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Edit: this was from a ways back. Makes sense of my next post.

Note: wasn't sure if this should go in the introductions section, so I put it here. Mods can move it if they wish.

I am leaving the occult and, consequently, this website. I no longer believe that occultism is compatible with Christianity. If you at all find the Christian worldview plausible, consider what I have to say.

The Bible gives all manner of criticisms of magickal practice. I won't detail them here, but I will post some links: this gives passages against magick, this answers frequent arguments made by occultists. No support for magick can be found with these criticisms. The closest example might be the magi that visit Jesus in Matthew, but these were almost certainly wise men and astrologers, not full-blown magicians. Moreover, given they only occur in one Gospel, they are likely legendary. Surely one anomalous passage cannot overturn the weight of Scripture as a whole.

Look at how most magicians end up. The greatest among them rest in ruins. Crowley claimed to have met his HGA, but he treated others horribly; several occultists have gone outright mad. At the very least the ego is blown out of proportion. Does magick seem like a reliable means of spiritual progress?

Augustine argued against magick on the grounds that humans can be very easily deceived by the daemons they contact. Scripture supports this: demons masquerade as angels of light. How can one be so sure that one is not contacting a demon when performing a ritual rather than an angel?

The rebuttal here is, of course, what about the magicians who turned out alright and why would angels do so little to harm us if demons. To this I say that these magicians - the very few there are - are still being deceived and that some demons seem to help the magician so as to entice the magician further into the depths of magick. It is much harder to leave the occult once one has been fully sucked into it.

These magicians are deceived because alchemy does not rest in secret rituals but moral actions. The surest route to spiritual improvement lies in worship, religious study, faith, and perseverance in doing good. There is nothing mysterious about it, it just lacks flaring aesthetics.

In all of this, I am not denying the power of magick. I am only doubting its source and its usefulness. It bloats the ego and can lead to mental breakdowns. No amount of outer grade work is sufficient to prevent this, and none of the results of magick are significant enough for this risk. I rest my case.