How the Occult Opens the Door to Evil Spirits

One of the major ways that demons gain access into people’s lives is through involvement in the occult. The following excerpt from Keys for Deliverance explains what the occult is and defines some of its many branches and activities:

Involvement in the occult is a major open door for evil spirits to gain access into people’s lives. The word occult means “secret” or “hidden” and refers in a general sense to the supernatural realm of Satan. It speaks of secret knowledge into the spirit world, gained through ungodly and illegitimate means. The occult is a broad term that refers to the various activities, groups, and practices that seek knowledge, influence, and power through the spiritual realm outside of the one true living God. There is only one safe way to enter into the supernatural: a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Anything outside of this is crossing into spiritual territory that involves demonic deception and influence.

Satan lures people into the occult through deceptive tactics. He makes it look very appealing and attractive; but it always comes with a high price. Some enter into the occult because they have been wounded, and they seek the sense of control or power that is promised. Others are drawn out of mere curiosity or a misguided spiritual hunger for otherworldly things. Some people are born into families that are practitioners of the occult, giving evil spirits access to their lives at a young age. Some are in rebellion and are looking for darkness, while others are actually seeking to do good, but do not know that they are entering into a dark realm. Whether people realize it or not, they are interacting with and welcoming evil spirits into their lives. I have seen time and again how demons have entered into people through experimenting with or delving into occult activities. When they renounced the occult involvement, the demons were cast out and they were set free.

Large volumes have been written on the subject of the occult, along with its counterpart, the New Age movement. We will cover some basics in this chapter and lay a foundation for recognizing and getting free from oppression related to the occult.

Forbidden Practices

Any involvement in occult practices is strictly forbidden in Scripture. The occult has many branches, and Deuteronomy 18:9-12 is a passage that outlines various types of activities that fall into this category:

When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.

Below is a list of some of the most common branches of the occult, with some explanation and a few descriptions in each category. The list is not comprehensive, but covers many of the most basic forms of occult activity. There is a lot of overlap between many of these, and different people may practice them in different ways—the idea here is to give a brief overview. Involvement in these types of activities can range from curiosity and minor personal involvement, to full-blown engagement with occult groups, covens, and secret societies:

• • Witchcraft: The essence of witchcraft is to seek to control circumstances and people through spiritual power. The spirit of witchcraft works in a subtle way through manipulation, intimidation, guilt, and domination. When people move into the overt practice of witchcraft, they use rituals, curses, and other methods to influence people and circumstances. Related to witchcraft are wicca, satanism, voodoo, paganism, shamanism, santería, and similar activities.
  • Divination: Divination is specifically related to seeking to tell the future or gain secret information through spiritual means. There are a variety of ways that this happens, including: psychic powers, palm reading, tarot cards, fortunetelling, astrology, horoscopes, Ouija boards, tea leaf reading, mind reading, and other methods.
  • Spiritism: Spiritism is a broad word that refers to seeking contact with the spiritual realm. Some primary examples would be those who seek to act as a medium to contact the dead or those who follow a spirit guide. Other examples would be conducting séances, astral projection, channeling, and automatic writing.
  • Sorcery: Sorcery certainly has similarities to the other categories mentioned above. It has to do with using various means and methods to impact the physical senses with spiritual power. These methods can include spells, magic, various drugs, potions, charms, and incantations.
  • New Age: The New Age movement is a mixture of various types of religious philosophies and spiritual/occult practices. Some of the activities associated with the New Age movement are eastern/transcendental meditation, reiki healing, spirit guides, crystal healing, hypnotism, and guided imagery.
  • Secret Societies/Cults: Secret societies are groups that require members to go through initiation rituals and oaths in order to advance to various degrees and stages (this is also true of many satanic and witchcraft groups). A primary example is Freemasonry, a worldwide organization, and its female counterpart, Eastern Star. Examples of cults include Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness, Scientology, and Christian Science.

When it comes to satanism, the occult, and secret societies, there is often a sanitized version that gets portrayed publicly. But the deeper you get, the darker it becomes. Some occult groups are involved in crime, obscene rituals, sexual abuse and perversion, and animal or even human sacrifices. The devil loves to lure people in, only to reveal his true nature and intentions once it is too late and his grip is firmly entrenched.

The occult is nothing to play around with. Even those who merely dabble in these areas are literally inviting demons to come into their lives. Some people think it is a game to see a fortuneteller or palm reader, or to play with a Ouija board. Some like to read their horoscopes and get insight from psychics. Some think that having séances or trying to communicate with the dead is harmless. Some read occult-themed books, watch spiritually dark movies, or play video games that contain occult activities. Evil spirits see these things as an open door for them to enter in and bring oppression and torment. The devil doesn’t care if you did it “just for fun.” He seeks any opportunity to steal, kill, and destroy. And the more involved you become in the occult, the greater the demonic bondage becomes.

*Make sure to check out this article, where I explain how to break free from the demonic influence that came as a result of occult involvement: Receiving Deliverance from the Occult and Its Influences

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