Re: VMs: La Vecchia Religione

["DANA SCOTT" <dscott520@xxxxxxx>]

Hello Dennis,

Yes, this is where I am focusing my attention. While pre-Etruscan Italians 
may be a bit early for the VMS, I keep seeing hints that this is probably a 
good area to stake a claim. The Wicca tradition is beginning to make sense 
to me. From "Etruscan Civilization, A Cultural History" by Sybille Haynes 
(British Museum Press, 2000) there are a few subtle clues which seem to have 
a presence in the VMS. Women were apparently revered as equals with 
distinctive roles in Etruscan society. For example, the spindle held in the 
left hand of the damsel at the top left of f80v (also in f76v) has always 
caught my attention. From "Etruscan Civilization" we learn that "The main 
crafts practiced by women were spinning, dyeing, and weaving of the wool of 
both sheep and goats and sewing clothes from cloth." (p.10) Most likely 
these skills would have existed throughout Europe and this in not meant to 
be definitive; it is just an example of the cultural findings in Italy. The 
Etruscans were also with working bronze, which makes me think of the pans 
seen in f78v and f81r/v. There is a picture of a bronze "Campanian ash urn 
with statuettes on lid and rim" ("Etruscan Civilization", p.200). A detail 
of one of the statuettes shows an individual (warrior?) riding a horse with 
a bow in his left hand; but what interests me here is his pointed hat which 
to me is a dead ringer for the pointed hat seen on the head of the "moon 
face" at the bottom right of f67v2. Moving from f70v2 to f70v1 and then 
f71r, we see a transition from naked women to some clothed to mostly 
clothed, which seems to correlate to a change of seasons and is an aspect 
seen in Strega, (e.g., women gathering all naked at the full moon). These 
are just some samples of what I am seeing in addition to the herbal plants 
which were widely known and used in witchcraft. There seems to be a lot here 
to consider. I can imagine the VMS confiscated by the Inquisition in Italy 
as a prime example of a "witchcraft bible" with the secrets of its 
translation having been lost along with its owner.

History of Stregheria
www.fabrisia.com/history.htm


Regards,
Dana Scott


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis" <tsalagi@xxxxxxxx>
To: <vms-list@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2004 10:02 PM
Subject: Re: VMs: La Vecchia Religione


> Hi, Dana,
>
> > I have begun to investigate La Vecchia Religione of ancient Italy. 
> > There are
> > numerous aspects of Stregheria that seem to have correlations in the VMS
>
> Stregheria sounds interesting.  I've mostly heard that
> Wicca claims to be a folk survival of the antique
> pre-Christian traditions of Europe, but is in fact a
> literate invention of the late 19th and early 20th
> centuries.  I believe that Wicca claims that "La
> Vecchia Religione" is such a survival of ancient Roman
> beliefs and practices, and that it is similarly
> suspect.  I don't know much, but keep that in mind.
>
> Dennis
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