New Age & Occult Practices
Abacomancy: A form of fortune-telling by observing omens in patterns of dust or sand.
Amulet or talisman: Items used as good-luck charms that are charged with supernatural powers. Amulets or talismans can be coins, rings, pendants, statues, icons, drawings, or stones.
Apporte: The movement of objects by supernatural powers.
Astral projection: A phenomenon that occurs when a person travels outside his physical body, or travels in the spirit realm using a different state of consciousness.
Astro magic: A practice in which a person steps out of his body through meditation to travel or cast spells in the spirit realm.
Astrology: A belief that the position of celestial bodies is useful for understanding or interpreting information about a person's life.
Augury: A practice that uses omens or portents to foretell the future. For example, an augur may foretell the future by observing a flight of birds.
Automatic writing: A practice where a person in a state of trance writes down messages from the spirit realm.
Black magic: A form of witchcraft that uses demonic spirits to harm, injure, or kill an intended victim.
Black mass: A satanic ritual performed to mock the Catholic Mass. In the black mass, the Lord's prayer is recited backward, communion is desecrated, and animals are sacrificed. Other practices include drug-induced sexual orgies in an attempt to acquire more demonic powers.
Blood pacts: Binding agreements made with Satan in exchange for power, wealth, and sexual favors. These agreements often include a person's family lineage.
Candle magick: A tool used by New Age practitioners to increase the power of spells. Candles are carved with magical images, rubbed with oil, and burnt to enhance spells.
Ceromancy: Fortune-telling by means of melting wax drops into water and then reading the patterns.
Chain letters: Letters circulated by mail or email that carry with them a blessing and a curse. If a person fails to forward the chain letter, the curse can be the threat of bad luck. If the person continues the chain letter, he is promised good luck or other forms of prosperity.
Channeling: A practice used to receive messages from spirit guides, the Ascended Masters, or fallen angels.
Charm: A form of magic used to influence a person by an object that has been charged with supernatural powers. These objects are usually sealed with an incantation to bring good luck.
Clairaudience: The ability to hear in the spirit realm, or to communicate by mental thought with spirit guides.
Clairvoyance: The ability to see in the spirit realm or to communicate by visual images with spirit guides.
Cleromancy: Fortune-telling by casting lots, shells, or bones where the outcome is determined by random means, such as rolling dice.
Conjuration: An act of summoning evil spirits with the intent to harm another person.
Coven: A gathering of thirteen witches for the purpose of performing witchcraft.
Crystalomancy: Fortune-telling by gazing into a crystal ball.
Crystals: Are widely used in the New Age movement because they allegedly contain healing powers and cleansing properties.
Cyclomancy: A practice of fortune-telling where a person consults a spinning object like a wheel or a bottle.
Death magic: A ceremony preformed by voodoo practitioners to bring about the death of a victim.
Divination: The practice of obtaining information through supernatural sources.
Druids: Members of the Celtic order of wizards who practice witchcraft, also known as magicians or diviners.
Ectoplasm: A cold or luminous substance that is emanated from a medium during a trance.
Enchanting: Occurs when an object is infused with magickal energy.
Fetish: A natural object believed to possess supernatural powers or to be inhabited by spirits.
Fire walking: The practice of walking barefoot on red-hot coals while invoking protection from supernatural powers.
Hex: A curse or a magical spell used to cause harm or misfortune to a victim.
Hexagram: A six-pointed star widely used in witchcraft to control the power of demons.
Homeopathy: Alternative medicine using herbs that can be enhanced by invoking magic formulas.
Hydromancy: A form of divination by observing ripples in water, or by dropping pebbles in a pool to interpret the ebb and flow.
Hypnosis: The practice of putting patients in a trance to heal memories, to explore past lives, or to reprogram the subconscious mind.
Idol: A saint, object, or deity that becomes the center of worship within a person's heart. A person commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God.
Incantation: The words spoken during a ritual or when casting a spell.
Incubus: A demon that attaches itself to a person's sexuality.
Lampadomancy: A form of divination that reads the movement of flames from an oil lamp.
Lecanomancy: A form of divination that uses stones (or oil) with a basin of water. After the stones have been dropped in the basin, the ripples can be interpreted. When oil is used, the shapes that form on the surface of the water can be interpreted.
Levitation: The process by which an object or person is raised into the air using supernatural powers.
Lithomancy: A form of divination using crystals.
Lucky charm: An amulet or talisman that is worn to bring good luck.
Macumba: A form of black witchcraft practiced in Brazil with the use of sorcery, ritual dance, and fetishes.
Mantra: An incantation of repetitive verses that are recited for the purpose of quieting the mind and contacting the spirit realm.
Medium: A seer or lacutionist who communicates with the spirit realm.
Necromancy: A form of fortune-telling by communicating with spirits of the dead.
New Age: A broad movement of spirituality characterized by a group of individual seekers, teachers, healers, and other participants. Rather than following the lead of any organized religion, New Age practitioners typically construct their own forms of spirituality using aspects from Eastern religions, Wicca, past-life experiences, spirit guide channeling, and other occult practices.
Numerology: A form of divination in which the value of numbers (or letters from the alphabet) is used to interpret the mystical readings regarding a person's life.
Occult symbols: Symbols that are associated with the occult or Satan, such as the pentagram, reverse cross, caduceus, and mark of the beast.
Omen: Divination by using signs to foretell the future. For example, if a tree falls down in the forest, the sign can be interpreted to mean (fill in the blank) almost anything.
Ouija board: A board game used to communicate with the spirit realm. After asking the netherworld a question, the participants place their hands on a pointer and wait for the spirits to spell out the answer by guiding the participant's hands to the appropriate letters and numbers.
Palmistry: A practice of telling fortunes from the lines, marks, and patterns on a person's hand.
Pendulum: A swinging object used for divination. If the spiritual forces swing the pendulum clockwise, one interpretation is given. If the spiritual entities swing the pendulum counter-clockwise, a different outcome is discerned.
Pentagram: A five-pointed star used as a magic symbol by Masons, gnostics, magicians, Wiccans, and Satanists. The five points usually represent air, fire, water, earth, and spirit.
Planchette: A triangular-shaped object supported by castors that is used to spell out messages with a Ouija board or during a séance.
Psychic birth: The birth of a person's psychic abilities.
Psychic healing: An attempt to bring physical healing to a person by invoking supernatural powers from Reiki, hypnosis, or a number of other New Age practices.
Psychometry: A form of divination derived from physical contact with objects.
Pyromancy: Divination through the study of fire and its shapes.
Reflexology: An ancient Chinese practice where a person's feet are massaged in an attempt to impart spiritual powers to heal the body.
Reiki: A form of healing where supernatural powers are imparted into a person's body by using Reiki power symbols or by calling upon the names of demonic entities.
Reincarnation: A belief that the human soul will continue to reincarnate until that person reaches a state of perfection. This belief is prevalent for many involved with the New Age movement or with Hinduism, Sikhism, and other Eastern religions.
Runecasting: A Norwegian form of divination that uses a collection of twenty-four stones, each carved with a Norse letter. The stones are drawn from the bag, and laid out in a spread to be read.
Sacrilege: Profaning or treating unworthily the people, places, objects, or sacraments that have been consecrated to God.
Santeria: A religion based on the worship of African Orishas that was brought to Cuba by the African slaves. Each Orisha is associated with a Catholic saint and oftentimes the rituals involve dancing, the casting of spells, and animal sacrifices.
Satanism: The worship of Satan by occult members who participate in satanic rituals.
Séance: A meeting led by a medium who enters a trance in order to communicate with the dead.
Simony: The buying or selling of spiritual powers. In Acts 8:9–24, Simon the magician tried to buy the power of God from Saint Peter who responded by saying, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's gift with money!"
Spell: An incantation accompanied by magical powers used to destroy a person, church, or society.
Spirit guide: A demonic entity that wants to enter a person's life. Once these entities have been granted permission to enter a person's life through the sin of idolatry, divination, or a number of other occult practices, it is very difficult to get them to leave.
Spiritism: The belief that natural objects have indwelling spirits.
Stichomancy: A form of divination that seeks to learn about the future by randomly selecting a passage from a book or other sacred writings. This procedure works by placing the book on its spine, and after it has been allowed to fall open to a random page, a person places his or her finger on the open page and reads the passage that was indicated.
Superstition: An irrational belief or practice that a person feels he or she needs to embrace (or perform) in order to bring about good luck.
Talisman: An object that has magical powers attached to it to bring a person good luck or prosperity.
Tarot: Divination by use of tarot cards. There are many different sets available like the Witches Tarot, Celtic Dragon Tarot, Egyptian Tarot, and even the Catholic Saints Tarot. A standard deck of 78 tarot cards usually includes images like the fool, death, and the magician.
Trance: An altered state of consciousness that allows the person to communicate with spirits.
Transcendental Meditation: A technique of meditation derived from Hindu traditions that promotes deep relaxation through the use of a mantra.
Translocation: When a person moves from one place to another by supernatural means.
Transmigration: A New Age belief that a soul can transfer itself into another body after death.
Umbanda: A religion based on the worship of African Orishas that was brought to Brazil by the African slaves during the colonial period. Each Orisha is associated with a Catholic saint, and oftentimes the rituals involve bloody sacrifices.
Voodoo: A form of witchcraft that started in Benin and spread throughout the world to nations like Haiti. Voodoo practitioners invite Loa spirits into themselves during the ceremonies, sacrifice animals, cast spells, and practice divination.
White magick: A form of magic where the participants believe they are casting "good spells" on other people, or helping the earth through positive forms of energy.
Wicca: A form of worship that makes use of ancient pagan, Celtic, and Egyptian practices. This form of worship occurs in nature and has developed a growing popularity among "feminists and others seeking a more woman-positive, earth-based religion."
Witchcraft: The use of supernatural powers for the purpose of obtaining and exercising control over other people, circumstances, or events.
Yoga: A Hindu system of body posture that uses meditation and mantras to help people achieve spiritual enlightenment, increased flexibility, and energy flow.
Zodiac: An ancient system of twelve signs in the sky used in future-telling. These signs include the following constellations: Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn.
