The Christianization of Aradia: The Origins of Lucifer – Prince of Darkness
There is no denying that ever since its date of publication, there has been controversy surrounding Aradia, Gospel of the Witches (1899). George Godfrey Leland, the “author” of Aradia had a reputation for embellishing some of his previously published works. Leland’s source for the manuscript, Maddalena (a hereditary witch from northern Italy), never publicly identified herself. Scholars argued a lack of historical record documenting the 13th century Witch (Wiccan) Aradia, who initiated a revolt against the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages (view here). However what may be one of the most controversial topics regarding Leland’s version of Aradia, is referred to what scholars termed as “Christianization” of the Aradia text.
There is no question both the Catholic Church and Christianity long ago “demonized” the pagan religions associating pagan practices with “sin” and the “devil.” In truth, some pagan cultures did, and still do, practice celebrations of life that include feasting, dancing and sometimes even nudity and sex. Yet not all pagan practices follow the same traditions and even if nudity and sex were to be included, in their beliefs there would be nothing sinful about it. In Leland’s Aradia there does exist the perceived “negative” stereotype of Witches gathering to feast, dance around bonfires in the nude and participate in orgies. Whether or not the negative twist of a Witches’ Sabbat was the result of Christian bias or Leland’s embellishment is not clear. However regardless of the reasons for Leland’s association of Aradia with such a specific pagan practice, it was in fact the Catholic Church which first began to create such stereotypes during the Late Middle Ages (13th Century). It was during this time period that Papal laws regarding “witchcraft” were curiously rewritten and for the first time in Catholic history, the Pope commissioned his bishops and priests to preach the “evils’ of the Goddess Diana and Her followers.
According to the Catholic Church, Diana was in actuality the cursed Herodias, and her daughters were nothing less than evil idolaters, committing murder and performing cannibalistic rituals. In the Bible’s New Testament, Herodias had been responsible for the execution of John the Baptist. John the Baptist had condemned Herodias’ marriage to her brother, King Herod. In an angered range, Herodias conspired with her daughter in a plot to murder the herald of the Christian Messiah, Jesus Christ. As punishment for her evil deeds, “God” cursed Herodias to forever walk the earth plane during the darkness of night trapped in her shade form. In the Aradia, Leland’s annotations suggest that the Creatress’s (Goddess Diana) etymology originated from Herodias, the evil Judean Queen adding to the argument of Christianization.
The negative stereotyping of Witches and the corrosive association between Diana and Herodias (despite any biblical basis) clearly provides evidence for the Christianization of the Wiccan Gospel. However, aside all arguments for the act of Christianization; there is little grander proof than one example so powerful, the very subject incites terror and taboo – He is Lucifer, Prince of Darkness.
Centuries before the coming of Christianity, Lucifer existed as a Roman God, and like all gods, He was personified in the heavens by a celestial body. Lucifer was associated with the planet Venus, but more specifically, the planet Venus as it rose in the pre-dawn hours during December and the Winter Solstice. During such a season, Venus is very close to the earth, making it the brightest shining “star” in the heavens. It is also the rise of this “morning star” that heralds the end of winter and longer nights and signals the rebirth of the sun and longer days.
The “Roman Lucifer” was portrayed as a “winged” male-child pouring water upon the land. The image was adopted to symbolize the birth of the sun following the winter solstice. It is Lucifer’s attribute of “Light Bringer” that gave rise to His name. Furthermore, it was the dominance of the morning star in the blackness of night that prompted the epithet “Prince of Darkness.”
Like much of the Roman pantheon, Lucifer’s origin mythology was adopted from the Greek pantheon. Hence, in the Greek pantheon, the young male God associated with the morning star is named Phosphorus, however more commonly known as Eosphorus. The God Phosphorus was one of five brothers that were personified by the Astra Planeta (Wandering Stars). These celestial bodies (excluding the moon and sun) are the five planets that can be seen with the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The five planets move swiftly across the backdrop of the constellations, placing them in a position of importance amongst the stars. This prominence is the key reason why these planets are always personified as powerful deities within pantheons.
As the personification of the morning star, Eosphorus held a position of importance within the Greek pantheon and culture. Different accounts are given regarding Eosphorus’ paternity; some cite the Titan God Atlas, others the Greek God Aatraues. Yet all accounts do agree on His maternity: He was the son of the Titan Goddess of Dawn, Eos. According to Greek mythology, the Titans were the second generation of Gods who ruled the earth and eventually overthrown by the third generation of Gods, the Olympions. The Titans, however, were much more closely associated with physical phenomena. Eos was not only the Goddess of Dawn, She “was” the dawn. Likewise, Her Son was not only personified by the morning star, He “was” the Morning Star – the physical phenomenon. Eosphorus’ association with the winter solstice meant His followers would have gathered and celebrated His appearance in the sky. However unlike the young male-child depicted by the Romans; the Greek, Eosphorus is seen as an appealing, handsome winged-male descending to earth with the torch of enlightenment clutched in hand.
Tragically, very few mythologies of Lucifer and Eosphorus seem to have survived history and no temple of worship dedicated to either one has ever been unearthed. This in itself is a highly curious observation since in many pre-Christian cultures the winter solstice star signifies the beginning of celebrations honoring the rebirth of the “Son.” So then why would Lucifer have been any different? Could a deliberate eradication of such mythologies have existed in an aim to suppress the worship of a dominant God within Roman pagan culture?
Further indication that Lucifer was esteemed by Roman pagans is simply evident by the fact His name was inserted into the Christian Bible. The Christian Bible is broken into two parts: the New Testament, which is the account of Jesus and what happened thereafter; and the Old Testament, which is a collection of sacred Jewish texts known as the Torah. In the Torah, the “fallen morning star” is a reference to a powerful Babalonian king. Whether deliberate or the result of mistranslation, the 10th Century marks the time when the Christian Bible changed and “Lucifer” was incorporated becoming synonymous with Satan, the adversary of Christian mythology.
The Christianization of Lucifer continued and the image of the innocent child or handsomely, radiant hero; was replaced by the “demonized” version of the Greek God Pan (a horned, half-man half-goat figure). This characterization has sadly become ingrained throughout societies of the modern world and remains the image that most associate with Lucifer.
However for Italians of the 14th Century, especially those who practiced the Old Ways, the image of Lucifer would have been entirely different. For an Italian Witch, Lucifer would have remained a luminescent hero. He would have been a beacon of hope, illuminating humanity’s path through the darkness. He would have been seen as a blessing unto man, the herald of the dawn, the bringer of enlightenment. In pagan practice, an individual is said to be “child of ‘God’” when an individual lives their lives according to the principles, characteristics, and traits of a specific “God.” The same principles remains true for Aradia. As the Daughter of Diana, Aradia would have mastered the wisdom of medicine and magick. As the Daughter of Lucifer, Aradia would have been seen as a hero, as a leader of people, and as an adversary of the Church. By her parentage, Aradia was seen as a blessing for the people, a beacon of hope, the herald of a new era- Aradia, was in fact a Bringer of Enlightenment, for she was the Daughter of the Prince of Darkness.
– The Goddess Kingdom© 2023
