#Christian Magic

[alephskoteinos]

"Christians who practice magic aren't Christians" is in itself an interesting argument, not just because one has to ask "well what else would they be?" but because I have to wonder what they have to say about members of other religions who "break the rules".

And yeah, I have asked in the past "why would Christians practice magic if magic was considered sinful by Christianity?". That's what makes the reality of lived Christianity a contradiction. That's kind of what makes Christianity a mess. But Christians did sometimes practice magic, we have a lot of evidence for that fact, and in fact probably the majority of pre-modern organised systems of occultism were in some way based on Christianity. We don't have to like that, and indeed I'd argue that this fact itself colours the real struggle that underwrites the modern occult revival: to break away from the hegemony of Christianity in all areas, including occultism. In this sense, Thelema, Satanism, modern witchcraft, and various newly emerging non-Christian occult movements and reconstructions all should be understood as almost inherently revolutionary. But it is what it is, and as usual the people who understand this the least are Christians.

[thesorcererpoet]

This is the book of Oberon, a working sorcerers grimoire from Elizabethan England.

A main part of my practice relies on old English folk magic, Bible magic and grimoire practices that were available here. This book represents a Cunning Man’s collection of excerpts from several different grimoires that had been compiled over time and used in a kind of modular fashion, depending on what was needed that day. It is packed full of amulets, charms, conjurations and rituals which reflect a lot of what the English tradition of magic was like at the time.

While I don’t think it is possible to practice like the cunning folk did, 500 odd years ago, I do think a very functional, modern day English magic practice can be put together using components and methods from these books. In fact this is how I have worked with this stuff for many years.

[byhisscourging]

Introduction

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hello, peace be with you, and welcome to my blog!

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About this page:

This blog is mainly intended to be used to compile resources & information i’d like to curate and incorporate into my day-to-day spiritual life, as i’m trying to bridge an odd gap in both my mental health and my relationship with God. you’re more than welcome to stick around if you find my reposts & such helpful :)

my username is a reference to Isaiah 53:5, “by His scourging, we are healed.” the blog title is the English translation of my paternal family’s motto: “Elatum a Deo Non Deprimat”

the word “witch” is in quotations marks within my bio simply because although “witchcraft” is probably the closest word to describe what it is i’m practicing, the title of “witch” feels like something i have outgrown and is no longer accurate to my spiritual practices and such. no judgement intended toward anyone who does refer to themselves that way!

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Here’s some very basic information about me:

my name is Francis, though you may call me Frankie if you’d like!

i am 22 years old — an October baby!

i am a baptized and confirmed Roman Catholic

i have attended Catholic school for all levels of education i have received thus far

i am a student of theology with a concentration in interfaith studies at a Jesuit university (and am also aiming for a minor in peace & justice studies)

a non-negligible part of my personal theology/relationship with God has been influenced by Buddhist thought, particularly in regards to theology of the body

i have an 18 month old kitten named Assisi (nicknamed Sisi!) who followed me home on the feast day of Saint Francis <3

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My interests related to this blog include:

folk Christianity (especially) Catholicism, including: Irish/Celtic folk Catholicism; Appalachian (especially southwest PA/north WV) folk Christianity (Catholic and/or Protestant); Slavic folk Christianity; German folk Catholicism; and Britannic folk Christianity

folk witchcraft/magic related to the aforementioned practices

Braucherei

how to be more Christlike

the Five Wounds of Jesus and the Sacred Heart

Marian Devotion (my relationship with our Virgin Mother has never been the strongest, which I’d like to change)

saints and practices involving working with saints, especially but not limited to: St. Joan of Arc, St. Dymphna, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony, St. Expiditus, St. Joseph and St. Paul of the Cross

angels, guardian angels, and archangels, as well as practices involving working with all three

bibliomancy (specifically with the Bible) or other Christian-oriented/inspired divination

trans theology

cats and Christianity

witchcraft regarding familiars, chiefly cats

spoonie witchcraft

urban witchcraft

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GODBWYE!

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[asteriasgarden]

happy full moon

[prokopetz]

I understand why a lot of fantasy settings with Ambiguously Catholic organised religions go the old "the Church officially forbids magic while practising it in secret in order to monopolise its power" route, but it's almost a shame because the reality of the situation was much funnier.

Like, yes, a lot of Catholic clergy during the Middle Ages did practice magic in secret, but they weren't keeping it secret as some sort of sinister top-down conspiracy to deny magic to the Common People: they were mostly keeping it secret from their own superiors. It wasn't one of those "well, it's okay when we do it" deals: the Church very much did not want its local priests doing wizard shit. We have official records of local priests being disciplined for getting caught doing wizard shit. And the preponderance of evidence is that most of them would take their lumps, promise to stop doing wizard shit, then go right back to doing wizard shit.

It turns out that if you give a bunch of dudes education, literacy, and a lot of time on their hands, some non-zero percentage of them are going to decide to be wizards, no matter how hard you try to stop them from being wizards.

[wynchecraft]

Happy Palm Sunday, y'all!

Palm Sunday, known in Russian as Willow's Sunday (Вербное воскресенье), celebrates Jesus's arrival in Jerusalem. Instead of palm branches, Eastern orthodoxy celebrates with pussy willows, i.e. believers will take willow branches to church today in order to have them blessed and to keep them on their personal altars.

The eponymous tree (Latin: salix) and its sap have been known for its healing powers since ancient times and its derivatives appear in even the most basic skin-care and beauty products in local drug stores today (ever heard of salicylic acid?).

Yesterday, I was walking around my neighbourhood trying to find branches of salix acutifolia, the long-leaved or sharp-leaved willow. Passed down through Christian esoteric superstition, this particular kind of willow lends its name to the holiday and is also personified as a patron goddess of Mordva people: Varma-ava (Варма-ава).

"[...] In the ocean-sea stands a black island; on that black island stands a white stone; on that stone stands a chestnut stallion; on that chestnut stallion sits a red maiden with sharp blades, with sabers and with spears, chewing out and piercing all kinds of maladies, [...]."

The passage above, from a Russian-language invocation of the wind, doesn't acknowledge her explicitly, but she is visualised here and in other spells as a "red maiden." Here and elsewhere, the colour red stands for the deep red branches and twigs of s. acutifolia, while the enumeration of sharp cutting tools ("blades," "sabers," and "spears") evoke the sharp, thin leaves of this particular willow's foliage.

Wishing y'all a pleasant holiday, stay safe + healthy g2g pick willow branches now.

[catholic-shadow]

Card Pull 001

Requester: Me

Meditation: “How should I handle the stress I’m in with this new job?”

Card Pulled: Paul the Apostle

Paul’s habits changed with his conversion, just as our habits are about to change with this new employment. Like Paul, I need to be persistent in my belief to meet my goals. Though plenty of smaller things may conflict with Christ in Paul’s letters, there is beauty in that conflict, there is clarity in questioning which way is right. Likewise, there is beauty to be found in the uncertainty of today, and I ought not to let it go to waste.

[3arth2-incog]

𝓓𝓲𝓸𝓻,2007

[pro-royalty]

Laura Harrier

[folkandbooks]

Folk witch tip #2

Someone did you dirty but you don’t want to get down into the nitty-gritty? Instead of hexing or cursing, bless them.

Bless them to learn their lesson sooner rather than later. Trust me, life lessons hurt.

Ooooor, you can bless the people around them to see their true nature.

You’ll make them pay for sure ✨

[illustratus]

Ruggiero arrives at the Court of Logistilla (Orlando Furioso) by Gustave Doré

[silverity]

i'm gonna make my painful contribution to The Discourse and say i do not see the harm in women reclaiming female centric spirituality.

i am not a religious person nor do i want to become one but spirituality is also about culture, community and celebration. i would much rather women celebrate nature, the female form, and "divine femininity" than patriarchal phallocentric religions. that "divine femininity" is used pejoratively has always tickled me considering we live in a world hooked on divine masculinity. the old matricentric religions are really the only form of female culture devoid of male-centric worship we can grasp at, since men have dominated our belief systems for thousands of years. and women learning about the old religions is the best way to unravel the myth of the male creator, and realise it is really women who are the closest thing to a "god" on Earth.

there's also an element here, which i think is deeply capitalist, patriarchal, and a little racist, of people considering the connection to & celebration of nature as somehow primitive. i think that the lifestyles most of us live now, with none of us knowing anything about the land around us is actually very infantile and regressive for humanity as a whole. the ways of life we consider "primitive" (primitive communism, matrilineal societies) are really what we need to find ways to return to post-capitalism. they were in tune to nature, sustainable, and much more communal & equal. how can nature be primitive or ascientific when science *is* in nature, and the practices of these old societies were early scientific discoveries & practices. as a Black person, my community is often trying to reclaim our lost practices. it makes sense to me that women would try to do so too.

[madcat-world]

Chill Beats Records Vol. 4 (12 of 27) - Christian Benavides

[lucid-moon0750]

Pro Wrestling out of context: Thankfully, The Patriarchy's potential victory was thwarted thanks to the brave actions of Daddy Magic, wielding a pair of handcuffs.

[angels-671]

𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵

[artist-issues]

there is a huge difference between “magic” as in, “the fairy-tale symbol for a another dimension of good or evil being manifested/a fantasy word for ‘superpower’”

and “magic” as in: “real-world sorcery.”

HUGE difference. Sorcery happens in the real world. It’s when creatures worship created things instead of their Creator. It’s when humans get played by real demons and think they’re tapping into something better.

But “magic” in stories is not always that. Weirdly it sometimes references sorcery. But it’s not always sorcererous. The Fairy Godmother from Cinderella is a symbol; she’s a rewarder of good ethics, and her “magic” just makes that agency a little richer and sparklier. But the witch from Snow White? She’s a character who references real-world sorcery. The same way the Huntsman references real-world people-who-hunted-for-a-living.

That is the difference. Sorcery vs. storytelling magic.