I know it's uncomfortable to hear, but Christianity as we know it is deeply rooted in Pagan and Magickal traditions. Many rituals and celebrations considered 'Christian' today have origins in ancient Witchcraft, nature worship, and seasonal rites. This doesn’t diminish your faith — but it does mean you might be practicing more Magick than you think.
Here are 10 everyday rituals and traditions that are actually Witchcraft in disguise:
1. Blowing Out Birthday Candles (Wish Magick)
This tradition traces back to ancient Greece, where people made cakes for Artemis and lit candles to mimic the glowing moon. The smoke carried prayers to the gods. In Germanic cultures, birthday candles were kept burning all day for protection, and wishes were made in secrecy to give them more power. According to The Pagan Book of Days by Nigel Pennick, this practice reflects ancient spellcraft principles of intention, elemental fire, and breath as a magickal carrier—making it a classic example of sympathetic Magick in disguise.
2. The Tooth Fairy (Spirit Offering for Favor)
Long before the Tooth Fairy, European folk Magick warned against letting others possess your teeth, fearing their use in binding spells. In Norse and Celtic traditions, teeth were buried or offered to household spirits for protection. As Claude Lecouteux describes in The Tradition of Household Spirits, such offerings were common to secure favor from land wights or ancestral spirits. Today’s Tooth Fairy echoes this practice—offering a body part for a blessing, just like spirit offerings in Witchcraft.
3. Making a Cross with Ashes on Ash Wednesday
This ritual parallels Pagan practices in which ashes were used in rites of passage, mourning, and seasonal festivals. Ash represents purification, death, and rebirth in many traditions. According to Ronald Hutton in The Stations of the Sun, marking the body with ash predates Christianity and aligns closely with symbolic sigil work, turning the body into a living talisman—a deeply magickal act.
4. Hiding Easter Eggs
The Easter egg tradition stems from fertility rites tied to the festival of Ostara, honoring the Germanic goddess of spring. Eggs symbolized abundance and were hidden in fields as blessings for crops. As noted by Nigel Pennick in The Pagan Book of Days, the symbolism of painted eggs and their ritual burial mimics ancient nature-based magick practices—seeking hidden fertility blessings through seasonal celebration.
5. Using Rosaries or Prayer Beads
Prayer beads have long been used in Hindu, Buddhist, and Pagan traditions to invoke deities and maintain trance states. In Witchcraft, enchanted beads or knots are employed in binding spells and incantation work. According to The Path of Prayer Beads by Marylin Weinstein, rosaries mirror the structure of spellcasting—using repetition, rhythm, and intention to raise energy and shift consciousness.
6. Hanging Wreaths
Wreaths are rooted in Yule traditions, where evergreens symbolized protection and eternal life. The circular form reflected the Wheel of the Year—an endless cycle of death and rebirth. As Ronald Hutton explains in The Stations of the Sun, wreaths were hung at doors to bless and protect the home, much like Witch’s ladders or charm bundles in folk Magick.
7. Baptism / Water Blessings
Ritual purification via water spans from Egyptian and Greek temples to Celtic sacred wells. In Witchcraft, water is often charged with moonlight and used for initiation or cleansing spells. According to Emma Wilby in Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits, water rites in folk Magick were vital for aligning with spiritual forces. Baptism, in this light, becomes a ritual rebirth spell—symbolically attuning the soul to divine power.
8. Wishing on a Star or Shooting Star
Stars were seen as divine messengers in ancient astrology and Magick. A falling star signaled an open window to speak one's desires into the universe. As described in Mythologies by Yves Bonnefoy, celestial anomalies were powerful omens and magickal opportunities. Making a wish on a shooting star is a form of celestial Magick, rooted in ancient sky-watching spells.
9. Christmas Trees & Decorating Them
The evergreen was venerated by Druids and Norse Pagans for its enduring life through winter. Trees were adorned to honor spirits or ancestors. According to Owen Davies in Grimoires: A History of Magic Books, decorating evergreens during the solstice was a form of nature Magick, meant to draw spiritual favor and protection. Modern Christmas trees carry on these ancestral rites under a Christian veneer.
10. Blessing a Home with Salt or Holy Water
Salt has long been used to draw boundaries and repel negative energy, from Babylonian rituals to Roman folk customs. Water, too, was sanctified at sacred springs and wells. As detailed in Daniel Schulke’s Viridarium Umbris, these elements are primary tools in protective Witchcraft. Holy water and salt circles are classic banishing techniques—now rebranded as Christian sacramentals.
Written by Dena Lin Speshock for the Pale Raven
References:
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Bonnefoy, Y. (1992). Mythologies. University of Chicago Press.
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Davies, O. (2009). Grimoires: A History of Magic Books. Oxford University Press.
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Radford, B. (2014). The Truth About the Tooth Fairy. Skeptical Inquirer, 38(2).
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Schulke, D. A. (2005). Viridarium Umbris: The Pleasure Garden of Shadow. Xoanon Publishing.
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Strmiska, M. (Ed.). (2005). Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives. ABC-CLIO.