Iniatilly this post was divided into two, but i decided to redo while i delve deeper into a few aspects that i didn't talked about in detail. And because i made them in a hurry, i was way too excited to compile everything down, instead of addressing things more calmly lmao. This time i included references for those who want to check them.
Biblical aspect:
It is widely known that the name "Lucifer" as we know it is undeniably linked to Christianity, the devil, and the role of the "Adversary," or Satan (Ha-Satan in Hebrew), as he became known after the fall from heaven, responsible for tempting virtuous people to stray from God's path and sin. And, at the end of their lives, it is said they will be burned in the fires of hell for their actions. But what if I told you that Lucifer does not belong to Judeo-Christian mythology?
There are preconceptions we must first demystify:
Initially, the name "Lucifer" did not refer to anything evil. From the Latin Lux (light) and Ferre (to bear), meaning the light-bearer. The name was used by the Romans for the planet Venus, due to its brightness in the mornings; at night, some poets and thinkers of the time called it Vesper and/or Noctifer, signifying its other side, the Evening Star.
The Romans believed there was a being behind every force of nature, and the basis of their religion at the time was centered on mutual trust (fides) between gods and man. Lucifer was the personification of Venus, the one who brings light at dawn, often described as a winged figure carrying a torch.
The 2nd-century Roman mythographer Hyginus, in Astronomica 2.42, said about the planet:
"The fourth star is that of Venus [Aphrodite to the Greeks], Lucifer by name. Some say it belongs to Juno [Hera to the Greeks]. In many accounts, it is recorded that it is also called Hesperus. It appears to be the largest of all stars. Some said it represents the son of Aurora and Cephalus, who surpassed many in beauty, so much so that he even competed with Venus, and, as Eratosthenes says, for this reason it is called the star of Venus. It is visible both at dawn and sunset, and so it was aptly called Lucifer and Hesperus."
In the classical Roman period, Lucifer was considered the son of the Roman goddess Aurora. Every day, she flew across the sky in her chariot to announce the arrival of morning and the passing of night. In some depictions, she was portrayed as a beautiful winged woman, the mother of the winds and of the morning star, Lucifer, who announced her arrival.
As evidenced by the Latin poet Ovid in his 1st-century epic Metamorphoses:
"Aurora, watchful in the ruddy dawn, opened her crimson doors and her halls full of roses; the Stellae took flight, in order arranged by Lucifer, who left his station last."
Although there are no complete myths or legends about his deeds, it is known that he was counted among the Roman gods.
Cicero stated in his book De Natura Deorum:
"You say that Sol and Luna are deities, and the Greeks identify the former with Apollo and the latter with Diana. But if Luna is a goddess, then Lucifer (the Morning Star) also and the rest of the Wandering Stars (Stellae Errantes) will have to be counted as gods; and if so, then the Fixed Stars (Stellae Inerrantes) as well."
There is no biblical source that defines Lucifer as Satan. In fact, the word Lucifer was an addition to the scriptures in place of the Hebrew word Heylel, which was the literal name for Venus; and Shahar, which simply means "Morning Star" or sometimes translated as "Son of the Dawn." The word was a reference to Babylonian kings and the titles they used to claim their divine right to rule. Artifacts like the Cyrus Cylinder confirm such claims were made by kings of the ancient world.
Knowing this, the following passage found in Isaiah 14:12-15:
"How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! How you have been cast down to the earth, you who laid low the nations!"
The prophet is saying that this king rose to power under the guidance and blessing of the Hebrew God, but he arrogantly believes he rose by his own brilliance and power and is therefore condemned by God to be "cast down" and humiliated. It was simply a metaphor of pride before a fall destined to happen to this earthly king.
Furthermore, in ancient hymns, lucifer, as an adjective, was even used to give title to Jesus, as the one who dispels darkness and illuminates all with the light of truth; it would then be unthinkable to describe Him thus if the adjective referred to something evil.
This can be verified in the passage from the Second Epistle of Peter in the Vulgate:
"Et habemus firmiorem propheticum sermonem, cui bene facitis attendentes quasi lucernae lucenti in caliginoso loco, donec dies illucescat, et lucifer oriatur in cordibus vestris (2 Peter 1:19)"
Or, in English: "We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."
The Latin word (lucifer) was added to the Hebrew text by Jerome of Stridon in the 4th century and was indeed the first to connect the belief that Lucifer was the serpent in the Garden with Adam and Eve. Moreover, the reasons for Jerome's mistaken and imprecise translation of Heylel can be found in his religious politics within the church itself.
One of Jerome's main adversaries was Bishop Lucifer of Cagliari, who founded the Luciferians. Hoping that the allusion itself would be strong enough to condemn the Bishop of Cagliari and his followers as heretics, Jerome hoped his ideas and movement would be abolished. In the 7th century, Augustine focused on the incorrect translation of the Vulgate and added more to the idea of an angel named Lucifer who rebelled against God out of pride and brought down a third of the angels.
Saint Lucifer, although not canonized by the Early Church, is venerated for his deeds by the people of Sardinia, where he served as a priest. He became known for his firm opposition to Arianism, an anti-trinitarian Christological view defended by the followers of Arius, a Christian priest from Alexandria in the times of the Early Church.
Arius denied the consubstantiality between Jesus and God, conceiving Christ as a pre-existing and created being, subordinate to God and His son. For Arius and the Arians, Jesus was not God, but a man who descended from Him, like all others who walked the Earth. However, for Lucifer, Jesus was God made flesh, the Creator Himself manifested in matter.
At the Council of Milan in 354, Lucifer defended Athanasius of Alexandria with such passion and aggressive language, opposing powerful Arians, that Emperor Constantius II, a sympathizer of the Arians, confined him for three days in the palace. During his confinement, the bishop fiercely debated with the emperor, who ended up banishing him, first to Palestine and then to Thebes. During exile, he wrote to the emperor, who put him at risk of martyrdom.
After the emperor's death, Julian allowed all exiles to return to their cities. However, facing resistance in being accepted for his ideals, Lucifer then withdrew to Sardinia, resumed his see, and formed a small sect called the Luciferians. And the Luciferians, facing strong opposition, tasked two priests, Marcellinus and Faustinus, with presenting a petition, the known "Libellus precum," to Emperor Theodosius, explaining their grievances and claiming protection. The emperor forbade any persecution of the group; however, their schism seems not to have lasted beyond this first generation.
Jerome, in his Altercatio Luciferiani et Orthodoxi (Altercation between Luciferians and Orthodox), demonstrates almost everything known about Lucifer and his ideas.
Considering these facts, Lucifer was not, at least in the 4th century, synonymous with "Satan." In fact, the proper name "Lucifer" was not used to refer to the "devil" in ancient times, given the Epistle of Peter, which referred directly to Jesus, often being used only as an adjective.
Even his fall is allegorical. It often refers to the pride and arrogance of kings, to Canaanite tales of how a deity who was the personification of the morning and evening star, Attar, tried to usurp the throne of Baal and, realizing he could not, he descended on his own free will and ruled the underworld, described in the Ugaritic text The Baal Cycle.
Or, in the original version of the tale, Helel trying to dethrone the supreme Canaanite god El, who lived on a mountain to the north, whose ambition was to rise higher than all other stellar deities but had to descend to the depths; thus, it portrayed as a battle the process by which the bright morning star fails to reach the highest point in the sky before being extinguished by the rising sun.
Aquila of Sinope derives the word hêlêl, the Hebrew name for the morning star, from the verb yalal (to lament). This derivation was adopted as a proper name for an angel who laments the loss of his former beauty. The Church Fathers – for example, Jerome, in his Vulgate – translated this as Lucifer.
The equation of Lucifer with the fallen angel probably occurred in 1st-century Palestinian Judaism. The Church Fathers brought the fallen light-bearer Lucifer into connection with the Devil based on a saying of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke (10:18): "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."
Jewish sources generally do not identify the figure in Isaiah as a reference to Satan or any other demonic figure, but later Christian scholars began to interpret it as a reference to Satan, who elsewhere is said to have been cast from heaven, although at first it seems they did not see "Lucifer" as a name but read the passage as being a poetic comparison to the morning star itself.
These interpretations went in and out of fashion, but in the Renaissance, it became more popular to use Lucifer as a personal name for the devil.
Dante's Inferno, during the 14th century, contributed to the spread of this erroneous notion:
Right at the center of Hell, condemned for committing the supreme sin, is the Devil, referred to by Virgil as Dis (another name for Lucifer). The arch-traitor, Lucifer, was once considered by God the most beautiful of angels before his pride led him to rebel against God, resulting in his expulsion from Heaven. Lucifer is a giant, terrifying beast trapped waist-deep in ice, immobilized and suffering.
He is described as follows: "he had three faces: one in front blood-red; and then two others that, just above the midpoint of each shoulder, joined the first; and at the crown, all three were reconnected; the right one seemed somewhat yellow, somewhat white; the left one in appearance was like those who come from where the Nile, descending, flows."
Lucifer is also described as constantly beating his wings, creating wind currents so intense that hell is made of ice and from his tears. Here Satan also becomes a name synonymous with Lucifer.
Although originally Satan was an angel in Jewish mythology, playing the role of an accuser and "adversary" of God to test the faith of His followers, to see if they followed sacred principles correctly and if their devotion was true. Nevertheless, Satan had its true origin distorted when it arrived in Christianity, becoming the name of Lucifer as soon as he fell from heaven.
Still in the 14th century, the first hierarchies began to emerge that sought to explain who the daemons were and what they did. In The Lanterne of Light (1409-1410), much attributed to John Wycliffe, the association of Lucifer as the prince who reigns over the sin of Pride appears for the first time, described as follows: "The first is Lucifer who reigns in his malice over the children of pride."
John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) expanded the idea of Lucifer as Emperor of Hell and a rebel angel:
"That city and court of the infernal tyrant, who was once called Lucifer, for resembling the evening star…"
or
"What matter where, if I be still the same, and what I should be, all but less than he whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least we shall be free… Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." – Lucifer.
Despite Jerome's erroneous translation caused by his hatred of Lucifer, the famous passage in the book of Isaiah, chapter 14, as already cited, refers to the king of Babylon who is condemned in a prophetic vision by the prophet Isaiah and is called הֵילֵל בֶּן-שָׁחַר (Helel ben Shachar, Hebrew for "the shining one, son of the dawn"), which is addressed as הילל בן שחר (Hêlêl ben Šāḥar).
The title refers to the planet Venus as the morning star, and that is how the Hebrew word is usually interpreted. The Hebrew word transliterated as Hêlêl or Heylel occurs only once in the Hebrew Bible. The Septuagint translates הֵילֵל into Greek as Ἑωσφόρος (Heōsphoros), "dawn-bearer," the ancient Greek name for the morning star.
Similarly, the Vulgate translates הֵילֵל into Latin as Lucifer, the name in that language for the morning star. The metaphor of the morning star that Isaiah 14:12 applied to a Babylonian king gave rise to the general use of the Latin word for "morning star/lucifer" as the original name of the devil before his fall, linking Isaiah 14:12 with Luke 10 ("I saw Satan [a title for adversary/opponent widely used at the time] fall like lightning from heaven") and interpreting the passage in Isaiah as an allegory of Lucifer's fall who, upon falling from heaven, became Satan.
Considering pride as a grave sin that reaches its peak in self-deification, Lucifer (Hêlêl) became the model for the devil. As a result, Lucifer was identified with the devil in Christianity.
But what would have been the reason for the Church Fathers to choose Lucifer, and not any other? This answer lies on the relationship between Venus and Lucifer, and consequently with the demonic.
There is a peculiar fact: the creation of demons (Qliphoth, shells, unbalanced force), according to Judaism, took place on the sixth day of creation (the seven days in which, according to the Torah, God created the world), moments before the sacred Sabbath. On this same day, the human race was created, and its Fall occurred. That is, on the same Friday, Adam was created and yielded to concupiscence.
In the Jewish calendar, Adam sinned on the first day of Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah, the first and second day of Tishrei), and it is precisely on this day, every year, that men are judged for their actions.
The month of Tishrei corresponds to the tribe of Dan, which in turn corresponds to the sign of Libra, ruled by Venus. Not to mention that, traditionally, Friday is the day consecrated to Venus. Furthermore, each Sephirah of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life has a "vice," and that of Netzach (Venus) is lust.
In summary, the name "Lucifer" evolved from a Roman term denoting light to a figure associated with pride and rebellion against God, becoming, finally, a name for Satan in Christian theology.
As the years passed, Lucifer-Satan became the same entity within different currents; many see them as two faces of the same being or completely separate and different entities.
For atheistic Satanists and Luciferians, they are considered archetypes and/or symbols. In the rituals of The Satanic Bible written by Anton LaVey, Lucifer represents Air (intellect, the mind), while Satan represents Fire (movement, action). Lucifer tends to refer to the angelic side, while Satan refers to the Devil, or sometimes to the accuser/adversary (Ha-Satan); these associations occur due to the qualities or attitudes they represent.
Lucifer is seen as a light-bearer, a bearer of wisdom and enlightenment. Satan represents passion, indulgence, vital existence.
Whereas for theistic Satanists and Luciferians, that is, for those who believe in the existence of these beings, they may be seen as separate, and a cult is dedicated to them in the form of devotion.
Greek / Roman aspects
In a syncretic manner, there is also a side of Lucifer in Greek mythology, where he simultaneously bore the names Phosphorus, Eosphorus, and Hesperus. He was a minor divinity associated with light and dawn, a god of the planet Venus. His many faces emerged because the Greeks, in ancient times, believed that Phosphorus (the light-bearer) brought the light of dawn (Eosphorus), and Hesperus (the night-bearer) would slowly extinguish the sun's light in the sky until darkness (night) took over.
However, these three faces are not separate; they are part of the same god.
This is evidenced in the following work:
Ibycus, Fragment 331 (from Scholiast on Basil, Genesis) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric III) (6th century BC Greek lyric):
"Eosphorus (Dawn-bearer) and Hesperus (Evening Star) are the same, although in antiquity they were considered different. Ibycus of Rhegium was the first to equate the titles."
Beyond representing Venus, he was also related to the sea and lunar fire; he brought both light and darkness, and offered his protectiong during long periods of sailing and travel.
He is mentioned as the son of Astraeus and Eos, and, in other versions, as the son of Cephalus and Eos, or even of Atlas.
According to Pherecydes, Lucifer is considered the father of Ceyx, Daedalus, Leuconoe, and Hespera / Hesperides.
Ovid, Metamorphoses:
"Here [in Trachis], the son of Lucifer [Eosphorus], King Ceyx, reigned without bloodshed or force, and in his royal face his father's brightness shone, though at that time, unlike himself, he mourned the loss of his brother…"
[Ceyx addresses Peleus:] "His name was Daedalus. We two were brothers, sons of the Star that wakes the dawn [Eosphorus] and leaves the heavens last [Hesperus]. My path was peace, and peace was my pursuit, and the care of my dear wife. My brother's choice was cruel war."
"Ceyx addresses his wife Alcyone: 'By the splendor of my father [Eosphorus] I swear, if only the Fates allow me, I shall return before the moon twice fills her silver orb.'"
"Ceyx [his ship destroyed in a violent storm] in his hand, which once held the scepter, clung to a plank and prayed in vain to his wife's father [Aeolus] and his own [Eosphorus] for aid [and drowned]… On that dawn, Lucifer [Eosphorus, the Morning Star] shone faint and strange; the heavens he could not leave, but veiled his grief in a thick mantle of weeping clouds."
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History:
In the country known as Hesperides, there were two brothers whose fame was known abroad, Hesperus and Atlas. These brothers possessed flocks of sheep that stood out in beauty and were of a golden-yellow color, which is why poets, referring to these sheep as mela, called them golden mela. Hesperus fathered a daughter named Hespera, whom he gave in marriage to his brother, and in whose honor the land was named Hesperides; and Atlas fathered with her seven daughters, who were given the names of their father, Atlantides, and their mother, Hesperides.
There is also a curious citation about the Hesperides, which may refer to the Garden of Eden:
"The Hesperides were tasked with guarding the tree of golden apples, gifted to the goddess Hera by Gaia (Earth) on her wedding day. They were aided by a hundred-headed guardian, the Drakon (Dragon). The three nymphs and their golden, shining apples were considered the source of the golden light of sunset."
It was believed that the Gardens of the Hesperides, with the golden apples, existed on some island in the ocean or, as sometimes thought, on islands off the north or west coast of Africa. They were celebrated in antiquity; for there, fountains of nectar flowed by the bed of Zeus, and there the earth displayed the rarest blessings of the gods; it was another Eden. As knowledge of western lands increased, it became necessary to move this paradise ever farther into the Western Ocean.
The number of the Hesperides varies according to version. There is no consensus on whether there are only three nymphs, four, or seven.
Regarding Leuconoe, the only citation that can be found about her is in Hyginus's Fabulae (2nd century AD), a compendium of Greco-Roman myths. In Fable 161, Hyginus states: "Philammon, son of Apollo and Leuconoe, daughter of Lucifer."
This establishes the only direct lineage between Lucifer and Leuconoe that we can trace, as there are no other records about her specifically that I could found.
There are some passages where we can still observe Lucifer acting as Hesperus and Eosphorus. For example:
Homer, Iliad 23. 226 ff (trans. Lattimore) (8th century BC Greek epic):
"At that time when Eosphorus (Dawn Star) passes over the earth, herald of light, and after him Eos (Dawn) of the saffron mantle spreads over the sea."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 38. 287 ff (trans. Rouse) (5th century AD Greek epic):
"[Helios instructs his son Phaethon on driving the solar chariot:] 'When you begin your journey, pass near Kerne and take Phosphorus (the Morning Star) as a guide to lead your chariot, and you will not stray; twelve Horai (Hours) circling, in turn, will guide your path.' … The Horai (Hours) brought Helios's fiery horses from their eastern manger; Eosphorus (the Dawn-bearer) boldly approached the yoke and fastened the horses' necks in the bright straps for his service."
Virgil, Georgics 3. 324 ff:
Let us hasten to the cool fields, while Lucifer (the Morning Star) begins to rise, while the day is young, while the grass is white, and the dew on the tender leaf is sweetest for the cattle.
Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 6. 527 ff (trans. Mozley) (1st century AD Roman epic):
"Lucifer (the Dawn Star) [Eosphorus] sails on rosy wings, whom Venus [Aphrodite] rejoices to lead in a glorious sky."
Anonymous, Fragment of Hero and Leander (Greek poetry 3rd to 1st century BC):
"Stars (asteres), bow to my prayer and grow blind; Moon (mene), let your light sink quickly and depart!' Thus she (Hero) spoke, for seeing Leander was her heart's whole desire. Then he also made a plea: 'Return, Hesperus, to your hiding place!'—so prayed Leander—. 'Ride backward, all stars, so that night, sky, sun, and earth may darken!'"
Euripides, Phaethon, 420 BC:
"Now, O Phoebus [Helios, the Sun], speed your chariot without check of reins; let friendly darkness veil the light and let Hesperus, vanguard of the night, plunge deep into this fearful day."
Statius, Thebaid 6. 237 ff:
"Nine times did Lucifer (the Dawn Star) chase the dewy Astra (Stars) from heaven, and as often changed his steed and each night announced the lunar fires [i.e., when he becomes Hesperus, the evening star]—yet he did not deceive the conscious Astra, but is found the same in his alternating risings."
Funny enough, Hesperus was also linked to marriage. Being the one who watched over the newlyweds. As seen:
Ovid, Metamorphoses 2:
"When Titan [Helios, the Sun] perceived Lucifer, the Morning Star [Eosphorus], setting and saw the world in a crimson glow and the last waning crescent of Luna, the Moon [Selene] faded at dawn [he ascended to the sky]."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 6. 18 ff:
"She [Demeter] ran with swift steps to the house of Astraeus… Eosphorus saw her and brought the news… Hesperus led Deo to a chair beside his father's seat… Eosphorus wove garlands of flowers in bouquets still proud with morning dew; Hesperus raised the torch that is proper to light the night and whirled with dancing leg while tossing his curved foot aloft—for he is the companion of the Erotes (Loves), well-trained in the intricate leaps of the nuptial dance."
Seneca, Medea 56 ff (trans. Miller) (1st century AD Roman tragedy):
[A wedding hymn] May the high gods who rule the sky, and those who rule the sea, with gracious divinity, attend the marriage of our princes, amid the solemn applause of the people. First, to the scepter-bearing Thunders [Zeus], let the white and gleaming bull offer its upraised neck. Lucina [Hera], let a heifer, white as snow, untouched by the yoke, appease her; and let her [Aphrodite] receive a tender victim. And you, Hymenaeus… come here… And you, star [Hesperus], precursor of twilight, who always returns slowly to lovers—you, mothers, you, brides, eagerly await, to soon see your bright rays spreading.]
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 38. 135 ff (trans. Rouse) (5th century AD Greek epic):
The light that shone on that nuptial bed [of Helios and Clymene] came from the starry tail; and the star of Cyprus [Aphrodite], Eosphorus, herald of the union, wove a nuptial song. Instead of the nuptial torch, Selene sent her rays to attend the wedding.
Going a bit deeper, there was a specific cult dedicated to Hesperus, as detailed by Strabo in Geography: The westerners [of the two lands called Lokris] are called Lokrians and Ozolai; and they have the star of Hesperus engraved on their public seal. He was, after all, worshipped for offering protection during long periods of sailing and travel.
In ancient Greek painting, Eosphorus / Hesperus was depicted as a youth, either in the form of a bust surrounded by the shining orb of his star.
The bust of Hesperus, god of the evening star, is represented surrounded by a bright halo. Date: ca. 475 - 425 BC.
The gods of night — Nyx, Hesperus, and Selene — travel across the sky. Nyx, goddess of night, leads the procession with her hand raised. She is followed by Hesperus, god of the evening star, who is represented as a head encircled by the bright halo of his star. Selene, moon goddess, appears last, riding a horse sidesaddle, with her flowing cloak forming the shape of the crescent moon. Date: ca. 425 - 375 BC.
However, he was also represented as a winged god holding a torch and crowned with a bright halo.
The gods Helios, Eos, and Eosphorus — Sun, Dawn, and Dawn Star — form the procession of day. Eosphorus is represented as a winged youth crowned with a bright halo. Helios and Eos drive four-horse chariots and are crowned with the halos of the sun and dawn light. Fish and dolphins dance under the wheels of the chariots as the gods emerge from the river Oceanus. Date: 4th century BC.
Lucifer as a Greek entity did not have a temple, but was worshipped as Hesperus.
Ovid seems to allude to the existence of at least two sanctuaries for the Goddess Eos, his mother; although the only evidence of an ancient cult of Eos is a reference to the libations she received in Athens. If Eos truly had shrines and altars in ancient Greece, we would have no knowledge of them.
Stregheria aspect
Known popularly as "La Vecchia Religione," Stregheria is a syncretic religion that blends Catholicism with elements of witchcraft, from a perspective aimed at hiding its practices — often passed down from parents to children — from Catholic persecution. It's a closed practise because of this.
Many claim it has existed since ancient times; however, due to its secrecy, its foundations and practices are restricted and closed. Practitioners of Stregheria worship a pantheon filled with gods and goddesses and various spirits, in a pluralistic belief that reflects influences ranging from the Celtic peoples of northern Italy to the Greeks of Sicily.
On the other hand, some argue it is a more recent phenomenon, popularized by the book Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches written by Charles Godfrey Leland and published in 1899. This, in turn, is said to have inspired Gerald Gardner in the creation of his religion, Wicca, and also integrated Lucifer into it.
In his book, Charles assigns Lucifer the title of Dianus Lucifero and classifies him as an ancient god of Italian witches, strongly associated with fertility, woodlands, and purification rituals; a guardian of nature and bearer of knowledge. His other names are also known as Lupercusem and Dis.
So great was the power of the Goddess Diana that a balance became necessary; she split herself in half, she was divided into darkness (herself) and light (Lucifer), into feminine and masculine, thus creating her own son, husband, and consort, both representing a cosmological antithesis that explained day and night. It was said that on nights of the crescent moon, Lucifer ascended to the heavens and impregnated Diana, symbolized by Venus positioning itself near the moon at night.
These two Gods are also known by the names: Tana and Tanus, Fana and Faunus, Jana and Janus. The most common names for them, though, is: Diana and Dianus (Lucifer); and the oldest names are: Uni and Tagni.
The Goddess Diana bore a daughter with Lucifer, albeit against his will. This conception is described in Leland's book as follows, in Chapter 3:
And when Diana saw how beautiful the light was, the light that was her other half, her brother Lucifer, she coveted him with great desire. Desiring to receive the light into her darkness again, to swallow it in ecstasy and pleasure, she trembled with longing. This desire was the dawn. But Lucifer, the light, fled from her and would not yield to her desires; like the light that hides in the farthest parts of infinity, like the mouse that hides from the cat. Then Diana went to the Parents of the Beginning, to the Mothers, to the spirits that existed before the first spirit, and lamented to them that she could not control Lucifer. And they praised her courage; they told her that to rise, she must first fall; to become the mistress of the goddesses, she must first become mortal. And in the course of ages and time, when the world was made, Diana descended to Earth, as did Lucifer, who had fallen, and Diana taught magic and witchcraft, from whence came witches, fairies, and goblins - all that resembles man but is not mortal. And it was thus that Diana assumed the form of a cat. Her brother had a cat whom he loved above all other creatures, and the cat slept every night in his bed, a cat more beautiful than any creature, a fairy; he did not know this. Diana persuaded the cat to change forms with her; thus, she lay with her brother, and in the darkness she resumed her own form, and from Lucifer conceived Aradia. But in the morning, when he found himself lying beside his sister, and that the light had been conquered by darkness, Lucifer grew extremely angry; but Diana, through her magic, enchanted him so that he yielded to her love. This was the first fascination; she murmured the song, which was like the humming of bees (or the whirring of a loom), a loom that wove life. She wove the life of all men; all things were woven by the wheel of Diana. And Lucifer turned the wheel.
Aradia is the name of the daughter that Diana Lucifera conceived with her brother. Leland gave her the role of being sent to Earth in the 14th century to teach Italian peasants to resist political oppression through magic. Delving into Leland's story, Grimassi details her biography, attributing to her the surname "di Toscano," referencing her supposed birthplace (Tuscany).
Grimassi's Aradia dedicates herself to recovery, reviving and reinterpreting the religion of the ancient Etruscans to empower the peasants of the 14th century. After spreading her teachings throughout the region, Aradia herself disappears, but her twelve followers travel across Italy to further disseminate her teachings.
In the peasant witch tradition, Lucifer is linked to fireflies, which in Italian are called lucciole. Fireflies are said to be the "stars" of the harvest field where the wheat is ready to be reaped. In this scenario, Lucifer is known as Lucibello, the beautiful light. The lucciole are the stars that descended from the sky (shooting stars) and are under the direction of Lucibello. This connects with the pregnancy of Diana Lucifera by Lucifer in the night sky.
The lucciole appear in folklore as the fairies that gather at night to invoke the solstice. In mystical tradition, wheat holds the mysteries of the Underworld, which are elaborated by its roots. The lucciola, as a fairy spirit, alights upon the wheat and transmits the mysteries of the Stellar Realm.
Subsequently, the wheat is used to make ritual bread, which is used in a kind of communal meal where the hidden mysteries are brought into the body, mind, and spirit of the participants. The words of communion illustrate the mystical process:
"Blessings upon this meal, which is our own body. For without it, we would vanish from this world. Blessings upon these grains, which were seeds buried deep in the earth, where deep secrets reside. And there they danced with the elements, emerging as a flowering plant, concealing strange secrets. When you were still a grain, spirits of the fields came and cast their light upon you, helping you grow. Thus, through you, we shall be touched by the same Race, and the mysteries hidden within you, we shall obtain down to the last of these grains."
The mysteries gained are associated with Lucifero, who, beneath the earth, is known as Noctifer or Nottambulo (The Sleepwalker of the Night). The lights of the stars at night in the Underworld, emanating from Lucifer, provide illumination in every sense of the word. This is the mystery teaching that this light is at home with darkness — literally, enlightenment in dark places.
Lucifer is the sower of light, the light of renewal, just as Lucibello is the renewal of light during the mating of fireflies in the wheat fields at the summer solstice. He offers light and enlightenment wherever there is none; he is the one who reveals hidden mysteries.
It is through his descent to earth and entry into the dark realm beneath it that Lucifero impregnates the earth with revealing light. The shooting stars connected to his myth are sometimes considered his allies, or companion stars that joined him on earth after he departed from the firmament of the heavens and left the moon's radiance to Diana.
