Catholic Witchcraft? ⛪ The Magic of Christian Mass, Colonialism and The High Priestess in Tarot

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🕰️ CHAPTERS 🕰️
00:00 Christianity & Witchcraft ⛪ The Magic of Catholic Mass, Colonialism and The High Priestess in Tarot
01:31 Disclaimer for Christian Witches
03:13 I Went to Catholic Mass
07:45 Missionaries and Colonialism
09:55 Eucharist as Spell Casting
13:32 Quick Overlook of The Inquisitions
15:34 The Popess Real Story to The High Priestess in Tarot
18:18 What Catholics say about Witchcraft
22:32 Pagan Roots
23:31 Colonial Mindset of the Church
24:50 Astra and Catholic Witchcraft Testimony
📚BIBLIOGRAPHY📚
Charlie Claire Burgess - Radical Tarot: Queer the Cards, Liberate Your Practice, and Create the Future
amzn.to/44QqCJJ
Witchcraft 101: Five Things Apologists Should Know
www.catholicculture.org/cultu...
What to Do with Witches?
www.catholic.com/magazine/onl...
Council of Paderborn 785 CE
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council...
Guglielma
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielma
Papess Maifreda Visconti of the Guglielmites-new evidence
marykgreer.com/2009/11/07/pap...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieva...
Inquisition - Roman Catholicism
www.britannica.com/topic/inqu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcr...
In the video I refer to Transmutation as the miracle of wine and bread turning into blood and body of Christ during catholic mass; that's an error in translation, apologies, the miracle is called Transubstantiation
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transub...
🎼 MUSIC 🎼
🎶 Fairy Meeting - Emily A. Sprague
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[@HolyOrderofTheMoths]

I found it interesting that in the very earliest incarnation of Christianity, it was actually extremely empowering for women. We have mosaics in Constantinople, Greece and other places of Women in priestly robes and there's even evidence that they were the ones who preformed the Eucharist. However they names have been altered. A obvious woman who's name is "Octavia" has been changed to "Octavian". All for the egos for the later leaders of the church.

[@activistwitch]

Makes sense, at some point all the matriarchal inheritance of paganism had to leave way to.. well... Today's patriarchy 😒

[@activistwitch]

@@antigonarosaura7845 I warned you. Bye

[@feignamnesia]

I do believe plenty of pagan things have been taken and repurposed by the Catholic Church, but my understanding is that the Eucharist is akin to the unleavened bread the Jews took with them from Egypt. Transubstantiation has its roots in the Last Supper, which was a seder. Of course, this is what I was tought growing up in the Church and going to Catholic school. Whether or not it is true is another story. I have actually been thinking about this topic a lot. A coworker of mine, who was raised in a Southern Baptist church in the Midwest (of America) told me that they saw Catholics as witches. There really is a lot of ceremony and sorcery in Catholicism, even beyond transubstantiation. They use incense for smoke cleansing. The blessing of the throats in honor of Saint Blaise, by crossing candles against the neck of a parishioner, is extremely witchy to me. The throughline from Catholic to witch isn't all that surprising.

[@activistwitch]

You're very right, in Sunday school we were told about the unleavened bread too as historical reference but a) historically the exodus doesn't seem to have happened and b) unleavened bread is similar to pitta bread today, the Roman Mola Salsa was exactly a thin round wafer made of flour,.water and Salt alone . After Theodosius made paganism illegal on 391ce things blurred and then of course, with a colonial mindset as I go into by the end "they acquire something that existed, erase it, and then claim it was always theirs"

[@feignamnesia]

My only experience of matzah in America is more akin to a cracker than pita bread and it has a similar taste and texture as the communion wafer. Both are made only with flour and water, no salt. I think it's important to talk about Christianity and colonialism, but let's not forget that Christianity originated as an offshoot of Judaism and some traditions find their roots there.

[@venizmaja20]

Holy cow didn't know about cwtchestogaza - that's incredible! And thank you for your activism!!!

[@activistwitch]

If I introduced anyone to their work that's my job done! I'm so glad to hear thank you!!!

[@BM-uc8ny]

​@@activistwitch was about to say the same thing, thank you so much for being vocal about it ❤

[@BeverleyButterfly]

My mom and her family are Catholic and I am very excited to listen to this especially as my mom is in the room hehe I so appreciate all your research thank you for your amazing videos xx

[@activistwitch]

Thank you so much Beverley! Hope you enjoyed!

[@EmL-kg5gn]

I’d be so curious to listen if you had a conversation with her. There’s something very disappointing about having grown up in the evangelical church, we kept the patriarchy and threw out lots of interesting folk traditions and religious practices. Should’ve been the other way around!

[@activistwitch]

We'll make it happen soon 😉👍🏽

[@josie_mary]

All the information I’ve been looking for, right here ✨

[@activistwitch]

@@josie_mary I'm so glad to hear, especially cause this was done quickly and off the top of my head but if it's of interest I'll definitely expand in the future

[@Sholton7558]

I would be interested in hearing a chat with (Aster?) the catholic witch. ❤

[@activistwitch]

Cheers Stephanie! Yeah Astra has been incredibly kind having a chat on the subject we already mentioned it would be nice to dive in! I might put a q&a out to you all so you can ask your questions too

[@JuriAmari]

I’d love to hear more from Astra. I also wonder if you could get Rich (formerly from Pagan Perspectives) and Adeline St Clair to jump in on this as a round table since they’re a couple of other notable Christopagans in the scene.

[@witchways]

Another brilliant video. Thank you!

[@activistwitch]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@sebastiangeorge6394]

AMAZING video!! This is going to be an instant rewatch for me. A lot of things to unpack. I was raised catholic and attended a private catholic school until my 6th year. I am very interested on your take on how patriarchy affects the true magic/spiritual veneration that can be done if it was more egalitarian. To be honest, I was taught, if not solely than mostly, by Nuns and Sisters at school. The mass I did attend were on Wed, Fri and Sunday which was the only time I saw the “Fathers”. I stayed at the school sometimes over night and it was always the Sisters and the Nuns that helped me out and were there for me. I always wondered why they didn’t lead sermons because to me they were so inspiring. I also felt blasphemous for thinking that when I was young. Brainwashing is definitely real!! Your vids on the esoteric/magick are amazing!! Thank you so much! Peace and love

[@activistwitch]

I was sent to a nuns after-school up till I was 10 and if anything it reinforced in me the idea they were out to get me! Definitely have nightmares about them

[@samanthab6926]

Italian American here and ex catholic who attended catholic school from k to 8th.. Great video!!

[@activistwitch]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!

[@Astra.logical]

Really appreciated this video! Your perspective and experiences are so well articulated and spoken about in a genuine manner - a true testament to the purpose of your channel ❤️ Hopefully we can speak more about it another time!

[@activistwitch]

Thank you so so much Astra for adding your voice to this conversation. I so appreciate the incredibly kind and educated perspective you added to this, definitely will have to talk more 😉👍🏽

[@HelloMammaMya]

You have such a beautiful name! I was born and raised in a US Colony (400 years Spaniard and now 100+ American) and went to Catholic school. I used to practice witchcraft and I admit that after I quit the practice and decided to change spiritual paths, I came back to Catholicism because I love the ritualistic aspects of the mass. 😂

[@activistwitch]

Hey, it is a huge spell that changes wine into blood, that alone brings familiarity 😅

[@activistwitch]

​@@chey7773 you might have missed the point of this video: I'm not speaking positively of witchcraft but highlighting the issues and oppression of the institution that is the catholic church. It takes a unique level of cognitive dissonance to miss that to defend... What? But by all means keep telling me how much you don't like me, the algorithm loves it 😘

[@MuggySynn]

Great video! Thank you for including another viewpoint on this! I enjoy your videos so much!

[@activistwitch]

Glad you like them! Thank you so much for watching!

[@witchyenvi]

I really, really like your content despite just newly seeing your content, as a fellow witch I don't fully 1000% see things the same way, but we do share a lot of perspectives, and it's really interesting and fun to see your takes and perspectives, and you just seem so so sweet

[@activistwitch]

Thank you that's a very kind take and I appreciate you taking the time to say it such thoughtful manner 🙏🏽 hope you can appreciate and enjoy the sides we share 🖤

[@witchyenvi]

@@activistwitch That's so beautiful, honestly 💜

[@mareeabee8293]

A wonderful and straightforward video! Would definitely look forward to more insights from Astra, too ❤️ Thank you for sharing your clear insights with all of us!

[@activistwitch]

Oh yeah I do look forward to chatting more with Astra soon as well! Stay tuned!

[@muriellambert2750]

Great great great video !!! 💖💖💖 Thank you very much Ysha 😘

[@activistwitch]

My pleasure 😊 so glad you like it!

[@majoliCATart]

I'm from Croatia, a country very similar to Italy when it comes to church influences and the love for the church from the far right groups. My family embraced atheism a few generations ago (bc of communism) and I would declare myself as a pagan/baby witch. I always felt like such an outcast, being autistic myself and just plain different. I hold a lot of resentment towards the Catholic church not just for the straight hate I got from it's "most loyal believers" but for enmeshing itself and basically toking over all of our folk magic to the point that it's impossible to recreate. I honestly feel like they erased us. Thanks for the very validating and informative video, I'm subscribing and looking forward to more

[@activistwitch]

that's something so spread out as well, all the traditions we had to adapt to christianity for them to survive in a way that lost their origin, here in wales is the same and it breaks my heart

[@ljdiben7774]

Grazie mille per questo video!!!!! You brought up so many points on this topic that I have not seen on this platform-and I have the book by Mary Grace and love it! I relate with you and your content very much! Much love to you and Raven💜🙏🏻 Also I have to thank you because I have been using Finch app for about a month and love it!!! (I recently saw your video on self care) Thank you for being you!!!!

[@activistwitch]

Grazie a te per averlo guardato e commentato! Grace is a dear friend, I know she holds opinions similar to mine but also appreciate that "dissing" for lack of a better term, the Catholic church is not as relevant to Italian folk magic as indeed all the amazing info, rituals and examples she brings in her book. I dont think anything else in the English language covers so much authentic Italian tradition as she did ❤️ Ps: so glad to hear Finch is helping you too ❤️

[@CatApocalypse]

I often wonder about just what my maternal grandmother's Indigenous ancestors must have had to endure in the process of converting some time in the past in Mexico. My mom stopped taking us to mass when I was seven or so, and at times in my adolescence, I considered whether I wanted to take it up again, or even look into Jewish practice like my paternal grandfather. But ultimately, I decided none of it worked for me, because the way the god of those faiths is portrayed hits too similar to emotional abuse I grew up with. The claim of unconditional love, except it's not, because if you don't give the love and gratitude that he *demands,* you're sinful or even damned. Too much like a parent who is emotionally immature, or even narcissistic 😰

[@activistwitch]

Yeah the unconditional love is there only if you follow the restrictive, at times abusive patriarchal foundation of the church which is where the whole issue stems from 😔

[@HumanFellaPerson]

Thank you for your constantly excellent work!

[@activistwitch]

Thank you for having the patience to watch and comment 🙏🏽

[@macavelli8905]

Excellent presentation very informative 👁️

[@activistwitch]

Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!

[@Hola.Hiszpania]

hello , thank you for your video❤❤❤. , my day has started well now, good luck 🤗☀️🙋

[@activistwitch]

Thank you!

[@bentelilltrelsgard7890]

❤❤❤

[@tyeconstellation]

Awesome video. You're so right about how they accept that magic exists, but only entrust their priests to hold supernatural power or authority. Only the sanctioned rituals and types of magic are allowed. Even in the Old Testament it's accepted that magicians can do a lot of wild stuff, the focus is just on the fact that it's bad if anyone does it without God's explicit permission. Which... no thank you 😆 OTOH I do think there's a lot of good stuff to take from Christianity - as in, the general principles taught by "Christ" (for whatever we know of them at this point in history).

[@activistwitch]

You're very right there's so much magic especially in the old testament that it kind of make sense for solomonic magic to have indeed survived until today

[@sven_ology]

I found you through the "what would you do" series with Ivy the Occultist, and this is your first video I've watched. I love it here!! The vibe is so lovely, and your editing is beautiful ❤️

[@activistwitch]

Oh welcome in then! I was so glad little old me was invited to that, the fangirl in me was quite excited I'll be honest 😅 glad to hear you like what I do here! Thank you so much for watching!

[@MaryGraceFahrun]

❤‍🔥❤‍🔥❤‍🔥

[@activistwitch]

Grazie mille per aver prestato la tua voce Grace!!! 🙏🏽❤️❤️

[@AntlerMoth00]

What an amaizng video! Love your take on the topic as a person raised in catholicism

[@activistwitch]

Thank you! Glad to hear it was useful!

[@AmbraLuna79]

And that's why, no matter what, I can't bring myself to try and actually practice italian folk magic despite it being my heritage. The very moment magic goes catholic, i get a rash. Also: God is not a "him" to me. Also: no more prayers to Mother Mary during a standard mass nowadays (i attend mass for baptism, weddings, funerals and memorials). I remember it was common to give prayers to the Mother when I was little, and I don't see that anymore in a mass, nowadays. More and more misoginy. I see and recognize magic in the rituals but still. Don't like to pray or invoke or work with Jesus or other biblical male figures.

[@activistwitch]

@@AmbraLuna79 to be fair you are expressing my same issues, I loved my grandparents but it wasn't pretty going back to mass. I hear about the saints and I see how good it does to people but that's why I haven't personally tried to work with them yet

[@lilykatmoon4508]

This is the first video of yours I’ve seen, and it’s an immediate subscribe from me. I was also raised Catholic but spent decades drifting. During the pandemic I discovered witchcraft on KZbin and have since become an inclusive Heathen. My practice evolves as I progress in my faith. I’m also autistic, fat, and queer and have a passion for trying to learn how to be the best ally I can to other marginalized communities. I see exactly what you’re talking about with the raising of the energy and keeping g all the power in the hands of the priests. There’s a channel called Strange Aeons who has several great videos on the queer history of nuns that I highly recommend you check out. It may have been internalized misogyny to a degree, but it was an alternative to marriage and dying young from childbirth as well as an opportunity to get an education. There’s every indication that many nuns were queer as hell, lol. I definitely look forward to discovering more on your channel. Take care. Oh, I’d love a deep dive into catholic ritual and witchcraft.

[@activistwitch]

I love strange aeons!!! I've been a subscriber for years and I know exactly the videos on queer nuns you're talking about 😉 I might have referred more in this video to current Nina rather than historical because I used to go to a nun run after school and boy oh boy if they loved to terrify us children, openly!!!

[@saplingtarot]

What a fab video as always Ysha, I love that you create room for these conversations!

[@activistwitch]

Thank you so much for your help Imogen 🙏🏽🖤

[@andreatonz6078]

Ciao come state oggi buona notte e sogni d’oro

[@activistwitch]

Grazie!

[@definetlyNotRee]

I really enjoyed watching this video. I was raised catholic as well, though my family was not super religious - we usually only went to church for religious holidays and not every Sunday. I do remember that my father felt guilty about that at times. Most of my classmates were catholic christians as well and so I did not really consider not joining in when most of the class went through confirmation at I believe age 12 - 14. I have since left the church, a primary reason for leaving being my queer identity. I'm also quite interested in learning more about witchcraft, so the connections with my former religion were really interesting to her about. Your interpretation of mass as a form of spell casting really changed my view - I had never thought of it that way, but it makes sense. As a sidenote: I find the animation of white stars and arrows on the black background slides a bit overstimulating, especially if they're on screen for several minutes. Maybe that's just me, but I thought I'd let you know :)

[@activistwitch]

Thank you so much for letting me know about the quotes background, I'll definitely cut that down in the future then!

[@GAndreaTaura]

Thanks for this Ysha! Beautifully done and I can definitely relate as a bruja who has grown up Catholic

[@activistwitch]

it does something to our concept of ritual and stays with us eh? at least hopefully as we grow into our own person we can se what's worth keeping and what's worth leaving behind ;)

[@LennanSmith]

Amazing. This talk made me extremely mindful. I plugged in and then went down into body to internalize all that was said. And what amazing creators you included! Phew eeee. 😁 Thank you for your voice and curiosity to YT! 🥰

[@activistwitch]

I'm so glad you found it interesting! That's a very clever way to adjust to new information!

[@cutekittycat9201]

I think its unfair to say nuns are victims of internalised misogyny only because there are some saints who were nuns who disobeyed male family members in their lives to become nuns. Not to say your points are invalid but i think it is unfair to generalise that way

[@activistwitch]

So there's a difference between a generalisation and the wider systemic effect of a choice like being a nun, and because of how the catholic church is meant to be patriarchal and oppressive (and it's a feature, not a bug) yes, every nun joining supports the system of oppression thay the church promotes and considering the damage it does to women by keeping them officially lower than men, yes, they all act for and accept misogyny.

[@cutekittycat9201]

@@activistwitch personally I would blame the system not the individual themselves

[@activistwitch]

That's another very interesting point that in happy to go into. There is a difference between identity and choice. An LGBTQ person does not choice their identity but they will be marginalised for it. Conversely, joining the ranks of the catholic church is a choice that will directly oppress others. Same issue with "cops at pride" or "blue lives matter". If you can take it off as a uniform, and you still choose to wear even when it's directly oppressing others, I'm sorry there's no justification for that.

[@RoseBleueDuRosierSec]

I wouldn't have even started my witchcraft journey if I didn't go to a Catholic school. One of the nuns was the assistant to an exorcist in her youth, she told us... let's say age inappropriate stories, and that made me look into renaissance style necromancy (devil summoning, but back in the day they called necromancy any spirit work, not just the departed) and one thing lead to another. Of course, the video also relates to my relationship with my mom and grandma, but it mostly made me think of my teacher.

[@activistwitch]

Oh yeah necromancy has become a misnomer due to media relating to "reviving the dead" but any spirit who was once alive is technically part of actual necromancy. You make me wish I knew an exorcist, they might have such amazing stories!

[@beanbaghagwag]

You stand out that much because you are fucking beautiful. I will continue watching now.

[@activistwitch]

Like a sore thumb with pink hair 😅 because I'm usually always around queer people I did not realise how much I stand out amongst "normal" people

[@Volundur9567]

The Church is suuuper witchy😂 Offerings at the feet of statues, indulgences (including body parts of "saints," etc), shrines, candles... Oh yeah, witchy. My paternal family are all übercatholic. My maternal side claimed mixed christian denominations but did a lot of folk traditions too. Not surprised that I got witchy.

[@activistwitch]

Same! I honestly didn't think but my practice has been a way to reconnect with my heritage in that sense, we loved a good ritual!

[@Volundur9567]

Same for me as well, coming from mixed lineage. I can reclaim what was taken from my people and reconnect with the Ancestors ​@@activistwitch

[@quiestinliteris]

Yeah, as a Catholic?/Catholic-ish?/ex-Catholic? witch, this is definitely for me, even if it's a dump. Need more discussion from people who have been exactly where I am. And I expect I'll have more to say as I get further through the video, but I'm glad you did this.

[@activistwitch]

Glad you found it useful too! Thanks for watching!