The instructions of the Facebook event had led me to a bonfire in a park. I joined the group of strangers sitting in the warm glow and it wasn’t long before I realized that many of those whom I was chatting with were involved in the occult.
Having seen the art group advertised that afternoon I had decided to check it out. Suddenly I was being offered brownies, learning fire twirling and teaching spray painting. The group was friendly and free spirited.
At one point, a guy asked if he could practice his tarot reading skills on me. A niggling feeling sprung up and I said, “no”. I’m a good Christian girl of course. Yet I needed to know why. I wanted to understand the quiet voice that said it would be wrong to have my cards read.
The Danger of Tarot Readings?
I knew the theory of why it is wrong; “why listen to a lying spirit and allow a demonic entry point?” but I decided to stick around and watch the tarot reading of another person of the art group. I learnt that the reason for avoiding tarot cards in practice is quite different to the reason in theory.
He had the woman touch each card before carefully laying it on the table. He explained that one represented the past, one the present and one the future. Even as I remember the details of the event, I feel myself drawn into the story he was weaving of the woman’s life, the allure of looking into the depths of ourselves and seeing something glimmer.
I saw this woman looking for understanding, for comfort and for intimacy. I believe that being understood is a core part of love and even if the cards predicted a bad outcome, or a bad reflection of the person, the desire to be understood overpowered the fear.
I realized it was that intimacy which made the endeavor wrong. To rely upon this foreign spirit, or tarot reader for comfort, for guidance and intimacy would be like having a spiritual affair. We defile a part of ourselves that was made to house God alone. If we are not seeking intimacy and understanding from God, that glimmer at the bottom of the ocean may drown us as the spirit which offers us closeness reveals its malevolence.
Unknowing Acts of Witchcraft
Earlier in the evening I had talked with an occultist about religion. We talked about how the occult was all about gaining power, and how Christianity was about discovering power in surrender.
I realized that many Christians whilst avoiding tarot cards engage in the spirit of the occult. Our deliberate ignorance lends itself to believing that witchcraft is watching Harry Potter, whilst engaging in the spirit of the occult when we pray for power. By power, I mean any prayer in which we ask for the universe to conform to our will, our rituals, our sacrifices.
Any prayer in which “God better do this or else…”. Any prayer that leaves us impatient for the result and not more content to wait upon God. When we pray that God would make that boy fall in love with us and we believe that if we do everything right God will alter their personality to include an attraction to our hippy, cat loving self. Or that the traffic lights will change in our favour because we remembered to read our Bible last week.
In neither case have we reached for a valid means of achieving the desire and have thought about ourselves and not the other people we have prayed the red lights upon. These are examples of the spirit of witchcraft, which is best understood as a spirit that desires power through unnatural means.
Fear God Alone
I know that many Christians shrink from knowledge of opposing views. They feel the need to perform an exorcism after I have a chat with a Satanist on the bus or squirm when I pull out my Quran. We are scared of encountering the demonic or being led astray.
I talked about my experience with the art group and a friend asked if I wasn’t afraid of being targeted by Satan. What’s scarier than a target is living a life so safely that Satan never feels the need to target me. I’m not saying live recklessly. Just don’t hide the light that is Jesus. I promise, it shines especially brightly in dark places. Do not seek protection in ignorance for it can only make you ineffectual at best, open to Satan at worst.
Seek your comfort and understanding in God. He loves to provide for you. He loves you. He is far stronger than the enemy, so walk boldly by his side, even when he leads you into a free-spirited art group.
Frances Ducommun is from Brisbane Australia, a student of philosophy and artistic endeavors. She thinks she's funny, is constantly covered in cat hair and will substitute sleep with reading if no one keeps an eye on her.