an astonish even the learned by their legends of Latin gods,mingled with lore which may be found in CATO or THEOCRITUS. With one ofthese I became intimately acquainted in 1886, and have ever since employedher specially to collect among her sisters of the hidden spell in manyplaces all the traditions of the olden time known to them. It is true that I have drawn from other sources, but this woman by long practice hasperfectly learned what few understand, or just what I want, and how toextract it from those of her kind. Among other strange relics, she succeeded, after many years, in obtaining the following "Gospel", which I have in her handwriting.A full account of its nature with many details will be found in anAppendix. I do not know definitely whether my informant derived a partof these traditions from written sources or oral narration, but believe it was chiefly the latter. However, there are a few wizards who copy orpreserve documents relative to their art. I have not seen my collectorsince the "Gospel" was sent to me. I hope at some future time to bebetter informed. For brief explanation I may say the witchcraft is known to its votaries as la vecchia religione, or the old religion, of which DIANA is the Goddess, her daughter Aradia (or Herodius) the female Messiah, and that this little work sets forth how the latter was born, came down to earth, established witches and witchcraft, and then returned to heaven.With it are given the ceremonies and invocations or incantations to beaddressed to Diana and Aradia, the exorcism of Cain, and the spells of the holy-stone, rue, and verbena, constituting, as the text declares, the regular church-service, so to speak, which is to be chanted orpronounced at the witch meetings.There are also included the very curious incantations or benedictionsof the honey, meal, and salt, or cakes of the witch-supper, which iscuriously classical, and evidently a relic of the Roman Mysteries. The...
