TheEirreann's Profile

Member Info
TheEirreann
Name: TheEirreann
Location: USA
Gender: Male
Last Seen: Sat, 12 Mar 2011
Membership: Member


Personal Bio
I am a Christian who recently decided to take a real look at the craft... it is not what I was taught to believe it was. I now am endeavouring to teach it to myself in hopes that I may use it in God's name and to assist in his will and glory! (Forgive me if I'm being a Jesus freak...) I am currently just getting down meditation, after which comes grounding and balancing and maybe after I've got all of that (and the right mindset) I can try for some spells. Please wish me luck!
Besides this my knowledge in Wicca is a bit lacking? something I hope to remedy soon. My home life is a bit uneasy, because I am practicing the craft in secret? my parents aren?t very understanding of this kind of thing. I play the harp and tin whistle, and I think I play them pretty well! I live in the middle of a city so grounding and stuff that involves nature is a bit more difficult for me?
I?m glad I found this website and I hope to be able to profit from all that I learn here! Blessings be!
A brief essay I wrote on Christianity and Wicca:
I have thought long and hard about what I believe in concerns to my Christian faith and magick, and after long periods of time studying different Wicca books and the Bible, this is what I have come up with in defining my faith (and hopefully it will help some of you as you try to define yours).
The first thing that it was necessary for me to look into is the nature of what we today call ?witchcraft?. Is this the stuff that our Bible condemns? After the longest time looking over modern translations (including the KJV) and older ones (even some stuff from an old Greek copy of the New Testament that *might* be original...) I have concluded that this is NOT the witchcraft of the Bible! The Old Testament words which are now ?witch? or ?witchcraft? translated and alluded to ?a woman who uses spoken curses to injure other people or destroy their property?. Now, in all fairness, there are some real-life witches who fit this description quite well... but we, as Christian Wiccans, would never do that, for it goes against both Christian morals AND Wiccan morals. Likewise, the New Testament?s ?witch? translates as ?a person who uses poison to murder people?. Now, yet again, there are some alchemists who do just this, but not us. I?ve also spent a great deal of time looking over the original Hebrew translation of the Old Testament, especially the places where it, in modern translations, speaks of witchcraft. One recurring thing I?ve noticed is that the words ?witch? or ?witchcraft? were actually originally translated as ?sorceress? or ?sorceries?. What is the difference? You may ask. Well, different sources say different things, but most dictionaries I?ve tried define the word sorcery as being ?magical spells that harness occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world?. (The word sorcerer usually is just defined as ?a person who practices sorcery?). But, it is very important to realise that there are in fact some forms of magick that are specifically condemned in the Bible, Deuteronomy is a perfect example:
Deuteronomy 18:10-12: ?There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, a soothsayer, or a sorcerer, or one that consulteth a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a necromancer. For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto the LORD; and because of these abominations the LORD thy God is driving them out from before thee.?
I also looked into the (possibly) original Greek translation for what it said on the subject. One of the biggies in this testament was Galatians 5:19-21, where it says:
?The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.?
Well! If that wasn?t clear enough! Only this was the NIV version, and its translation is almost exactly the same as the KJV. Anyway, looking at the original Greek version the word ?witchcraft was represented by the Greek word pharmakia, which is the origin of the English word pharmacy and other synonyms like that. So many agree that literally this meant something more like ?the practice of preparing poisonous potions to harm or kill others?, thus, a person who makes and does harm with poisons.
There was one other place in the New Testament that mentions Witchcraft, and this was in the book of Revelation, Chapter 21, verse 8, where all the different types of sinners were condemned to the eternal fire. Now, looking at most of the earlier English translations what now says ?witchcraft? then said ?sorcerer?, which, as you can read above, is a pretty specific type of Magick. One thing I found really interesting is that almost none of the translations before KJV even use the words ?witch? or ?Witchcraft?. My theory is that during the time of King James, which was a time when the Church was completely out of control (Catholics and Protestants all fighting for their say), the translation of the bible was somewhat hacked. Other words that weren?t there before were added as well, like in Revelation it did not originally speak of adulterers being thrown in the eternal fire. But, all in all, I think that God desires us to live our own life, and how we serve him is our choice, whether it be with magick or without, and, if we are committing sin, is there not Jesus there to vouch for us on Judgement Day?
Something else that I realised, after thinking about it, is that Magick was created by God. Think about it, the common Christian stereotype is that Witches sell their souls to the Devil to get their evil power; but if you look into the true nature of magick, you find that all people are born with the ability to manipulate energy to accomplish all sorts of things, and any expert on Magick will tell you that the more ?ceremonial? aspect of Wicca (rituals, candles, tools, etc.) aren?t even necessary to carry out what you are trying to do! So I believe that Magick itself is a God-given power to us, his children, as part of our inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Now, I?ve also been presented with another problem, and that is: how to take Magickal rituals and spells and make them ?Christian-Friendly?, for in my opinion, this should be one of the main goals of the Christian Wiccan coven. It clearly says in Exodus that ?we should have no other Gods before The God?. This poses a real problem when you think about it, for most rituals, being written by full Wiccans, appeal to their God and Goddess. I?ve seen some Christian Wiccans adapt to these rituals by implying that the Holy Spirit is the Goddess and our God is the God... I personally disagree with this, not only because it seems a bit ludicrous, but because our God is three-in-one, similar to the Goddess, and to represent two parts without the third is like trying to operate on a computer that has a keyboard and a mouse but no screen. Not only that, but we draw power from our God just like they do theirs, and I personally think that the Holy Spirit might just take offence at being called the name of some other Deity*. I?ve been practicing and I find it quite easy to call upon God?s name as a one instead of two or three different beings.
Another thing about Wicca that usually causes other Christians to cringe is... you guessed it, the Pentacle. You are probably aware that many Christians believe this to be a symbol of Satan worship. But of course this too is a misconception. I?ve done research on this one as well, and I have found quite a few different, interesting things about it. One of the biggies is that it once was (or maybe even originally was) used to symbolise the Star of Bethlehem. I?ve been reading quite a few different books on Wicca and Witchcraft and just about all of them agree that the Pentacle, among other things, is a sign used for protection from negative energy, or even a method of invoking the elements and banishing them. Primarily, though, it symbolises the ?five elements?, earth, fire, water, air, and the spirit, and the circle surrounding it symbolises the ?circle of life? (which on reflection is a more Wiccan thing than a Christian one). I encourage you to do your own research on some of these subjects, for there is quite a lot to learn (but watch out for those sites where ignorant people write about all of their misconceptions).
Of course, this is a whole lot more to Wicca and Witchcraft that I have not even considered or even know about, but I hope you?ll agree that this is a good start. I would also like to ask the coven if they would be willing to assist me in the writing of an article summing up a basic outline of what we believe, because I think this would be incredibly helpful for many ?newbies?.
Thank you all for reading and please comment with your feedback!
God Bless!
~Eirreann (John Skaggs)
P.S. This essay is not finished; I learn more and more about Wicca and Witchcraft every day, and as I read more and have time to think over it, I will write more. So consider this a rough draft, if you will.

*Note: To any full Wiccans out there, I am not saying that your Gods do not exist or that my God is the only God, I am just stating that this is my belief and the belief of most Christians. For all I know I could be worshipping a God that doesn?t exist and I?ll die to find myself in the Summerland... I just hope that I do not offend anyone.
Some websites and books I used as resources:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_bibl.htm
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0.htm
http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/new-tes tament/revelation/21.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentacle
The Complete Idiot?s Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft by Denise Zimmermann and Katherine A. Gleason
Buckland?s Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland
The Oxford English Dictionary
And multiple different articles and videos made by Lady SilverVixen.