This is a question that begs an answer, there are many different types of witchcraft as we have explored before. As we explore there are also many people often ask what types of religions practice witchcraft? The truth of the matter is this… Witchcraft can be found everywhere and anywhere if you choose to look long & hard enough for the answers. It is found in Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, Deism, Judaism, even in Taoism- and many more religions around the world. To answer the question simply, Yes there are Christian Witches, however it is not a simple answer that most seek. They choose to look deeper and more in depth for the answer, and hopefully that is where this blog post will try to fill in some of those holes.

With that being said, there are often times that people within organized religions struggle with the idea that witchcraft and their religion can coexist peacefully within their lives. They struggle to break free of what they may have been taught by close minded teachers within their lives.

We are going to take a look at several different ways that one can see the magic hidden within Christianity itself.

This has been a topic that has been emerging more frequently online and within topics of discussions within the communities themselves.

When you start to look at Christianity as an emerging religion, it was coming into being after the many other practices had already been existence for centuries before it. When it began to form, when its ideologies were being constructed it was at a time when Paganism was at its peak of existence. With that being said there were many traditions & practices that Christianity borrowed from Paganism. If you look, I mean really look you can see where their holidays, celebrations, figures, miracles, and practices actually have deeply rooted pagan cores.

As Christianity began to make an impact on the Roman world, the new religion faced two major struggles. On the one hand, it faced a series of deviations from orthodox theology, in the form of heresies principally concerned with the exact nature of Jesus and his relation to God the Father. Second came the challenge of magic. Magical practitioners were ubiquitous in the pagan world, and their stock in trade consisted of claims to exercise powers beyond the merely natural or human.

Prospective converts looked to Christian priests and monks to work magic more effectively than their pagan equivalents, and this remained a requirement as long as there were sizeable areas of Europe to be converted, that is, until at least the twelfth century. Saints played a major role in this preternatural activity. They worked wonders, cured the sick, expelled evil spirits and, when death took them, their relics continued the good work. Hence, amulets of all kinds, re-cast in Christian guise, pursued the miraculous or magical ends once sought purely by pagan magic.

P.G. Maxwell-Stuart

Now, if you remember, we have discussed Wiccan beliefs and Pagan beliefs as well but let us go back over a few things before we continue to answer some more of these questions. Wicca is a religion all its own, and often viewed as a polytheistic one at that. What does this mean? Well, it means, simply put- That their religion believes in more than on deity. Pagans, however, can be monotheistic or polytheistic in their belief system.

There is also another section of witchcraft we need to take a look at before we continue on with this discussion, Trinitarian Wicca. What makes a Trinitarian Wiccan a Trinitarian Wiccan is the use of the Christian pantheon. That could be saints, Jesus and Mary, or only the Holy Trinity. They use lost scripture, like the Gospel of Thomas, and Gnostic teachings; some even use Kabbalah in their practice. That is it. Christian was a modifier, and it changed to Trinitarian.

It is no wonder that this all can be very confusing to someone who is trying to figure out their path in life and where they should go with the beliefs they were taught as a child. There are truly so many different ways to find ones path and emerce your faith within it too.

So, if you go strictly by the very definition of the words, one could not be a Christian Wiccan any more than one could be a Hindu Muslim or a Jewish Mormon. There are Christians who practice witchcraft within a Christian framework, but this is not Wicca. Do keep in mind that there are people who declare themselves to be Christian Wiccans, or even ChristoPagans, honoring Jesus and Mary as god and goddess together. It’s generally rude to argue with how people self-identify, but if you go by actual semantics, it seems that one would rule out the other.There are some practitioners who follow what they call Trinitarian Wicca, which “is a tradition based on American Wicca, boasting no direct lineage. Trinitarians work exclusively with the Goddess-inclusive Christian Pantheon. This tradition is not eclectic nor is it ChristoPagan because our devotion lies exclusively with the Christian pantheon.”

 Patti Wigington

There is a large movement that is being lead by a woman who clearly states that she identifies herself as a Christian Witch and is a Reverend. We will link some quotes and some of her ideologies below for you to read and go through for yourself.

Afraid to come out the broom closet? Hesitant about revealing your magickal powers to friends & family for fear of what they might say or think? FRET NOT!!! This resource is created just for you… Recite The Christian Witch’s Creed ALOUD every day at 11:11 AM for 40 days and watch the miraculous unfold… Blessed Be!

Rev. Valerie Love

Now lets take a look a a specific quote from the Bible itself …

“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

King James Bible

There is some speculation that this line was a mistranslation, that “witch” was meant to be a poisoner. Either way, this line is one of the many bases of the horrific witch trails that occurred within history- Spanning Globally. To be specific, Germany, Spain, and a few other countries were the only ones to burn the “witches” at the stake, while the British Isles hung theirs. All in all, innocent people were killed because of a possible mistranslation… There have been deaths that have occurred for less in history too. Now this is not to make lightly of the situation by any means, no, it is simply to bring awareness why so many are hesitant to link the two together- Christianity & Witchcraft.

NOT all pagans reject Jesus. Mark Townsend, who left the priesthood in the Anglican Church in 2010 (Interviews 31 July 2017), now places himself between Christianity and druidism. His website home page refers to him as “Revd” and a “independent priest”, and he is shown wearing a clerical collar and black cassock. He says that, while researching his book Jesus Through Pagan Eyes, he found three views of Jesus: “the humble, wandering-troubadour-like figure who seemed to be on the side of the marginalised, [who is] compassionate and slightly motherly at times; the cosmic Christ, the universal consciousness, a picture of God within all matter.

” But what [pagans] find difficult is Jesus Christ — the Church’s Christ, who says, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life,’ which seems to be exclusive rather than inclusive.”

There are several other ways that Christian Witches work with Witchcraft as a whole, many different labels so speak with in their workings and practices. For example, many will use the term Light Worker/Witch.

So, what is a lightworker?

Technically, the term lightworker was first coined by author and teacher Michael Mirdad relatively recently, in the early 80s. Later, in 1997, Doreen Virtue released the book The Lightworkers Way.

The simplest way to describe lightworkers would be as beings who feel an enormous pull towards helping others. Also referred to as crystal babies, indigos, Earth angels and star seeds, these spiritual beings volunteer to act as a beacon for the Earth, and commit to serving humanity. 

They often feel greater kindness and compassion towards others right from their childhood – chances are that they’ve rescued several animals and other living beings in distress from a young age. 

Lightworkers tend to be sensitive, and hence they feel sadness and anguish for the misery that dwells in the world around them. This is why they tend to choose professions wherein their empathetic nature can be used to assist those in need, like nursing, therapy, rehabilitation, healing, care-giving, veterinary services, research and teaching etc. 

Lightworkers are intuitive and driven by their internal guidance. They can often ably perceive the emotions and needs of other living beings, which enables them to harness and direct their healing powers towards those who need help. They also believe in carrying out coordinated efforts to dispel or chase away negative consciousness using their positive energies and healing powers. Not all lightworkers realize the nature of their spiritual calling right away. While some star seeds may realize that their purpose on Earth is to elevate mankind’s collective consciousness, several lightworkers can only sense a drive to serve and compassion in their own hearts, and that they feel good when supporting others through difficult times.

It is through the lightworker’s teachings that many can see where it could potentially blend well within Christian beliefs too. Not all lightworkers see themselves as Starseeds, which is a whole different topic for discussion all together.

You also have other types of witches within the christo pagan community as well, What exactly is ChristoPaganism?

Christianity and neopaganism overlap when the beliefs or practices of one religious path influence, or are adopted by, the other. Historically, Christianity sometimes took advantage of traditional pagan beliefs when it spread to new areas – a process known as inculturation. Thus newly established churches took on sites, practices or images belonging to indigenous belief systems as a way of making the new faith more acceptable.

More recently, in a parallel process, some followers of modern pagan paths have developed practices such as Christopaganism by blending Christian elements into neopagan practice.

Joyce and River Higginbotham define Christopaganism as: “A spirituality that combines beliefs and practices of Christianity with beliefs and practices of Paganism, or that observes them in parallel.” They give examples of people identifying as Pagan but observing both Pagan and Christian liturgical years, using the Rosary or observing a form of Communion.

We must now, take a brief look, at some other religions that blend portions of Christian beliefs and Witchcraft together. On the darker side of the spectrum, well darker for some at least. There is Hoodoo. What is Hoodoo? Hoodoo is a mixture of African practices, Native American influence and European Christian folk practices. Hoodoo, in addition to being a body of botanical and esoteric knowledge, is a rebellion against mental and spiritual domination. It is a genesis of folk practices derived from an admixture of African-American spiritual practice, Christian folk cunning, and Native American herbal knowledge.

Christian Folk Cunning? What is that? Cunning folk, also known as folk healers, are practitioners of folk medicine, folk magic, and divination within the context of various traditions of folklore in Christian Europe (from at least the 15th up until at least the early 20th century).

Names given to folk healers or magicians in parts of Europe include:

• the French devins-guérisseurs (soothsayer-healers) and leveurs de sorts (curse-lifters)
• the Italian benandanti (“good walkers”)
• the Dutch toverdokters or duivelbanners
• the German Hexenmeister or Kräuterhexen
• the Irish bean feasa (“woman of knowledge”), banfháidh or fáidhbhean (“female seer”)
• the Spanish curanderos
• the Portuguese curandeiros/as, benzedeiros/as or mulheres de virtude (this last one applies only to females, translating as “women of virtue”)
• the Danish kloge folk
• the Swedish klok gumma (“wise old woman”) or klok gubbe (“wise old man”)
• the Slavic vedmaki (“warlocks”)

I hope this introductory post helps some of you out there who might have had some questions about is it possible to mixt the two together, and are there really Christian Witches out there. The answer to both of those is, YES! But finding the right pathway to blend the two of them together can be a long path to make it suit your needs and your beliefs. This is not to say this pathway is right for everyone, because it is not. But it may be right for you. We will revisit this topic at another date as well, with more questions I am sure that will need to be answered.

Until Next Time~

LunaOwl~J