Crossover between the Occult and Spiritualism

While reading the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, I did not expect to come across a spiritual discipline that would be a perfect combination of my own idea of spiritual formation, and a wonderful way to connect with the Lord. What I mean by this, is that I was wanting to create a gratitude journal, but I wanted it to be deeper than just a list of things that I was thankful for. That is why I fell in love with the idea of writing responses to the questions that were posed in the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, but still taking a few minutes to write a list of things that I am grateful for! A journal like this is also a great way for me to see the strong points in my day or week, and the areas where I need improvement. Since journaling has always

Santeria is built on sympathetic, homeopathic magic, imitative. It revolves around the laws of contact and similarity.

Witchcraft is a religion. Wicca is one type of Witchcraft, but the term "Wicca" is occasionally applied to Witchcraft in overall. In the United States, most people who practice this religion call themselves Witches or Wiccans. It is an earth-based religion and in some ways is similar to Native American spirituality. Wicca (sometimes called Wicce, The Craft, or The Old Religion) is based on an ancient religion of love for life and nature. The religion of Witchcraft or Wicca is recognized by most state governments, the federal government, and the United States Armed Forces. The courts have recognized the right of even prisoners to practice this religion on an equal basis with other religions. In ancient times, people appreciated the great forces of Nature and celebrated the seasons’ cycles and the moon. They saw spirituality in the sun and moon and in the Earth Herself. Basically, in all life.

One can be very confused with the modern ideas present today. In fact, a lot of individuals are so involved in their own lives that they do not even bother to think where these modern popular beliefs came from. Modern constructs, such as religion, politics, warfare and even the internet all originated somewhere, and it is important that people know at least a little about the history of something before completely use it as a part of their everyday life. Take the case of Witchcraft and Wicca: while most people would probably combine these two in the same area of interest such as witchcraft and spells with the occasional magical tool such as the voodoo doll, one might be surprised that Wicca is actually a religion and witchcraft actually originated from the Wiccan movement.

Paganism branches off into : Wicca, Druidry, Astru, Kabbalah, Shamanism and Discordianism. Wicca now has the most followers of the branches of Paganism, it is a polytheistic practice and is prevalent most commonly in the United Kingdom. Druidry is closely aligned with the ancient practices of Wicca, it is based on ancient Celtic Druidism. Astru is rapidly growing but is still the smallest, it is most prevalent in Iceland, Germany, and Scandinavia. Even though Wicca, Druidism, and Astru are very closely related, they all developed independently. Kabbalah is a practice where the mystical and magical aspects came in, it was created by the Jewish during the middle ages. Shamanism is one more common among Native American cultures, they use drumming to send for the shaman to the

The assigned readings present multiple occult beliefs, and describe potential causes and reinforcers. Alcock (1995) held the view that the brain and nervous system worked together to create beliefs targeting survival, while Singer and Benassi (1981) believed social, environmental, and cognitive factors acted in separate ways to reinforce occult beliefs. Parallels exist between contributing factors desccrive by Singer and Benassi (1981) and the seven units listed by Alcock (1995); however, Alcock (1995) described them as causes of the belief engine, while Singer and Benassi (1981) described them as factors contributing to the support and growth of occult beliefs.

For instance, the principles of Hoodoo are based almost solely on the betterment of one’s own life whereas the main goals of Voodoo are to improve one’s life but to also uphold withstanding connections within the realm of spirits and with other Voodooists (Haas, 2011). Not to mention in a sense of irony, it is Hoodoo culture that finds more use in voodoo dolls and doll magic to curse specific people or influence minds and hearts of individuals as opposed to Voodoo (Raven, n.d.). Furthermore, Voodooism is a mixture of monotheism and polytheism and requires official priests or priestesses to ordain rituals (Haas, 2011). Correspondingly, Voodoo is much akin to other religions in the sense that there are deviations of the practice; indeed, just as there are Protestants, Baptists, and Catholics when referring to the Christian faith, there are variants made in Voodoo, such as Haitian Voudon or Louisiana Voodoo (Voodoo, 2015). Hoodooism’s emphasis on individual power makes it a practice that is available to persons of any faith as it does not require a “formally designated minister” (Hoodoo (folk magic),

What guidelines establish the divide between the supernatural world with the contemporary world? Eden Robinson’s novel, Monkey Beach, highlights the importance of history and traditions with the concept of supernatural elements viewed as a normality in a society of European culture based definitions of right and wrong. Lisamarie Hill struggles to grasp a gift that allows her to achieve a state of consciousness “Somewhere between waking and sleeping” (Robinson 139) which enables her to contact the spirit world. This talent is seldom appreciated, rather, acknowledging or claiming to communicate with supernatural forces is perceived as a mental illness. Thus, the colonial power excludes indigenous beliefs and silences indigenous voices,

Herbs have been used throughout the ages not just for their culinary benefits. In the use of magick and healing certain herbs and plants are used for their spirits or characteristics.

The words rituals, magic, and supernatural maybe seen as bizarre. If you read this article viewing it ethnocentrically, you are undermining the American culture a.k.a our culture. Once you read between the lines and think cultural relatively, you notice that this culture is that of our own. The only difference is how it had been written. Without understanding these two concepts, you would not have fully grasped the

As time moves forward many ideas and concepts move forward with it. Wicca and Witchcraft then, and now, are seen through a new light. There was a dark cloud covering the topic of witchcraft for centuries. This dark cloud has lifted and we are able to understand with a scientific mind why there was a dark area in history covering Witchcraft. Witchcraft and Wicca are not the same thing, contrary to what many people believe.

This week I have been struggling with centering my paper topic. I want to explore the use of psychedelics in spirit possessions. More specifically, I want to explore the validity of drug induced shamanistic experiences like in the case of Amazonian Shamans and their use of Ayahuasca. But I keep running into the problem of shifting my focus into something that doesn’t feel, at least to me, like topics of spirit possession. This is why I have devoted most of my research into attempting to define the type of spirit possession I am going to be talking about. I ran across an article by Emma Cohen that tackles this very task, she states that there are two main forms of possession. One is pathogenic which results “from the operation possession concepts result from the operation of cognitive tools that deal with the representation of contamination (both positive and negative); the presence of the spirit entity is typically (but not always) manifested in the form of illness.” The other is executive, this type of possession mobilizes “cognitive tools that deal with the world of intentional agents; the spirit entity is typically represented as taking over the host’s executive control, or replacing the host’s ‘mind’ (or intentional agency), thus assuming control of bodily behaviors.” For the purposes of the paper, I think that I am going to be using both models.

Spirituality and religion hold different values and truths depending on your personal beliefs. Being religious is a belief or practice that contains certain values one should follow. When looking deeper into religion you can find spirituality which is the part of religion that effects our spirit and soul, it is not tangible. “The Sacred within” is spirituality and pertains to God dwelling inside of our heart and soul. When looking at “the sacred within” there are certain senses that we can tap into so, we may obtain that sort of spirituality. Through solitude, silence, imagination, and nature, we can have a better sense of spirituality.

According to Hutchison (2013) the biopsychosocial approach used by many social workers is an examination of the biological, psychological, and social systems; all are seen as interconnected. In recent years the spiritual dimension has also gained popularity in research and recognition as being inseparable from other dimensions of personhood. Culture is also seen as a powerful environmental dimension that demands acknowledgment to truly gain insight into a person’s worldview. The following is a brief summary of these dimensions in regards to youths experiencing bullying.

In Religion and the Decline of Magic by Thomas Keith, the relationship between religion and magic from the medieval period to the post-reformation period is discussed. Religion and magic are two different practices which depend on the beliefs of the common people. People follow what they believe, and the only way for an organization to gain followers is to prove that they are a worthy cause of believing in. Religion and magic are both practices which have gained followers by trying to prove that they can perform supernatural actions. Over time religion and magic become more tolerant of each other and were constantly changing by adapting to each other’s practices.