The Dangers of the Occult

“Let no one be found among you

who sacrifices their son or daughter

in the fire, who practices divination

or sorcery, interprets omens, engages

in witchcraft, or casts spells, or

who is a medium or spiritist or

who consults the dead.”

~ Deuteronomy 18:10-11 



Fr. Jose Fortea, Priest & Exorcist,
speaking at St. Joseph Church in Waipahu
(click on photo to view a larger image)

In the early part of this month, a local religious association sponsored a visit to Hawaii from the Spanish author and exorcist, Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea. He spoke at two churches, of which I attended the first presentation that was held at St. Joseph Church in Waipahu. Rather than really being a presentation, the event was more of a question and answer session, with Fr. Fortea inviting the audience to ask questions related to his unique line of work.

Interestingly, the majority of the questions had to do with the occult - witchcraft, spiritualism, curses, etc. - and its negative effect on the spiritual life. Unfortunately Fr. Fortea’s responses were so drawn out and generalized, I felt his answers never truly addressed the audiences’ questions and concerns… and oddly enough, some of his remarks also seemed to contradict the opinions of another high-profile exorcist - Fr. Gabriele Amorth of Rome - who in his best-selling book, An Exorcists Tells His Story, was very clear about the direct connection between various occult practices and demonic influences. On the otherhand, when he was asked about the same subject, Fr. Fortea emphatically stated that he didn’t believe occult rituals such as witchcraft or divination was a major factor that could lead to demonic oppression or possession; I was admittedly baffled by his response and respectfully disagree with his opinion. Rather, I believe Fr. Amorth got it right with his conclusions, and as you continue to read on, I think you will understand why.

Based on my personal observation at Fr. Fortea’s presentation, I am speculating that there are many people out there who are genuinely interested in learning more about the connection between the occult and the presence of evil spirits. It prompted me to share the following personal experience as a testimonial and a warning about the dark spiritual forces at work through seemingly harmless occult paraphernalia such as Tarot Cards and Ouija Boards. The story that follows is completely true and I hope readers will take it to heart…

In my early 20s, I briefly dabbled in the practice of divination (fortune telling/psychic readings)… it’s not something that I’m proud of, but it happened. Before narrating further, let me just say that at the time, I did believe in God, but in hindsight I now know I lacked the level of maturity and personal commitment to Jesus Christ that I later developed in my faith-life. There was a part of me that was still searching and I wanted to explore other methods of spiritual connection... and after having been ill-advised by a “professional psychic”, I purchased a few decks of fortune telling cards, including the infamous Tarot Cards. I, myself, in just a few weeks, became so proficient at using them that the “readings” and predictions that resulted were uncannily accurate... and I revelled at the thought that I might just be gifted with some sort of supernatural power. My use of these cards lasted several months, and probably would have continued for a longer period of time, had not the Lord mercifully intervened in a terrifying way.

One night, I awoke from sleep to find myself “floating” above my bed and looking down on my physical body. I saw myself so clearly and the sensation of being weightless was so tangible, I knew it wasn’t just a dream. After the initial surprise wore off, I realized I wasn’t alone in my bedroom - around me appeared several ominous shadow-like figures that were darker than the darkness of the night. I don’t recall how many there were, but if you saw the Patrick Swayze movie, “Ghost”, the evil shadow-entities depicted in the movie are a close comparison to what I saw - I immediately sensed they were evil and full of overwhelming hatred, and they began beating me and throwing me amongst themselves as easily as though I was an inflatable beach ball. I was filled with complete fear and instinctively called on the holy name of Jesus for help, and recited the Our Father and the Hail Mary prayers over and over.

A drawing I made of my terrifying

encounter with evil spirits

I can’t remember how many times I repeated the prayers but after what seemed like hours I felt the sensation of being “sucked” down into my body. Once I was back within my physical shell, I immediately jumped off my bed and turned the light on. For the rest of the night I stayed awake, praying and pondering over the traumatic experience I had just gone through. My mind was filled with the solid realization that the entities were actually demons and they were directly connected with the fortune telling cards that I used during my readings.  The entire episode pointed to the fact that the supernatural power that I was tapping into wasn’t from God at all, but really from the depths of Hell, itself. Horrified, I begged Jesus for forgiveness, while also thanking him for allowing me to see the truth… and from that moment on, I renounced all forms of occult practices and divination, and burned all the fortune telling cards that I owned when morning came.

To this day I abhor all forms of divination and superstitious practices and will never get involved with them again… I continue to regret my delving into the occult, but at the same time, I value my experience as a powerful life-lesson from God. As humbling as it is for me to publicly share this story, I believe that Jesus allowed me to go through this ordeal for good reason, which is to testify to the truth of the occult... and I hope readers of this blog will seriously consider my testimonial and avoid all forms of such practices: fortune telling, magical talismans, seances, witchcraft, etc. These practices are simply DANGEROUS and they open peoples’ lives to the negative influence of the devil and diabolic forces.  Believe me - I’ve seen the demons and experienced their attack, firsthand. If you open the door even just a bit to them, you’ll be in way over your head and it’s just not worth the risk of putting one’s soul in jeopardy.

So rather than putting your faith in the works of lying spirits, put your faith in the truth - Jesus Christ; seek your knowledge from Holy Scriptures, in the Church’s sacred teachings, and in the writings of the Saints... and get your spiritual connection to God through the Eucharist and by sincerely praying to Him from the heart. One thing Fr. Fortea and Fr. Amorth both stated in common, was that God is greater than all evil… and that we, who put our faith in the Lord, have nothing to fear from the devil and his minions. Through Jesus Christ, and with the help of Our Lady, the Holy Angels, and the Saints, we are assured ultimate victory over the forces of darkness.  Thanks and praises be to God Almighty!

(Please read the Comments Section for another true story of how occult paraphernalia directly attracted the presence of unclean spirits)


UPDATE, 1/1/2020: For those interested in learning more about spiritual warfare, I highly recommend viewing talks given by Fr. Chad Ripperger available on YouTube (very enlightening!). Fr. Ripperger is an experienced exorcist and an expert speaker on this topic.  His name is worth searching for in YouTube.

The "Epiphany Moon"

 "Who is this arising like

the dawn, fair as the moon,

resplendent as the sun?"

~ The Song of Solomon, 6:10



Tonight, something really special happened.  At around 8:30pm, a close friend of mine - Dre' - from Mililani Town called me on my cellphone with an odd request.  She asked me to go outside to look at the full moon because "Our Lady's face is in the moon and she's smiling down on us."  At the time, I was in the middle of exercising but I immediately stopped and went out to the yard to see the sight for myself.  When I first looked up at the moon, I didn't see anything on it other than the dark patches that are normally visible on its surface ... but my friend kept insisting that there were religious images appearing in the moon - one of Our Lady with the Baby Jesus and another of just Our Lady's face.

In the meantime, three of my family members overheard me talking on the phone, and one by one, they came outside to join me.  I told them about what Dre' was seeing in the moon and all of them immediately exclaimed that they could see Our Lady holding Baby Jesus!  I continued looking but I still couldn't see the images that were being described to me by everyone else - talk about disappointment!  I admit I was totally deflated.

Simple sketches I quickly did of what I saw

in the moon (click to enlarge the images)

Frustrated, I said a heartfelt prayer to our Blessed Mother and asked her to let me see what the others were seeing.  I also added several Hail Marys followed by the Memorare, and it was then that I saw the shadowy figure of a woman cradling a child coming into focus within the moon (Left - Drawing #1).  It started off looking hazy at first, but the figures slowly became distinct.  With joy, I exclaimed that I, too, could now see the holy images.  

After several minutes, Dre' stated that Our Lady's face was now appearing in the moon and, sure enough, the two figures were replaced by a gentle, smiling face of a woman (Drawing #2) - it was amazing!  I attempted to photograph the image but with no success so I went back into the house to quickly draw the apparition so we could all compare what we were seeing.  I texted my sketch to my friend and she confirmed that it was exactly what she and her mother were seeing from Mililani.  A relative who isn't artistically inclined also did his best to sketch what he saw and both our drawings corresponded closely (see below).  We stayed outside for a long while afterwards, praying and enjoying the wonderful vision until large clouds finally obscured the moon.

What a relative saw in the moon
(click to enlarge the drawing)

Afterward, when I pondered tonight's events, I thought it was highly significant that the Feast of the Epiphany was celebrated by the Church today.  The word "Epiphany" means "a manifestation" and tonight, we all definitely experienced a special manifestation.  Also of great relevance is the fact that the moon is often associated with Our Lady (refer to Revelations 12), as the sun is representative of her Divine Son, Jesus Christ.  The sun is the source of all light, warmth, and the energy necessary for life on earth, and we simply can't live without it (as we also can't live without God) ... and while the moon (Our Lady) also has its gentle brilliance, it's a brilliance that's reflected from the sun (Jesus).

Dre' later encouraged me to post about our shared experience.  Plus this Scripture provided affirmation:

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and
in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the
earth distress of nations, with perplexity;
the sea and the waves roaring ..."

- Luke 21:25

Our hope and prayer is that the next time you happen to look up at a full moon, you will fondly think of our Blessed Mother and say a prayer to her ... and perhaps, see her lovingly smiling down at you, too. 

First Saturday Parish Rosary at St. Anthony's Church, 1/7/2012

A Sacred Relic of St. Andre's Blood

What a wonderful evening of prayer and blessings this night turned out to be!  The First Saturday Rosary was wonderful, as usual... prior to beginning the prayer, I shared about the life of St. Andre Bessette of Montreal, whose Feast Day it was yesterday, and also shared a 1st Class Relic of the Saint in my custody with the people who attended. So as we again prayed for Peace in this world, we also invoked the intercession of St. Andre for our personal health issues and also for the physical well-being of the people we carry in our hearts.

My pilgrim statue with the relics
of the Holy Virgin & St. Andre

After the Rosary, the Mass prayed in the main church was also quite meaningful, as we celebrated the vigil of the Feast of the Epiphany.  After the Mass, our parochial vicar - Fr. Exsequel Tuyor - blessed all the parish calendars for general distribution, plus our watches and other timepieces, which I later learned was customary on this feast day.

The priest invoked the Lord's blessings for the 2012 year and for the precious time, which we are all granted during our lives. I left the church feeling blessed in so many different ways. Thanks and praises be to God! The next Parish Rosary for Peace will be held on Saturday, February 4th, at 4:30pm. All are invited to participate.