A magical organization or magical order is an organization or secret society created for the practice of initiation into ceremonial or other forms of occult magic or to further the knowledge of magic among its members. Magical organizations can include Hermetic orders, esoteric societies, arcane colleges, and other groups which may use different terminology and similar though diverse practices.
Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new esoteric order. Rosicrucianism is symbolized by the Rose Cross or Rosy Cross. There have been several Rosicrucian organizations since the initial movement was founded, including the Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (1750s–1790s), the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (1865–present), and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1887–1903).
Aradia is one of the principal figures in the American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland's 1899 work Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, a claim that has subsequently been disputed by other folklorists and historians. In Leland's Gospel, Aradia is portrayed as a messiah who was sent to Earth in order to teach the oppressed peasants how to perform witchcraft to use against the Roman Catholic Church and the upper classes.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to spirituality:
Stregheria is a neo-pagan tradition similar to Wicca, with Italian and Italian American origins. While most practitioners consider Stregheria to be a distinct tradition from Wicca, some academics consider it to be a form of Wicca or an offshoot. Both have similar beliefs and practices. For example, Stregheria honors a pantheon centered on a Moon Goddess and a Horned God, similar to Wiccan views of divinity.
Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his materialistic state of being, deprived of his own, divine source, and the process of his eventual return, called 'Reintegration'.
A magic circle is a circle of space marked out by practitioners of some branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be marked physically, drawn in a material like salt, flour, or chalk, or merely visualised.
Celtic Wicca is a modern form of Wicca that incorporates some elements of Celtic mythology. It employs the same basic theology, rituals and beliefs as most other forms of Wicca. Celtic Wiccans use the names of Celtic deities, mythological figures, and seasonal festivals within a Wiccan ritual structure and belief system, rather than a traditional or historically Celtic one.
The cimaruta is an Italian folk amulet or talisman, traditionally worn around the neck or hung above an infant's bed to ward off the evil eye. Commonly made of silver, the amulet itself consists of several small apotropaic charms, with each individual piece attached to what is supposed to represent a branch of rue—the flowering medicinal herb for which the whole talisman is named, "cimaruta" being a Neapolitan form of cima di ruta: Italian for "sprig of rue".
Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches is a book composed by the American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland that was published in 1899. It contains what he believed was the religious text of a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, Italy, that documented their beliefs and rituals. Historians and folklorists have disputed the existence of such a group. During the 20th century, the book was influential in the development of the contemporary Pagan religion of Wicca.
Gary Charles Erbe, known as Raven Grimassi, was an American author of over 20 books, including topics on Wicca, Stregheria, witchcraft and neo-paganism. He popularized Stregheria, the religious practice of witchcraft with roots in Italy. Grimassi presented this material in the form of neo-paganism through his books. He had been a practitioner of witchcraft for over 45 years and was the co-director of the Ash, Birch and Willow tradition. He died of pancreatic cancer on March 10, 2019.
Giuliano M. Kremmerz (1861–1930), born Ciro Formisano, was an Italian alchemist working within the tradition of hermeticism. In 1896, Kremmerz founded the Confraternita Terapeutica e Magica di Myriam.
A watchtower or guardian in ceremonial magical tradition is a tutelary spirit of one of the four cardinal points or quarters. In many magical traditions, they are understood to be Enochian angels or the Archangels Uriel, Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel. They are also variously associated in other traditions with each of the four classical elements or stars. Originating with the Enochian tradition of John Dee, a version of it was popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which became hugely influential in modern Western Esotericism, including Wicca. The watchtowers are invoked during the ritual of casting a magic circle.
Aidan A. Kelly is an American academic, poet and influential figure in the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Having developed his own branch of the faith, the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn, during the 1960s, he was also initiated into other traditions, including Gardnerianism and Feri, in subsequent decades. Alongside this, he was also an important figure in the creation of the Covenant of the Goddess, an organisation designed to protect the civil rights of members of the Wiccan community in the United States. He has also published academic work studying the early development of Gardnerian Wiccan liturgy, primarily through his controversial 1991 book Crafting the Art of Magic.
Wiccan views of divinity are generally theistic, and revolve around a Goddess and a Horned God, thereby being generally dualistic. In traditional Wicca, as expressed in the writings of Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente, the emphasis is on the theme of divine gender polarity, and the God and Goddess are regarded as equal and opposite divine cosmic forces. In some newer forms of Wicca, such as feminist or Dianic Wicca, the Goddess is given primacy or even exclusivity. In some forms of traditional witchcraft that share a similar duotheistic theology, the Horned God is given precedence over the Goddess.
Edward Fitch was an American occult author and a High Priest of the Gardnerian Wicca tradition, and was a leading figure in the rise of contemporary Wicca and Neo-Paganism in America. He previously lived in Austin, Texas.
Eko Eko Azarak is the opening phrase from a Wiccan chant. It is also known as the "Witch's chant", the "Witch's rune", or the "Eko Eko chant". The following form was used by Gerald Gardner, considered as the founder of Wicca as an organized, contemporary religion.
Neopagan witchcraft, sometimes referred to as The Craft, is an umbrella term for some neo-pagan traditions that include the practice of magic. These traditions began in the mid-20th century, and many were influenced by the witch-cult hypothesis; a now-rejected theory that persecuted witches in Europe had actually been followers of a surviving pagan religion. The largest and most influential of these movements was Wicca. Some other groups and movements describe themselves as "Traditional Witchcraft" to distinguish themselves from Wicca.
Neopaganism in Italy reportedly counted about 3,200 adherents in 2020, according to data from CESNUR, divided among numerous neopagan, neodruidic, neoshamanic, or neo-witchcraft religions, presenting themselves as a varied set of cults that claim to descend from or be inspired by the pagan religions of classical or earlier eras
Giustiniano Lebano, alias Sairitis Hus,, also known as the "wizard of Torre Annunziata", was an Italian lawyer, patriot, esoterist, alchemist, Freemason, Martinist, Hermeticist, philanthropist, and historian.
