For many, the phrase Christian Witchcraft sounds paradoxical. Christianity and witchcraft have long been cast as opposites: one representing the Church, the other condemned as heresy. Yet history tells a more complicated story. Across centuries, countless people living in Christian cultures practiced forms of magic while remaining deeply rooted in their faith. Today, some witches are reclaiming that blended identity, weaving Christ-centered devotion, the veneration of saints, and the power of scripture into their magical practice.
A Historical Perspective
Christian Witchcraft is not an invention of the modern era, though the label itself is new. In early modern Europe, village healers and cunning folk often worked within an explicitly Christian framework. Their charms included biblical psalms, prayers to the Virgin Mary, or the invocation of holy names. As Emma Wilby shows in Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits, these practitioners lived within a worldview where religion and magic were not neatly separated.
The use of scripture as spellwork is particularly well-documented. In traditions ranging from Renaissance grimoires to African-American hoodoo, the Book of Psalms became a central magical text. Psalm 91 was recited for protection, Psalm 23 for blessing, Psalm 35 for justice. These verses were not only prayers but incantations, spoken with intent to shape the world.
Christian mystics, too, lived at the threshold of magic. Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) wrote visionary works that included cosmologies, healing recipes, and angelic songs. Her writings remind us that spiritual ecstasy, healing with herbs, and the invocation of divine forces all belonged to Christian experience. And in folk Catholic traditions across Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, magical practices merged seamlessly with devotion to saints, angels, and the Virgin Mary—a living legacy of Christian Witchcraft in all but name.
Christian Witchcraft Today
Modern Christian Witches take many different approaches. For some, Christ is seen as a healer and teacher whose energy can be invoked in ritual. For others, the saints and angels serve as intercessors, much like deities in other traditions. Some lean heavily on biblical magic—using psalms, holy water, or oil anointing as spells—while others blend Christian symbolism with traditional witchcraft methods like casting circles, candle magick, and herbal charms.
What unites these practitioners is the refusal to see Christianity and witchcraft as mutually exclusive. Instead, they see a spiritual tapestry where both can coexist, even if the path requires living in paradox.
A Working Example
One of the oldest and most enduring practices in Christian Witchcraft is the use of psalms as spells. For protection, a witch might copy Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my shepherd…”) by hand onto clean paper, fold it toward themselves three times while reciting the words aloud, and then place it in a small pouch with protective herbs like rosemary or bay. The charm can be carried for personal safety or hung above a doorway to guard the household. This method reflects centuries of practice across European cunning-craft and African-American folk traditions, showing how scripture has long served as both prayer and incantation.
Building a Christian Witch’s Library
Because Christian Witchcraft is such a diverse and personal path, resources are eclectic. Adelina St. Clair’s The Path of a Christian Witch (2010) offers a memoir-style look at blending Christ-centered devotion with witchcraft practice. Historical studies such as Owen Davies’ Grimoires: A History of Magic Books (2009) and Emma Wilby’s Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits (2005) provide deeper context for how Christian magic has been practiced over centuries. Folk traditions like Hoodoo, explored in Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men, further illustrate how Christian scripture and magic intertwine in living traditions.
Closing Thoughts
Christian Witchcraft is not without controversy. Many Christians reject it as incompatible with their faith, while some witches see it as contradictory to embrace both. Yet the history is undeniable: for centuries, people have prayed the psalms while casting charms, invoked saints while brewing potions, and sought Christ’s blessing through rituals that, to outsiders, looked very much like witchcraft.
For modern practitioners, Christian Witchcraft offers a way to honor both inheritance and intuition, to walk in the footsteps of cunning folk and mystics while also shaping a personal, living practice. It is not an easy path, but for those called to it, it can be a profoundly powerful one—an affirmation that the sacred and the magical have always belonged together.