What should I do if I’ve been involved in the occult?
Question 08103
This is a question that carries real urgency for the person asking it, and it deserves an answer that is both pastorally compassionate and biblically clear. Involvement in the occult can range from seemingly innocent activities like consulting horoscopes or using Ouija boards to deep engagement with spiritism, witchcraft, divination, or Satanism. Whatever the degree of involvement, the response Scripture prescribes follows a consistent pattern: repentance, renunciation, and a decisive turning to Christ.
God’s View of the Occult
Scripture is unambiguous in its condemnation of occult practice. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 provides the most comprehensive list: “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practises divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD.” The word “abomination” (to’evah) is among the strongest terms of moral revulsion in the Hebrew language. God does not treat occult involvement as a minor infraction or a cultural curiosity. He treats it as a direct affront to His exclusive claim on His people’s allegiance and trust.
The reason is not arbitrary. Occult practices, in all their varied forms, involve seeking spiritual knowledge, power, or contact outside of God’s appointed means. Whether the practitioner realises it or not, the spiritual forces behind divination, spiritism, and sorcery are not neutral. They are demonic. Paul identifies the gods behind pagan worship as demons (1 Corinthians 10:20), and the same principle applies to the spiritual entities accessed through occult practice. To engage with the occult is to engage, however unknowingly, with powers that stand in active rebellion against God.
The Pattern of Response in Scripture
The most instructive biblical example is Acts 19:18-19, where new believers in Ephesus responded to their conversion with dramatic decisiveness: “Many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practised magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.” The response involved confession, public renunciation, and the destruction of the materials associated with their former practices. The cost was enormous. Fifty thousand pieces of silver was a staggering sum. But these new believers understood that the clean break was worth more than the financial loss.
This pattern is instructive for anyone coming out of occult involvement today. The appropriate response involves genuine repentance before God, acknowledging that involvement in the occult was sin and asking for His forgiveness. It involves renunciation, a deliberate, verbal declaration before God that one is turning away from all occult practice and all allegiance to any spiritual power other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And it involves a practical clean break: removing from one’s possession any objects, books, amulets, charms, tarot cards, crystals used for spiritual purposes, or other items associated with occult practice. These should not be passed on to others. They should be destroyed.
What About Past Involvement?
Some who ask this question were involved in the occult before coming to faith and have already turned from it. Others were involved years ago, perhaps during a period of youthful experimentation, and have long since moved on. The question of whether past involvement still has spiritual consequences in the present is one that generates significant disagreement.
The biblical answer is that the believer in Christ is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7). The believer who has repented and turned to Christ is forgiven, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14). Past occult involvement does not create a permanent spiritual liability that requires ongoing deliverance rituals to address. Christ’s work is sufficient. If you have repented and placed your faith in Jesus, you are forgiven. That is not a partial promise. It is the settled verdict of the cross.
That said, if specific items from your past involvement remain in your possession, disposing of them is a wise and appropriate step. If there are specific practices you have not yet consciously renounced before God, doing so is an act of obedience and spiritual hygiene rather than a theological necessity for maintaining your salvation. And if you find that memories, fears, or spiritual disturbances associated with past involvement persist, bring them to God in prayer, share them with a trusted pastor or mature believer, and stand on the promises of Scripture. “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4) is not a platitude. It is the truth about your present reality in Christ.
Practical Steps
If you are currently involved in any form of occult practice, stop immediately. Confess the involvement to God and ask His forgiveness. Renounce any allegiance to spiritual powers other than Christ. Destroy any materials associated with the practice. Tell a pastor or trusted Christian friend what you have been involved in, not because confession to another human being is a sacramental requirement, but because secrecy is one of the enemy’s most effective tools, and bringing things into the light breaks its power. Immerse yourself in Scripture, prayer, and the fellowship of believers. If you are not yet a Christian, understand that the gospel is the answer to everything the occult falsely promises. The occult promises knowledge; Christ is the truth. The occult promises power; Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. The occult promises contact with the spiritual realm; Christ gives the indwelling Holy Spirit. Everything the occult offers as a counterfeit, Christ provides in reality.
So, now what?
If you have been involved in the occult and you are reading this, take heart. There is no sin too great for the cross to cover and no past too dark for Christ to redeem. The believers in Ephesus came out of deep occult involvement and became one of the strongest churches in the New Testament. Their past did not define their future, and yours does not define yours. Repent, renounce, destroy what needs destroying, and walk forward in the freedom Christ has purchased. The enemy would love you to believe that your past has marked you permanently. The gospel says otherwise. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
“And a number of those who had practised magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.” Acts 19:19 (ESV)