These days, you can't swing a dead cat without smacking into someone who claims
to be a Witch, or at least a Pagan. They'll busy themselves telling you
all sorts of stories of rituals at midnight, or this 'authentic' Book of
Shadows they obtained from Barns and Noble. These people are confused.
Most people who follow a Pagan path, follow one whose roots are based in
Celtic or British legends. The Celts have a very rich tradition, and
their religion spread all through northern and western Europe. Druidism
and Wicca as it is commonly known to have their roots in this tradition.
But when one uses the term "Wicca", it should not be used to apply to all
of Pagan-kind. For while, for the most part, all Wiccans are Witches, not
all Witches are Wiccan.
Stregheria is a good example. Stregheria, or La Vecchia Religione, the Old Religion, is Italian Witchcraft. The Tradition as it is known today, began in the mid-14th Century with the teachings of Aradia, the Holy Strega. This was based upon a much earlier system of beliefs, dating back to the pre-Etruscian Italians. It is now, as it was then, a worship of the Source of All Things, through the personification of the Goddess and God.
There are many things that are similar between Stregheria and Wicca. Both use Nature in their teachings, though in Stregheria, Nature is the Great Teacher. The rituals are more structured and require more concentration and "digging" than Wicca. There is a deep history based upon Aradia's Teachings, and there is a prophecy given to us in the Mythos, which speaks of the coming Age of Daughter, when Reason will rule. The Stregan view of the Afterlife is different as well. We return to the Realm of Luna as the moon waxes, and return to Earth as She wanes. When we are ready, we pass through the Sun to be made into our new bodies for our return to the Stars.
We have the Grigori, who are the Watchers, and Guardians over our rites. And the Grimas, who keep the traditions pure and continuing. The Lare are the spirits of our ancestors, whom we worship and call upon for aid. Family and tradition play a major role in the lives of the Strega, and this is what gives this Tradition its strength and lasting power.
