Born a peasant girl from Tuscany, Italy, Aradia has gained her powerful reputation as the Queen of Witches with a profound connection to nature. There have been many stories passed down through generations by oral traditions, cementing her origin story as a divine goddess. It is due to this revelation of divine power that surged Aradia to pursue witchcraft in its extensive entirety. After some time, she began to gain the attention of others as her powers became widespread as an enchanting topic of conversation. It was Margaret Murray’s discovery of Aradia, though, that changed the course of supernatural black art as we know it today. Aradia rose to levels of new and momentous fame in England with the publishing of Margaret’s “The Witch Cult in Western Europe” in 1921. In this book, Margaret claims that Aradia was an incarnation of Diana, the Roman goddess of wild animals and the hunt. More specifically, Margaret believes that Aradia was the daughter of Diana and Lucifer who had been sent down into the world on the eve of the Christian Era to enlighten others of Diana’s distinction as goddess of the underworld.

Aradia, a trailblazer of her time, became a Messiah to the slaves, peasants, and those who were persecuted by feudal lords and the Catholic Church alike. Aradia utilized her role as a celestial teacher to illuminate witchcraft as a tool of liberation, offering enchantments to assist the slaves and paupers of society to rid themselves of the “race of oppressors.” Aradia is notable for promising “ye shall all be freed from slavery,/ And so ye shall be free in everything.” Aradia was a monumental figure in the community of dark magic, and even more impressively, she was able to convey her knowledge of the arts onto her impressionable students. It is evident that Aradia became a significant role model for her students, as they would eventually become witches and proud scholars of sorcery.

Aradia’s story of infamy has inspired many famous witches in history, including Gerald Gardner. Gardner, the pioneer of the modern witchcraft revival movement, wrote about her as well as founded England’s Wiccan movement. Based on the witchcraft taught by Aradia, Gardner’s belief of the arts expanded with intense ferocity. The “Ritual of Diana, Goddess of Witches” is one of the famous witchcraft rites attributed to Arabia; published in 1916 by a man named Charles Leland, the rite describes how witches appealed to and admired her while simultaneously looking for love and vigor. Charles’ work greatly influenced Margaret Murray and her witch-cult hypothesis: “people, especially women, who were persecuted for being witches were, in reality, practicing an ancient, naturalistic religion that was widespread before Christianity came to Europe” (“Forged into the Fringe: Margaret Murray’s Witch-Cult Hypothesis”).

“The Charge of the Goddess”, which establishes the Wiccan tradition of ritual nudity, was made apparent by Aradia’s influences. Aradia’s role in witchcraft is one that holds a profound legacy; through her example, she has significantly contributed to an intense surge in the research of witchcraft as a whole. Aradia is reputably worshiped by modern Pagans and Wiccans as the Queen of the Witches, as well as followers of the divine.