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italic=no () is a Modern paganism tradition similar to Wicca, with Italian and Italian American origins. While most practitioners consider italic=no 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, italic=no honors a pantheon centered on a Moon Goddess and a Horned God, similar to Wiccan views of divinity.
Author Raven Grimassi has written on the topic. Grimassi taught what he called the Aradian tradition from 1980. He discusses elements of 'Italian witchcraft' adopted by Gardnerian Wicca with ideas inspired by Charles G. Leland's Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches (1899). The name "Aradia" (a version of Herodias) is due to Leland, who claimed she was venerated by a "witch-cult" in medieval Tuscany.
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His later interest in Neo-paganism began in 1969, and he was initiation into a system claiming to be Gardnerian Wicca in San Diego though the tradition's claim eventually proved to be false. Ten years later, Grimassi began teaching the "Aridian Tradition", which he describes as a "modern system" of Italian Witchcraft or italic=no, that he created for non-initiates. Grimassi also studied Kabbalah and other traditions of Wicca such as Brittic and the Pictish-Gaelic system in which he received third degree initiation in 1983 according to the Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft. Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft, Raven Grimassi, Llewellyn Publications, 2003
Grimassi describes the roots of italic=no as a syncretism offshoot of Etruscan religion that later blended with "Tuscany peasant religion", medieval Christian heresy, and veneration of saints.
Grimassi views Leland's book Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches as a "Christianized and distorted version" of the original story of Aradia, whom he believes to be a mortal woman named Aradia di Toscano. However, Grimassi does endorse a number of elements from Leland's Aradia material, such as the inclusion of a full moon ritual and a sacred meal at the Tregenda, or Sabbat, along with the pantheon of a goddess and god figure.
Grimassi writes that Aradia di Toscano passed on a religion of witchcraft, based on ancient Etruscan paganism, to her followers (whom Grimassi calls "The Triad Clans"). The Triad Clans are referred to as "an alliance of three related Witch Clans known as the Tanarra, Janarra, and Fanarra".
Sabina Magliocco, who has criticized some of Grimassi's claims, does point out that "Grimassi never claims to be reproducing exactly what was practiced by Italian immigrants to North America; he admits Italian-American immigrants "have adapted a few Wiccan elements into their ways". After personally meeting Grimassi, Magliocco writes in her letter to the Pomegranate Reader's Forum:
I had the pleasure of meeting Raven Grimassi during the summer of 2001, unfortunately after the final draft of my article had already been submitted to The Pom. He was very gracious and helpful to me. From information he revealed during our interview, I can say with reasonable certainty that I believe him to have been initiated into a domestic tradition of folk magic and healing such as I describe in my article.Grimassi's tradition centers around a duotheistic pair of deities that are regarded as divine lovers, and they may go by many different names, including: Uni and Tinia, Tana and Tinia, Diana and Janus, Jana and Janus, and more. The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism, Shelley Rabinovitch & James Lewis, page 262, (2004)
According to Grimassi some Stregheria rituals take place in a circle, with an altar facing North. Ritual actions include prayer, and the blessing of food.
In comparing Stregheria to Wicca, Grimassi notes both similarities between the two and differences. He has defended his material as being significantly different from Wicca at the roots level, and asserts that many of the foundational concepts in Gerald Gardner's Wicca can be found earlier in works on Italian Witchcraft and ancient Mediterranean mystery sects.
Recent ethnographic work has also highlighted enduring indigenous healing traditions in Italy that operate alongside or within Stregheria, notably the practice of Segnature, a folk healing system based on sacred gestures (segnature), prayers, and secret formulas. According to Dr. Angela Puca, these vernacular practices—performed by Segnatori—represent a living form of Italian shamanism deeply embedded within rural communities. They blend pre‑Christian folk beliefs with Catholic symbolism and continue to be transmitted through familial or community lineages, often in secrecy, with renewed visibility via social media networks.Puca, Angela (2024). Italian Witchcraft and Shamanism: The Tradition of Segnature, Indigenous and Trans‑cultural Shamanic Traditions in Italy. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV. ISBN 978‑90‑04‑69417‑0. Puca’s research emphasises the coexistence and syncretism of these healing traditions with contemporary strands of Stregheria, where some practitioners integrate Segnature into their repertoire or draw upon similar gestures and verbal formulas. While Stregheria in its modern form often looks to reconstructionist and neopagan sources (such as Etruscan, Roman, or medieval witchcraft traditions), Segnature demonstrates the survival of distinct local traditions rooted in folk medicine and spiritual healing, marking an important example of indigenous Italian magical practice.Puca, 2024.
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