The Path of A Christian Witch

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As you can probably imagine, that post got a bit of interest - both positive and, yep, negative. It’s actually my most read post ever with 34,273 views as of the writing of this post! :o

She regrets that more dioceses do not fund advisers. Such appointments require considerable expertise, and few clergy are interested in reaching out to people attracted by these spiritualities. Common theme: Encouraging light in times of darkness. This light is represented in various ways: the unconquered sun, the star of Bethlehem, Jesus as the light of the world, or simply by the ritual use of candles. I have seen countless books and articles on “how to pray” or “pray right to get what you want” when there really is no one way to pray. For me, a prayer is simply a conversation with God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit or even the Goddess. No more, no less. There is plenty of room in my heart and spirit for the Holy Trinity AND the Goddess. I find that having a belief in the middle of the road satisfies me. It soothes me. It brings me peace and joy. Recent studies show that I am not alone in this belief as there are a growing number of “Christian Witches”. I know, it sounds like a contradiction, but it is possible to live the best of both worlds.Mr Cudby, one of the C of E’s five active New Religious Movements advisers, says: “There are an awful lot of people called Christian witches — [who practise] a more or less orthodox faith, but they believe they have spell-crafting gifts.” Would these not be identified as prophetic gifts by parts of the Church? “It’s difficult to say.” This does not mean that British witches resemble their American sisters. The owner of an esoteric bookshop in London, who describes herself as a third-generation witch, says: “The Americans do have a slightly more hysterical view of life than we do.” Paganism has also gained legitimacy from academic attention. “Young women have always been interested in how to control their lives and find meaning,” Dr Dawn Llewellyn says. She is senior lecturer in Christian studies and deputy director of the Institute of Gender Studies at the University of Chester. Yule is celebrated on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. The date for Christmas was chosen by the roman Emperor Aurelian in the third century, to coincide with the feast of the Unconquered Sun. So, for both these feasts, we see a strong association with the power of the sun. Many pagan traditions were incorporated in the Christmas feast. Boniface introduced the Christmas tree, which was a Germanic tradition. Also, Santa Claus is an amalgamation of St. Nikolas and the god Odin.

The very first element of Narnia came to Lewis when he was sixteen. He saw in his imagination a faun (a mythological creature like a man with goat legs) carrying parcels in a snowy wood. The image stayed with him, and many years later it found a place in one of his stories. Inspired by his reading, Lewis's personal philosophy had been slowly approaching theism (belief in a god) under another name: he came to believe in a universal spirit without yet calling it God. He knew that his position was confused. In Surprised by Joy he likens the following process to being hunted down by God, or even being defeated by him in a game of chess. IT IS hard to quantify the rise in interest in Wicca and witchcraft, both of which are forms of paganism. The last Census in Britain was in 2011. Even then, increases in both were noticeable, however: the number of people in England and Wales identifying as Wiccans had risen almost two-thirds over the previous decade, to 13,042, concentrated among young people.

In a memorable example, when explaining the meaning of 'numinous' Lewis asked the reader to suppose they had been told there was a tiger in the next room: "you would probably feel fear". If, however, they believed there was a ghost in the next room, they would feel "fear, but of a different kind ... with the Uncanny one has reached the fringes of the Numinous". ( The Problem of Pain) Lewis claimed the civil marriage ceremony, quietly performed in a registry office, was a purely legal measure to allow Joy to stay in the country. Nobody is quite sure of their feelings for each other at that stage, but shortly afterwards some news arrived that changed everything. Joy was diagnosed with advanced cancer and did not have long to live. Lewis realised he loved Joy and decided to make their marriage public. The ceremony was performed around Joy's hospital bed. When she was able to leave hospital, Joy, Douglas and David moved into the Kilns. Note: Spirits in Bondage and Dymer were first published under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton (Lewis's mother's maiden name). Academic and other Lewis, very unusually for the time, thought that there ought to be some provision in Christianity for resurrection or heaven for animals.