September 23: The Goddess Ceres — Grain and Harvest Festa (Autumnal Equinox)—Theresa C. Dintino’s Abruzzo-Americana Wheel of the Year

by Theresa | Sep 18, 2022 | Goddess, Strega and Italian-Americana

A celebration of grain, all things cereal and The Harvest.   In the Northern Hemisphere at Autumn Equinox, we begin the movement into darkness. Equinoxes are days of equal light and dark. After today, days will get shorter as we descend into the dark time, beginning...

Numina: The Spiritual Forces at Work in Italian Witchcraft

by Theresa | Sep 4, 2022 | Strega and Italian-Americana

Numen/numina: Vaguely referred to as the life force in plants in many texts on Italian witchcraft. Maddeningly little information available on it. After all these years, I decided it was time to tackle this one to the ground.  From dictionary.com :...

Terminus: The Roman Boundary or Membrane God

by Theresa | Aug 21, 2022 | More on My Books, Recent Posts, Strega and Italian-Americana

“A boundary-mark (terminus) was no trifling matter to Roman farmers, whose whole wealth consisted in the produce of their land”(Rose 15).  Whoever plowed a boundary mark was in danger. In ancient, pre-Roman belief we find the god “Terminus.” Terminus is both the god...

August 2: Festival of Ops: Celebrating the Goddess of Abundance. Praise Her Name. — Theresa C. Dintino’s Abruzzo-Americana Wheel of the Year

by Theresa | Jul 31, 2022 | Goddess, Strega and Italian-Americana

The Goddess Ops has her roots in pre-Roman Italy. Her name is from Opis which is latin for plenty. She is often correlated with the earth and fertility, fruitfulness, riches and prosperity. She is often depicted with a crown on her head and called a Queen.  Wiki tells...

June 24: Celebration of the Feast of San Giovanni; A Ritual to Celebrate our Survival as Witches — Theresa C. Dintino’s Abruzzo-Americana Wheel of The Year

by Theresa | Jun 19, 2022 | Strega and Italian-Americana

The Italian Tradition of San Giovanni Battista(St. John’s Eve and St. John’s Day): June 23 – June 24  “24 June the feast of San Giovanni Battista took over many of the pagan rites connected to the summer solstice. In Introdacqua people walk up to Mount Playa to...

May 5: Celebration of the Italian Snake Goddess Angitia — Theresa C. Dintino’s Abruzzo-Americana Wheel of the Year

by Theresa | Apr 27, 2022 | Goddess, Strega and Italian-Americana

“On the first Thursday in May the most pagan of Christian festivals takes place in Cocullo (AQ) in honor of San Domenico Abate, whose statue is carried through the village covered with live snakes; the old snake rites connected to the goddess Angitia were passed on to...