Madonna Oriente or Signora Oriente - The Lady of the Orient, also known as La Signora del Gioco or the Lady of the Game, was the name of the Moon goddess that was worshipped in a cult that developed in Milan towards the end of the 14th century. Two women from higher society, Sibillia Zanni and Pietrina de' Bugatis, were brought before the Inquisition in 1384 and again in 1390 on the claims that they worshipped this goddess and were the first women to be sentenced to death by it for being witches. In the study of mythology, a lunar deity is a stone or stones of earth associated with or symbolizing the moon: see moon (mythology). ... In religion and sociology, a cult is a cohesive group of people (often a relatively small and new religious movement) devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture or society considers to be far outside the mainstream. ... Location within Italy Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese dialect: Milán) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed region in Italy. ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right}. It is housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to... Pedro Berruguete. ... Events May / September 3 - Siege of Lisbon by the Castilian army, during the 1383-1385 Crisis Births Antoine, Duke of Brabant (died 1415) St Frances of Rome (died 1440) Khalil Sultan, ruler of Transoxiana (died 1411) Deaths August 20 - Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life... Events Births December 27 - Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne (died 1411) Domenico da Piacenza, Italian dancemaster (died 1470) John Dunstable, English composer (died 1453) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman and rebel leader (died 1436) Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (died 1447) John VIII Palaeologus Byzantine Emperor (died 1448) Deaths... This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ...

The story

The following section is a story as reported by the two women. Sibillia reported that from the age of sixteen, each Thursday evening she was invited to Madonna Oriente's secret festivities. According to Pierina de' Bugatis, these were usually held in the tidy, clean and elegant houses of the rich. If the house was tidy, it was blessed. There were always numerous participants, both alive and already dead, including those that were beheaded or hanged and that were ashamed to raise their head due to this. Besides people, a pair of each animal species also had to come, except for donkeys and foxes. The donkey was not allowed to be present because of its close connection to Christ and the Lady saw herself as equal to him among her fellowship. As to the foxes, the reasons are not clear. Breaking these rules would mean the end of the world. Thursday, by international standard, is the fourth day of the week, falling between Wednesday and Friday. ... Binomial name Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 The donkey aka Annes (Equus asinus, hence also ass) is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Christ is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ...

During the festivity, people ate, drank and danced. Many animals were slaughtered and cooked, but their bones and the skin were not to be damaged. They were collected in a bag and at the end of the meeting the Lady stroked the bag with the head of a baton and all the animals were revived. If a bone was missing, it was replaced with the wood of the elderberry. Grays illustration of a human femur, a typically recognized bone. ... Model of the layers of human skin In zootomy and dermatology, skin is an organ of the integumentary system; which is composed of a layer of tissues that protect underlying muscles and organs. ... Baton is the name of one of two leaders of the Illyrian uprising against the Romans in Pannonia in 6 AD. The term baton refers to any of several types of cylindrical or tapered instruments composed of a wide variety of materials, and of differing functions: A baton (billy, billy... Species See text Elder or Elderberry (Sambucus) is a genus of between 5-30 species of fast-growing shrubs or small trees (two species herbaceous), formerly treated in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae, but now shown by genetic evidence to be correctly classified in the moschatel family Adoxaceae. ...

Beside the entertainment, the Lady of the East also taught her followers secret knowledge; the use of herbs and other medical knowledge, finding stolen things, fortune-telling and countering evil charms. The followers were likewise permitted to teach these arts to other people, under the condition that they not tell them about their fellowship. The word occult comes from Latin occultus (hidden), referring to the knowledge of the secret or knowledge of the hidden and often meaning knowledge of the supernatural, as opposed to knowledge of the visible or knowledge of the measurable, usually referred to as science. ... A herb (pronounced hurb in Commonwealth English and urb in American English) is a plant grown for culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual value. ... Medicine on the Web NLM (National Library of Medicine, contains resources for patients and healthcare professionals) Virtual Hospital (digital health sciences library by the University of Iowa) Online Medical Dictionary Collection of links to free medical resources Categories: Medicine | Health ... For prophecy in the context of revealed religions see Prophet. ... Look up Spell in Wiktionary, the free dictionary For spelling in linguistics, see orthography. ...

Interrogation and persecution

In 1384, Sibillia was interrogated for the first time. The interrogator, friar Ruggero from Carate, did not believe her story and had her sent home with only a light penance: for three Sundays, she had to stand at a Churches' door during the mass with two large yellow crosses and three fingers sewn on her dress. The first time by the Franciscans at the Vercellina door of Saint Francis, the second time by the Augustinian church of Saint Mark and for the third time by the Dominican church of Saint Eustorgius. She also had to stop going to the festivities. Pierina de' Bugatis confessed that she "believes Oriente is the mistress of her 'society', as Christ is the master of the world." She was given the same penance. Events May / September 3 - Siege of Lisbon by the Castilian army, during the 1383-1385 Crisis Births Antoine, Duke of Brabant (died 1415) St Frances of Rome (died 1440) Khalil Sultan, ruler of Transoxiana (died 1411) Deaths August 20 - Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life... A friar is a member of a religious mendicant order of men. ... Sunday is considered either the first or the seventh day of the week, between Saturday and Monday, and the second day of the weekend in some cultures. ... A church building is a building used in Christian worship. ... Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) presiding at the 2005 Easter Vigil Mass in place of the dying Pope John Paul II. Mass is the term used of the celebration of the Eucharist in the Latin rites of the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... Saint Francis of Assisi (born in Assisi, Italy, 1181; died there on October 3, 1226) founded the Franciscan Order or Friars Minor. He is the patron saint of animals, merchants, Catholic action and the environment. ... The Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430), are several Roman Catholic monastic orders and congregations of both men and women living according to a guide to religious life known as the Rule of Saint Augustine. ... Mark the Evangelist (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark, drawing much of his material from Peter. ...

None of the women, according to their words, were able to resist the temptation of further participating in the festivities, partially also because they did not understand why it would be wrong to have fun and learn something. Sabillia told that she visited the Lady two more times. The second time, she said, she threw a pebble in the brook running in front of the house for fun. The lady was very angry with her for doing this and forbade her to return again.

In 1390 Sibillia was interrogated by another friar, Beltramino di Cernuscullo. He listened to her with attention and wanted further clarifications. Sibillia noticed that the friar was very interested in her story so she could be calm. In fact, he was not at all interested in Signora Oriente, but wanted Sibillia to confess serving the Devil. He forced her, probably by torture, to do so. Then he turned her over to the secular authority that sentenced her to death by stake. Two months later Pierina de Bugatis was sentenced for having confessed the same crime. Events Births December 27 - Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne (died 1411) Domenico da Piacenza, Italian dancemaster (died 1470) John Dunstable, English composer (died 1453) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman and rebel leader (died 1436) Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (died 1447) John VIII Palaeologus Byzantine Emperor (died 1448) Deaths... The Devil is the name given to a supernatural entity who, in most Western religions, is the central embodiment of evil. ... The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was a famous torture device, though misconceptions about it do exist. ... Burning of two sodomites at the stake (Zürich, 1482) Execution by burning is the execution of individuals by fire. ...

Although the ladies were not the first to be persecuted for witchcraft by the Church authorities, they were the first in the following systematic persecutions by the Inquisition. It was claimed in the past that persecuting witches was the Inquisition's new role after Cathars and the Templars were exterminated. However, it is now clear that the witch-hunt originated amongst common people and was only later adopted by it. The Roman Catholic Church believes its founding was based on Jesus appointment of Saint Peter as the primary church leader, later Bishop of Rome. ... Pedro Berruguete. ... Cathars being expelled from Carcassone in 1209. ... The Seal of the Knights — the two riders have been interpreted as a sign of poverty or the duality of monk/soldier. ... A witch-hunt is a search for suspected witches; it is a type of moral panic. ...

Goddess of the Moon

Madonna Oriente is the Italian translation of the Latin words "Domina Oriens". It has been demonstrated that this name was used to denote the Moon (Lewis & Short). This means that the ladies were believing in the goddess of the Moon under one of its names. It is not clear whether there were indeed more members of her circle. Otherwise, the Moon goddess had many different names in different cultures. In Greek mythology, she is called Artemis, in the Roman one Diana and in German tradition Holda. Nevertheless, the participants of the rites of Madonna Oriente still viewed themselves as good Christians. In the eyes of the Inquisition, they were worshipping the Devil. Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ... A Latin Dictionary is a popular English-language lexicographical work of the ancient Latin language, completed in 1879, published by the Oxford University Press, and still widely used by classical scholars and Latinists. ... Greek mythology comprises the collected narratives of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. ... This article is about the Greek goddess. ... Roman mythology can be considered as two parts. ... Diana was the equivalent in Roman mythology of the Greek Artemis (see Roman/Greek equivalency in mythology for more details). ... In Germanic folklore Holda is the supernatural patron of the mystery of spinning with its links to the other world (See weaving (mythology)). She is well known throughout northern Europe (see Huld in Scandinavian mythology). ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ...

It is usually held that the meetings were of spiritual nature. The pagan rituals still pervaded the otherwise Christian society at that time. These practices were varied in their form but had a similar meaning. They worshipped the forces of nature and acknowledged a prominent religious role for women. Perhaps these two ladies were going in the trances and were having visions to get the access to secret knowledge. Such visions have been reported from all over the world in all times. Spirituality is, in a narrow sense, a concern with matters of the spirit, however that may be defined; but it is also a wide term with many available readings: it may include belief in supernatural powers, as in religion; but the emphasis is on personal experience. ... Within a Christian context, Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... A ritual is a formalised, predetermined set of symbolic actions generally performed in a particular environment at a regular, recurring interval. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... The deepest visible-light image of the universe, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ... The phrase altered state of consciousness was coined in the 1970s and describes induced changes in ones mental state, almost always temporary. ... In religion, visions comprise inspirational renderings, generally of a future state and/or of a mythical being, and are believed (by followers of the religion) to come from a deity, directly or indirectly via prophets, and serve to inspire or prod believers as part of a revelation or an epiphany. ... The word occult comes from Latin occultus (hidden), referring to the knowledge of the secret or knowledge of the hidden and often meaning knowledge of the supernatural, as opposed to knowledge of the visible or knowledge of the measurable, usually referred to as science. ...

See also

• Paculla Annia - ancient Roman rites of Bacchanalias countain elements of Medieval European witchcraft.
• Alice Kyteler - first documented case of a woman persecuted as having become a witch through sexual intercourse with the Devil.
• Benandanti Fellowship - fertility cult
• Moon (mythology)
• witchcraft
• witch-hunt

Paculla Ania was a southern priestess from Campania. ... The Bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Roman god Bacchus. ... The Moon has figured in many mythologies, often paired or contrasted with the Sun (see also Solar deity). ... The term witchcraft (and witch) is a controversial one with a complicated history. ... A witch-hunt is a search for suspected witches; it is a type of moral panic. ...

References

• Richard Kieckheffer, Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century (Magic in History), page 155. Pennsylvania State University Press, February 1, 1998. ISBN 0271017511
• Carlo Ginzburg, Raymond Rosenthal (translator), Ecstasies : Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath. University Of Chicago Press, June 14, 2004. ISBN 0226296938
• Jan Peter und Yury Winterberg: Hexen - Magie, Mythen und die Wahrheit (Witches - Magic, Myths and the Truth). A documentary movie. - in German, DVD was issued on 6th April 2004
• Luisa Murraro, La signora del Gioco, Feltrinelli, Milano, 1976 - in Italian
• Mario Graziano Parri, La signora del gioco. F. Cesati, 1984. ISBN 8876670270 - in Italian
• Massimo Centini: Le schiave di Diana: Stregoneria e sciamanismo tra superstizione e demonizzazione (Nuova atlantide). ECIG, 1994. ISBN 8875455880