Occult Practices to Avoid: Ouija Boards, Tarot Cards, Hallucinogenic Drugs, and Scrying

1. Session 5 - Practices in the Occult Pt.2 In this session, we will continue to look at things that are associated (generally) with the occult that Christians should avoid. Last session we looked at the most common occultic practice worldwide (astrology); in this session we will look at less popular (but still very common) practices.

2. Ephesians 6:12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

3. There is a war going on right now, and many Christians in America (and around the world) are unaware of the tools the enemy uses to fight. There are many objects, movies, themes, practices, and more here in America that many in the church have no problem with, yet they are occultic and extremely dangerous for a believer to be involved with.

4. Ouija boards Ouija boards came into existence as a parlor game in the mid-1800's, when spiritism (esp. channeling) was becoming popular. The word "Ouija" is a blend of the French and German words for "yes”.

5. Adolphus Theodore Wagner first patented Ouija boards, also known as "talking boards," in England on January 23, 1854. In the patent, Wagner called his invention a "psychograph“, and its purpose was to read the minds of people with "nervous energy.” By 1861, Frenchman Allan Kardac described the Ouija board as an instrument people could use to open up communication with the spirit world.

6. It goes even further: in seven years, the Ouija board had evolved from a mind reader to a portal of communication with the dead. Modern Ouija boards (which look different than the original versions) were developed by inventor William Fuld. Fuld sold his patent to Parker Brothers in 1966.

7. Parker Brothers has marketed Ouija Boards under the tagline, "It's only a game - isn't it?” Ouija boards are a means of channeling or contacting the dead. Getting information and guidance from spirits is very dangerous and the Bible says many things against it. Even though the advice can be “good” sometimes, that doesn’t mean the board is. The Devil can appear as an angel of light.

8. Tarot cards There is some debate about the origins of Tarot cards. They come in decks (most commonly numbering 78) and have been adopted by the occult and mystics as a method of divination. Although commonly starting off as playing cards, the occult has adopted forms of these cards.

9. In 1781, a book was published in France by Antoine Court de Gebelin, in which he proclaimed his “discovery” that an ancient Egyptian system of occult wisdom and divination had long been embedded within the images of these cards. A study of the card images and symbols then began among the French occultists, and In 1855, Eliphas Levi published a book called "The Ritual and Dogma of High Magic”.

10. In that book, he said that the Tarot had been created 35,000 years earlier by Hermes, or Thoth, the Egyptian god of magic. (With which we would entirely disagree). This is one of the main reasons why they are now used for divination in the occult.

11. Some people take this pretty far and say our normal deck of cards have symbolism, too. 52 cards in the pack suggest 52 weeks in the year. 13 Cards in each suit suggest 13 lunar months in the year, 13 weeks in the quarter. 4 suits in the pack suggest 4 seasons/year. 12 Picture Cards in the pack suggest 12 months in the year, 12 signs of the Zodiac.

12. Hallucinogenic drugs In the 1960s, Timothy Leary, the Pied Piper of Harvard, led mesmerized youth into spiritual experiences that materialistic science had told them did not exist.  Timothy Leary’s LSD (and other drugs) turned out to be the launching pad for ”mind trips” beyond the physical universe of time, space, and matter.

13. For millions, it was a “mind-blowing” experience that forever changed their lives. The drug movement of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s established a major entrance for the occult to invade Western civilization. What easier way for demonic powers to take control of your mind than you taking things that makes you lose control of it?

14. Alan Morrison writes: “At that time, a new counter-culture was formed which opened up the youth of that period to a massive infestation of demonic influence and extreme sinful behavior. Central to this was the use of hallucinogenic and mind-altering drugs such as Marijuana, Cannabis resin, Lysergic Acid Dithylamide (LSD), di-Methyl Tryptamine (DMT), Mescaline, Peyote and other fungal concoctions.”

15. This led to millions of people figuring out they could get just as “high” using Eastern mysticism (and occultic) techniques: Eastern techniques like TM, yoga, visualization and hypnosis. Different things to put you in an altered state of consciousness. This is when the New Age Movement really starts to take off here in the U.S.

16. Crystal balls and Scrying Scrying is a form of fortune telling that comes from gazing into a crystal ball, mirror, bowl of water, or shiny metal object where the scryer claims to be able to see visions of the past, present, or future inside. Many people think it’s harmless and just for fun, but there's more to it.

17. The Pocket Guide to Crystals and Gemstones recommends that a person who intends to scry should choose a stone that “feels physically and psychically comfortable.” Scryers all tend to have their own methods of “clearing” and then “charging” their stones of alleged energies. This is one of the oldest forms of divination and is believed to have originated with the Druids who used beryl stones to scry.

18. And we made a fun equivalent for our children, didn’t we? We call it the magic 8 ball. The sad thing is many kids (and some adults) look into these things and actually believe and take the guidance it gives them. When they come in contact with crystal balls, they’ll be more comfortable with the idea.

19. Palm reading Palmistry is a form of divination that uses the lines in a person’s palms to get details about the individual’s life and personality. This is very similar to astrology (and old like astrology); it’s like another horoscope.

20. Palmistry blog website describes it this way: “Chiromancy palmistry roots of palm reading can be historically traced back to ancient Greece and Aristotle. Palm reading was widely used throughout the empires and nations of that region, and the east. It was used in Egypt, Babylon, India, Tibet, China, Sumer, Persia and more. It is commonly believed that palm reading actually originated in India, and has its roots in astrology, I Ching, and fortune tellers…

21. “A Hindu sage, Valmiki, is thought to have written about palm reading several thousand years ago. From India, it is really believed to have spread throughout the area east and west by word of mouth and practicing palm readers where it eventually reached Aristotle and many others.” Like astrology, many people are convinced this works because of how long it’s existed.

22. But by all accounts, the practice is occultic and should be avoided by Christians. According to Joyce Wilson, The Complete Book of Palmistry, pp. 7, 10, 16: “Palmistry... is one of the esoteric, or occult, sciences... [and] to become a professional palm-reader... would take many years of devoted application to the occult arts.... Professional palmists are somewhat mediumistic and ‘see’ events this way…

23. “As you pursue palmistry, you will find your own ESP sharpened—and will begin to ‘read between the lines’ so to speak, perhaps even to see future events (clairvoyance) or to hear (clairaudience) things happen.” Be aware, though, with many of these occultic practices (crystal balls, astrologers, palmistry) there are a lot of counterfeit practitioners who are just faking it for money.

24. Next I want to look at two trending themes that are becoming increasingly popular here in America (in movies/books). These are things that MANY Christians (especially the youth) are fine with being part of; they don’t see the evil in them, and we need that to change. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 “Abstain from every form of evil.”

25. The Obsession with Vampires/Werewolves Stephenie Meyer’s series, Twilight, has a dedicated fan base, with more than 17 million books in print. Amazon.com labeled Twilight as the “Best Book of the Decade… So Far” (2000s).

26. Almost overnight, competing vampire stories have crept into our view in the form of new TV series’ and movies. Not long after Twilight was released in theaters, the CW introduced The Vampire Diaries, which is based on novels published in the ‘90s. HBO premiered their own vampire drama, True Blood, and everyone seemed to be a fan. Their first season got several prestigious awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

27. Where did Twilight come from? Meyers said: “I woke up . . . from a very vivid dream. In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that A) they were falling in love with each other while B) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately.”

28. “Edward” came to Meyer in a second dream that frightened her. She said, “I had this dream that Edward actually showed up and told me that I got it all wrong and like he exists and everything, but he couldn’t live off animals . . . and I kind of got the sense he was going to kill me. It was really terrifying and bizarrely different from every other time I’ve thought about his character.”

29. Understand that Vampires are not just fictional today, there are now vampire communities all over the United States. Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity reported, “There’s actually a vampire subculture that exists in the United States right now and spreads into almost every community in this country.” I’ve met people who honestly identify this way and believe they are vampires.

30. A 19-year-old in Texas, claiming to have been a 500-year-old vampire needing to be fed, broke into a woman’s home, threw her against the wall, and tried to suck her blood. Another instance in Florida involved a teenage girl who was charged along with four others for beating a 16-year-old to death. They were part of a purported vampire cult, with one teenage girl calling herself a vampire/werewolf hybrid.

31. Pagan legend says that by drinking blood, a person can gain power. The Bible talks about drinking blood, and isn’t friendly to the idea. Acts 15:29:  ”that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.”

32. God connects drinking blood with the occult long ago. Leviticus 19:26: “You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying.” What’s with the apple on the cover of one of the twilight books?

33. What does Meyers say? “The apple on the cover of Twilight represents ‘forbidden fruit.’ I used the scripture from Genesis (located just after the table of contents) because I loved the phrase ‘the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.’ Isn’t this exactly what Bella ends up with? A working knowledge of what good is, and what evil is. . . . In the end, I love the beautiful simplicity of the picture. To me it says: choice.”

34. This reflects her Mormon beliefs which would see the fall as being a good thing (they fell up), while we would see this as being obviously demonic in influence. Those in deliverance ministry (all that I’ve spoken to) see the occultic and spiritual danger of Twilight (and Vampires/Werewolves in general). Where do Vampires and Werewolves original come from?

35. The Mesopotamians, Hebrews, Greeks, Indians, and Romans had stories of proto vampires that were grotesque demons. Vampires as we know them originated in southeastern Europe in the 18th Century. They were believed to be undead suicide victims, or witches, or demon-possessed corpses that were back from the dead.

36. Many geographic areas had tales of demons who drank the blood and ate the flesh of the living. Montague Summers described vampires in his 1928 story: “Throughout the whole vast shadowy world of ghosts and demons there is no figure so terrible, so dreaded and abhorred, yet endowed with such fearful fascination as the vampire;…

37. “who is himself neither ghost nor demon but who partakes of the dark natures, and possesses the mysterious and terrible qualities of both…A pariah even among demons, foul are his ravages.” There were other ideas associated with vampires, like birth defects. The one thing that is clear is the demonic and occultic ties with these beings.

38. The obsession with Zombies The origin of the concept of zombiism stems from Haitian Voodoo culture. The word zombie--in Haitian it is "zombi"--means "spirit of the dead”. There is quite a bit of history in Voodoo about Zombies and how it works.

39. Zombies would stay under the control of the Bokor (Voodoo priest) who made him a Zombie until the Bokor died. Everyone today likes zombies, and will see any movies having to do with zombies. It’s sad that we even have to address this with Christians - that it’s not so obviously evil and disturbing. Why do we glorify and love death?

40. 2 Corinthians 6:14: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” The media (sometimes) changes the way zombies become zombies; now it’s usually a virus or disease etc. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s occultic - it’s demonic.

41. Almost all Americans (and most people worldwide) see zombies as a fictional invention, but understand they are real in the minds of the people involved with occultic teachings (like voodoo). Are there actually zombies? Probably. Demons can interact with this world, why not in this way too? Is it possible that so many people involved with Voodoo (originally) believed in them because demons made it happen?

42. Why do we have these obsessions, why do we entertain ourselves in this way? Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Would Jesus watch movies about zombies?

43. Memory Verse 2 Corinthians 6:14: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”