Stregheria today has been heavily influenced by Wicca, but its true origins predate Wicca and trace back to ancient Italian folk magick and Roman-Etruscan paganism.
Sadly, over time, it was heavily suppressed and corrupted by Christianity, which lead to the degradation of its practices and the loss of its spiritual knowledge and wisdom. Despite this, remnants of the original tradition survived in rural Italian folklore, though they are scarce.
Originally, it was a nature-based, ancestral, and spirit-centered practice, while working with elemental forces, the cycles of nature, and particularly wild magick. It was influenced by and honored the Roman Goddess Diana (Astarte, ancestral reverence, nature, cycles) and the Roman God Janus (Bifrons, God of transitions, gateways, and higher wisdom), among others.
The Horned God/Goddess symbolizes the witchpower (Viriditas), the very life force in all living things. Lady Astarte is often depicted with the lunar disc or horns with this symbolic representation. Lady Astarte is deeply connected to nature, wilderness and the wildlife. She also rules over the Moon and its Cycles, which is why many refer to her as a Moon Goddess. In that respect, her rule of the Moon is again representative of the feminine powers of the Moon.