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    witchcraft and christianity?

    Well... I have a dilema. I love witchcraft, I love the ideas of witchcraft, especially wicca. Even though I am not an active christian, I do have a belief and faith in Christ. I have had some amazing things happen when I pray when I am truly in need. I tried running away from my belief from a long time, but at the end of the day, my faith is with god. But I want to practice witchcraft. I want to learn to use natures energy. But Wicca is a religion, there's goddess's that they have faith in. Is there a type of magic that I can use that allows me to keep my faith as a "christian?" and how would I start? how do I learn? Thanks for anyone who can give me some advice.

    #2
    Re: witchcraft and christianity?

    You may want to look into gnosticism. However, do be careful, for there are some who will (on the one hand) claim that gnosticism predates christianity while they (on the other hand) say it's invalid because the earliest known gnostic tests are from 5 centuries after the reported time of jesus.

    Christian gnosticism is probably the way you want to go, but if you believe in Jesus as the avatar of the old testament (torah) god, then you should strongly consider Kabbalah.

    Hope that at least gives you a few hours of worthwhile research, if not point you the right direction.

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      #3
      Re: witchcraft and christianity?

      hello and welcome to the forum, well my advice to you is that, witchcraft is not a religeon. wicca is and christianity is and islam and all the others, but witchcraft isnt.

      you can be a wiccen that doesnt practise witch craft. how ever if you want to practise a craft that ties in with christianity id look at voodoo and hoodoo

      or maybe even take up and eclectic path. and create your own religous views, surrounds yehweh and jesus and incorperating witch craft into that.

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        #4
        Re: witchcraft and christianity?

        Originally posted by Kahlenda View Post
        hello and welcome to the forum, well my advice to you is that, witchcraft is not a religeon. wicca is and christianity is and islam and all the others, but witchcraft isnt.

        you can be a wiccen that doesnt practise witch craft. how ever if you want to practise a craft that ties in with christianity id look at voodoo and hoodoo

        or maybe even take up and eclectic path. and create your own religous views, surrounds yehweh and jesus and incorperating witch craft into that.
        Well I already live an eclectic path. I'm trying to incorporate witchcraft into it. I just don't know where to start. Most magic books have the religious parts and importance in them and the ones that don't definitely are not for beginners. I don't have a mentor but I wish I did

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          #5
          Re: witchcraft and christianity?

          Originally posted by sk8chic100 View Post
          Well I already live an eclectic path. I'm trying to incorporate witchcraft into it. I just don't know where to start. Most magic books have the religious parts and importance in them and the ones that don't definitely are not for beginners. I don't have a mentor but I wish I did
          I don't really practice witchcraft myself at this moment in time, but I will say it wouldn't be a bad idea to read some books. Since paganism, witchcraft, and wicca do overlap sometimes, you could pick up a few wiccan books, books on witchcraft in general, or some from other pagan religions, and with a discerning eye, look for ways to practice spells that don't necessarily fit into the wiccan framework. From what I've seen, a lot of what makes wicca unique in the world of witchcraft is what they do before and after spells, such as casting circles and calling spirits from the 4 directions, and their worship of a God and Goddess. There's way more ways to protect oneself during spells than casting circles and whatnot, so you could probably just borrow the spells itself and figure out other ways to go. Maybe pray to the christian god before and after spells?

          As far as I know, the concept of "kitchen witchery" is generally focused on the spells itself, rather than the religion, so you could also look into that a bit.

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            #6
            Re: witchcraft and christianity?

            A path that i find a lot of people in your situation take is christian wicca. Wicca is an incredibly malleable path which allows its followers to interchange their beliefs to fit them. You choose which gods you worship and how you do so. For me, I worship Luna as my main deity however I view "god" as my male deity. You may be thinking "but in the bible it says "thou shall not have any gods before me." or something to that effect however my beliefs tell me that everyone who believes in a god is right but there are a finite amount of deities in the cosmos and that it is simply that different religions have different names for the same gods I.E. Luna=Selene=Diana or God=Allah=Zeus. I also believe that whomever either wrote or translated the bible made god out to be much more of an Asshole than I see him being. I think that he is a rational being who would understand if you felt more connected with say a goddess like Luna or otherwise and would live and let live... otherwise all the people who don't worship him, would be at this very moment being smote. Basically what I am saying is just because the bible or any other religious book says one thing, you have to realize that it is ultimately a human creation which is subject to bias and misinterpretation over the decades as linguistics change. I feel that is something you cannot put your faith behind as those things make it unreliable. What you can put your faith behind is what you feel. Pray to God how you feel is right... use whatever tools or gifts you feel he/she gave you... If you have to make it up from the ground up like Kahlenda suggested... do so.. just do what feels right and take no crap from people who seek to discourage you from your path. When I chose to come out of the broom closet to my mother, she told me wicca was just a phase, I insisted to her that it was not and she told me I was going to hell. I bawled my eyes out for several hours afterward until my eyelashes were like knifes against my eyes. I am now two states away and working on getting back into touch with my religion/beliefs because they were stifled when I lived with my mother and I lost my way since I had very little places to turn to. Luckily my father was a Buddhist and helped me find reading materials which kept me somewhat informed. My point is, whatever you decide your path is, stay on it because the farther you let people lead you, the harder it is to get back on. You will find what is right for you. Feel free to keep in touch and let me know how things are going for you.

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              #7
              Re: witchcraft and christianity?

              You might check out things like the Pennsylvania Dutch Pow Wow magics which utilized a lot of scripture and such for magical purposes. A second option might also be to look into some things such as appalachian folk magics as many of those also used biblical scriptures and such for magical workings.
              I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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                #8
                Re: witchcraft and christianity?

                Originally posted by sk8chic100 View Post
                Well... I have a dilema. I love witchcraft, I love the ideas of witchcraft, especially wicca. Even though I am not an active christian, I do have a belief and faith in Christ. I have had some amazing things happen when I pray when I am truly in need. I tried running away from my belief from a long time, but at the end of the day, my faith is with god. But I want to practice witchcraft. I want to learn to use natures energy. But Wicca is a religion, there's goddess's that they have faith in. Is there a type of magic that I can use that allows me to keep my faith as a "christian?" and how would I start? how do I learn? Thanks for anyone who can give me some advice.
                Hey sk8chic ^.^ Welcome to the forums. From my experience, melding anything with conventional Christianity can be really difficult. Instead of looking at the Bible literally, try reading it esoterically to extract principles to living and worship rather than set rules. It also helped me to see the Bible as a documentation of the progression of human responses to and understanding of God.

                So far, people have given you some great advice, you have a bit of research on your hands!

                Like you, I tried to run away from my faith but was drawn back. It is definitely different to other Christians', but remains Christ centred for now. It may change later, or may not.

                As you start to live out what you learn, I encourage you to be lead by your conscience. You might come across some practises you don't like right now, and it's okay to leave them for later. I'm not 100% sure about this, not being a practitioner of magic myself, but I think you might find that it is up to you how to use magic. From what I've read, there's a lot of time spent practising that goes into it as well as a measure of personal preferences. I think staying open to Christ as your guide will help you to use magic in a Christ honouring way.

                Be blessed as you walk in Christ! I hope you find heaps of friends on this forum and lots of useful, encouraging wisdom to help guide you through.
                Last edited by Azvanna; 14 Jun 2013, 01:17.

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                  #9
                  Re: witchcraft and christianity?

                  Its already been said, but witchcraft is a craft, a practice--not a religion. Specifically, its a practice of magic that may include (which witch does which depends on the witch, lol) the specific practices of spellcrafting, divination, healing, blessing, cleansing, hexing, etc. Witchcraft is amenable to being practiced along with your religious belief in Christianity, but there are a number of Christianities that are not amenable to coexistence with witchery. I would think very carefully on your position on the Bible's role in your personal faith...and how you plan to defend that position to others, should they discover any practice you adopt. There are a number of witchcraft practices that have blended Christian ideas, some of which have been mentioned already...but its really not hard to do on your own. Look at some basic guides to spellcraft, and adapt them to fit your religious beliefs.
                  Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
                  sigpic

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                    #10
                    Re: witchcraft and christianity?

                    Originally posted by sk8chic100 View Post
                    Well I already live an eclectic path. I'm trying to incorporate witchcraft into it. I just don't know where to start. Most magic books have the religious parts and importance in them and the ones that don't definitely are not for beginners. I don't have a mentor but I wish I did
                    well this is a brilliant book i was made aware of by another one of the members here on the forum.



                    it basically tells you about what magic is its self how it works, i think it could probably give you a few idea's

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                      #11
                      Re: witchcraft and christianity?

                      Originally posted by sk8chic100 View Post
                      Well... I have a dilema. I love witchcraft, I love the ideas of witchcraft, especially wicca. Even though I am not an active christian, I do have a belief and faith in Christ.
                      Wicca is its own religion. It has its own worldviews and practices. The specifics are debatable, but is recognisably its own thing.

                      Witchcraft is not a specific religion; it's a broad range of practices that may or may not be compatible with Christian belief and practice. Christians in centuries past practised folk magic, and modern revivalist "witchcraft" is largely rebranded European folk magic. And the Western Occult tradition, from which modern Neopaganism sprang, is based in part off of Christian and Jewish mysticism, but also partly from Greco-Roman mystic traditions. So there is some precedent for Christians to incorporate magic into their practice.

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                        #12
                        Re: witchcraft and christianity?

                        The funny thing is is that I don't really take the bible literally... nor do I refer to it much. I just naturally have faith in God and Christ. Most things that conventional Christians believe about the bible and take very literally I take as a loose interpretation of how they could explain things back then. I have a very scientific view of the bible. The earth was created in seven literal days many of the Christians I'm surrounded with believe. Therefore the big bang cannot be what happened. Well seven days could mean seven thousand, million, or a billion years. So I believe that the big bang is the most likely thing that happened. I'm just looking for a place to start with I
                        Witchcraft. I have a few books. One of them is the year and a day day wicca teachings. But I don't really know how to use it... I don't want witchcraft to be my religion, I don't really want to be labeled with a religion. But like already has been mentioned I want an eclectic lifestyle. I live an eclectic lifestyle. I guess my faith in God isn't the problem. I just don't know how to learn what I want to learn. There's so many things. Herbs, crystals, auras, chakras, animal spirit magic, Wicca... how can I learn it all?

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                          #13
                          Re: witchcraft and christianity?

                          Originally posted by sk8chic100 View Post
                          I guess my faith in God isn't the problem. I just don't know how to learn what I want to learn. There's so many things. Herbs, crystals, auras, chakras, animal spirit magic, Wicca... how can I learn it all?
                          Simple answer you can't, atleast not right away, i had the same thoughts when i first started practising witchcraft, i thought that i would have to know all the different corrospondances and such to be able to do witch craft effectivly, and i was wrong (hell it makes it easier when you start t remember them but if it isnt neccessary), you learn and remember these corrospondances over time, and by doing.

                          you shouldnt feel the need to rush your spell's like, "oh god, i need to do a money spell, so i need green candles some green banded agte and coin and an offering for the earth" (grab em do it and thats that),
                          you want to put energy into each of your spell's taking the time to research what crystal or gem or herbs or minerals, what tim eof day or week, what moon phase, or watever other information you need, take time developing your spells and putting the energy into them this will make them all the more powerful. and then when your have done yoru research jott it down in a Book of Shadows (grimoire) the act of writing it will help you to remember it and even if it doesnt you now have a written record.

                          And as for the other practises things like astral projection, or spirit guides, or elemental magicks, chakra;s and such, just focu on one thing at a time, research it record yoru findins practise your findings. i know personally after five years i still have a lot alot of things to learn. and im sure many of the people here that have been practising for donkeys years will agree that there is always something new to learn or experience.

                          Enjoy the journey, magick is its own reward and pleasure take the time to enjoy the craft.

                          and the biggest piece of advice i can give you, something i really hard to learn when i came from being a JW, is that witchcraft is not like christian practises, there isnt something there telling you eactly what to do and making you follow blindly, you make your own paths and decisions, you are in control.

                          P.S. this site may help for incorperating it into your beliefs aswell.

                          Last edited by Kahlenda; 15 Jun 2013, 15:51.

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                            #14
                            Re: witchcraft and christianity?

                            If you take the miracles in the bible as possibilities you can achieve and understand and feel how this process came about by the will and love of God, then you have achieved your first experience of magic- the delight and wonders and union with your God as you live a joyous life in the flesh. To me this is what witchcraft is about, except nature stands in for God or Christ and you have several myths, folklore and family mysteries instead of just the bible.

                            Add in some candles, local shrubbery and/or flowers, rocks and cross/crucifix or bible in an aesthetically pleasing fashion and you have yourself a little Christian-witches altar. I am not Christian or Catholic but I find a lot of parallels between Christ's words and miracles and those of accomplished mystics and witches- like Loiusevillain said, it's all related to a degree.

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                              #15
                              Re: witchcraft and christianity?

                              Originally posted by sk8chic100 View Post
                              The funny thing is is that I don't really take the bible literally... nor do I refer to it much. I just naturally have faith in God and Christ.
                              Maybe you just aren't a Christian. Maybe you just like and believe in the possibility of God, but not the Christian God.
                              Satan is my spirit animal

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