Lent Through a Witch’s Eyes
“In my day…” I say with all the wisdom a 34-year-old can muster, “fasting for Lent meant not eating beef or pork.”
I grew up Catholic. In case my penchant for witchcraft didn’t make that obvious. Unlike occult practitioners who are still deconstructing from their religious trauma, I’ve reached a place in my spirituality where I can enjoy certain aspects of my old faith and marry it to my current practice. I like Three Kings Day and that they brought Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I go to church on Palm Sunday so that an elderly volunteer can hand me a palm cross. And I even enjoy Lent, even if I haven’t participated in a couple of years.
Lenten fasting in Christianity involved abstaining from specific foods, particularly meat, dairy, and other animal products, for 40 days. This practice was rooted in early Christian asceticism and was seen as a way to emulate Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness.
The point of asceticism is to achieve greater moral purity and a deeper connection to the divine through self-denial. It abstains from physical pleasures like indulgent food, luxury, or sexual activity (meat was an indulgence back then and is an indulgence again today thanks to a post-tariff America). This leads to self-discipline, spiritual growth, simplicity and freedom from distractions to achieve all those things.
The 1960s marked a shift in Catholic practices when the Second Vatican Council emphasized personal spirituality and adaptation to modern life. Traditional fasting rules were not abolished, but the Church encouraged a more personalized approach to Lenten observance.
This is how you end up with people substituting the fasting of food with the “fasting” of other activities: gossiping, drinking alcohol, and even shopping.
In fact, Black faith leaders are calling on a 40-Day boycott on Target in 2025 to protest the retailer’s retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
I see fasting as a type of sacrifice. It’s the giving up of one thing in exchange for another. For most Catholics, their goal is to feel closer to the divine or stronger in their faith.
In my spiritual practice, a sacrifice should make you uncomfortable. An experienced vegan “giving up” beef and fish for lent is not giving up anything at all, because abstaining from meat is already a comfortable part of their lifestyle. While I’m all for boycotting Target as a form of protest, I don’t think it’s a spiritual sacrifice if you never shop at Target either because you don’t want to or because you’ve been priced out for a while.
But, wait, this is supposed to be a Lust Thrust Thursday piece. Let’s move on to the juicy stuff.
Abstinence for Lent has always fascinated me
It makes sense for asceticism. In the realm of earthly pleasures, sex is king. Of course 40 days of celibacy feels like a sacrifice.
If a couple is on thin ice, abstaining from sex could mean gambling the relationship in exchange for a closer connection with the divine. This would also trigger deep introspection for both parties. What kind of couple is left when you remove sex from the table?
What I find fascinating is how people’s declaration of celibacy as a form of sacrifice highlights personal and societal attitudes towards sexuality.
For example, there’s a popular YouTuber I will not name here who creates educational and motivational e-commerce content. About an hour into one of his courses, I realized that his audience was men. And squeezed between the chapters on E-Commerce 101 and Case Study 1 was an entire section on how men who wish to be successful should abstain from watching porn and masturbating for the duration of the course (yes, he assumed that the men in his audience were single, which I think is an important factor). The reasoning being that sexual activity distracts you from your goals.
In his explanation, words like “goals” and “success” and “financial freedom” were used with the same zeal that you would expect when talking about connecting with the divine and reaching spiritual purity. Abstinence was the sacrifice, the holy exchange, for becoming a laptop millionaire.
It’s very fitting…when you worship money.
That’s not to say that sex and self-pleasuring aren’t forms of escapism. It’s why some programs encourage celibacy for individuals in early recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. The newly sober could replace drug addiction with sexual activity that triggers similar dopamine responses in the brain, putting their recovery at risk.
This vulnerability has to do with the low self-esteem, unclear thinking, and unresolved trauma that accompanies addiction. If you want to face these problems head on, you can’t escape into someone else’s body.
But as a Witch…
Abstinence for Lent is also ironic for a witch. In sex magick, orgasms are used to activate sigils and other spell work. It’s an energetic spark, equivalent to activating a spell by lighting a candle, but it taps into your raw inner power. Just as your desire reached a climax, your desire for the spell’s outcome will also come to a peak, into a manifestation in the corporeal world.
Meaning… if you have a goal, you can use an orgasm to reach it. No abstinence necessary. But that’s if you want to use your inner power. Your declaration that you are a part of the universe, and just how your body is composed of tiny atoms, you can also will mold other tiny atoms into whatever you want.
But sometimes, even you, the witch, will need a favor from a spirit or a divinity. Maybe your inner power is not enough. Maybe you need to borrow the determination of Isis, who journeyed in search of Osiris’ body to bring him back to life. Or maybe you need the strategic wisdom of Athena to make your next move. If the deity required purity from its ancient followers, abstinence would be a great sacrifice to make in exchange. For example, the Priestesses of Isis had rigid standards of purity, so abstinence would be a great sacrifice to appease her.
If you’re not already celibate, that is.
I leave you with this. Whether it’s for Lent or payment to another spirit, a sacrifice should be challenging. I’m sure your car payment hurts a little as the amount fades away from your bank account. Lent is the same. It’s an exchange for a spiritual gain.
Thank you for making it this far. I have a new download available: What every tarot card means in a money reading. Perfect for tarot readings regarding business, workplace, or personal finances (for entertainment purposes only, obviously).
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