Spirit Daily

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Exposing Spiritual 'Witchery': Confusion  Can Come When Folks Try To Control Us

By Michael H. Brown

Do you suffer from sudden bouts of confusion? Do you feel strangeness around you? Do negative feelings suddenly engulf you? Are there days when everything seems to go wrong?

Some of this is just the test of life: We have good days and we have bad days -- as we so often point out. The Lord allows both to occur in order to try our mettle (and purify us as an oven purifies gold).

But there are also times when bad things happen because we are unknowingly under the influence of what one expert defines as "witchcraft" -- in his terminology, not just the formal kind that is practiced in covens, but the negativity that can attach to us from anyone who is not wishing us well. "Witchcraft often manifests itself in a feeling that there is something wrong but an inability to put one's finger on just exactly what it is," says writer Jonas Clark -- an expert on deliverance who hales from Florida.

In other words, he believes that there are many forms of witchcraft -- that there is both conscious and subconscious sorcery, both direct and subtle forms of hexing -- and that we are subject to it on a regular basis. Often it comes from people who have no intention of actually hexing us.

We're not sure of using the term "witchcraft"; and we have to be careful not to go on witch hunts!

But the point this writer makes is that the thoughts of others can light upon us like a curse.

One example: confusion. We all have times when our peace is suddenly attacked and we receive confusion in return. As Clark correctly points out, confusion is one of the first signs of an evil influence. Whenever we feel confused, we should immediately pray until we rise above that confusion. Prayer breaks the hold of evil, and so does knowing the source.

If we don't pray, the darkness will only snowball. Many times, negative "vibes" are cast our way by people who are vengeful, hateful, or jealous. Spirits can rub off from folks who don't realize that when they are hating someone -- when they are wishing someone harm, when they are rooting against another person, even a friend, or when they're simply trying to take charge of another person's life (for the purpose of their own egos) -- they're tapping into forms of the same negative, controlling energy that witches tap into.

Think about it: the goal of witchcraft is to control a situation or person. It is using dark forces to effect a self-centered goal. This is the spirit of control, and a person who harbors the spirit of witchcraft is often a person who needs to be the center of attention. There is often an uppity, prideful air. And it explains why we often get the willies in such a person's presence.

"Whenever someone tries to manipulate another for the purpose of advancing a selfish agenda, that is witchcraft," writes Clark in a general Christian book called Exposing Spirit Witchcraft -- adding that other manifestations include fatigue. "It is a much-used weapon of witchcraft," claims Clark. "Witchcraft drains the life (energy) right out of you. When attacked, you feel tired, depressed, oppressed, and fatigued. You can take vitamins, exercise, run five miles and it still doesn't help."

We also call this spiritual attack. The Italians call it the "evil eye." From time to time it happens to all of us -- most often, unknowingly. This doesn't mean that spirits are involved every time we're tired! It doesn't mean that confusion can't happen on its own. But it is to say that the unusual occurrence of such feelings should be brought to prayer for discernment.

The "spirit of witchcraft" gains its strength and sense of security by controlling others. The vast majority of time, we don't even know we're tapping into it. And it can be hard to track. People operating in "witchcraft" -- who want to spiritually harness or stifle us (to assuage their jealousies) -- often flatter us to our faces in an attempt to gain that control. Whenever a person tries to manipulate you for a hidden personal agenda, that is a form of witchcraft, and so is fear: The spirit of witchcraft tries to put fear and discouragement into your life. It tries to instill despair.

In life, such spirits come and go in ways that we can't see but are often spontaneous. It's not always something we can pin on any particular situation.

But we all have to protect ourselves, and that protection comes from praying for those who may be casting bad thoughts in our direction. Praying for them is a shield. It disengages the force of darkness. We also protect ourselves by pleading the Blood of Jesus. Whenever we feel dragged down, we should plead His Blood or pray the Rosary or invoke the saints until confusion leaves and the brightness of Jesus takes its place!

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