THE FULL MOON IN WITCHCRAFT RITUALS
by Raven Grimassi

"Whenever ye have need of anything, once in the month and when the moon is full, ye shall assemble in some secret place, or in a forest all together join to adore the potent spirit of your queen, my mother, great Diana. She who fain would learn all sorcery yet has not won its deepest secrets, them my mother will teach her, in truth all things as yet unknown. And ye shall be freed from slavery, and so ye shall be free in everything; and as a sign that ye are truly free, ye shall be naked in your rites, both men and women also..."— Charles Leland, Aradia; Gospel of the Witches (1899)

The Goddess of the Moon was traditionally worshipped in groves where there was a lake or a spring. She was also worshipped in a grotto where water issued forth from between the rocks. Her priestesses were required to take special care of the water. A sacred fire in the grove or grotto represented the light of the moon, and the strict custom existed that it must be kept from being extinguished. This was rooted in the belief that the Moon Goddess was the light of the fire itself, and in ancient times it was believed that fire could lie latent in wood. In early times the security of the divine fire required an ample supply of sacred wood that was dried and readily available in her grove or grotto. Later in history, lamps replaced the use of wood. The liquid symbolism was still intact, as the lamp fuel was often olive oil, which again connected the fire back to the wood (olive tree). There is an interesting legend in which the goddess Diana is smuggled out of Greece inside a bundle of branches and delivered to Lake Nemi in Italy. Thus Diana was the latent flame within the wood, awaiting rebirth in her new grove. The bundle of branches in which she arrived was the first supply of her torches.

In the grove of the Moon Goddess torches lighted the sacred woods. The festival of Diana, celebrated on August 13th, was always marked by a multitude of torches that reflected their light off the water of Lake Nemi and filled her sacred grove with a holy aura. The Moon Goddess herself belonged to the torch-bearing class of deities who themselves were always connected in some manner with the Underworld. The Underworld connection linked the Moon Goddess to the Fates, so the power of divination was bestowed upon her worshippers.

The image of witches gathered beneath the full moon is well imprinted on the human psyche. Ritual and magical practices have been associated with witchcraft since ancient times. Greek and Roman writings tell us that witches had the ability to call or draw the moon down from the night sky. The Greek writer Aristophanes (in his work titled Clouds, 423 BC) mentions using a witch to draw down the moon and put it in a box "like they do mirrors." (It is interesting to note that beech wood was widely used for making boxes in the Aegean/Mediterranean region, and that beech wood was also associated with witchcraft.) The mention of mirrors refers to an ancient practice that involved reflecting the full moon in a jar or dish filled to the brim with water and using the water as an ingredient in various preparations.

In the old rites it is prescribed that the ritual circle be established near a running stream and before a tree that is not gnarled or misshapen. This is because, in archaic pagan belief, evil spirits cannot cross running water and generally fear it. This ensured the safety of all within the ritual circle, for to open the portals to the Otherworld allowed both good and evil spirits to enter into the world of humankind. The tree served also as a guardian that stood between the worlds. In ancient lore, trees were believed to possess the power to bind spirits either inside the trunks or entangled within the roots.

The circle itself symbolized the full moon above. In Italian witchcraft the art of mimicry is employed to attract that which is desired. Therefore the resemblance of the circle to the shape of the moon created a link. The ritual circle was drawn on the ground with a beech wood wand. Theophrastus mentions the beech tree as common trees in the Apennines and the lowlands of Latium. Beech wood was used to form the first pages for books (as opposed to scrolls) and became associated with preserving ancient wisdom. The beech tree is also associated with serpents, as noted by Tenneyson, who refers to the "serpent-rooted" beech. In this lies the connection of the wand as a tool of ancestral invocation. The serpent, in ancient Italic paganism, was symbolic of the ancestral line within the Underworld. Ancestral shrines in Roman homes bore a portrait of the head of the household flanked by two Lare spirits, and below these figures appears a snake stretched horizontally across the bottom of the shrine.

The significance of the beech wand and the ritual circle take on greater meaning when we explore ancient beliefs concerning the moon. An archaic belief within the Aegean/Mediterranean region was the souls of the dead went to abide on the moon. As the moon received these souls, the light of the moon increased to full. Therefore the full moon symbolized the gathering of one's ancestors. And just as they assembled above, so too did the kindred below fill the ritual circle. The ancient Roman writer Horace, along with others of his period, wrote that witches used a book containing chants that could call the moon down from the sky. Here beneath the full moon the world of the living and the dead were joined together.

An archaic belief in ancient Italy held that the spirits of the dead gathered/dwelled in the air. They were said to actually wrap themselves in this element and thereby become invisible. One aspect of the old full moon rituals involved inviting the spirits of the dead to join in the celebration of the ritual circle. They were invoked overhead above the circle, and a leaping dance began in which the living celebrants jumped up and "danced on the wind" with their ancestors. Variations of this included dancing with an upturned broom, held aloft, that served to symbolize the ancestral spirit.

Over time a version of this ritual dance migrated into folkdance tradition. One related dance is known as the "La Volta." The folk dance "Volta" first appears in literary reference from Provence, Italy as a peasant dance in the early 16th Century. It was introduced later into Switzerland, then to France (Volte) and ending in Germany. The name Volta means "turning." It is said that the Italian Volta was first introduced by the "Count of Sault" to the Paris Court in 1556. Later, around 1581, Catherine De Medici introduced the Volta to the French court of Versailles. The Volta is said to be the first of the waltzes or the forerunner of the waltz when combined with other round dances. A type of dance movement called the Tordion (Galliarde) was used for a few measures to start the Volta.

During the Volta, the man faces his partner instead of standing alongside or opposite each other (which was considered very scandalous during this era), and holds her very close. The leader turns his partner around several times and then helps her take a high leap into the air (with the skirts shamelessly flying up). He, at times, leaps with her.

The Volta was usually taken with two single steps and a double step and was done in 3/4 time. The dancers, with their right foot raised high in the air, hopped on the left and turned at a ninety-degree angle. They then took a long stride, and another quarter turn, and sprang high in the air again making another quarter turn. Each pattern consisted of three-quarter turns and a leap. This peasant dance was proclaimed shameful and indecent by the upper class, who considered the entire dance to be nasty and lewd.

The records of the Inquisition at Como mention the La Volta dance. It was described as having such fantastic steps as to make it incredible to the onlookers. At Como and Brescia children between 8 and 12 years old, who had once attended sabbats before being reclaimed by the Inquisition, performed this dance for the Inquisitors. The learned men of the period concluded that because the dance was so difficult and skillful, that it could only have been learned directly from the devil.

Thoughts of lewd conduct lie at the essence of the fertility nature of the full moon dance, which increased the possibility of returning the departed spirits to life among their own kind once again. This brings us to one of the chief reasons (all of which are related to the moon's light) why Witches originally gathered beneath the full moon. Tracing a circle on the ground to symbolize the full moon, Witches gathered within it and drew down her light in ritual ecstasy. Chanting, drumming, dancing, and merriment of all kinds created altered states of consciousness. Just as ancient belief held that the flame could be awakened from a log, so too could the Inner Light of the worshipers be awakened by the full moon.

Gathering beneath the light of the full moon served to allow the moon's light to impart fertility. The witches would remove their clothing so as not to obstruct the light. But the fertility they desired was not only of the body, it was also of the mind and spirit. This is reflected in the closing ritual prayer of a full moon ceremony:

"...When our bodies lie resting nightly, speak to our inner spirits, teach us all Your Holy Mysteries. I believe Your ancient promise that we who seek Your Holy Presence will receive of Your wisdom. Behold, O' Ancient Goddess, we have gathered beneath the Full Moon at this appointed time. Now the Full Moon shines upon us. Hear us. Recall Your ancient promise..."

Various aspects of Neolithic religion lie at the foundation of lunar ritual, many of which are related to moon worship and matrifocal imagery. It was during the Neolithic period that the foundation for the divine and magical nature of the moon itself was created. Images of the moon displaying a full circle, flanked by left and right facing crescents, appear as early as 4500-4300 BC. A coiled serpent flanked by these crescent shapes also appears during the same period. The association of the two crescents flanking the full circle would seem to indicate that the ancients had a type of triformis concept about the moon or the power of the moon. These may be some of the earliest images to suggest a belief in the moon as something more than a mysterious light in the sky.

Indeed, the presence of a coiled snake as a moon symbol appears to express the idea of movement and change, a primitive attempt to explain the force that caused the moon to change its appearance each month. This ancient connection of the serpent with the moon will continued for several thousand years, appearing in such deities as Proserpina who was worshipped by the Witches of classical Greco-Roman times. The symbols of Proserpina appear on the Witch charm known as the cimaruta.

In addition to the ability of the moon to change shape, the ancients ascribed magical qualities to its subtle light. Several writers of the classical era wrote that the moon's light made plants and animals fertile. The morning dew itself was believed to be a magical water left by moonlight, and in some folk magic books a woman is said to be made fertile by lying nude in a meadow and rolling around in the morning dew. In the Aegean/Mediterranean region the Moon Goddess was also known as the All-Dewy-One. The priestesses of the Moon Goddess possessed knowledge of the magical practices that could evoke and direct the fertilizing power of the moon. This brings us full circle back to the rural setting of the ritual circle near running water.

This article originally appeared in Raven's Call Volume 1, Number 4

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