The occult rarely presents itself as evil. It arrives disguised as entertainment, spirituality, personal empowerment, or harmless curiosity. Scripture calls us to recognize the disguise before it is too late.
Have you noticed how many television series, movies, and video games revolve around vampires, zombies, witchcraft, and even the rulers of the darkness of this world mentioned in Scripture? In many recent productions, vampires—once portrayed as creatures of evil—have become romantic heroes, noble figures, or characters worthy of admiration. Even superheroes, once presented as models of virtue, now fight “mystical” battles that romanticize the powers of darkness.
The occult is no longer presented as something dangerous. Instead, it is wrapped in sophisticated, intellectual language: “energy,” “psychic powers,” and “paranormal phenomena.” What Scripture identifies as the work of spiritual hosts of wickedness, our culture packages as entertainment or “alternative science.”
None of this is new. Scripture reveals that these spiritual forces have been at work since the earliest days of humanity.
An Absurd Contradiction
While science and technology continue reaching remarkable milestones, interest in the occult continues to grow. Recent data show that three out of every ten adults in the United States consult astrology, tarot cards, or psychics at least once a year, and about 27 percent believe in astrology (Pew Research Center, May 2025).
This is not a fringe phenomenon, nor is it limited to people with no religious affiliation. As early as 2018, Pew Research Center reported that six out of ten Americans embraced at least one so-called “New Age” belief, including psychic abilities, spiritual energy in physical objects, reincarnation, or astrology.
Exposure Begins in Childhood
From an early age, many of us have been exposed to horoscopes, “harmless” magic games, fortune-telling, palm reading, and similar practices. Today, cartoons, comic books, video games, and family movies frequently normalize witchcraft and other ideas that contradict Scripture, presenting them as innocent fun.
In this same environment, WitchTok has emerged as a major trend on TikTok, attracting billions of views through videos featuring spells, tarot, astrology, “energy” crystals, and rituals.
This trend illustrates how practices once hidden in occult books have become mainstream entertainment and an alternative lifestyle. As a result, many teenagers and young adults consume this content without realizing that it exposes them to spiritual deception and helps normalize what Scripture calls an abomination.
Public Ceremonies and Recent Controversies
This influence is not limited to movies or social media. Public events with global audiences have also incorporated imagery that many people perceive as openly blasphemous or occult.
During the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, one segment was interpreted by many viewers as portraying Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The performance sparked widespread criticism from the Vatican and many Christian groups. The organizers later expressed regret that people had been offended while stating that such an interpretation had never been their intention.
Another widely discussed example was the 2016 opening ceremony of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland. Featuring more than six hundred performers, the production included grotesque scenes, semi-nude figures, demonic masks, and the appearance of a goat-man figure that many associated with Baphomet. Although the organizers explained that the performance was inspired by Alpine folklore and honored the workers who built the tunnel, many viewers perceived unmistakable satanic symbolism.
Over time, videos of the ceremony circulated online with the false claim that they depicted the opening of CERN. That claim is inaccurate. Nevertheless, the actual event illustrates how the occult no longer remains hidden but is increasingly displayed in public under the disguise of art or entertainment.
What Is Happening in the Human Heart?
C. S. Lewis once observed that there are “two equal and opposite errors” concerning demons: to disbelieve in their existence or to develop an unhealthy fascination with them (The Screwtape Letters).
Our generation seems to embrace both errors at once. On the one hand, it dismisses the spiritual realm as superstition. On the other, it eagerly consumes entertainment and practices that Scripture identifies as spiritually dangerous.
The Voice of the Torah
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
For all that do these things are an abomination unto Yehovah…
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 (KJV)
The instruction could not be clearer. Curiosity about “hidden knowledge” is never harmless. It carries the real danger of spiritual deception and the bondage that often follows.
Real-Life Consequences
This is not merely a theoretical concern. Scripture warns that these practices expose people to spiritual deception.
Many families have suffered deep wounds after someone became involved with fortune-tellers, occult rituals, or objects associated with supernatural power. In many cases, these practices have been accompanied by broken communication, jealousy, fear, hostility, and even violence, although few people connect those changes with what first appeared to be nothing more than harmless curiosity or entertainment.
The Call Today
Exercise discernment and stay away from these practices. Do not follow what the world celebrates. If Scripture calls something an abomination, do not repackage it as “science,” “wellness,” or “self-help.”
Close every door to the occult. If your home contains objects associated with occult practices—or if you participate in activities such as tarot, cleansing rituals, amulets, invocations, astrology, or similar practices—remove them. Acts 19:19 records that many who had practiced magic publicly burned their books after believing the message of the Messiah.
Fill that place with the Word of Yehovah. Obedience brings light. Reading and memorizing Scripture, prayer, fasting, and fellowship with the people of Elohim restore spiritual order in the home.
Protect your children as well. Be aware of what they are watching, teach them clearly what the Torah says, and model a faith that refuses to compromise with darkness.
The world is normalizing the occult, but the people of Yehovah are called to walk in the light. Do not allow yourself to be swept away by the current. Choose holiness, even if it means going against the culture of our day.