Iside and Maria of Nazareth between myth and witchcraft

This thesis is aimed at analyzing the transformation of different female figures revered in ancient times and they seem to be related to the age-old peasant culture.

For this work I have considered some female deities , such as Isis and also Diana and Hecate, who over time have become demonic characters , then assimilating witch , also characterized by the use of magic and from belonging to the peasant beliefs , and then on to the figure of the Virgin Mary .

In this regard I have taken in analyzing the text of Margaret Murray , who had supported the existence of witches behind the testimony of a primitive cult of fertility, survived in medieval and modern , based on the worship of two deities embodying the spirit of male and women , however, rejected by professional historians.

The main thesis of Murray , that witchcraft , or worship of Diana, which includes religious ideas and rituals of the subjects in the late Middle Ages known as "witches" , and participation in the so-called game of Diana, almost certainly a pagan rite of initiation women have traits in common, in particular: the rite celebrated in honor of a female deity , the assignment of specific knowledge during the celebration by the Domina ludi , the ritual killing of animals or men and their resurrection , and finally the night flight on the backs of animals to behave on the site of the ritual .