People Who Run Away Before Beginning

Questions for discussion (please respond) in bold.

I’ve known a handful of people that feel spirits, and even can see them. I’m not talking about manifesting demons in a ritual room. I’m talking about being on a bus and seeing spirit-creatures, or being in a bedroom, or hallway, or bathroom and seeing them. Some of them even hear spirits and follow the advice they’re given. Sometimes they play it off as intuition even when it’s clearly an external voice (I know I’m not in people’s heads with them, but if you’d heard these descriptions, you’d understand).

Why do not get into magick? They are the perfect people for it. Instead, so many of them deny these things exist, run away, throw themselves into Christianity or Atheism, and/or turn into the type of people that are just (nearly) always scared about a spirit or “magic” coming after them, following them, etc.

I’ve lost a few friends this way. They began seeing things, or began opening up about their experiences because I’m not shy about sharing mine in the right crowd. And then, it’s like they got validation and freaked out. Or, alternatively, I’m to blame. And then they either decide that I’m corrupting them, or that I scare them/make the feel uncomfortable.

Mostly, I’m here to complain. But I want to know if you guys have had similar experience(s) and why you think people pull this shit? Why can’t they freak out for a couple months and then see that this isn’t all evil? I understand life can be simpler without the occult in it, but I can’t understand making a choice to turn away and then never coming around to it. Do they think they can pray the spirits away? Do they think they can run hard enough the voices can’t catch up? Do they think…what? Because I’m not sure any of them really make it out of this. As far as I know, if it finds you, it has you…indefinitely. I guess drugs can make it go away, but I’m not sure on that and have no (valid) sources for that claim. Why would they rather run away from something that will never let them go, than chill and chat about demons over pints of ice cream?

Y’all know I’ve had my share of scary visions, rituals, and whatever else I’ve played with. And yeah, some of those wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t actively involve myself in this walk. But some of them definitely would have, and others.

It’s hard to think back to the just beginning, but I’m wondering if any of you walked away and why? I did a couple times, but not at the very beginning (it was at the request of people who were unwittingly involved in magick and walked away from it and me). At the beginning, I cleansed my palate from bullshit (my opinion) JCI teachings and then cast and cast and cast until I felt competent.

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I once met someone who had frequent and very vivid prophetic dreams. However, they rationalized this in a materialist way, saying it was their brain processing all information and then making a rational prediction based off of it.

For a lot of people, I reckon it is the heavy influence of a materialist world-view. They don’t want to be “that person”. Sometimes the visionary side of spirituality can be linked to insanity or mental illness, so they want to avoid that. Or, the heavy atmosphere of fear surrounding magick in modern times has got to them, or they’ve been too influenced by horror movies.

I think ultimately it comes down to influence from a materialist world-view, or the general fear surrounding magick and spirituality. That will likely be the case for most, that is.

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This is true. People get scared it’s some level of however they define insanity pretty easily. I mean, I’d venture to guess most magicians who have seen things have wondered that themselves however briefly.

I understand this.

Okay, but let me act like a child and complain for a moment anyways. It hurts my feelings when people I’ve known for years have a spooky experience and then jump to all magick is evil and everyone who does it evil too. (This is not about the YHWH worshipper I’ve posted about a couple times who also shares that view, I’m annoyed about multiple other humans.)

Yeah, horror seems to polarize people fast on certain topics. I hadn’t considered this one.

Fear does a lot to people. I’ve been scared of (my) magick before. I’d bet that almost everyone on this forum has been, at least one, scared of magick before or scared of what it does/can do.

Do you think @Dankquanicus that the handling of fear has something to do with which of us turn to magick (evocations, tarot, astrology, pathworking, voodoo, etc.) and which of us walk away?


Thanks for the really good & detailed response.

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Yes I’ve certainly struggled with that fear of insanity at the start of my journey into magick. It reveals part of the worldview we are unconciously working under. Many people unconciously (and conciously) think of magick as fake, and something in the imaginations of the insane.

I’d say, it’s good to approach this gently where it occurs. A good grounding in a philosophy that acknowledges spirit helps. But for those scared, it’s good to approach it gently where it does occur. If peace enters their heart, they’ll be opened to see that much of their fear towards spirituality is baseless.

Movies and other media in general seem to influence the conciousness of large groups rather heavily. I’ve been contemplating that recently. So it’s likely no mistake that people often bring up horror movie tropes when this sort of thing comes up.

Hmm I think sometimes interest overcomes fear. In my case, my interest certainly overcame my fear, and while it was a difficult ride, those initial steps, over time I saw that the Angels (I started by working with Angels) never brought me anything but good. Even though their presence was a bit scary, because something of that power and that unusual presence seemed to spike up some fear in me that was dormant. But they’ve never brought me anything but good, so I was able to move past that fear overtime while working with them.

So, it’s not necessarily just about handling fear, I’d say, but also if desire or interest is stronger than fear.

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I used to be fiercely atheist despite having experiences sensing spirits since I was very young. I think it was due to having spent a lot of time in psych wards and rehabs where I learned to silence the things I could hear and see as they were pathologized as delusions or hallucinations, symptoms of psychotic illness. I took heavy duty meds to quiet it all down. When it didn’t get quiet, I turned to heroin and that ate up a good amount of life. I stopped fighting it near the end of my addiction. Doctors failed over and over and I needed another option. So I dove into hoodoo and started by healing my addiction. That took a few tries but eventually it worked. Then I just never stopped and now it’s been 2 years and 3 months since the last time I touched heroin and I am fully into my practice and haven’t really looked back. I still have some trouble distinguishing genuine visions from hallucinations/delusions or maybe there’s no distinction. I dunno yet for sure.

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My sister can see spirits. Apparently the culprit behind the haunted toys on my front porch is a female. My sister comes over really early in the mornings and she was waiting for me to come outside. While she was waiting she saw a female walk off my porch and go to her car. But then she was confused because she thought it was me and didnt understand why I never opened the car door or tapped on the window. She sees desist people/spirits like that all the time.

I think the reason she does not do magick though is because of how we were raised. In a christian background and so she has the mindset that everything is evil or its taboo to mess with.

From time to time she will get an attachment in her house and she will ask me to cleanse and banish for her.

I think she doesn’t fully understand what she can do and it scares her.

I live in the bible belt so even with my siblings I dont tell the fully what i practice. I dont hide anything but i dont overly share either. She knows enough to know I can cleaanse and banish and do a few other things.

I wish she would be into doing magick i think it would be really great to do magick with my little sister.

I know that doesn’t explain all that people that can see the others and not practice but I think for her its her Christian background and fear.

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Woah!! This is super insightful. That’s really another great perspective, the stage of media does extend deeper than it appears. And there’s the theory about people “sharing” (idk?) certain things with others without meaning to (like mass consciousness).

I love this.

I agree. There’s definitely something to be said for acclimating.

You speak so clearly and directly. (This is a compliment, I love your writing style.)

This is another thing I hadn’t considered and a very important one.

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Congrats! On finding a way to help yourself, on being here, and on taking the leap into magick! (Side note: I’m amazed by people who begin with/near hoodoo, it intimidates me some).

Thanks for this perspective. It’s different from many I’ve heard and very important to have at this “table” concerning how and why people do and don’t choose to pursue this path.

This seems to be a big one. Background teachings. You said it scares her, can I ask if anything has ever hurt her?

I’ve tried to bring over my sister (older) several times. And then my friends come share their spooky experiences with me and we talk about it once and then they get scared and run off… (even the ones that aren’t attached to a religion).

It’s a bit sad to me that something like a religion we grew up governs so much even years later. It might not be sad for them, but I’ve been a child scared the floor was going to open and I’d fall into hell, and I know adults that have been in that place too and it’s really something the power childhood teaching have when we don’t get to choose them.

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That is awesome!!

I think that has alot to do with why people remain quiet about seeing spirits. You get told your crazy, delusional, and put in hospitals and such. And that maybe why my sister doesn’t explore anything past it being just some ghost adventure type deal.

Beautiful! :bouquet:

Ive always told my kids, you have to look out for you. No one else is going to do it. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself.

I use meditations for my depression. It works as long as I keep it up. When I get lazy with it. The depression weasels it way back in.

Your such a strong person. I wish you all the best!

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Not that Im aware of, I think its more of being afraid of what she doesn’t understand. And most of the time when she does see something it catches her off gaurd and she has those ‘that just freaked me out moments’

My grandma would pour rubbing alcohol into a bowl, light it on fire and tell me that was hell and if i didnt behave thats where i was going. That was an example of the lake of fire.

I still struggle with religion. Ive learned when something comes up and I started to feel panicked, like what if i do go to hell or whatever, Ive learned to ask myself, but from your own experiences what do you know about this. My own experiences have not pointed to some evil devil with a pitch fork forcing me to burn forever in a fire.

Once, I calm myself by going over my own experiences with magick and spirits/deities , I know that I dont have to fear anything.

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Oh shit. That’s intense. Wow… Can I say it’s really great and amazing you’re the powerful practitioner you are after things like that without sounding condensing.

That’s a pretty awesome way to handle it. I’ve had like 2 freak outs since walking away from Catholicism. Since then, I just figure I’ll handle what comes “after” when it comes times for “after.” And I’ve talked with a couple spirits about it too which has been nice and helpful. Alongside the humans of course, I’ve had some great conversations about “hellplanes” with other people that have been intriguing and insightful.

That’s beautiful!

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You can say Im great and amazing anytime! :rofl: joking.

I think its our experiences that help us become who we are its just that through it all i refuse to be a victim. Sure i have my meltdowns and bad times. But I look at it like this for example my step dad was very abusive to me. And he did things that i knew if I let it those things they would destroy me, if i thought about what he did I would either go crazy or snap. So even back when i had no idea about magick, i created a box inside of my head to put it in so i didnt have to think about it and i could go on living day to day. I keep it in that box a long time and never spoke of it. And my reason for it was that i refused to be broken. I refused to let that man have the satisfaction of knowing or thinking he broke me. I refused to be his victim.

You can live a victim mentality or you can find a way to stay strong and one day get justice. and i did eventually get justice, beware the patient woman!

So anyone can either choose to be a victim or choose to stand tall. I might be bloody and bleeding but Im still standing and he is not.

Experiences and how we choose to deal with them and learn from them shape us either into being a victim or being a badass.

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:fire: :fire: :fire:

You’re very strong and powerful.

I wonder how many of us begin this path because of life’s darker aspects. I wonder too if that is entangled with @Dankquanicus ’ words on interest and fear.

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Thank you :black_heart:

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Ouch. I suppose she meant well but ouch just the same.

You know there’s a story someone told about how when the priests first went trying to convert the Inuit (aka albeit politically incorrect the ‘Eskimos’) that when they were told about the make of fire they were all like what do I have to do to get some of that because in their culture riot prior to the priests trying to convert them their version of hell was ice snow and glaciers.

The point is that people will always try and change other people to fit into their mounds but when they do they often goof and send the one their trying to convert in the opposite direction from what they want them to go in.

Seeing as you’re into magick I’m guessing you’re were like “Fire? Heat? Gimme soma dat!” ? I know I woulda been if someone tried that with me I hate the cold. :person_shrugging:

Add: Though I bet unlike the Inuit you didn’t say it out loud to her.

Though no one did tat to me as a child I always thought :face_with_monocle: lake of sounds like a fairy tale. Of course know I know a bit of science like the sun is on fire and the earth center is lava. So not as preposterous as I thought as a kid. Still not scared though after all how can fire hurt a ghost that has no body? I mean you’d have to be dead and judged to go there after the world ends so :person_shrugging:

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You made me think of Jane Eyre.

Mean tall school xtian headmaster: You’re going to hell for lying.

Child Jane Eyre: Guess I’ll not die then.

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I would be like that now. But i was a little kid at the time and that was our religion. I loved my grandma and trusted everything she said. And yes she thought she was doing right and saving me. But it still effected me very strongly.

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I guess I got lucky. Although I got dragged to church and forced into confirmation got a 5 days week reprieve twice growing up (I got shoved in a group home. Twice. No religion there although both were abusive).

Advisory potential trigger info follows in hidden details look at your own risk if you’re prone to being triggered by stuff or better yet don’t.

I don’t know why it says summary though but at least the potential trigger info is hidden so only those that want to see it will now.

Summary

In 1 you didn’t get fed if you weren’t on time to make the bed, get to the dinner table etc you got neglected (the staff did try verbal abuse thank goodness and badness I had already learnt from tv the crucial rule never let them see you cry so they quickly gave up trying verbal abuse on me and focused on an unlucky boy there who didn’t master that rule even though I told it to him, when they picked on him he always broke down in tears.

The other one was physically abusive physical restraining you sitting on you that sort of stuff the adult staff even pushing me down so hard I hit the floor with my head resulting in a concussion once.

But I didn’t get religion crammed into me at them (they weren’t Christian run they were state run aka publicly run (well province run and provinces are Canada’s equivalent to states). So it coulda been worse.

Add:apologies to @Arianna i have a glitchy phone that makes certain options hard to access in reply lije blurt hide spoiler etc. My intent was to hide it under a fair warning not to look if triggered but it took a could edits before I succeeded. So… sorry if it was something you didn’t want to see but saw before I got it obscured.

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@Kish your comments seem to be reasons people engage with magick, no? Do you have experience or reasons people might see it, acknowledge it, and then choose to walk away?

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Maybe. I doubt they’d walk away for them.
Add: no personal experience to suggest they would.

Add: Guess I bought into Canada’s don’t say anything to disturb peoples sensibilities political correctness bs didn’t I? Sweep the unpleasant under the rug as it were (being afraid I’d upset someone by saying it). And I thought I was anti political correctness jokes on me (at least this once this time it is).

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