A Modern Guide to Charles Godfrey Leland’s Gospel of the Witches

A Revelatory New Approach to the Influential Witchcraft Classic

First published in 1899, Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches is Charles Godfrey Leland’s fascinating record of folk magic, said to have been revealed to him by hereditary witches of Italy’s Romagna and Tuscany regions. Celebrating the goddess Diana and her daughter Aradia, this seminal work presents a rich and complete methodology of practice for those who are willing to engage its unique wisdom.

Aradia presents Leland’s original English manuscript with new interpretations and translations, including forty lines never before rendered in English. Craig Spencer provides in-depth commentary that reveals the rich historical context of this profound work and provides revelatory analysis that makes the true heart of the original come alive. You will also discover hands-on instructions for a unique magical practice based on Leland’s remarkable glimpse into nineteenth-century craft lore. This magical guide is designed to help you expand and enhance your own modern-day journey through the enchanted realms of witchcraft.

Praise

“An important document in the history of contemporary Pagan Witchcraft. Craig Spencer’s innovative interpretation builds on the original text to find in it a rich source of inspiration for personal philosophy and practice.”
—Dr. Vivianne Crowley, author of Wicca: The Old Religion in the Modern World

“Craig Spencer offers a fresh translation and re-exploration of perhaps the most important foundation text of the modern witchcraft revival, and from it draws inspiration for the creation of a workable new system of devotional and magical Craft.”
—Gemma Gary, author of Traditional Witchcraft

“Craig Spencer’s new translation is a valuable contribution to the expanding canon delving into Leland’s profoundly influential Aradia, Gospel of the Witches, with 40 newly translated lines, a sincere argument that Leland’s errors and indulgences confirm the fundamental legitimacy of the text, and evidence of the survival of the worsh17.99ip of Diana amongst the Witches of ‘Italy.’ More remains to be discovered but ultimately the deepest and most profound mysteries can only be known through experience. Spencer focuses on how practitioners can work with Aradia, and offers a heartfelt collection of personal practices so the reader will discover that it is Diana’s full moon illuminating the wisdom within every seeker’s heart, where the mystery of Aradia resides.”
—Phyllis Curott, internationally best-selling author, attorney, activist, teacher, founder of the Tempio di Ara, and creator of The Witches’ Wisdom Tarot