So, whilst I was thinking of topics to write about on the subject of ghosts and whatnot, I realized I didn't know a lot about ghosts. When it comes to the paranormal, I'm more of a cryptozoologist. But then I remembered, there is one other topic I'm well-versed in when it comes to the paranormal: spiritual warfare.
Well, I'm not well-versed, but I'm certainly no layman. From my Catholic background, I eat this stuff up. Hell, my first serious novel, Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens, is about demon slayers, and the concepts of the world and enemies are based on Catholic doctrine and Catholic demonology. Back when I was a youth minister, I actually led a few "seminars" in which I lectured on the book An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Gabriele Amorth. And since then, I've garnered quite a few resources on exorcisms, demonic activity, and spiritual warfare.
So, that brings us back to the blog post for today. Originally, I was going to try to tackle the theory of what ghosts actually are, but my sister knows a hell of a lot more on that subject than I do. So instead, I decided to look at a subject that gets a lot of attention and buzz, but one that many mainstream religions don't seem to look at in depth, and that is...
That's right; is divination evil? Now, I said this is a topic that many mainstream religions don't seem to look at, but it is one that many of them have taken a stance on. So, the question is, is their stance justified? Is their attitude banning the use of divination a fair cop? Let's take a look at divination and see if we can't puzzle something out.
The Mainstream Perspective
So, to begin with, I want to look at the mainstream perspective of divination, and with my Catholic background, this should be a cinch.
So, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2115 says this:
God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.
Now, paragraph 2115 seems a little on the fence about divination. On the one hand, God can reveal what He may to whom He pleases, but the Catechism is urging every mother's son what calls himself a good Christian to place himself under the Providence of God. Providence, when capitalized, means divine guidance or care. So, 2115 is a bit vague, but paragraph 2116 lays down the law:
All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
So, that seems quite clear on the subject as whole. But, there are a few problems:
1. Most psychics who use divination don't work in a capacity to control time, history, or other people. In fact, many psychics, including card, palm, and rune readers, use their gifts to help others find their way out of troubled situations and inform them which path of life is best suited for them at the current moment.
2. Many diviners will tell you that while they can predict the future, they don't necessarily. They use their talents or methods to "read" the current energy of the universe so as to see the issue from an outside perspective so they can then advise their clients or themselves on the best course of action. In fact, something palm readers will tell you is that your future is "in your hands, not on them."
3. As for the mention of clairvoyance and mediums, the Catholic Church has documented and recorded several moments of psychic phenomenon that they saw as God given. For instance, Ed and Lorraine Warren were the only two laymen ever allowed to conduct exorcisms because of their talents. St. Padre Pio is documented to have been psychic, and could even levitate and bilocate. And, both me and my sister have our own psychic abilities: my sister is a bit of a medium and I possess clairsentience.
So, although the Catechism was written as the be all, end all book on Catholic beliefs, there seem to be a few things it leaves out. Hell, I could go on with even more exceptions where people of the faith have had psychic or intuitive experiences. And, the objections from psychics and diviners go on as well. Speaking of which...
The Diviner's Perspective
Now, this seems obvious at first glance. Of course diviners of all sorts are going to say that divination isn't evil. But, there was an article I found, and it bugs the hell out of me that I can't find it now, that was doing some myth busting on Tarot. One of the myths was whether or not Tarot was evil. I didn't read the analysis that went with it, but the TL;DR notes said something along the lines of "sort of" or "can be."
Now, before you all fly off the handle, let me explain how and why I think the person writing the blog came to that answer. But first, a story. This story is about a girl who got a Ouija board, better known as a witch board, for Christmas. During her interactions with it, it said it was going to kill her uncle. The girl's mother, fearing what could happen, took holy water and blessed the board. From then on, the board never answered any question directly and only said things like "time will tell." And the uncle didn't die.
But, there is another story where a boy and his aunt were messing around with a witch board, and what followed their dabblings was a nightmare for both of them as the boy became horribly possessed by a demonic entity and required a fierce exorcism to cleanse him.
Now, that first story I told about the witch board, that girl was my sister, the girl's mother was my mother, and the uncle was my uncle, and it is all 100% true. As for the second story, that's 100% true too, and is the real-life story for the inspiration behind the movie The Exorcist. So, what can we learn from these two stories? Firstly, not everything that comes out of a witch board will come to pass, but if you're not careful when using one, sh*t can hit the fan. So, where does that leave us on the topic of divination?
Well, the way I look at it is this: there are supernal powers out there: positive, negative, and neither, and they want to be found. So, they will do what is necessary to be found. Hell, I once asked a very devoted Catholic woman that if I got a quarter, had it blessed by a priest, and then flipped it before a major decision, would God use it to communicate with me. Her response was that God would talk to me through a fortune cookie if He thought I'd listen to it.
The point here though is that Tarot, runes, scrying, witch boards, etc. create an opening to us from external sources. Obviously, this is problematic as we have no way of controlling what comes to us, although many psychics and readers will say things like "imagine yourself surrounded with light" or "that only the very best advice comes out of the reading." This is their way of making sure evil doesn't interfere with their readings, but honestly, as a person raised Catholic and as person who is well versed on the trickery of the Devil and who knows the efficacy of invoking God's name as a means of dealing with evil, why bother with all this light and "very best" garbage? Just go straight to the source. You may say, "Oh, well, I don't believe in God like you do," or "I'm not Catholic." That's not an excuse. You're messing with forces with which you are a plaything. Take it from me, having God the Father watching your back works, and it works a damn sight better than all that new age crap. But that begs the question can divination be used under God and still work?
Well, that's a difficult question to answer. I've been doing my research, and there's a lot of stuff written about this. One such thing comes from the book of Deuteronomy, 18: 10-11:
Let there not be found among you anyone who causes their son or daughter to pass through the fire, or practices divination, or is a soothsayer, augur, or sorcerer, or who casts spells, consults ghosts and spirits, or seeks oracles from the dead.
Basically, this says everything that Catechism 2116 said. But, by mentioning the Catechism 2116, I'm sure you all remember me bringing up paragraph 2115 which said "God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints." So, what makes these "prophets" special that they can receive visions of the future but others can't?
Well, the biblical definition of "prophet" is different from what we think. According to an article on Judaism 101, a prophet is a "person chosen by G-d to speak to people on G-d's behalf and convey a message or teaching. Prophets were role models of holiness, scholarship and closeness to G-d. They set the standards for the entire community." And in regards to the act of prophecy, the webpage says further "prophecy is not a gift that is arbitrarily conferred upon people; rather, it is the culmination of a person's spiritual and ethical development. When a person reaches a sufficient level of spiritual and ethical achievement, the Shechinah (Divine Spirit) comes to rest upon him or her. Likewise, the gift of prophecy leaves the person if that person lapses from his or her spiritual and ethical perfection."
But, that isn't to say that divination is totally banned. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, the proper method for people to inquire about the future was to use the prophets, use dreams since "God would often reveal Himself to His chosen ones in a dream," and could consult the Urim and Thummim, a type of "lot oracle." If you Google them, they look like flat discs and were probably used a bit like dice. So, if God allowed for these sorts of practices, does that mean they're okay?
I'm not too sure. Honestly, I'm not going to give my blessing one way or the other. I have dabbled in runes and Tarot, but I use them as a means to communicate with God since He tends to be a quiet talker. I mean, Matthew 6: 25-34 tells us not to worry about anything and that God will provide all that we need. "Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil." But, there are times when sometimes we do need a bit of extra or immediate guidance. In those cases, I believe in asking God to send you sign, but make sure you establish what the sign is and what it means so that God can communicate effectively with you. (Remember my question about the quarter?) In that case, some methods of divination such as runes and Tarot might be permissible, but use your own judgment and always proceed with caution.
Next week, I think I'll continue with the spiritual warfare theme and I'll be giving some tips on how one can recognize demonic activity. A lot of people are quite ignorant of how evil works and what it looks like. So, that should be quite useful.
Keep writing, my friends.
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