Joy had been corresponding with Lewis for two years before her visit. She was a sharp, outspoken and witty woman, just the sort to appeal to Lewis. When, on her return to America, she found her husband committing adultery and their marriage beyond repair, she moved to England with her sons. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, along with Aslan as Christ figure, one character fulfils a Judas role by being tempted to betray the others, while the White Witch herself plays the role of the tempter. The role of Father Christmas has been compared to the Holy Spirit, as has Aslan's magical breath. The name of the oldest child may even have been a reference to Saint Peter. Examples of Christian popular magic are plentiful. The local practitioners of magic of early modern England known as “cunning-folk” identified as Christian, as did those who used their magical services. Historian of European magic Owen Davies provides an example of a popular Christian magical charm from the era meant to protect buildings from harm. The cunning-person would write, in Latin, Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum: Mosen habent et Prophetas: Exurgat Deus et dissipentur inimici ejus , or: “Let every spirit praise the Lord: they have Moses and the Prophets: Let God arise and his enemies be scattered.” In 1952 Joy Gresham came to England. Joy was a New York teacher of English literature, a former communist and a recent convert to Christianity: her parents had been Jewish, though her father was secular and her mother was not very religious. Joy had a husband, though at the time their marriage was in trouble. They had two sons, Douglas and David. Charlette, do not ever question what you feel in your heart and spiritual core. The church … however you choose to define it … is within each of us. You need not follow any one prescribed or defined religion. I say that I am not religious, but I AM spiritual. Be true to yourself!

Common theme: The link between the two feasts is thin, but the importance of St. John's day in many parts of the world is a testimony to the importance of this day. It is a time where the solar energy is at its highest. It is a time to commemorate that strength by soaking up this great gift. Domestic animals, though, obviously had something like a personality. Lewis thought that when humans tamed animals, in accordance with their God-given dominion over them, the animals became more themselves. Pagan chaplains are to be found in some universities, hospitals, and prisons. In 2009, the Police Pagan Association was formed to support pagan officers and counter stereotypes. The Pagan Federation was admitted to the UK Inter Faith Network in 2014, shortly after joining the Religious Education Council of England and Wales. These feasts commemorate the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and the beginning of the harvest season.

He later wrote in Surprised by Joy that he "was living in a whirl of contradictions. I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world." The British-run magazine Sabat, which blends witchcraft and feminism, was launched in 2016 and has attracted almost half its readers from Britain (the other half from the United States). Treadwell’s Books, in London, runs three or four events a week — including a Young Urban Witches programme — many of which sell out far in advance. When the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Cornwall staged an exhibition in London in 2017, 3000 people turned up for the private view. I have seen countless books and articles on “how to pray” or “pray right to get what you want” when there really is no one way to pray. For me, a prayer is simply a conversation with God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit or even the Goddess. No more, no less. There is plenty of room in my heart and spirit for the Holy Trinity AND the Goddess. I find that having a belief in the middle of the road satisfies me. It soothes me. It brings me peace and joy. Recent studies show that I am not alone in this belief as there are a growing number of “Christian Witches”. I know, it sounds like a contradiction, but it is possible to live the best of both worlds. Lewis, very unusually for the time, thought that there ought to be some provision in Christianity for resurrection or heaven for animals.

Joy's death was hard for Lewis to cope with and tested his Christian faith. He kept a record of his thoughts and feelings throughout the grieving process, and published it, using a pseudonym, as A Grief Observed. (So many people recommended the book to Lewis to help in his own grief that at last he was forced to admit he wrote it.) The Christian defender ... is very apt to say that we are entitled to do anything we please to animals because they 'have no souls'. But what does this mean? If it means that animals have no consciousness, then how is this known? They certainly behave as if they had, or at least the higher animals do. I myself am inclined to think that far fewer animals than is supposed have what we should recognize as consciousness. But that is only an opinion. Unless we know on other grounds that vivisection is right we must not take the moral risk of tormenting them on a mere opinion.Stop branding all witchy/magical events as specifically “pagan”. A great deal of our folk magic is christian based and the pagan branding makes us and our magic feel unwelcome. There are no rules here. No dogma. No ancient traditions or rituals to follow. There’s just you and your own beliefs. To me this is everything. CHRISTIANS continue to be cautious about witchcraft, even fearful. Dr Richards is critical of those who distance themselves from it. “There’s a kneejerk reaction to the word ‘witch’ or ‘witchcraft’ in certain circles . . . Some Christians say, ‘I don’t want to find out that because it might contaminate me.’” She believes that some Christians misinterpret what pagans do. “I have had to talk to vicars and churches where they’re very upset by pagan activity and cursing: it is usually just anti-social behaviour.”