PSA - Will It Summon Demons?
Things That Are Not Likely To Summon Demons And Spirits Into Your Home:
- Practicing a pagan religion
- Practicing no religion
- Skipping religious services
- Disobeying your parents
- Disobeying oppressive religious rules
- Reading books about other religions
- Reading books about witchcraft
- Casting most types of spells, including hexes
- Practicing divination
- Reading tarot cards
- Owning crystals
- Having deity statues
- Maintaining an altar
- Adopting a black cat
- Owning or wearing a pentacle or other pagan symbol
- Playing with Ouija or other talking boards
- Putting up fantasy or non-Christian artwork
- Celebrating pagan holidays
- Celebrating Halloween
- Watching scary movies and TV shows
- Reading horror novels
- Playing tabletop RPGs
- Playing LARP games
- Playing video games
- Reading fantasy books
- Reading comics and graphic novels
- Listening to heavy metal music
- Dyeing your hair
- Dancing
- Swearing
- Drinking
- Dressing however you please
- Having tattoos and piercings
- Engaging in premarital sex
- Being queer
- Being trans
- Participating in activism for progressive social causes
Things That Might Summon Demons And Spirits Into Your Home:
- Literally summoning demons and spirits into your home
This has been a Public Service Announcement.
And just a few clarifications for folks who don’t know:
- The hype surrounding “The Exorcist” (1972) is exactly that. The reports of accidents and supernatural happenings on set was part of their ad campaign. The only ritual being performed in the movie is the rite of exorcism. That’s not going to SUMMON anything, I promise you.
- The horror movie rule which states “Never Read Books Of Demon Summoning Aloud” is a good one, but it must also be remembered that most ancient spell tomes mentioned or used in horror media are entirely fictional. Including the fabled Necronomicon.
- It is very important to keep in mind that the facts in many of the so-called landmark cases in paranormal study have been greatly embellished, either by the investigators or by writers and movie producers looking to make a buck. Nearly all the stories of “real” hauntings you see in popular media have been exaggerated to hell and back. If the Warrens had anything to do with it, you can bet good money that the actual happenings bear little resemblance to the stories we associate with those cases now.
- While it is possible for spirits to attach themselves to objects, therefore necessitating some basic caution and cleansing if you’re prone to collecting antiques or yard sale fodder, there is no guarantee that something is going to attach itself to your belongings unless you INVITE IT TO DO SO. (Someone cited the Annabelle case. If we believe the story, the ghost did not come with the doll, it was invited to possess it by the owners. Allegedly. See above note about the Warrens.)
- Swearing does not count as baneful magic. It’s CALLED cursing, sure, but if you stub your toe and yell, “FUCK!” you’re not wishing harm on someone. You’re upset and in pain. (Then again, I do like that meme about a witch cursing a house in this fashion….)
- Most pagan holidays are celebrations for some part of the harvest cycle. Holiday observances are not automatically magic rituals, and neither do they summon spirits unless you are openly calling them to the feast. I am not calling in the ghosties by thanking the earth for this beautiful bucket of tomatoes and watering a tree.
- Just because something CAN be part of a spell or ritual doesn’t mean it’s ALWAYS part of a spell or ritual. We don’t accidentally cast spells by dancing or singing or thinking or sneezing. Intention and focus are part of the process for a reason.