Mario Pazzaglini, Ph.D., and Dina Pazzaglini, in their A New Translation wrote:
Witches continue to return to the original manuscript of Aradia, not just for its poetry, but for its rawness. Gwyneth Cathyl-Harrow, quoted earlier, who encountered the book as a schoolgirl, told me, "Since the winter I turned fifteen, I've offered the 'Invocation to Diana' to Her. Maybe those thirteen lines of translation into English are Leland's greatest gift to us. They work, you know. They work." (76)
Indeed, I have seen these two invocations in a number of Wiccan books presented as "traditional" material--sometimes not crediting the source.
I present both Leland's translation and the Pazzaglinis' translation along with the original Italian text recorded by Leland.
Invocation to Diana Leland's Translation Lovely Goddess of the bow! Lovely Goddess of the arrows! Of all hounds and of all hunting Thou who wakest in starry heaven When the sun is sunk in slumber Thou with moon upon thy forehead, Who the chase by night preferrest Unto hunting in the daylight. With thy nymphs unto the music Of the horn--thyself the huntress, And most powerful: I pray thee Think, although but for an instant, Upon us who pray unto thee! (206) Invocation to Diana Pazzaglinis' Translation 502 Beautiful goddess of the bow! 503 Beautiful goddess of the arrows! 504 Of hunting and of dogs! 505 You keep watch with the stars, 506 When the sun goes to sleep 507 You with the moon on your forehead 508 Hunting by night, better than by day. 509 With your Nymphs at the sound 510 Of trumpets--You are the Queen 511 Of hunters--Queen of the night, 512 You who are the huntress 513 The most powerful of any, 514 Hunter, I pray you, 515 Think of us a little! (313)
In the notes in the Pazzaglinis' "The Line-By-Line Retranslation" for line 502 pointed out the similarity between the crescent moon and the silver bow carried by Diana, the Maiden Huntress (413).
Invocation to Diana Italian Text 502 Bella dea dell'arco! 503 Bella dea delle freccie! 504 Della caccia e dei cani! 505 Tu vegli Colle stelle, 506 Quando il sol va dormir 507 Tu colla luna in fronte 508 Cacci la motte meglio del di. 509 Colle tue Ninfe al suono 510 Di trombe--Sei la regina 511 Dei cacciatori--regina delle notte, 512 Tu che sei la cacciatrice 513 Piu potente di ogni, 514 Cacciator--ti prego 515 Pensa un poco a noi! (205) Scongiuration, or Spell, to Great Diana Leland's translation Fair goddess of the rainbow, Of the stars and of the moon! The queen most powerful Of hunters of the night! We beg of thee thy aid, That thou may'st give to us The best fortune ever! If thou heed'st our evocation And wilt give good fortune to us, Then in proof give us a token! (206, 207) Scongiuration, or Spell, to Great Diana Pazzaglinis' translation 516 Beautiful goddess of the rainbow! 517 Of the stars and of the moon! 518 The queen most powerful 519 Of hunters and the night! 520 In you we have recourse, 521 And we ask your help 522 That you may give us 523 Always good fortune. 524 If our invocation 525 You will hear, 526 And good fortune you would give us, 527 A sign to us you will give! (313)
The Pazzaglinis' note about line 516 is even more illuminating: "'Rainbow' in Italian is arcobaleno; arco del cielo is 'bow of heaven' or 'arc of heaven', forming a complex pun. Arco del cielo also means 'musical bow.'" (414)
Scongiuration, or Spell, to Great Diana Italian text 516 Bella dea del arco del cielo! 517 Delle stelle e della luna! 518 La regina piu potente 519 Dei cacciatori e della notte! 520 A te ricorriamo, 521 E chiediamo il tuo aiuto 522 Che tu possa darci 523 Sempre la buona furtuna! 524 Se la nostra scongiurazione 525 Ascolterai, 526 E buona fortuna ei darei, 527 Un segnale a noi lo darei! (206, 207)
Anyone interested in studying Aradia or the Gospel of Witches should definitely read the Pazzaglinis' 1998 book, as it contains Leland's original book in full, as well as all the Pazzaglinis' wonderful insights, notes, and comments.
The full title of the book is: Charles G. Leland, Aradia or the Gospel of Witches, A New Translation by Mario Pazzaglini, Ph. D. and Dina Pazzaglini, 1989.
The two brief passages above are samples of their excellent translation and valuable information.