Christian Wicca

The Trinitarian Tradition

Reverend Nancy Chandler-Pittman http://www.christianwicca.com/

Christian Wicca is a new path of Christian spirituality and a new tradition of the Wicca, often referred to as the modern term for the Old Religion, or "the religion of the wise." Christian Wicca is the practice of Wicca acknowledging the Christian Godhead as the practitioner's choice of Deities, recognizing both the male (God) and female (Goddess) aspects of the One Triune God, as well as the promised Solar God (Jesus), Lord and Saviour.

This approach of communing with the Divine as the Holy Trinity via the personal spiritual methods of Wicca is the key to the name of this Wiccan tradition - Trinitarian. The definition of Trinitarian Wicca is as an eclectic form of Wicca mixed with various aspects of Christianity, which may differ with each practitioner. These sources of Christianity include the Holy Bible, the Kabbalah, the Apocrypha, Pseudopigrapha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls - especially the Gnostic Gospels.

This is a very important time in the history of Christianity. The Dead Sea Scrolls uncovered many questions that world has asked for two thousands years. The cover up of so many mistruths about Christ and the early Church is causing the world to rethink organized religion. Many people are turning to Wicca, but they are not turning away from Christ. This is going to be the most difficult point for fundamental Christians to accept. The need for the presence of Jesus with the cosmic balance of a Heavenly Mother as well as a Heavenly Father is the new pathway to the Divine - and many are taking this pathway by the means of Wicca.

Send all requests for info and correspondence to Reverend Nancy Chandler-Pittmanat the Home of: Christian Wicca, P.O. Box 2594, Decatur, AL 35602

These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded:

1 And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death." 2 Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all." . . . Gospel of Thomas v. 1-2

Christian Wicca: The Oxymoron Syndrome

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can Christianity and Wicca Mix? How can that be? Is being a Christian and a Wicca an oxymoron? These are probably the most misunderstood concepts of Christian Wicca. As the researcher, author, and Christian who has drawn the parallels of worshipping the Holy Trinity and following the teaching of the Living Jesus in the Wiccan framework, the persons who have studied both Christianity and Wicca, and have not seen the parallels have overwhelmed me. To be very honest, I am not the original person to set about Christianizing the practices and sacred Days of Power of The Wicca, Pagan religions, or any earth-based religions. As much as I would like to take credit for this - the Roman Catholic Church did this first. The Catholics are truly in many aspects the original Christian Wiccans or Christo-Pagans. Through out this book you can find examples of this fact.

Understandably, it is human nature for us to not see the obvious truths standing directly in front of us. The change that the truth brings about in one's own life is a scary thing. It is much simpler to be spiritually ignorant to esoteric concepts rather than to complicated one's mind and soul with ideologies that come from a place other that the Sunday pulpit and the widely accepted and perpetuated practices of the modern Church. When a Christian worships as Baptist is that an oxymoron? No, of course it is not! Neither does a Christian worshipping as a Catholic, as a Mormon, as a Methodist, as a Presbyterian, as an Episcopalian, or as a member of the Seven Day Adventist or the Church of God, the Assembly of God, the Church of Christ or the Disciples of Christ. Words like Baptist, Mormon, and Catholic only define how the Christian Godhead is being worshipped. This concept is the absolute same and can be applied to a Christian worshipping as a Wiccan. So, what aspects make Christian Wicca not an oxymoron?

Below, I have tried to list the most frequently asked questions and address the most commonly distorted concepts revolving around practicing Christianity in the framework of The Wicca.

Question One: How can a Christian worship as a Wiccan? The Wicca worship, praise and communing ceremonies are set up with no absolute Deity(s) system. Instead, it is set up so that any faith, spiritual path, or religion maybe practiced within its framework. Without taking anything away from the sacred spiritual path of Wicca, Wicca is best defined as a generic worship form and the practitioner supplies the Deity or Deities of their own belief system into this spiritual path. You may find that many books denote the male and female aspect of the Creator Spirit as merely the God and the Goddess. This allows the practitioner to worship the male and female aspect of The All in an understandable way for humankind, and they may worship from any religious, ethnic, or spiritual background. The salvatory aspect of Christianity does not change by applying it into the worship framework of Wicca, if anything it enhances the daily application of Christian beliefs, morals and standards. What good is being a Christian if you only show it one day of the week or just when the doors of the church are open? If Pagan traditions of Wiccan can integrate their belief system into their everyday lives, why can Christians or Trinitarian Wiccans not do the same? Regardless of how you perceive and practice your Christian affiliation, if it is not evident to others that you are a practicing Christian, then you are not making a living testimony.

Question Two: The ceremonies are not like sermons they seem unfamiliar and Pagan; isn't that wrong for Christianity? This specific question always comes from Protestants because open-minded Catholics will say, "this is very much like a mass"! Well, there is a sound reason for that: Christianity spread worldwide via the Roman Catholic Church. Their tactic for converting Paganism into Christianity was to make the rituals of Pagans into masses, make each set of Pagan Deities into Saints, in exchange for taking on the Christian Triune God; those opposed or those who did not conform were killed. It was a very simple but highly effect plan.

If you are a Protestant, remember you are a split-off of the Roman Catholic Church - you are the religious affiliation that protested the Roman Catholic Church. If you are a Roman Catholic, then all your masses and ceremonies are based on or stolen directly from the Pagan religions. The Goddess Brigid of the Irish Trinity of Brigid was one of the most difficult transformations in religious history and yet, Sainte Brigit is the most famous of the Pagan Goddesses turned Sainte. There was reasonable amount of conformity as the Irish people took on the robe of the Roman Catholic Church as they embraced the teachings of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, these people refused to give up their beloved Brigid. Unable to eradicate all elements of some Pagan religions and fearing to loose all of the Irish Tradition, the Roman Catholic Church made Brigid a Sainte, renamed with the Christian approach as Ste. Brigit. For all the Pagans who missed their beloved Kernunnos, whose symbol was the Stag, there is Saint Hubert and Saint Tatheus. Saint Ann proved to be a replacement for the Pagan Goddess Ana or Dana.

Question Three: Should a Christian perform spells of magic? Again, let me clarify that spells can best be interpreted as "prayers with props"; these props may be candles, incense, healing herbs and oils, as well as the "not yet" defined powers and properties of semi-precious stones and gems. Candle magic is still used in the Catholic Church in the forms of Novena candles. When Saints are called upon in this fashion, it is no doubt a similar practice akin to magic. However, the Roman Catholic Church would not agree to this moniker and has more fashionably referred to their pseudo-magical practices as "popular religiosity". There is absolutely nothing different about this practice than forms of candle worship in Wicca. Both are points of focus in one's meditations, the only difference is that Wicca does not fall under the rule of the Vatican.

Question Four: How can a Christian observe Pagan sabbats such as Yule, Mabon, Ostara, Samhain, Imbolg, Lughnasadh, Beltane, and Mid Summer? This answer is very simple. Many if not most of the holidays and saints' days in Christianity, especially in the United States are derived from Pagan (or non-Christian) holy days.

Yule was Christianized in Christmas. Mabon is Thanksgiving. Ostara is Easter. Samhain is Halloween. Imbolg is Candlemas or Groundhog's Day. Beltane is observed as May Day and the time for many spring celebrations with the dance of the May Pole and the crowning of the May Queen. Mid Summer, the lesser sabbat of the summer equinox, seemed to need an association of some kind, so the Catholic Church re-associated this observance as John the Baptist Day.

The date of Christmas was the celebration of the return of the sun ("the light of the world") and the birth of the Solar God, the "sun god" which was parleyed into the Son of God by the Organized Church. In almost every ancient religion, the young God was born at the winter solstice, and Christianity is no exception. While, it was widely recognized that Jesus might have been born in the late summer, and recent re-evaluations point to early April, the Roman Catholic Church chose to continue the Pagan Young God birth cycle as a winter holiday. Easter was originally known as Ostara and hunting eggs was a common celebration. Ostara, the Spring or Vernal Equinox, which was a symbol of fertility as well as the origin of the Easter Bunny (a highly procreative species) in hopes of bringing bountiful crops. In all actuality, the Hebrew celebration of Passover began as a fertility festival as well.

Number Five: What is the difference between a Circle and a Coven? This is a two-fold question. Just as many Wiccans are steering clear of the term "witch", many are steering clear of the term "coven"; Due to the negative light that the Inquisition, fundamental Christianity and society in general has put on the terms, many Wiccans of all traditions are opting to avoid these monikers that carry alot of false information and prejudice. Slander and spiritual hatred is never attractive.

For the sake of unbiased definition, the following definitions can apply. A Circle is often a group of solitary practitioners of varying beliefs who gather to celebrate Esbats, Sabbats, and special healing or prosperity rituals with total respect to each other's personal beliefs and views of The Divine. Usually an eclectic Circle, or a group of Wiccans of various traditions does not have an appointed Priest, Priestess, or Governors. Usually there is a group facilitator of who organizes which person is going to take which part of the ceremony. For example, someone is appointed to cast the protective circle, one is appointed to call the quadrants, one is appointed to invoke The Divine Spirit, and others are appointed for coning the power towards the goal of the ritual, as well as the other components of the ceremony.

A Coven is a more organized group. There is usually only one tradition among all members of the Coven, and the belief structure is very similar, even identical among the practitioners. In addition, there is usually a hierarchy of leaders within the Sacred Space. Christians should be able to understand this as having a Pastor, Elders and Deacons, or Priests, Ministers, Lay Ministers, Reverends, Stewards, Music Directors, and Youth Leaders. This is the same for Wiccan Covens.

Covens and Circles can be all male, all female or both male and female. This is a personal choice of each group regardless of being a Coven or a Circle. Many groups feel that male and female personal energies do not work together when the energies are raised, coned and combined; other groups feel no problems in mixing personal energies of the two sexes. Sometimes there are problems of mismatched energies in any Circle and Coven, be they same-sex or mixed. Often, not everyone's intentions are the same or some have a less positive outlook on life.

Question Six: How can a Christian use the pentacle and not the Cross of Calvary as a sign of their religious affiliation? Although the cross was an actual execution devise used in ancient Rome, the cross has also been used worldwide as a religious symbol, in cultures which had no contact with each other, especially Christianity such as many aboriginal tribes in Africa. The pentacle has been found on jars of food, in ancient homes, and worn as an adornment symbolizing protection through the all-encompassing One Spirit. More details about the real mean of the symbol of the pentacle are covered later in this book.

Many Christian Wiccans choose to wear their cross in addition to their pentacle to separate themselves from Pagan Wiccans. This is not done as a slander to the Pagans, but instead to prevent more traditional and fundamental Christians from thinking that Trinitarians are not Christians. In addition, it serves as an evangelical tool that is important to Christians and to not be stumbling block. Christian Wiccans have the chance to witness and provide living testimonials of the closeness to the Holy Trinity when others inquire about why a practitioner is wearing BOTH a cross and a pentacle.

Question Seven: The Trinity is a Pagan concept. Trinities have been part of almost all the world religions since the beginning of recorded history. Until Christianity appeared on the scene in the early first three centuries A.C., all trinities were female, being the three aspects of the Goddess: the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone (or the Wise Woman). As women were the bearer of children, the bringers of life - the female role in most cultures was more respected that after the onslaught of Christianity. Usually, an elderly wise woman was the matriarch of each family.

One aspect of the Trinity often not mentioned or celebrated, as strongly among Wiccans is the Triple Male Concept. This trinity is the Son, the Father, and the Sage (or the Wise Man). For the most part, I believe from first hand experience that Christians turned wholey Pagan often put stronger emphasis on the Triple Female Concept of The Divine than longtime Wiccans, seeming as some for of mental, spiritual and psychological cleansing of the jealous and bitter Old Testament God who projected the message of ";worship me or die";. This is not a very loving concept; if it is spiritual love that is missing from one's own religious practices then the rebellion of the vengeful

Christian God is an understandable human reaction. Staying with the Trinity approach to worship, Christianity's Triple Male was realized in the form of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Before the Gutenberg press and the release of the King James Version, it was very common to find that the newly absorbed Pagans-turned-Christians would honor the Christian Holy Trinity completely in addition to their regional or cultural Goddess from their specific earth-based religion. Ironically, no one in the masses even questioned the gender of the Holy Spirit except for scholars and those who would not readily fall under the brutalities of the Roman Catholic Church or the Inquisitions.

Question Eight: Are there other Christianized Pagan and Catholic tie-ins that are still in practice? Yes!! A lot of the 'traditions' in church and in the modern world are not those derived either from the Bible or from the letters of the early church fathers are also derived in whole or in part from Pagan rituals or from the secular rituals of Pagan cultures.

For example, the advent wreath is part Christian, part Pagan. The evergreen wreath, the use of candles and increasing numbers of them, and its circular shape are all derived from various Pagan solstice rites, but the current number of candles (four), their arrangement (a cross), and their colors (purple and white, and sometimes a lighter purple or pink one) derive from Christian symbolism. A Pagan solstice wreath would have candles in the elemental colors, or all one color, probably red, to symbolize the new birth of the sun.

Candles are used on the altar of Catholic Churches and votive candles used during mass are derived from Mithra worship. The candles represent the Sun. In almost every religion in the world, a God or Goddess, or His equated Divine consort are observed; in other spiritual paths, equal male and female aspects of The Divine are revered because humankind is both male and female. All equate God with the sun, and therefore the candles are usually focusing on the Male God or the young Solar God (which in Christianity is Jesus).