Santeria 101
Rev. Regina Navickas, aka Zenobia Morgana

On the topic of using Christian holy water or various other Christian
objects in a Pagan/Wiccan setting I have to ask, why not?  If one believes
that all Gods/Goddesses are just rays of one Entity, wouldn't holy water
that has been blessed by a Christian priest be just as holy as water that has
been blessed by a Buddhist monk or Wiccan high priest/priestess?  If you
believe that the Norse Gods, the Celtic Gods, the Greco-Roman Gods,
and the Hindu Gods are cool, why not the Abrahamic Gods?  (Yes, yes,
I know they only have "One True God".  Then what about the
Archangels?  They sound to me like demi-gods.  And what about the
Kabala and the mention of the Shekeena – you know - God's wife?  Sounds
to me like a Goddess.)  Yes, there are Christians that have and
still are doing mean rotten nasty things in the name of "their" God.  As
much as I hate to say it, it looks like they will still do so in the future. 
Yet, I refuse to throw the baby out with the bath water as how can I
pooh-pooh a religion that gave us Mother Teresa?  (Not to mention
St. Anthony to whom I would never be able to get to work on time as I
am always looking for my other shoe in the morning and without whom
I would never be able to find it!  (Love ya St. Anthony!)

For those Pagans who incorporate Ancestor worship into your lives, if you
have an ancestor who was a devout Catholic wouldn’t you place upon your
Ancestor Altar some item of Catholicism?   Say as a way to remember and
honor them?  Or perhaps to entice them to help you in some way or as
a way of saying, “Thanks!”?  After all, if late great Uncle Liam liked
whiskey and you needed help from him, you would offer up a shot
glass of the stuff, right? So if dearly departed Granny prayed the
Rosary everyday, wouldn’t you place a set of Rosary Beads on your altar? 
I know I would.

I have a B.A. in religion and in studying for that degree I've found that the
BASIC fundamentals of Christianity  are very beautiful, just like for the
other Abrahamic religions.  Unfortunately, it is the things that
SOME of its followers have done in its name that has tainted it.  You
know, the whole "squeaky wheel gets the oil" motif - you hear more about
the bad stuff and less about the good.

If you would rather not use Christian holy water, et al, then don't. 
No harm no foul.  It's all good.  Once upon a time I too pooh-poohed all
things Christian.  Found the mere mention of their possible usage in
ritual insulting, disgusting even.  But then I looked deeper and with an
open mind.  For after all, wasn’t I just as guilty as they were?  Looking
down upon and judging another’s beliefs by what I had heard and not by
what the facts were?  Isn’t that what some of them did and still do to
Pagans?  So now I have no problem with the Christian Religion.  I might
have a problem with some of its followers, but not the religion as it is
supposed to be and as it should be practiced.   Because I took the time
to read and learn and question – to come to my own non-biased
conclusions - I now have no problem incorporating their elements into
my spiritual – magickal practices.  If they fit that is.  Maybe it’s the whole
"with age comes wisdom" thing that makes me think like this - I do have a
major milestone birthday coming up in the spring so the age thing does apply -
who knows. 

By the way, my feelings about using Christian items in a Pagan way are
not because of my practicing Santeria either, which does use a lot of
Catholic bells and whistles.  All of which came about from the
Yoruba slaves having tomask their Gods, the Orishas, in order to
preserve their religion.  So when I light a candle that has St. Barbara
on it, I am not doing it to Her, but to Chango who was given Her as a mask
to wear so the slaves wouldn't be beaten by their masters for worshiping
their gods.  By using Catholicism as a cover, they were able to pull one over
on their masters.  Pretty slick, huh?  The Yoruba saw that there was real
power in the Saints and Masses and all the other Catholic stuff besides
being able to use it to hide their religion so therefore incorporated it
into their beliefs.  But enough Santeria 101.

I ask you:  there is the belief that to kill a werewolf you need a
silver bullet that has been blessed by a Catholic priest.  Will a silver
bullet that has been blessed by my local coven at the last esbat work
just as well?  Probably.  But why take the chance?  If you know that
something works and works right the first time, why not use it?  Why
mess with the tried and true?  Not to say that sometimes finding an
easier or different  way isn't fun and exciting and good.  But sometimes
you're in a pinch, you know?  Options, life is just so much easier
with options.