilt have money in thy pocket, then think upon the Moon, on Diana, unto whom thou were born; then repeat these words - "'Moon, Moon, beautiful Moon! Fairer far than any star; Moon, O Moon, if it may be, Bring good fortune unto me!' "And then, if thou has money in thy pocket, thou wilt have it doubled. "For the children who are born in a full moon are sons or daughters of the Moon, especially when they are born of a Sunday when there is a high tide. "Full moon, high sea, Great man shalt thou be!" Then the young man, who had only a paolo in his purse, touched it, saying - "Moon, Moon, beautiful Moon, Ever be my lovely Moon!" And so the young man, wishing to make money, bought and sold and made money, which he doubled every month. But it came to pass that after a time, during one month he could sell nothing, so made nothing. So by night he said to the Moon - "Moon, O Moon, whom I by far Love beyond another star, Tell me why it was ordained That I this month have nothing gained?" Then there appeared to him a little shining elf, who said - "Money will not come to thee, Nor any help or aid can'st see, Unless you work industriously." Then he added - "Money I ne'er give, 'tis clear, Only help to thee, my dear!" Then the youth understood that the Moon, like God and Fortune, does the most for those who do the most for themselves. To be born in a full moon means to have an enlightened mind, and a high tide signifies an exalted intellect and full of thought. It is not enough to have a fine boat of Fortune. And it is said - "Fortune gives and Fortune takes, And to man a fortune makes, Sometimes to those who labor shirk, But oftener to those who work."

Diana, Queen of the Serpents, Giver of the Gift of Languages

In a long a strange legend of Melambo, a magian and great physician of divine birth, there is an invocation to Diana which has a proper place in this work. The incident in which it occurs is as follows -

One day Melambo asked his mother how it was that while it had been promised that he should know the language of all living thins, it had not yet come to pass. And his mother replied, "Patience, my son,for it is by waiting and watching ourselves that we learn how to be taught. And thou hast within thee the teachers who can impart the most, if thou wilt seek to hear them; yes, the professors who can teach thee more in a few minutes than others learn in a life." It befell that one evening Melambo, thinking on this while playing with a nest of young serpents which his servant had found in a hollow oak, said, "I would that I could talk with you. Well I know that ye have a language, as graceful as your movement, as brilliant as your color." Then he fell asleep, and the young serpents twined in his hair and began to lick his lips and eyes, while their mother sang - Diana! Diana! Diana! Queen of all enchantresses And of the dark night And of all nature, Of the stars and of the moon, And of all fate or fortune! Thou who rulest the tide, Who shinest by night on the sea, Casting light upon the waters; Thou who art mistress of the ocean In thy boat made like a crescent, Crescent moon bark brightly gleaming, Ever smiling high in heaven, Sailing too on earth, reflected In the ocean, on its water; We implore thee give this sleeper, Give unto this good Melambo The great gift of understanding What all creatures say while talking! creatures say while talking!

This legend contains much that is very curious; among other things an invocation to the firefly, one to Mefitia, the goddess of malaria, and a long poetic prophecy relative to the hero. It is evidently full of old Latin mythological lore of a very marked character. The whole of it may be found in a forthcoming work by the writer of this book, entitled "The Unpublished Legends of Virgil."

Diana as Giving Beauty and Restoring Strength

Diana hath the power to do all things, to give glory to the lowly, wealth to the poor, joy to the afflicted, beauty to the ugly. Be not in grief, if you are her follower; though you be in prison and in darkness, she will bring light - many there are whom she sinks that they may rise the higher. There was of old in Monteroni a young man so ugly that when a stranger was passing through the town he was shown this Gianni, as one of the sights of the place. Yet, hideous as he was, because he was rich, though of no family, he had confidence, and hoped boldly to win and wed some beautiful young lady of rank. Now there came to dwell in Monteroni a wonderfully beautiful blonde young lady of culture and condition, to whom Gianni, with his usual impudence, boldly made love, getting, as was also usual, a round No for
his reply. But this time, being more than usually fascinated in good truth, for there were influences at work he knew not of, he became as one possessed or mad with passion, so that he hung about the lady's house by night and day, seeking indeed an opportunity to rush in and seize her, or by some desperate trick to master and bear her away. But here his plans were defeated, because the lady had ever by her a great cat which seemed to be of more than human intelligence, and, whenever Gianni approached her or her home, it always espied him and gave the alarm with a terrible noise. And there was indeed something so unearthly in its appearance, and something so awful in its great green eyes which shone like torches, that the boldest man might have been appalled by them. But one evening Gianni reflected that it was foolish to be afraid of a mere cat, which need only scare a boy, and so he boldly ventured on an attack. So going forth, he took a ladder, which he carried and placed against the lady's window. But while he stood at the foot, he found by him an old woman, who earnestly began to beg him not to persevere in his intention. "For thou knowest well, Gianni," she said, "that the lady will have none of thee; thou art a terror to her. Do but go home and look in the glass, and it will seem to thee that thou art looking on a mortal sin in human form." Then Gianni in a roaring rage cried, "I will have my way and my will, thou old wife of the devil, if I must kill thee and the girl too!" Saying which, he rushed up the ladder; but before he had opened or could enter the window, and was at the top, he found himself as it were turned to wood or stone, unable to move. Then he was overwhelmed with shame, and said, "Ere long the whole town will be here to witness my defeat. However, I will make one last appeal." So he cried, "Oh, vecchia! thou who didst mean me more kindly than I knew, pardon me, I beg thee, and rescue me from this trouble! And if, as I well ween, thou art a witch, and if I, by becoming a wizard, may be freed from my trials and troubles, then I pray thee teach me how it may be done, so that I may win the young lady, since I now see that she is of thy kind, and that I must be of it to be worthy of her." Then Gianni saw the old woman sweep like a flash of light from a lantern up from the ground, and, touching him, bore him away from the ladder, when lo! the light was a cat, who had been anon the witch, and she said, "Thou wilt soon set forth on a long journey, and in thy way wilt find a wretched worn out horse, when thou must say - 'Fairy Diana! Fairy Diana! Fairy Diana! I conjure thee to do some little good To this poor beast.' Then thou wilt find A great goat A true he-goat And thou shalt say, 'Good evening, fair goat! And he will reply, 'Good evening, fair sir! I am so weary That I can go no farther' And thou shalt reply as usual, 'Fairy Diana, I conjure thee To give to this goat relief and peace!' "Then will we enter in a great hall where thou wilt see many beautiful ladies who will try to fascinate thee; but let thy answer ever be, 'She whom I love is her of Monteroni.' "And now Gianni, to horse; mount and away!" So he mounted the cat, which flew as quick as thought, and found the mare, and having pronounced over it the incantation, it became a woman and said - In the name of the Fairy Diana! Mayest thou hereby become A beautiful young man, Red and white in hue, Like to milk and blood! After this he found the goat and conjured it in like manner, and it replied - In the name of the Fairy Diana! Be thou attired more richly than a prince! So he passed to the hall, where he was wooed by beautiful ladies, but his answer to them all was that his love was at Monterone. Then he saw or knew no more, but on awakening found himself in Monterone, and so changed to a handsome youth that no one knew him. So he married his beautiful lady, and all lived the hidden life of witches and wizards from that day, and are now in fairy land.

This page was last updated 4/28/2005