What is a Strega?

You see this word in my bio section on my website, my business cards, and my socials, but what does Strega really mean? Strega is the Italian word for witch. In English, the word witch has negative connotations attached to it for reasons we all know and understand. It is no different in meaning with its Italian variation. It can directly translate to the English word witch. A person said to possess magic by way of malevolent forces. In Southern Italy, this term and its plural variation, streghe, are used as a degradation to disparage, offend and disempower rural farmers and the poor.

For the sake of utilizing my English degree let’s do some etymological research. Strega comes from the Latin word, strīga. This originates from the Ancient Greek word strix ( στρίξ ) or stríx, which means owl or to screech. Now, I suppose I can dig the comparison of powerful, magical, healing women to wise owls screeching into the moonlit night. This is the thing with words…they can become little spells. Yet, we so soon forget that we have the power to command the word’s meaning and therefore, the little “spells” we cast out into our individual and collective realities.

To put it plainly, I can choose to reclaim the word Strega as a way to pay homage to my Southern Italian ancestors who came before me. Or, I can allow my identifying as a witch or Strega to condemn and vilify me. I choose to call myself a Strega because words do matter. Words arguably create matter (another topic for a different post perhaps). Point is that as I reclaim this word and use it, the word itself can be fueled with newer, more potently positive energy.

I am a Strega by blood. My ancestry is overwhelmingly Southern Italian (Sicily, Calabria. Bari, and Malta). My great-grandparents that came to the United States through Ellis Island in the 1890’s-1900’s were poor laborers and homemakers in search of a better life. They brought with them a rich, vibrant spiritualism—Catholicism, mixed with cultural traditions, beliefs, and superstitions. They brought their farming knowledge too, ensuring that their homes were complete with gardens and homemade wine cellars. These ancestors certainly would not have called themselves Strega or Streghe. Yet, they most certainly believed in the malocchio (evil eye) and threw down their mano behind their backs whenever they caught a person giving them an envious glare. Much of what I thought was “Italian culture” turned out to be more rooted in the remnants of La Vecchia Religione embedded neatly into Folk Catholicism practices.

My current spiritual beliefs, how I practice my magic, and how I approach life are inextricably linked to my ancestors, our peoples from around the Mediterranean Sea, and the calling to continue what has been lost to us along the way.

I am a Strega…an Italian-American witch. I am an Italian Folk Magic and Medicine Practitioner. I practice my Benedicaria alongside my grandmothers and great-aunts. I cook as my ancestors cook; I conjure as they conjure; I pray as they do. I carry their spirits with me. They are alive within me. And so, I continue their work in the here and now, knowing that it is all a process of remembrance.

For a more in-depth study of Italian Folk Magic check out Lisa Fazio’s website, The Root Circle.