italy | Ritual Goddess

Mefitis, the River Melfa and the Black Madonna

by Theresa | Mar 22, 2026 | Goddess, Recent Posts, Strega and Italian-Americana

Several locations of archaeological finds of temples to the Oscan Goddess Mefitis along the Melfa river in Lazio in what is now the National Park of the Abruzzo point to Mefitis being a Goddess associated with all healing waters, not only “smelly ones” and a...

Feronia—Italian Goddess of the Feral and the Wild

by Theresa | Oct 23, 2024 | Goddess, More on My Books, Rauri Tor, Recent Posts, Strega and Italian-Americana, The Oscan Oracle

On a recent trip to Italy, I visited Monteleone Sabino northeast of Rome. As we turned off the autostrada, driving west from Pescara onto the smaller highway to take us north toward Rieti, I instantly felt the presence of Janarra, the pre-Roman Witches of the Wild...

Mefitis: The Oscan Goddess of the Liminal Trance State, Liminal Places and Trance Inducing Vapors

by Theresa | Nov 19, 2023 | Goddess, More on My Books, Rauri Tor, Strega and Italian-Americana, The Oscan Oracle

In wanting to learn more about the Oscan roots of my Italian spiritual lineage, my research led me to a Goddess named Mefitis (also spelled Mephitis). Because Mefitis is an Oscan word and the Oscan version is spelled that way, I will use that spelling from here...

Neolithic Priestesses from Passo di Corvo Italy

by Theresa | Feb 2, 2023 | Goddess, Recent Posts, Strega and Italian-Americana

Digging more deeply into my spiritual lineage of Italian Strega/Janarra, I came upon this beautiful priestess or Goddess figure from the Passo di Corvo Neolithic site, dated to the 5th and 4th millennium BCE, in the province of Foggia in Southeast Italy. Passo di...

Francesco Paolo Michetti (1852-1929): Famous Artist of the Abruzzo

by Theresa | May 26, 2021 | Strega and Italian-Americana

Francesco Paolo Michetti (1852-1929) is a famous artist of the Abruzzo region of Italy. Born at Tocco da Casauria near Chieti, a large percentage of his paintings are of his native Abruzzo. His paintings of the Abruzzo also give us a great idea and understanding of...