[from http://nihil.interware.it/arte.htm (reformatted by tn)]


                STREGONERIA: THE WAY OF THE ITALIAN SORCERER
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    A tradition is real when it is not born out of books, but from the
    interaction of a folk with the World of the Spirits. The Stregoneria, as
    it is practiced in the north of Italy, is a very sincretic and secret
    tradition. No book has ever been written about it, and this could never
    happen since who is initiated in it has to swear not to reveal the ritual
    practices to anyone. I have decided to write a bit about it since I
    received a lot of letters from people who confound it with the
    "stregheria" and consider it similar to that mix of Wicca and material
    from C.Leland's book "The Gospel of the Witches". 

    The Stregoneria has been practiced in all levels of society, and 
    (until now) it has been strictly oral lore. A lot of elements deriving 
    from the magical practices of the Roman and Celtic inhabitants of 
    north Italy are easy to spot, though there are some ancient books on 
    magic (available in Italian only) which also have had a major 
    influence in the last three or four centuries. 

    In the Stregoneria (also called "The ancient Art" or "the Old 
    Tradition") there is a concept of an all-encompassing Divinity 
    (All-Consciousness) which is not concerned with humans, though It is 
    the all-pervading source of all consciousness and matter. Usually this 
    is called Baphomet. Its emanations, which are Entities whose origin 
    is divine, interact with humanity and the forces of nature. Often 
    they ARE the forces of nature, or better said, their primary 
    manifestation is in the powers of nature. If a Sorcerer is skilled, 
    communication is possible with these Entities, through the Magical 
    Mirror, in Dreams, or through a Medium. It is not wrong to understand 
    these Entities as the product of the interaction of generations of 
    priests-sorcerers with the original Divine Emanations of the Divinity,
    they ARE this original emanation integrated with the eggregore formed 
    by centuries of worship and magic. 


    Here are some names and attributes of these Entities: 

    La Dea Madre: Mother-Goddess, Darkness Herself, sometimes just 
	referred as "la Dea". She is simbolized by the Cauldron. 

    Lucifero: The Son of the Goddess, Lord of the Inner Light, 
	Spirit of the Cross-roads, God of Magic, Ruler of the 
	Powers of Air, the Mercury of the Alchemists, the Morning 
	Star. Bisexual interface between Gods and humans.  
	Sometimes called the Devil, Lord of this World. 

    La Dea della Luna: Mother of the Moon, Lady of all Witchcraft, 
	Mistress of the Stars. Bisexual.  

    Nostra Signora delle Acque: Our Lady of Waters, Queen of Love. 
	Lady of the Misteries of Regeneration. 

    La Santa Morte: Death, Ruler of the Cemeteries and of Silence. 
	Asexual, envisioneed as a veiled skeleton holding a scythe. 

    Il Bicorne: The Horned God. Lord of the Forests and of all Animals. 
	Master of the Hunt. Represents warriorship and virility. From 
	Him originate all survival skills. 


    The Demons of the Underworld. Ancient Entities born of Fire, 
    sometimes identified with primeval magical eggregores. The Rulers of 
    the Four Directions, Lords of the Powers of the Elements. Their 
    names are: 
			    Auros : the East 
			    Ignis : the South 
			    Lagos : the West 
			    Ursus : the North (also Urius, or Tellus) 

    The Spirits of the Elements themselves are sometimes called with the 
    customary names of: Salamanders, Undines, Gnomes and Sylphs. 
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     (c) The Lodge of UR 1996

EOF