Witchcraft and the Occult Gets a New Facelift and a New Outlet

 Witchcraft and the Occult Gets a New Facelift and a New Outlet – Todd Strandberg - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ Witchcraft, also known as Wicca or Paganism, is difficult to quantify in terms of popularity because it is a decentralized and diverse spiritual practice with a wide rangeof beliefs and practices. However, it is generally accepted that the popularity of Witchcraft has been growing steadily in recent years. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, approximately 0.4% of the U.S. adult population, or about 1 to 1.5 million people, identify as Wiccans or Pagans. However,this number may be an underestimate, as many people who practice Witchcraft do not necessarily identify as Wiccan or Pagan. The popularity of Witchcraft can be seen in the increasing number of books, websites, and social media platforms related to the subject. Additionally, Witchcraft has becomemore mainstream and accepted in popular culture, with TV shows, movies, and books featuring witches and witchcraft becoming increasingly popular. At one time, it was very difficult to purchase books on the occult because most bookstores and publishers refused to deal with material that had a demonic label. Jimmy Pagehas been a devoted follower of the occultist Aleister Crowley. To get his hands on books by Crowley and other devilish works, Page opened in London an occult bookshop and publishing house called The Equinox Booksellers and Publishers. Some of Crowley’s bookswere so rare, Page had to go to auctions and outbid everyone with his Led Zeppelin money. The Equinox was never designed to be a profitable venture but just to exist so it could distribute these books. Page wrote in an autobiography that there was not one bookshopin London with a good collection of occult books, and he was frustrated at not being able to get the books he wanted. Today, books on Witchcraft and the Occult are a mouse click away. Amazon has become a massive powerhouse in book sales. The company is responsible for over 50% of sales fromthe Big Five publishers and controls between 50% and 80% of the book distribution in the United States. Amazon sells at least 300 million print books every year. It’s clear that Amazon sells numerous books on the dark arts because subjects like Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Satanism have their own categories. Many of the books rankvery high on the overall sales list. One book that has been out for 8 years is still ranked at #1,134. Many of the books use clever new ploys to get around “Stigmation, misunderstanding, discrimination” by what I would assume are Christians. Books are often labeled as workbooks,so you can purchase a “Guided Astrology Workbook” and a witchcraft workbook. It’s the same old subject but with a more classroom approach. Some books offer people the ability to cast spells with green plants, herbs, and crystals. I was most amazed by the book Spirits Beside Us: Gain Healing and Comfort from Loved Ones in the Afterlife. It teaches people how to communicate with the dead, which is somethingthe Bible strictly forbids. Someone may think they have contacted their dead grandmother, but the being in the other realm may have horns growing out of its head. I found one type of book that only had a slight connection to the occult, but it’s very popular. It’s called shadow work, and it was #1 in the category of Spirituality. Shadow work is a term used to describe the process of exploring and integrating the unconscious or hidden parts of oneself. These hidden parts, also known as the “shadow,” contain aspects of our personality and emotions that we may have repressed or denied due to societal or personal conditioning. Shadow work involves delving into these aspects of ourselves through self-reflection, introspection, and other therapeutic techniques. It can involve identifying and confrontingnegative patterns of behavior, thought, and emotions, and working to understand and integrate them into our conscious awareness. The mixture of psychology and spiritual self-help is dangerous because it can identify a problem, but it cannot provide a solution that will ultimately work. I used to think that all occult practices were a bunch of harmless nonsense. Spells don’t work, people don’t get insights into secret knowledge, and I doubt anyone has everturned their enemy into a black cat. Then I learned of the tragedy that often comes to people who dabble in the occult. If you invite demonic forces into your life, they will cause problems because of their evilnature. The Bible warns that our main struggle in this world is with fallen angels that seek our destruction. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness inhigh places” (Ephesians 6:12).