Some Thoughts on the Idea of "Magic" and Other Pagan Practices

My recent interactions with the community down at Oak Spirit Sanctuary have prompted in me some reflections on some pagan ideas and practices that have historically been seen as problematic in Christian circles.  Two areas I particularly have in mind are 1. the practice of magic, magical rituals, spells, incantations, calling on spirits, etc., and 2. the worship of pagan deities.  As I reflect on these ideas and gain further experience regarding how they are understood and practiced in Neo-Pagan communities, I have come to have a clearer awareness of the need for nuance in reflecting on these things.  There are aspects and interpretations of these ideas and practices that are antithetical to a Catholic Christian worldview, but there are others that are not only compatible with Catholicism but could also aid as a source of positive inspiration for spirituality that may be overlooked because of fear of the more negative.

This article is not intended to be a complete overview of the Neo-Pagan culture and worldview.  It is a brief analysis of a few specific areas of pagan thought and life (at least as I have come to understand them) in reference to historic Christian concerns, looking at them from a Catholic point of view and trying to understand them better in the context of Catholic categories of thought.  If you want a more holistic introduction to pagan thought and life from a pagan point of view, you might take a look at this article and these two videos here and here.

As with my previous article dealing with paganism, I am very conscious that I may have both pagan and Christian readers, and I recognize the trickiness of trying to articulate these kinds of ideas in view of these two very different audiences.

I want to acknowledge the help of my friend Fae Leach, who has read various drafts of this article and has provided very helpful feedback (though I alone am responsible for the views expressed here).  Thank you!

I think it is important to be careful, accurate, and nuanced in our understanding of pagan ideas and practices for three main reasons:  1. Truth is important.  We must not bear false witness about reality, and oversimplifying aspects of reality to the point that our understanding or articulation of them is misleading is a form of this.  2. If we oversimplify, and in particular if we let fear of negatives blind us to positives, we miss opportunities to connect with things that can benefit our spiritual lives.  3. Charity (love of neighbor) requires us to be accurate in our understandings and descriptions of what other people believe and do.  I think this is particularly important to emphasize when we are talking about Christians understanding paganism.  My impression is that the Neo-Pagan world is a world that is very poorly understood in Christian communities (and even in large parts of the broader culture).  I think the idea most Christians have of what "paganism" is is very superficial, shallow, and fear-based.  It is understandable that a lot of Christians don't know much about Neo-Paganism, as many have had very little interaction with that world; but, if we are ignorant, we must recognize our ignorance and avoid oversimplifying and over-negativizing Neo-Pagan beliefs and practices.  We must be diligent to treat all our fellow human beings with the respect and empathy that they deserve, and, in part, that means making a real effort to empathetically understand the complexities of what they believe and practice - just as we would hope they would do for us in return.

The Idea of "Magick"

Let's start with the idea of "magic" and related ideas and practices.  And let me begin by quoting from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which has a short section devoted to warning Catholics away from what it considers to be false and dangerous ideas and practices.  This is paragraph #2115-2117:

2115 God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.

2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future.⁴⁸ Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.

Now this is obviously very negative.  I'm sure it sounds a bit irksome to pagans reading it!  These paragraphs are obviously not (and are not intended to be) a thorough, reflective analysis of Neo-Pagan culture, nor even of the particular issues they address.  The Church is here attempting to warn Catholics away from practices and beliefs she believes to be wrong and harmful.  So the Catechism's focus here is catechesis within the Catholic world regarding practices contrary to the First Commandment, not interreligious dialogue with Neo-Paganism.  Unfortunately, I think the Catechism's extremely brief and negative overview of these topics can have the side effect of reinforcing oversimplified and overly negative attitudes towards the complex, human phenomenon that is the Neo-Pagan world.  And it certainly comes across as very unempathetic from a pagan point of view.  However, despite these legitimate concerns, we should remember that the Church does teach her children to engage in a more robust and empathetic dialogue with people of other religions, and to recognize positive elements in other religions and even to promote, preserve, and learn from them, as can be seen by reading the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate.  I provided this quotation from it in my earlier article:

Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. . . .  The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.

So the Church encourages us to delve into these matters with deeper nuance.  Even if there are things we must be critical of from the perspective of the Catholic worldview, we must also highlight and promote those things we can recognize as positive and beneficial to spiritual life.

So what is the Church critical of in "magical" practices?  I see two main things that are related:

1. The first thing is an inappropriate attempt to gain supernatural power or knowledge.  The Church sees in some "magical" sorts of practices an attempt to gain control of supernatural power, either through a kind of "supernaturally mechanical" means or through controlling or influencing spirits.

2. The Church sees #1 as partly reflecting a lack of proper trust in God, whose role it is to govern the universe.  To attempt to gain illicit supernatural power or knowledge through magical means is to attempt to "play God."  Instead of trusting God to run the universe, we try to take control ourselves as if we were gods over our own lives or the world around us.  This kind of supernatural power is not a power we were meant to have or that we can actually attain, but we ignore reality and try to grasp it for ourselves.

Of course, there are other more obvious dangers the Church mentions, such as attempting to use magical powers to harm people or attempting to work with evil spirits.  But I think #1 and #2 reflect the more fundamental and perennial problems the Church sees in things like "magic" and "divination."

So Catholics ought to avoid these practices which are (looking at things from a Catholic point of view) rooted in lack of proper trust in God or an attempt to gain godlike control over one's life and world.  But now we need to ask the question, do these paragraphs of warning in the Catechism really reflect what is actually going on in Neo-Pagan "magickal" practices and rituals?  (I deliberately used an archaic spelling of "magick" there because I've observed that pagans sometimes prefer this spelling to distinguish their idea of "magick" from "stage magic" or other thing that are different from what they are practicing.)  I think there is much more nuance here that can be brought out.

One thing that is crucial to note is that, within the Neo-Pagan community, there is a wide variety of views regarding the meaning of pagan ideas and practices.  Although, if you attend a pagan ritual, you will see a group of people all doing the same things, if you dig deeper you will find that there is great diversity in terms of how the participants understand what they are actually doing and what is actually going on.

Let's consider a concrete example of a pagan ritual - particularly, an example of the practice of "casting a spell."  In order to be able to print a spell in full that I could remember while avoiding copyright issues, etc., I asked ChatGPT to create a good example.  What it came up with matches what my experience tells me is fairly typical of the genre:

Example: Protection Spell

Materials:

• A black candle
• A piece of obsidian or black tourmaline
• Sea salt
• A small bowl of water
• A sage smudge stick or incense
• A piece of paper and a pen

Instructions:

Preparation:

1. • Choose a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed. Cleanse the space by burning sage or incense and allow the smoke to purify the area.
   • Arrange your materials on an altar or a small table. Place the black candle in the center, with the obsidian or black tourmaline next to it. Position the bowl of water and the sea salt nearby.

2. Casting the Circle:

   • Stand in the center of your space and visualize a protective circle of light surrounding you. Move clockwise and use the smoke from the sage or incense to trace the perimeter of your circle, saying:

     “I cast this circle of protection, 
     A sacred space for my intention. 
     No harm shall come, no evil here, 
     Only love and light, pure and clear.”
     

3. Grounding:

   • Sit or stand comfortably within your circle. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Visualize roots extending from your body into the earth, grounding and connecting you to the earth’s energy.

4. Stating the Intention:

   • On the piece of paper, write down your intention for protection. Be specific about what you are seeking protection from.

5. Charging the Spell:

   • Hold the piece of obsidian or black tourmaline in your hand. Focus on your intention and visualize a bright light surrounding you, emanating from the stone. Say:

     “Stone of protection, dark as night,
     Guard me with your shielding light.
     Keep me safe from harm and fear,
     Protect me now, both far and near.”
     

6. Empowering the Spell:

   • Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt into the bowl of water. Dip your fingers into the water and flick it around the candle, saying:

     “Water and salt, cleanse and protect,
     By earth and sea, negativity deflect.”
     

   • Light the black candle and focus on the flame. Visualize the flame burning away any negative energy surrounding you.

7. Releasing the Energy:

   • Hold your written intention over the candle flame and let it catch fire (be careful and use a fireproof dish to catch the ashes). As it burns, visualize your intention being released into the universe. Say:

     “By fire’s light and smoke’s ascent,
     My will is cast, my energy sent.
     Protection surrounds me, strong and true,
     As I will it, so mote it be.”
     

8. Closing the Circle:

   • Thank any deities, spirits, or elements you called upon. Move counterclockwise and visualize the circle of light fading away. Say:

     “I close this circle, the work is done,
     With gratitude, I thank everyone.
     The circle fades but the protection stays,
     Guarding me now and all my days.”
     

9. Final Steps:

   • Allow the candle to burn down completely or snuff it out if you need to leave. Keep the stone with you or place it in your home for ongoing protection.

This example combines several elements common in pagan spell work, including the use of natural materials, visualization, and spoken incantations. The exact process can vary depending on individual beliefs and practices.  (ChatGPT, personal communication, June 16, 2024, copy codes removed)

So this is a good example of a typical spell that one might find in pagan practice.  But what is understood by the practitioner to be actually happening here?  My experience suggests that the answer to that is going to differ from pagan to pagan.  Some will probably understand the spell in the most literal and straightforward terms:  Actual supernatural power is being attained and utilized for protection by means of magickal actions involving incantations, stones, salt water, spirits, etc.  This interpretation of the spell is going to be seen as problematic from a Catholic point of view, for reasons we articulated earlier when we looked at the warnings in the Catechism.  If there is an attempt to control or attain supernatural or godlike powers or knowledge, or to manipulate spirits, that will be an issue.  But another pagan practitioner might understand the spell as a set of symbolic actions intended to facilitate communication with "the divine" in order to request protection (see this short TikTok video for a really clear and helpful example of this).  In this interpretation, the spell is not fundamentally different from what Christians would call a "prayer."  Instead of using mostly just words, the prayer is communicated more by means of symbolic actions, but the basic intention and activity are fundamentally the same.  This understanding of the "spell" is not inherently at odds with a Catholic worldview, even if some of the language and symbolism might seem alien to what Catholics are used to and some Catholics might (understandably - there is a real danger here to be guarded against) be wary of a way of talking and acting that they fear might tend to lead people back to the sorts of things the Catechism warns against.  Yet another pagan practitioner might understand the spell in a more naturalistic way - as a set of ritual actions intended to affect a person's psychological mindset, helping them to relate to the world in a way that is more conducive to personal safety and success.  This, too, is not inherently problematic from a Catholic point of view.  (And we could add, of course, that the various interpretations are not necessarily mutually exclusive.  An individual practitioner might combine several of them.)

While I was conversing with ChatGPT, I also asked this question:  "Do pagans believe that spells really work?"  This was its answer:

Yes, many pagans believe that spells really work, but their understanding of how spells work can vary widely. Here are some common perspectives within pagan communities:

1. Psychological Influence: Some pagans believe that spells work primarily through psychological means. The process of casting a spell can help focus intention and reinforce belief in a desired outcome, which in turn can influence a person's behavior and decisions in ways that help bring about that outcome.

2. Energy Manipulation: Many pagans believe in the existence of a subtle, unseen energy that can be manipulated through spells and rituals. By directing this energy, they believe they can influence events, people, or the environment in accordance with their will.

3. Symbolic Action: For some pagans, spells are symbolic actions that represent a desired change. These symbolic actions can serve as a form of communication with the divine or with the universe, petitioning for assistance in achieving a goal.

4. Interconnectedness: Some pagans believe that everything in the universe is interconnected. By casting a spell, they are tapping into these connections to create a ripple effect that can bring about the desired change.

5. Faith and Tradition: For others, the effectiveness of spells is rooted in tradition and faith. The belief in the power of spells can be part of a larger religious or spiritual worldview that gives meaning and efficacy to these practices.

Different pagan traditions may emphasize one or more of these perspectives, and individual beliefs can vary widely even within a single tradition. Ultimately, the belief in the effectiveness of spells is a deeply personal aspect of many pagans' spiritual practice.  (ChatGPT, personal communication, June 16, 2024)

I found it interesting how closely ChatGPT's answer parallels my own personal observations of the variety of understandings that exist in the pagan community.

This great diversity of views within the Neo-Pagan community regarding how one understands the meaning and intention of rituals makes it very tricky to evaluate pagan practices from a Catholic point of view.  In short, there are ways of understanding them in which they are certainly incompatible with Catholic values and beliefs.  But there are often other ways of understanding them in which they are not.

I mentioned above how some pagans see ritual work as a way of communicating with the divine, as a form of prayer that makes use of the language of symbolism and symbolic actions.  This should not seem all that foreign to Catholic sensibilities.  This is an integral and historic part of Catholic practice as well.  Think about all the things Catholics do in public worship and in private devotions.  The Mass is full of intentions stated and prayers made through symbols and symbolic actions.  We use incense to symbolize the presence of God and sending prayers up to heaven (without believing that the incense is literally, physically, carrying our prayers or making it possible for God to hear them).  We use candles to symbolize the presence of Christ and his light, and Catholics privately often light a candle as a symbolic way to indicate "I'm sending prayers up to God."  Priests wear robes to symbolize their role as representatives of Christ.  We make the sign of the cross as a prayer to God.  We genuflect to show devotion and reverence.  We crown Mary in May as an expression of honoring her (and therefore the God who makes her honorable by his grace).  And we could go on and on.  We should also add that this works both ways.  That is, God communicates with us as well by means of symbolism and symbolic actions.   In the Catholic worldview, God gives us sacraments because we are physical, temporal-spatial beings who find it very helpful to have an invisible relationship with an invisible God and invisible grace communicated to us through tangible objects, events, and activities.  And beyond the sacraments, there are a host of "sacramentals."  Anything can be a means by which God communicates with us and gives himself and his grace to us.  We can experience God in nature, in other people, in the events of our lives, in stories, in myths and symbols, in music, in other forms of art, etc.  God reaches us through the created world.

Before I leave this subject, let me refer you to the famous "St. Patrick's Breastplate" - a well-known prayer coming from the tradition of Celtic Christianity.  Read through this prayer (which you can find at the link).  If you are familiar with the forms and language of pagan rituals, what you read in this prayer is going to sound very familiar.  The language of this prayer is reminiscent of a pagan "spellcasting."  The author "binds" to himself the power of God and all sorts of natural powers as well.  He calls on these powers to protect him, to encircle him (very reminiscent of the idea of "casting a circle"), etc.  This prayer sounds like it could be interpreted as a kind of magical incantation, and yet it has been widely recognized as an honored Christian prayer for nearly two millennia.  But, of course, it is not an attempt to practice "magic" in the sense condemned by the Catechism.  I bring it up as an example, on the Christian side, of how a variety of forms of language can be used to express Christian spirituality.  Similarly, the language and practices of Neo-Paganism can often be interpreted in different ways and are in fact interpreted in various ways within the Neo-Pagan community. 

Brief disclaimer here, just to be clear:  I am not saying that pagan language or rituals, even understood with the best - from a Catholic point of view - intentions, or interpreted in ways consistent with a Catholic worldview, should necessarily be adopted by Catholics.  There is serious danger of confusion, scandal, etc., as a lot of these elements carry a lot of cultural baggage.  I do think that it is possible to safely draw on some elements of pagan culture in some contexts (see the USCCB's comments on popular piety and its relation to culture for an example of Church teaching that encourages a prudent and careful assimilation of some cultural ideas into devotional practice), but this must be done with great care and prudence, with spiritual guidance, following Church teaching, rules, and authority, properly avoiding occasions of scandal or any inclination towards confusion or syncretism, etc.

But while we must be aware of the dangers and the need to be prudent, I want to end this section on a positive note:  One danger of failing to bring nuance to our evaluation of "magick," "witchcraft," etc., in the Neo-Pagan world is that we can end up rejecting things that are positive and good that are a part of these ideas and practices.  The pagan world has wisdom that we can learn from.  The "witchy vibe," so to speak, is associated with an appreciation for nature and a desire to interact with it.  It is associated with respect for natural cycles, for the environment, and for the human body.  The practice of herbcraft, in addition to its symbolic and ritual value, is useful for medicinal purposes.  The witchy aesthetic is one that is appealing to many people (because of its association with the sorts of things we've just mentioned, and because of its own unique cultural beauty).  We've already mentioned the value of symbolic and ritual practices in human psychology and in the spiritual life.  People are drawn to paganism and witchcraft because of these kinds of things, and they are good things.  They are things that a Catholic worldview, full-orbed and properly balanced, should lead us to as well.  We should be grateful to the pagan world for reminding us of these things and calling us to practice them more fully and consistently.

Polytheism and Idolatry

The other thing I wanted to talk about in this post is the pagan practice of worshipping other deities.  Paragraphs #2112-2114 in the Catechism provide a set of warnings on this subject similar to the warnings we looked at earlier about "magic" and "divination":

2112 The first commandment condemns polytheism. It requires man neither to believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than the one true God. Scripture constantly recalls this rejection of "idols, [of] silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see." These empty idols make their worshippers empty: "Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them."⁴² God, however, is the "living God"⁴³ who gives life and intervenes in history.

2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, "You cannot serve God and mammon."⁴⁴ Many martyrs died for not adoring "the Beast"⁴⁵ refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.⁴⁶

2114 Human life finds its unity in the adoration of the one God. The commandment to worship the Lord alone integrates man and saves him from an endless disintegration. Idolatry is a perversion of man's innate religious sense. An idolater is someone who "transfers his indestructible notion of God to anything other than God."⁴⁷

As you can see here, what the Catechism is concerned about with reference to "idolatry" and "false pagan worship" is the making of something that is not God out to be God and treating it as God, or leaving behind the concept of "One Supreme Being" for a plurality of independent absolute deities.  This is a deadly sin from a Catholic point of view, because God is the sole ultimate source of life and goodness.  To treat something that is not God as if it is God, then, is like turning away from a pure spring of water and instead trying to drink from an empty hole of sand.  It is gravely dishonoring to God, who deserves our supreme love, and fatal to our spiritual life and happiness.  (Although it should also be noted that the Church teaches that a person can potentially be in a right relationship with God without necessarily being able to explicitly recognize and articulate this reality.  See, for example, Lumen Gentium #16.)

The Catechism clearly has "paganism" and "pagan worship" of some kind in mind as examples of idolatry.  But does everything that goes on under the label of "Neo-Pagan" belief and practice fall under this condemnation?  Again, it is not the intention of the Catechism here to be providing a holistic evaluation of every aspect of the actual culture of Neo-Paganism.  This is not an attempt at interreligious dialogue with a concrete, particular group of people.  When we move beyond simply providing some warnings about dangerous "pagan" practices out there and begin to evaluate an actually-existing body of people and their culture on a more holistic level, honesty and charity require us to recognize all the existing nuances and complexity.

In the previous section, I talked about how different pagans differently understand pagan rituals and magickal practices.  The same thing applies to pagan ideas about gods and other supernatural entities.  Some pagans take a more "literal" view of pagan beliefs and believe in various gods and other entities who are actually-existing beings and exist as supreme and absolute principles in their own right, independent of one Supreme Being.  Other pagans might believe in a single Supreme Reality of some sort and see various gods as manifestations or as personifications of different aspects or attributes of that One Being.  Yet other pagans might be more naturalistic and view the gods and other supernatural entities not as actually-existing entities (or even as manifestations of aspects of some real Entity) but as personifications of certain natural phenomena or values or ideals.  (Listen to this pagan podcast for an interesting conversation about the different ways pagans can relate to pagan "mythology.")  Once again, this diversity of viewpoints within paganism makes it difficult to evaluate pagan beliefs from a Catholic point of view.  If I believe that Artemis is an actually-existing person who exists independently from the Supreme Being and who is to be worshiped as a supreme principle in her own right, my beliefs fall into the category warned against in the Catechism.  This way of thinking and worshiping is going to be incompatible with Catholic faith.  However, what if I view Artemis as a kind of mythic symbol, a personification of nature and the wildness of nature, and I interact with her as a symbol in a non-literal way in order to more concretely think about and interact with the natural world (and perhaps also with the Supreme Ultimate Reality behind nature that is the source of nature)?  Or what if I see Artemis as a portrayal of some particular aspect of the overall nature of the Supreme Being and, as such, a "ray of light" as if were by which that Being in part communicates itself to me and connects with me?  Or what if I view Artemis as an actually-existing entity, but regard her not as a supreme independent entity (and so not to be "worshiped" in the sense of "given the honor belonging only to the Supreme Being") but as a created being derived from God who reflects in a limited way certain aspects of God's divine life - like an angel - and I interpret her existence and role in other ways consistent with a Catholic view of the universe (C.S. Lewis provides an example of how one might do this in his novel That Hideous Strength where he makes gods like Mercury and Jupiter to be rulers over planetary systems - a kind of super-angel created by God and under God)?  In itself, I don't see anything in these interpretations that is contrary to the fundamental concerns of Catholic faith.  (Though, again, I am not saying that Catholics should necessarily adopt these ideas or practices.)  So if we've got a group of pagans having some kind of devotion to Artemis, I think we'll find, from a Catholic point of view, that some interpretations of what is going on might be inconsistent with a Catholic worldview while other interpretations might not be - again, making it difficult to evaluate overall what is happening from a Catholic point of view.

Pagan rituals often involve an acknowledgment of the elements of earth, air, fire, and water, as well as other creatures and forces of nature, sometimes personifying them.  Is this idolatry?  It can be.  And yet it need not be understood in this way.  Consider St. Francis of Assisi's famous "Canticle of the Creatures" (sometimes also called the "Canticle of the Sun").  This poem personifies and honors elements of the natural world, calling them "Brother Sun," "Sister Moon," "Sister Water," "Brother Wind," "Brother Fire," and "Sister Mother Earth."  There is nothing wrong, from a Catholic point of view, with personifying natural realities, recognizing God's beauty reflected in them, and giving them due honor (not worship), or even calling on created beings for help (as Catholics do when they pray to saints for their intercession).

As I mentioned in my earlier article as well, two great Christian authors in modern times who have recognized and promoted the value of myths, symbols, and stories, including ones drawn from paganism, were C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.  I referred in that article to Tolkien's wonderful essay "On Fairy-Stories," and we can see the positive value of myths reflected, of course, in his famous Silmarillion and Lord of the Rings.  We see the same thing in C.S. Lewis.  For example, Lewis uses the word "magic" in a neutral way and refers to "good magic" and "bad magic" (I gave an example of this from The Silver Chair in my previous article).  In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis refers to the principles and laws that allow Aslan to be sacrificed in the place of the traitor Eustace as "Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time."  He refers to the law that allowed Aslan to come back to life since he made himself, who had committed no treachery, a willing victim on behalf of a traitor a "deeper magic" from before the dawn of time.

There is a fascinating passage from Lewis's Prince Caspian (the second book in The Chronicles of Narnia) in which a bacchanal occurs and the god Bacchus and his companion the satyr Silenus show up.  This is about as pagan as you can get!  (Remember that, in the Chronicles, the lion Aslan is God himself.)

    The crowd and the dance round Aslan (for it had become a dance once more) grew so thick and rapid that Lucy was confused. She never saw where certain other people came from who were soon capering about among the trees. One was a youth, dressed only in a fawn-skin, with vine-leaves wreathed in his curly hair. His face would have been almost too pretty for a boy's, if it had not looked so extremely wild. You felt, as Edmund said when he saw him a few days later, "There's a chap who might do anything—absolutely anything." He seemed to have a great many names—Bromios, Bassareus, and the Ram were three of them. There were a lot of girls with him, as wild as he. There was even, unexpectedly, someone on a donkey. And everybody was laughing: and every body was shouting out, "Euan, euan, eu-oi-oi-oi."

    "Is it a Romp, Aslan?" cried the youth. And apparently it was. But nearly everyone seemed to have a different idea as to what they were playing. It may have been Tig, but Lucy never discovered who was It. It was rather like Blind Man's Buff, only everyone behaved as if they were blindfolded. It was not unlike Hunt the Slipper, but the slipper was never found. What made it more complicated was that the man on the donkey, who was old and enormously fat, began calling out at once, "Refreshments! Time for refreshments," and falling off his donkey and being bundled on to it again by the others, while the donkey was under the impression that the whole thing was a circus, and tried to give a display of walking on its hind legs. And all the time there were more and more vine leaves everywhere. And soon not only leaves but vines. They were climbing up everything. They were running up the legs of the tree people and circling round their necks. Lucy put up her hands to push back her hair and found she was pushing back vine branches. The donkey was a mass of them. His tail was completely entangled and something dark was nodding between his ears. Lucy looked again and saw it was a bunch of grapes. After that it was mostly grapes—overhead and underfoot and all around.

After the bacchanal dies down, Lucy and Susan have a fascinating brief conversation:    

    "I say, Su, I know who they are."

    "Who?"

    "The boy with the wild face is Bacchus and the old one on the donkey is Silenus. Don't you remember Mr Tumnus telling us about them long ago?"

    "Yes, of course. But I say, Lu——"

    "What?"

    "I wouldn't have felt very safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls if we'd met them without Aslan."

    "I should think not," said Lucy.¹

Lewis is making a fascinating theological point here.  He is presenting pagan-derived myths and symbols in a positive light, but adding that they are only safe when they are anchored to the ultimate reality of God and subservient to him.  I think this presents a powerful image of how a Christian can be enriched by the spiritual and cultural fruits of paganism if he/she takes them not in opposition to, but subservient to and as an expression of, the reality of the one Supreme Being who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  These are positive values of paganism understood and appreciated within the context of a Christian worldview.  (Though, again, much caution must be had here because of the danger of confusion and scandal.)

Conclusion

In conclusion, then, I hope I have shown some of the nuances that one must bring to the table when trying to understand and evaluate pagan beliefs and practices from within a Catholic Christian point of view.  And we've only touched on a few points.  We could certainly dive even deeper into an examination of various rituals and practices as well as other moral and cultural characteristics of the Neo-Pagan world.  I've been reflecting on these things recently not only in the interest of understanding and dialoguing with Neo-Pagans, but also as a way of enhancing my own spiritual life as a Catholic Christian, recognizing the challenges but also learning from, appreciating, and being enriched by what is good.

Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again!  Blessed Be!

1  C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian (New York: Collier Books, 1970), 152-154.

Published on the feast of St. Alban.