Editing Aradia (section)

{{Short description|Character in the Gospel of the Witches}}
{{about||the ''[[Homestuck]]'' character|Aradia Megido}}
'''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 [[paganism|pagan]] [[witchcraft|witches]] in [[Tuscany]], a claim that has subsequently been disputed by other folklorists and historians.<ref>[[#Hut99|Hutton 1999]]. p. 148.</ref> 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 folklorist [[Sabina Magliocco]] has theorised that prior to being used in Leland's ''Gospel'', Aradia was originally a supernatural figure in [[Italian folklore]], who was later merged with other folkloric figures such as ''sa Rejusta'' of [[Sardinia]].<ref>Magliocco, Sabina (2009). 'Aradia in Sardinia: The Archaeology of a Folk Character' in ''Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon''. Hidden Publishing. Page 40 to 60.</ref>

Since the publication of Leland's ''Gospel'', Aradia has become "arguably one of the central figures of the modern pagan witchcraft revival" and as such has featured in various forms of [[Modern Paganism|Neopaganism]], including [[Wicca]] and [[Stregheria]], as an actual deity.<ref>Magliocco, Sabina (2009). 'Aradia in Sardinia: The Archaeology of a Folk Character' in ''Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon''. Hidden Publishing. Page 42.</ref>  
[[Raven Grimassi]], founder of the Wiccan-inspired tradition of Stregheria, claims that Aradia was a historical figure named ''Aradia di Toscana'', who led a group of "Diana-worshipping witches" in 14th-century Tuscany.<ref>[[#Gri96|Grimassi 1996]].</ref>