Rosewicket Wicca Coven

this is from www.carm.org

My involvement in the occult

As a Christian researcher and defender of the faith, I delve into many areas of the occult, world religions, and Christian-based cults. From the Christian perspective, all non-Christian religions are false and are ultimately demonically inspired. But being false does not mean that they have no power. The devil is active and powerful and he uses people to accomplish his desires. So, the problem is knowing whether the power that comes from various religious systems is good or bad. Of course, as Christians, we would state that all things that are filtered through a false system are ultimately bad.

The reason I am divulging this information about my past, is because I know that there is a spiritual world out there. The question is whether or not what we contact is good or bad. I present the following as my experience in the occult, before I was saved. It is verification that those who seek to contact that which is unholy, will ultimately find it.

When I was a teenager, before I was a Christian, I was intrigued by spiritual issues. Christianity meant nothing to me. In fact, my younger brother who had been a Christian for a number of years, was constantly witnessing to me. I distinctly remember threatening him physically if he did not stop bothering me with this Christianity stuff. I was more interested in my attempts to contact the dead and to see things in the spiritual realm. I wanted results and the perceived droning of Christianity "morality and rules" did nothing but get in the way of my personal desires regarding spiritual pursuits. So, into the darkness I went.

My high school friends and I began to dabble with necromancy (contacting the dead), séances, Ouija boards, pendulums, table tilting, astral projection, and other such practices. We got results. What I'm going to tell you is true. I am not exaggerating anything nor making any of this up. The reason I'm disclosing my involvement is not to draw attention to it, but to convince people that it is real and that it is dangerous. You see, with success in the occult comes darkness. And I am forced to ask a question. What does Wicca come in contact with, the God and goddess manifestations or something else?

Before I was born my mother would have dreams about a man coming to her. He would be dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to about his elbows. He wore black pants and black shoes and sometimes a short brimmed hat. This dream would be so upsetting to my mother, that she would wake up. She then would sit in bed and look at the wall across from her and watch as the man materialized through the wall, approached the bed, and stared at her. She was so disturbed by this that she would wake up my father who could never see him but would go turn the light on at which time this figure would disappear. Now, you might conclude that my mother was seeing things, or on medication, or something like that. The problem with this is that the dreams occurred over a two-year period. My mother's IQ was genius level and she was extremely rational in everything she tackled (She passed away in 2004). This figure would follow her from house to house since my father was in the military and had moved several times during the two-year period.

After I was born, my mother said that one night she had the dream again. As usual, the dream woke her up and she waited in bed for him to materialize. He did. At this time, he went over to where I was lying in the crib and stood half in the wall and half out of it, looking down at me. My mother told me that there was something different about that visitation, but she did not know what it was. She nudged my father who got up and turned on the light. The figure disappeared. Soon after that, he stopped appearing altogether. As a young man I never told anyone about these "visions" my mother had because I thought it would be too "weird" and embarrassing and that my friends might think my mother was strange.

Later, when I was 17 years old and just beginning my involvement in the occult, I was trying astral projection. This is a practice where a person attempts to have his spirit leave his body and travel around. Now, I was never able to achieve that, but I was able to get various results including very strong sensations of movement, lifting, floating, and sometimes vertigo. Nevertheless, I was never able to fully succeed and when I told one of my occult-delving buddies about it, he said that he was able to do it regularly. My doubts were increasing so I offered him a challenge. I asked him to astral project over to my bedroom that evening and to take a look at my desk. On the desk I would arrange a series of pencils and pens and books in a certain pattern and then the next day when we were going to high school, he could tell me what he had seen after he astral projected over to my house. He said it wouldn't be a problem at all.

That night I arranged my desk and went to bed. The next morning my friend and I were heading off to school and I asked him if he was able to astral project over to my place and look at my desk. He told me he could not do it. Initially, I scoffed. But then he told the reason why. He said that as he was astral projecting towards my house a man dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt with rolled up sleeves, black pants, black shoes, and a black hat would not let them enter. To say the least, since I had not told him about my mother's visitations I was dumbfounded.

Deeper into the Occult

The fact that my friend told me something he could not have known about was very intriguing. We were encouraged and he and I and two other friends began to delve further into the occult. I remember very clearly one night when all of us were together in a room, waiting for the spirits to manifest (I will not disclose how we did this). My three friends and I would see lights moving around in the air. This got me further interested and so I tried to invite spirits to come in contact with me. At first, nothing happened. But, I began to notice things like seeing a blue aura around someone, dreaming the same thing one of my friends would dream, hearing voices in the night when no one was around, etc. I also remember very clearly the more we got involved, the more I was interested in dark things. I distinctly remember getting posters of demonic creatures and hanging them up in my room and thinking that they were "cool." Skulls became interesting as well. Then, I started listening to heavy metal music that was definitely "dark" in its overtones. I also found more and more resistance to things of Christianity.

Finally, one night a friend of mine and I were in my room trying to contact the dead. We both watched as a ball of blue light materialized in a corner near the floor and began to grow in size. We watched it change its form and took the shape of a man in a crouching position. This man had a cape on and his back was to us. He stood and as he began to rise he turned to face us. Right when he had fully faced us he disappeared and in place of him a yellow cross materialized in midair. Even as I write this now, I can still see it in my mind's eye. It was beautiful. It glowed and lit the room up and had that same blue color emanating as an aura around it that had comprised the color of the "man." Then the cross moved. It did not accelerate. Instead, from a non-moving position it was suddenly moving at a constant velocity until it was right in front of us where it immediately stopped without decelerating. It then hovered right before us, glowing, and lighting up my entire room. This manifestation was so profound that it scared my friend and me, and we immediately left. We did not know what to do. We talked to some people who were involved in the occult and even they said that it was bad. We needed to stop.

That experience and the others spooked me enough for me to begin reconsidering everything that I was doing. After all, my friend and I had seen something very profound and very real. We were not drinking and weren't doing drugs (to this day I have never done any drugs at all). But, the good news is that shortly after that time, the Lord saved me in a very real and dramatic way and I turned from all my occult activities.

Some people will not believe that these things occurred. If you don't believe me, that's up to you. But as the Lord is my witness, it happened. I bring this up because I know that there is a spiritual world out there and the people in Wicca will be able to contact spiritual forces. The question is, what are they? How do they know if they are good or bad?

Those in Wicca are unwittingly contacting demonic forces and because of that, they gain a form of power. But, that power has a cost. The cost is darkness. I remember very clearly the anti-Christian attitude that gradually grew in me the further into darkness I went. I also remember the fascination with things of darkness such as skulls, pentagrams, the darkness of night, and a general defiant attitude. The more I got involved with that, the more these things increased. There is definitely a spiritual connection with the author of the power behind the occult. Likewise, there is definitely a power that comes from the true and living God, Jesus Christ. He has far more strength, clarity, and truth than anything Wicca can offer. Though the occult is real, God is, too, and the only safeguard against the enemy is salvation in Jesus Christ.

It is unfortunate that many still believe that wiccans are all goths who like skulls, skeletons, bats and dabbling with ouija boards. I've seen a lot of websites like this, and actually recieved regular emails from people who, as one person put it "braved the sinful falsehoods of the site to find a contact and bring you to salvation". There is actually a website (don't know if its still up, I hope its not), that described wiccans as "overweight goths who hang out at medieval fayres and wear to much jewelery", and actually offered a "witch hunting licence", to as they put it, remove the fat sinners. The world is full of judgemental idiots, who either think they know more than they do, know a load of rubbish they think is true, or know nothing and like to think they do, that then like to spout rubbish like this. Or they just think perpetuating or creating offensive stereotypes is funny. Either way its best to ignore them, and hope that one day there will be more understanding in the world.

I wish we lived in a better world where there was such thing as religious tolerence and openmindedness.. Sadly we dont but I hope that those who are open minded to the world and all of its diversity will continue to attempt to teach the ignorant kind lessons on kindness and truth.

I see nothing funny about this - to me it looks like this is just trying to get a rise out of people.

Personally, I am not offended that some people still see Wicca this way - it is to be expected that some are closed minded. If they aren't religiously intolerant, they may have an issue with homosexuality, racism, gender, and so on... It's just the way people are. I am lucky that my experience with Wicca and teh Occult have helped my own personal definition rather than hurt it.

What does offend me is the common pattern amoung younger Wiccans in who seem to spread around thoughts like Christian = intollerence. I am just as Christian as I am Wiccan, and I am lucky enough to live under the roof of my Christian parents who believe in the teachings of Christ - I can see that in how they value love by how they raised me to be open and tolerant.

There is one part of this article I see happen all the time amoung Wiccans, that "[they] remember very clearly the anti-Christian attitude that gradually [grows in them] the further into darkness [they] went.". That the more "Wiccan" people want to be, the more "anti-Christian" they are. This is a load of bull. We are all religions, all spiritual paths, and if you ask me, most Wiccans have a lot to learn from Christians and it would do them a lot of good if they looked at the teachings of Jesus before they went around talking abotu how the Church has supressed them all their lives. ow I believe any practice is teh right practice as long as it works for you - but I am so tired of all the hypocricy in many Wiccan communities. Have you seen how awful many of them are to Christians? Or to Theistic Satanists?

The person who wrote this obviously doesn't know what they're talking about - as do all teh Anti-Christian "Wiccans".

I feel that this is his/her opinion. Whether it is correct/wrong/misguided it is what this person believes. Who am I to tell them any different? IN my short time as a Wiccan I have decided that if we want them to tolerate us than we must tolerate them. Whoever they are (jews, christians, muslims, whoever). It matters not how they feel about us. The Goddess and God know our hearts. We do not have to prove ourselves to them by telling every opposer hwo they are wrong or right.

I guess every person will have an opinion on other peoples religens. No matter how much each person knows its wrong. It's the same as every person will see someone on the street and automatically pass a judgement rather it be based on appearence, race, religen, sex, age, weight, height or nothing at all. It will happen automatically even if we don't know the person have never spoken to them a day in our life and will never see them again. Now one thing I have to point out is that they were stupid enough to use a Ouji board. Those are very dangerous and should never be used even if you don't believe in spirits and are just playing it as a game as it was originaly intended to be. If you want to contact the dead pray or worship to any god or goddess you believe in, it's safer and if that's not quick enough for you meditate it's easier to speak if your mind is clear and open.  

Chi, I know what you mean. My father is christian, as is most of his side of the family, it tends to be stronger further back you go generation wise in my family. They are all lovely and very supportive of me, apart from the odd tipsy joke cracking (which is all in good fun), they never say anything about my religious path really. I myself was raised christian, and was on first name basis with the vicar I was christened by. I went to a church of england school, and although it never felt right to me, the closest I can describe it was like I was wearing a shoe on the wrong foot, I still see the beauty in a lot of christianty. Even after I became Wiccan, I still became godmother to the eldest of my nieces, instead of teaching them mainly about the bible, I teach them bits of different religions, including christianity. A very good friend of mine was christian for her whole life, and we always got on really well. I broke contact with a few wiccan friends because they kept being nasty with her, and telling me she was trying to convert me and thought we were evil.  I've had my fair share of the type who are just nasty for the sake of misinformation, but having known, and been part of, christianity for a time, I could never believe that they all think we are evil. Doing thats the same as saying that because one person in a family steals they all do, or saying that all humans are evil just because a few kill or hurt others.

There are always a few bad apples on any tree, unfortunately they do tend to show up the most, but it does not stop the rest being lovely.

It is a shame that someone who states he has "researched" many different religions did not take the time to clearly research wicca, took what he thought was everything to know and formed an opinion.

Well put Felicia about the "shoe fitting" because I was baptized and raised Catholic. However, one of the reasons I feel wiccan is beautiful and right for me is because I can choose. Due to my spiritual experiences, it was hard for me to let go of Jesus Christ. It gave me a pain in my heart when I thought about it early on my path. Then I realized that I didn't have to "give him up". He has had a profound and positive spiritual presence in my life - no thanks to being catholic I will add - but i didn't have to exclude him from my new experice in wicca.

This is a good post in a way that allows other members to experience someone like him and the experience to learn how to respond to people like that. Remember, how you respond to someone like that represents for "him" everyone in Wicca. So if you respond negatively or in anger, that person will believe all Wiccans are negative and mad.

Keep your head up everyone and thank all of the Gods that you are not as close minded and were allowed to see the light and love in Wicca.

Blessed Be

Autumn

No Chi you got it all wrong. Whats funny is how ignorant he is. How he puts every wrong thing he was doing and attributed it all to Wicca instead of just accept that he was wrong and that it had nuthing to do with what religious path he followed.

I realize that but there is a lot of "either or" attitudes about Christianity and Wicca. as Autumn said, for many people it is best to blend their beliefs and just do what is right for them. whoever first thought that you had to pick one or teh other - or that one was good and teh otehr was bad - was a total moron who probably knew little of both.

Also, the main thing here that bothers me is that the author isn't actually talking about Wicca. He is using 'Wicca' and 'The occult' interchangeably - and there is a huge difference (anyone who 'studied' Wicca would know that). Sure, many Wiccans are into the occult such as divination, healing, spellwork, ect., but certainly not all of them - and many do not practice 'darker' aspects of the occult, such as summonign other-worldly creatures or Ouija boards and such... Likewise, most people who practice the occult are not Wiccan at all, and in fact much of Wicca excludes occult practice.