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So I had someone ask me if they can remain Christian while practicing magic. And the answer is yes and no.
Yes, you can have an active and vibrant prayer life while also doing ritual and divination.
No, you can’t abide by Christian frame work. It just doesn’t line up.
Yes, you can have an active and vibrant prayer life while also doing ritual and divination.
No, you can’t abide by Christian frame work. It just doesn’t line up.
I’m gonna talk about this more when I have more coffee in my system.
Okay… let’s get into this.
P R E F A C E (yes like in a book)
I love the old adage “write what you know.” So I want to tell you guys what this *is* and what it is not, before you commit to reading this whole ass thread.
P R E F A C E (yes like in a book)
I love the old adage “write what you know.” So I want to tell you guys what this *is* and what it is not, before you commit to reading this whole ass thread.
I am only speaking about my experiences with White Charismatic Evangelicalism.
I am only speaking about my experiences as a green witch and a pagan.
I am only speaking about my experiences as a green witch and a pagan.
Edited:
I'm not going to speak about shit I have no authority to speak about. Like, I'm not going to discuss Black church or other Black spiritual practices. Ororthodox Christianity or catholicism. Or Wicca or Santeria or other occult practices.
I'm not going to speak about shit I have no authority to speak about. Like, I'm not going to discuss Black church or other Black spiritual practices. Ororthodox Christianity or catholicism. Or Wicca or Santeria or other occult practices.
sorry yall, still writing. be back in a mo'
actually, i'm not sorry. this is a huge deal and it's worth spending time on. lol I'm not sorry.
cliff hangers are cool
cliff hangers are cool
I’m a woman. I’m a Filipino woman. I’m a filipino woman with a family. I am a filipino woman with a family & a business. & I am a witch.
Why am I framing it this way?
Why am I framing it this way?
Because these identifiers that are so strongly my structure were taken from me by White Charismatic Evangelicalism
And it started with my mother.
I wasn’t born into WCE. A “church person” preyed on my mom in an hour of weakness.
And it started with my mother.
I wasn’t born into WCE. A “church person” preyed on my mom in an hour of weakness.
Her husband was in Iraq and she was clinging to any sort of community she could as an introvert. And in one night, I remember it clear as day— a woman asked my mom if she were to die in that moment, if she would go to heaven or hell.
And this, my friends, is why I said you cannot hold to WCE narratives and be a witch.
I know my mom is a witch.
Growing up, she had this like 6th sense about everything.
I know my mom is a witch.
Growing up, she had this like 6th sense about everything.
One time she just “had a feeling” “something bad” was going to happen on a 4th grade field trip and i was pissed because i was the only kid who wasn’t allowed to go. And the fucking bus tipped over.
When she started practicing WCE, she started second guessing that intuition because WCE told her that her husband was the priest of the household. And that the heart is wicked in all its ways.
And that was passed to me. That struggle between intuition and institution.
And that was passed to me. That struggle between intuition and institution.
And it was hard to break out of.
In my most formative years, I was taught a conflicting idea that was pretty much the bane of my existence:
God doesn’t want sacrifice, he wants obedience. BUT ALSO that service was not the same as worship.
In my most formative years, I was taught a conflicting idea that was pretty much the bane of my existence:
God doesn’t want sacrifice, he wants obedience. BUT ALSO that service was not the same as worship.
So what’s a girl to do?
A girl uses her gifts for the church and a girl scours the scripture to make it make sense. But it doesn’t.
And when it doesn’t— she asks questions. But no one has anything to offer but word obedience and the word worship.
A girl uses her gifts for the church and a girl scours the scripture to make it make sense. But it doesn’t.
And when it doesn’t— she asks questions. But no one has anything to offer but word obedience and the word worship.
Soooo I found myself in a cycle of trying to force my intuition into the institution. I lead worship and tried everything to connect to spirit that way. I went to a “prophecy” school because someone told me that I had a strong connection with the divine.
But even in these things that are no “bad” I was never good enough.
There was always someone (usually white and male) that had clout who had to “lead me.”
And I am not and have never been one to be lead.
There was always someone (usually white and male) that had clout who had to “lead me.”
And I am not and have never been one to be lead.
now that you have a backdrop — I want to tell you some good news.
To quote Mary Oliver, “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”
To quote Mary Oliver, “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”
I’m going to follow the instructions in the next few lines and I’m going to tell you about my despair and offer you a chance to tell me yours.
While in the bubble of WCE, I did learn something. And I learned it from swans and not pastors.
When it gets so cold that the surface of you hardens to ice. All it takes is bravery and persistence to break that ice and you can see that the current beneath is still swimmable.
When it gets so cold that the surface of you hardens to ice. All it takes is bravery and persistence to break that ice and you can see that the current beneath is still swimmable.
Now who breaks the ice? You or the divine?
Who cares?
That’s the big difference between WCE & witchcraft. You do not have to attribute your hard work to a miracle from a deity. You just have to keep swimming & realize that the swimming is, and always has been, something sacred.
Who cares?
That’s the big difference between WCE & witchcraft. You do not have to attribute your hard work to a miracle from a deity. You just have to keep swimming & realize that the swimming is, and always has been, something sacred.
I guess what i am trying to say is, you can be a witch and still love the story of jesus. This mystical man who performed wonders for people. Who was insistent on freedom. Who fought to the death patriarchal systems that used religions to control people.
I love Jesus of Nazareth and I am a witch.
But I am not a christian and here’s why: I refuse to abide by this idea that the divine needs us to colonize people of other faiths.
But I am not a christian and here’s why: I refuse to abide by this idea that the divine needs us to colonize people of other faiths.
And that they can only experience spirituality by a made up standard. And I will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever everXinfinity accept the idea that people are only worthy if they say the sinners prayer.
That’s the crux of White Charismatic Evangelicalism. The Romans road, the altar call, and the ultimate bullying to renounce who you are and what you love to become “more like Christ”
Let me tell you something, listen to me. Who you are, what you love, how you experience these “spiritual moments” are all fucking valid.
And you are not alone. We all look up at the night sky and wonder about things. We all stand in the shower and let that heat and pressure wash the day away. We all feel joy when we share food with people we love.
And none of that is less sacred because it is every day.
That is why I don’t think you can remain a practicing Evangelical while also practicing magic. The very core of it is different.
That is why I don’t think you can remain a practicing Evangelical while also practicing magic. The very core of it is different.
WCE tells you that you need permission to experience spirit. You have to convince spirit to hang out by being good.
Witchcraft is about seeing spirit in everything.
Witchcraft is about seeing spirit in everything.
“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”
I love you, you wildass goose.
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”
I love you, you wildass goose.
