Christianity & Magic with Rev. Michael Lux

To many the words “Christianity” and “Magic” should be like oil and water. For most Christians, the Occult is strictly forbidden; a dalliance with the dark forces of Satan. For Occultists, Christianity is the great adversary; always seeking to destroy and do away with those who use Magic of any form. Yet these dichotomies are somewhat new and it has not always been so easy to seperate. Much of the nuance has been lost, but luckily over the last 15 years, many of those into Magic and Witchcraft have begun the process of reexamining these complex ideas. Joining this episode is Christian Magician and renegade catholic cleric Reverend Michael Lux.

My Guest for this episode is an ordained renegade catholic clergy affiliated with the Church of Light and Shadow, has been involved in Ceremonial Magic and Spiritism for 20 years. No stranger to Magical and Philosophical strangeness; Michael walks the walk. He is also a juggernaut on Twitter, producing some of the greatest Magical memes. His blog Necromantic Matters is always insightful and a treasure for those who would dabble with the intersections of Magic and Christianity. Clicking below shall bring you to his brand new Patreon Page where you can get access to exclusive posts as well as a Tarot Reading every month!

Show Notes

• Popular Christianity and Lived Religion in Late Antique Rome: Seeing Magic in the Catacombs
• Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power by Marvin Meyer & Richard Smith – I love these. Seriously amazing magical content in this one
• Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things? Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation by Robert Bartlett – This book is unreal. Recommended
• Spirit Possession and the Origins of Christianity by Stevan Davies – An important book, in my opinion. Recommended
• Early Christianity in The Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic
• Magic in Christianity: From Jesus to the Gnostics by Robert Conner
• Josephus
• The Christ Myth Theory
• Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth by Bart Ehrman
• Caesar’s Messiah by Joseph Atwill – An… erm, interesting read
• The Gnostic New Age: How a Countercultural Spirituality Revolutionized Religion from Antiquity to Today by April DeConick
• Magic, ‘Religion’ and the Conversion of Egypt to Christianity
• Pagans and Christians by Robin Lane Fox
• The Queerness of it All – Jeffrey Kripal has some very very interesting things to say
• Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome & the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD by Peter Brown – Both Michael and I adore this book
• Magic Witchcraft Pagans & Christians A study in the suppression of belief and the rise of Christianity
• Septuagint
• The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity by Peter Brown – Necromancers take note
• The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity by Peter Brown
• The Testament of Cyprian the Mage by Jake Stratton-Kent – A stone-cold classic
• The Book of St. Cyprian: The Sorcerer’s Treasure by Jose Leitao – One of my favourites. Lots of great practice to extract from this book.
• Golden Legend – A book that for a time was more popular than the Bible. Looking for stories of Saints and their lives? Look no further
• Repatriating ‘Christian’ Magic – Theomagica
• Magic in the Middle Ages by Richard Kieckhefer
• A History of Exorcism in Catholic Christianity by Francis Young
• Magic in the Cloister by Sophie Page
• The Saints and the Catholic Magician
• The Precious Apothecary by Jose Leitao – A Catholic Grimoire
• The Book of Gold: The Magic & Spells of the Biblical Psalms by David Rankine
• The Book of Oberon: A Sourcebook of Elizabethan Magic by Daniel Harms and Joseph H. Peterson
• The Magical Power of the Saints: Evocation and Candle Rituals by Ray Malbrough
• Invoking Angels edited by Claire Fanger
• The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science and Spirit Meet by Rupert Sheldrake and Matthew Fox
• Check out Hadean Press’ Guides to the Underworld for some great chapbooks regarding Saints…. And much much more
• The Rosicrucifixion by Jake Stratton-Kent
• The Brazen Vessel by Alkistis Dimech and Peter Grey – Some of my favourite magic essays of the last decade are in this book. Recommended
• Allan Kardec
• Honoring Saint Cyprian