The Path of the Christian Witch

A while ago now I wrote a post called WTF is a Christian Witch.

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

Most weeks I still get notifications of new comments on that post and when I see them pop into my inbox I’m never quite sure if it’s going to be another one of my soul fam saying they resonated, or a Christian trying to save me from my misguided ways!

Since writing that post I’ve had a lot of people get in touch, saying they resonate with the idea of blending these two belief systems but they just don’t really know how to do that.

So in this post I’m going to try to explain what it means to me personally to be on the path of the Christian Witch, how I go about it, and how you can begin to develop your own practices and path too!

Being a Christian Witch is just one path to love

One of the most important things about this path is knowing why you resonate with the idea of being a Christian Witch (or whatever word or label, or no label you want to use for yourself!).

I’ve always resonated with Jesus because I believe his whole ministry was about L.O.V.E!

Nothing more, nothing less. He wanted to guide people back to love - love for each other, love for themselves. He spoke so much about forgiveness and non-judgement and just generally being a good person and living a good life.

To me that makes him one heck of a teacher whatever else he may or may not have been!

But I also feel there is so much love to be found in other paths, in the connection with nature, with other teachers and deities, which is part of the reason why being a Christian alone never worked for me.

So, if you want to develop your connection to the divine and to your own inner light by following the path of the Christian Witch, consider what it means to you.

Why this path over any others? How does this spiritual path help you navigate this world? At it’s core, what is this really about for you?

For me, it’s about finding my way back to love a little more every day.

My (kinda messy but does the trick!) altar x

There is no right or wrong way to be a Christian Witch (or anything!)

There are no rules here. No dogma. No ancient traditions or rituals to follow. There’s just you and your own beliefs. To me this is everything.

The rules of the church don’t work for me. I can’t have someone telling me “this is how it’s done because this is how it’s always been done”, especially when “the church” of today was built upon layer upon layer of “stuff” that has very little to do with Jesus himself.

Jesus himself didn’t create the church, and as much as I love a good singalong at a mega church, I’m not convinced any of the churches that exist right now were exactly what Jesus had in mind.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time studying Wicca, Paganism and other paths of Witchcraft over the years and while I certainly do draw from some of them, in some ways I find many of the “rules” of organised witchery to be just as dogmatic as the church. That may ruffle some feathers, but if you’ve spent any time in the witchy communities online you’ll know some of those communities can be just as “my way or the highway” as other religious groups!

So for me being a Christian Witch is all about doing things my own way.

It looks different to everyone who’s on this path.

Some people go to church and read the bible but also use oracle cards and work with the cycles of the moon.

Then there are others who will follow more of a Wicca or more traditional Witchcraft path but will choose Jesus and Mary as their patron and matron deities.

You may be more Christian leaning with a Tarot deck in your bedside draw, or perhaps you are more Witchcraft leaning with a bible on your altar.

Whatever works for you is what is right for you.

It’s about your own relationship with the divine all around and within you.

It can overwhelming and confusing at times to just “do whatever you want” on the spiritual journey, so if you need a few more ideas on how to get started with a practice I’ll share some things that I do which you may like to do also, but remember this path is your path and you get to decide what it looks like, no one else.

The Jesus Deck in action!

Check out books and resources on the Ascension Path

The Ascension Path teachings incorporate many different aspects of the divine including Jesus, Angels and other Ascended Masters. It’s a high vibrational pathway back to love, higher levels of consciousness, wisdom and peace. Some of my favourite Ascension teachers are Tim Whild, Diana Cooper and Joshua David Stone.

Work with oracle decks that are Christian Witch friendly

Some of my favourites are The Jesus Deck, Work Your Light Oracle, Crystal Mandala Oracle, Art Through the Starstream Oracle and Oracle of the Angels.

Work with the Christ Consciousness

While we can certainly call on Jesus to assist us, we can also call on the energy of the Christ Consciousness or Christ Light to activate and work within us, helping us to become more Christ like, embodying the energy, love and light of the Christ energy.

I like to do this by just saying out loud “I invoke the Christ Light” and visualising that my whole body is full of golden light. I do this with the intention that I may live my life with love, compassion, peace and harmony. But of course, you can do this in any way that feels right for you.

Read the bible including the lost gospels

But, read it with discernment, with your crown chakra and heart activated.

I love the New New Testament which includes many of the lost gospels.

Follow your heart and create your own path

While I hope that this post has maybe inspired you a little or given you some ideas for exploring your path, remember that no one can tell you how to be spiritual but you.

Only you know the way for you, so make time to get quiet, meditate and listen to your own heart and soul.

With so much love and light,

Vix

x

PS - if you’re looking for a community of like-minded souls that’s dogma and judgement free be sure to come join us in the free FB group Spiritual Journey Pitstop or gather with your soul family in the spiritual development group The Circle.

Thoughts on the Burning Times + Persecution in the Spiritual Community

So, I got called a witch burner.

A couple of times actually.

I wrote a post recently about my thoughts and experience on being a Christian Witch. A lot of people really dug it. Some people didn't.

And that's totally cool. I think it's really important for us to hold space for people who think and feel differently from what we do.

But being called a witch burner definitely brought up a lot of stuff for me.

I spent a bit of time in my late teens in the church. I sang in the worship team and I was slain in the spirit and my friends spoke tongues at me in the car park. 

I was pretty gutted I never got the gift of tongues. I did receive the gift of prophecy though. I bet my friends at bible camp didn't think this is where I'd end up with it though.

It was pretty cool times.

I noticed pretty swiftly however, how freaked out and pissed off people were when I told them I had become born again in Christ.

People stopped talking to me, people tried to convince me I was brainwashed. People were just generally really nasty about my choices.

One time a man even yelled at me in Tesco because I was wearing a crucifix. 

People always ask me, "what's it like to come out of the spiritual closet?", and I gotta tell you, it was a heck of a lot easier, in my experience (it's different for all of us of course) to come out as a professional tarot reader than it ever was to tell people I was a born again Christian.

Since coming out as a Christian Witch (just one of many labels I use, I also dig lightworker, starseed and Hufflepuff) it's really highlighted just how much we still persecute each other in the spiritual community.

#giphy x

I mean I've literally had people call me a witch burner. 

I've been told not to call myself a Christian Witch because I'll lose followers.

I had someone I really looked up to in the community totally shut me down after seeing my post.

With all the accusations and finger pointing going on I started to feel like I was actually about to be burned at the stake myself.

There is a lot of persecution in the spiritual community.

For years I've never felt like I belonged anywhere in the community. I was too witchy for the Christians, too love and light for the tarot community, too much of a Jesus freak for the witchy circles.

It was the main reason I started my group Spiritual Journey Pitstop on Facebook (which you are so, so welcome to join!) and opened the doors for people of all belief systems to share their paths free from judgement. 

There is a lot of finger pointing in the community and I wonder when it's going to stop. 

When are we going to realise that the finger pointers were to blame along with the witch burners?

The burning times were totally messed up.

Also, many "witches" weren't burned either. I'm just using the term "burning times" because y'all know what I mean. But there were many other horrendous ways people were killed.

#giphy

But I think we've become so focused on the "witch" in witch burning that we've forgotten what the burning times were actually about.

Many of those who were burned were not even witches.

We must remember that these were frightening times, and the choice was often to name someone as a witch or die yourself.

So the finger pointing began. 

We can't deny that the burning times were a result of using religion to control the people and some men of the time in power not being able to deal with the divine feminine and women in general but I think sometimes we put so much blame on those in power and deny what was happening in the community.

Sisters, mothers, best friends were pointing the finger and offering each other up.

And I wonder when we're going to stop pointing the finger.

I've done it too of course. I am not a perfect person. I've judged and assumed and accused.

And I think we need to have compassion for those who've been finger pointing. It usually always comes from a place of fear.

But it feels like time we stopped throwing each other in the fire.

To truly clear and heal the karma of the burning times we don't need to bring down Christianity, or Christians or those who identify as Christian Witches, we need to stop pointing fingers, and stop throwing each other in the fire.

There is finger pointing of all kinds going on in the spiritual community.

I've been called out dozens of times for spiritual bypassing, being too love and light, not doing any shadow work, not being spiritual enough, not going deep enough, not owning enough dark tarot decks, not using my platform to post about politics, not reading tarot "the right way" (like there is one), not talking about enough big heavy stuff on my blog and now, also being called a witch burner.

And all this from other people in the spiritual community who don't know anything about me.

Not from my Christian friends who've known me since high school. Not from my Muslim friends. Not from my atheist friends. From other people in the spiritual community.

And then we look outside the community at the world around us and we see horrific things happening and yet we still point fingers at each other. You're not political enough. Why aren't you talking about this?

And yes, being political and talking about big important stuff is important AF.

But if you're not talking about it, that's OK too.

If you're a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Witch, or a Christian Witch or if you don't even have a clue how to begin labelling yourself, that's OK too.

We have all, all of us, every religion, every belief system, we have all been persecuted. We have all been killed for our beliefs. 

And often times we've been killed for our perceived beliefs.

Many of those executed were not witches at all. Why do we never talk of them?

Witches often feel as if they own the burning times, and we do, but not alone.

All of you who have ever been persecuted, all of you who have been killed or harmed or hurt because someone pointed the finger or called you out, for truth or lies, it's all of us who own the burning times, and all of us who are here to heal the karma of it.

and we clear that karma when we stop turning on each other and start working together.

#giphy

Just visualise with me for a moment. We're back in the burning times and instead of pointing the finger we did a quick whip around of everyone in the villages and gathered a huge group of people all standing together. Men, women, Christians, followers of the old ways, all walking towards the gallows and the stakes and dismantling them. Gracefully throwing the power crazed leaders out of the court houses and town halls and replacing them with people in the community who were well respected and wise.

We move forward when we decide to hold hands with the Christian Witch next door instead of pointing the finger and throwing her in the gallows.

If this is triggering for you, I get it. Christianity is something many people find triggering for all sorts of reasons, and if you've been affected by Christianity in a negative way I send you so much love, light and healing.

But please know that my brand of magic and faith is aligned in love and compassion and kindness and contrary to popular belief, I am definitely not a witch burner. 

With so much love, light and healing,

Vix

x

WTF is a Christian Witch?

I have a funny relationship with the word witch. 

I honestly have a funny relationship with all the words that we use to describe who we are.

I mean, how can one word, or label, actually really explain to the whole world what we're about?

I went through a phase of not wanting to use any labels at all. "Don't put me in a box!" I'd scream. But sometimes finding a word, or words to describe who you are and what you're about can be really helpful. When someone asks "what's your spiritual path?" um-ing and ah-ing and responding with something about not doing labels doesn't really help anyone know what you're about, and when you run your own spiritual business it's kind of useful for people to know what you're about pretty quickly.

Having said all that, if you think labels are stupid and don't want one, that's cool too.

Mother Mary be my Matron Goddess! x (Pic from Google, if it's yours let me know so I can link you!) x

I resonate with a lot of different labels. Lightworker is one I use a lot because it's super vague, but kind of sums up what I do. I try to be a good person and help other people, to me that's what a Lightworker is. I call on Angels and work with lots of "light" energies, so it makes sense to call myself that. 

I also really like the term #LightWitch because the magic I make is all totally from the light baby! No hexing or negative magic here!

Lots of people dislike the term because they think Lightworkers ignore their shadow side, urgh, so not true though. You can't do Lightwork without doing shadow work my friends. When you really work with the Light OMG it lights up EVERYTHING! 

Another hashtag I use around the place is #ChristianWitch

So what's all that about huh? 

First off, a Christian Witch is something totally different to everyone who calls themselves one. So what I'm about to say, is just about my path. What you do as a Christian Witch might be totally different and that's awesome.

In my teens I discovered new age spirituality, Wicca and Witchcraft. It was AWESOME! Honestly, it kind of freaked me out, but I was totally into it.

I used to sit in my bedroom with my glitter nail polish covered kitchen knife athame and cast circles. 

A few years later I found myself running with a Christian crowd. They were an awesome bunch of people, some of them definitely soul family. We went to Bible study, put Cheezles out at youth group and I eventually ended up in the music ministry team singing my heart out for Jesus on the stage every Sunday.

Yep. 

I loved it. I even started looking into theology colleges and had some mad ideas about being a pastor of my own church.

Yep.

I loved the community, I honestly loved how I felt when I was in the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I mean, woah, talk about stuff coming up to the surface to be cleared!

There was a lot of stuff that didn't totally resonate with me though. Clearly, that's why I'm here talking about Christian Witches.

I didn't love the dogma, the patriarchal structure of the church, the stuff about everyone else being wrong.

That just didn't vibe.

I kept talking to Jesus for a while, and then I just started talking to God.

My spiritual path lay dormant for a good few years until I moved to London and had a ghost in my flat. A proper full on, OMG there is stuff moving around my room at night, someone knocking on my door when no one is there, why do I always feel like I'm being watched, books falling of the shelves kind of ghost.

I went to Shepherd's Bush market and bought a whole bunch of Hoodoo candles, a rosary, a cross that I didn't take off for a good solid six months, a picture of Jesus for the wall and I went wild. I called on angels, I talked to the ghost, I contacted mediums, I was baaaaack!

I can only imagine what my new housemates thought of me with Jesus and rosaries hanging on the wall and white sage smoke bellowing out from under the door.

It just made sense for me to do it all. 

I do witchy things. But I do them with Jesus and Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene by my side.

I read the bible sometimes, but I think mostly it's a really old book that's been translated too many times to be that accurate.

I call on the Christ Consciousness to help me be a better person, more Christ-like, nicer to people, less of a dick.

I do candle magic and spells with herbs, oils and petitions, but I call it "making prayer candles".

I make potions and call them "magic mists".

I call on the Holy Spirit to clear my energy.

I call on Gaia to ground me.

I bow down to ancient standing stones.

I call on the Saints and Angels for different purposes, but I also call on Lakshmi and Ganesha and Saint Brigid and the Ancestors and Star Ancestors.

I draw a pentagram on my door each night before I go to sleep for protection.

I call on Saint Christopher whenever I travel.

I walk through the woods and make offerings to trees and the Fae.

I read Tarot.

I work with the cycles of the moon for manifestation.

I wear a Saint Michael pendant for protection with a black onyx heart.

The power of Saints and Gemstones! x

I'm basically a spiritual hot mess.

But aren't we all?

Being a Christian Witch is about calling it all in from wherever it comes from and feeling the connection to both sides of the fence. 

It's a tough one to navigate. Christians and Witches haven't always had a great relationship. I feel like I'm clearing the karma on that one prayer candle/spell at a time.

I know there's gonna be people out there who aren't gonna vibe with what I'm doing, to you I say go forth and find your own strange and wonderful spiritual path!

In times passed I would have been in a lot of trouble for saying "Christian Witch" like it's a thing.

And you know, it's still only a small part of who I am and what I'm about.

I'm a Christian Witch.

I'm a Witch.

I'm an Eclectic Witch

I'm a Lightworker.

I'm a Light Witch.

I'm Spiritual.

I'm a Starseed.

I'm an Earth Angel.

I'm a Hufflepuff.

How do you describe your spiritual path? What elements of spirituality and which belief systems make up your personal spiritual path?

With so much love and witch light,

Vix

x

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The Week Ahead - Home is where you choose it

This week's reading comes from Mother Mary via Doreen Virtue's Mary Queen of Angels oracle card deck. I love working with Mother Mary. Her energy is so soft, loving and yet deeply powerful. When I call on her I often get a feeling that she is standing right behind me, it's gentle and so peaceful and a strong feeling of just being 'loved'.

Today Mary is giving us some guidance about our home, but not in the material sense of home being a place of mud, stone and mortar. This message is about finding your spiritual home. It's about finding your people, finding the right spiritual leaders to follow and actually it's also about finding the place within yourself where you feel comfortable and safe. How do you connect with that place? How do you connect with the divine?

Spirituality isn't religion. We don't have a doctrine to abide by, we are free to choose what works for us, what makes sense to us and live according to what resonates with our own highest self. How amazing is that?! We are so lucky in this day and age that we have this freedom. It was not so long ago that I would've been killed for even whispering these ideas, let alone writing them down and publishing them on the internet!

But here we are, in 2014, and we have the freedom to decide where we want to live, who we want to live with and how we are going to pay our rent. So why not choose our spiritual family and home as well?

Take some time this week to think about your spiritual home. What does it mean to you? Who do you want to live with? Do you want choirs of angels by your bed? A spirit guide to chat to over a cup of tea? Do you want to sit out in nature and commune with the nature spirits and fairies? Do you want to follow the teachings of Jesus and hang a Rosary in your car? Do you want to work with the saints and ask for Saint Christopher's protection while travelling? How about just being in communication with God or the Universe? Do you want to do energy work and raise your vibration through your chakra system? How about reading all the books about Native American spirituality? Cast spells and sit in sacred circles, read the Book of Mormon, try Kundalini Yoga, explore your life purpose through Numerology, read the Tarot, pull some runes, or like me, you might want to try and do all of the above plus so much more!

The message Mary has for us today is that it doesn't matter what you do, or how or who you connect with in your spiritual home as long as you live your life from a place of love and are kind to people, animals and the Earth.

So think about your spiritual home this week, but whatever you find there, and however you find it hold the space and respect those who find it differently. Just because you like apartment living doesn't mean those people living in shipping container houses are doing it wrong. As long as you pay your rent and are kind to the neighbours right?!

And while we are ordering off the spiritual menu, browsing spiritual books on Amazon, playing with our tarot and oracle card decks, reading about various spiritual ideas on the internet and chatting to like minded souls this week, may we all send love and prayers for peace this week to those areas of the world in which people do not yet have the freedom to speak their truth.

Love, light and spiritual choices,

Vix

x