In Focus - The Return of Paganism ( March 2026 )

Title

The Return of Paganism

How the Occult Became Mainstream

Intro

In an age when the occult is pervading media and entertainment, Fr Jerry VM SDB asks us to be aware of this danger that can weaken our faith and put us in harm.

Highlight

The occult apps and the spirit boards are just symptoms. They are signs of a deeper shift. They provide rituals for a generation that has rejected the traditional Church. These people still crave a connection to something bigger. They want a supernatural power. We are seeing Romans 1:25 happen in real life: They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator.

Article

Thirty years ago, things were different. If you wanted to explore the occult, you had to go looking for it. You had to find dusty books in the back of a strange store. You had to call late-night hotlines. It was hidden. It was considered fringe. It was something people whispered about.

Today, the occult is not hidden. It is vibrating in your pocket.

Our culture is undergoing a massive shift. The modern world feels empty to many people, who seek something spiritual. But their quest to fill that empty space does not turn to the light of Christ. Instead, Western culture is turning back to ancient paganism.

But this isn't the paganism of the past. It has been repackaged. It looks sleek and modern. Witchcraft is now a fashion statement. Predicting the future is sold as a ‘self-care’ app. Contacting the spirit world is just another viral internet challenge.

For Christians, this is not just a trend to watch. It is a spiritual crisis. Practices that the Bible explicitly forbids are now marketed as toys to our children. They are sold as helpful tools for adults. The line between innocent fantasy and dangerous reality is disappearing.

To handle this new world with wisdom, we must understand what is happening. We need to see how deep these roots have grown in our digital lives. We must also recognise how this affects our faith.

I. Witchcraft as a Game: The Danger of Phone Apps

The first place this change is happening is on our smartphones. A quick look through the Apple or Google app stores shows thousands of apps about magic and spirits. These are not rare downloads. They often have millions of users. They look friendly and easy to use.

We aren't talking about fantasy games where wizards shoot fireballs. We are talking about apps that simulate real rituals.

There are tarot card apps that send ‘daily messages’ to your phone. They offer advice on love, jobs, and the future. This replaces the need for daily prayer. There are astrology apps that use complex math to predict your personality based on the stars. They encourage you to rely on the stars rather than the God who made them. There are even ‘spell book’ apps. These offer rituals to obtain money or hurt one’s enemies.

The danger here is that it turns spirituality into a game. A tarot reading app uses the same bright colours and fun sounds as a game like Candy Crush. This tricks our defences. It feels small. It feels like just another way to pass the time.

This makes users numb to the danger, especially for teenagers and young adults. It teaches them that fortune-telling is not a sin but rather just a tool to learn about yourself. By using these apps, users are opening doors that Scripture warns must stay shut. They are inviting spiritual influence from sources that are not the Holy Spirit. And they are doing it under the mask of digital fun.

II. Selling Spirits as Toys: Boards and Games

If apps handle the digital side, the toy aisle handles the physical side. The most famous example is the spirit board, often called the Ouija board.

You can often find these in the board game aisle. They sit right next to Monopoly and Scrabble. They have been a staple of American sleepovers for decades. Major toy companies sell them. The box often says it is a ‘mystifying oracle’ for ages 8 and up.

Let us be clear. A spirit board has one purpose. It is designed to talk to spirits. It is a tool created to communicate with the dead or other entities.

People often defend the Ouija board with science. They talk about the ‘ideomotor effect,’ a psychological theory that your subconscious muscles move the pointer, not a ghost. To the sceptic, it is just plastic and cardboard. They believe the ‘spirits’ are just the players' fears coming out.

From a Christian view, this defence is not enough. Let’s say 90% of the time, the board moves because of shaky hands or teenagers playing tricks. That does not change the intent. The goal of the game is to invite a spirit to speak. That spirit is not God.

In Deuteronomy 18:10-12, the Bible is very clear. It says: There shall not be found among you anyone who... practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.

When we put a tool for talking to the dead in a colourful box, we have a problem. When we sell it to children, we are making a terrible sin look normal. We are teaching children that the spiritual world is a playground. We teach them they have the authority to summon whatever they want for fun. It is a deep deception. It treats spiritual dynamite like a firecracker.

III. Viral Trends: How Social Media Spreads Rituals

The normalisation process moves even faster on social media. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit are huge drivers of this.

On TikTok, there is a community called #WitchTok. It has billions of views. In these short 60-second videos, young influencers teach witchcraft to other kids. They show how to draw magical symbols. They show how to set up altars to pagan gods. They teach how to cast spells on ex-boyfriends. They even teach ‘reality shifting,’ a meditation used to try and enter other universes.

The internet also loves a challenge. We have seen viral trends like the ‘Charlie Charlie challenge.’ In this game, players balance pencils on a grid. They try to summon a demon to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions. Participants film their reactions when gravity moves the pencils. Then, they share it. The ritual spreads to millions of screens instantly.

The danger of social media occultism comes from two places:

1. The Illusion of Control

The world feels scary right now. Young people worry about anxiety, the climate, and politics. The occult promises power. It says you can control things. Why pray and wait on God's timing? The occult says you can get what you want right now with a candle and a chant. It is the original temptation from the Garden of Eden: ‘You will be like God.’

2. The Computer Algorithm

Social media is built on algorithms. These are computer programs that decide what you see. They are designed to show you more of what you look at. If a curious teenager watches one video about tarot cards, the computer notices. Suddenly, their entire feed is full of readings and spell tutorials. The algorithm acts like a preacher for the occult. It surrounds the user with a specific world. In this world, magic seems normal, popular, and real.

IV. The Big Picture: Why Old Beliefs are Returning

Why is this happening now? We must realise that humans are spiritual beings. We were created to worship. If we do not worship the Creator, we will worship something else.

As the West has moved away from God and the Church, it hasn't become purely logical. It has become spiritual but lost.

This is why paganism is returning. Modern paganism rarely involves wearing togas. It looks like self-worship. It looks like treating nature (Mother Earth) as a god. It elevates ‘my truth’ over the Bible's Truth.

The occult apps and the spirit boards are just symptoms. They are signs of a deeper shift. They provide rituals for a generation that has rejected the traditional Church. These people still crave a connection to something bigger. They want a supernatural power. We are seeing Romans 1:25 happen in real life: They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator.

V. How This Hurts Our Faith

For the believing Christian, this is serious. It is not just annoying. It damages our faith life. It affects us in several key ways:

1. Weakening Our Guard

Occult themes are constantly presented as fun entertainment. Because of this, our spiritual defences get weak. We begin to tolerate things that sadden the Holy Spirit. We forget that there is a real enemy. The Bible says he disguises himself as an angel of light. In this case, he disguises himself as a fun iPhone app.

2. Anxiety and Spiritual Attacks

Engaging with these things is dangerous. Even if we do it ‘ironically’ or as a joke, it opens a door to the enemy. Christians who play with horoscopes or spirit boards often report problems. They feel increased anxiety. They have nightmares. They feel a sense of heaviness. They feel a distance in their relationship with God. We cannot drink from the cup of demons and the cup of the Lord.

3. Losing Trust in God's Plan

The main draw of fortune-telling is knowledge. People want to know a future that God has not revealed yet. It is an attempt to bypass trusting Him. The more we rely on ‘signs’ from the universe, the less we rely on prayer. We stop looking to Scripture. We stop listening to the Holy Spirit. It shifts our trust from the solid Rock of Jesus to shifting sand.

VI. Conclusion: Walking as Children of Light

How do we respond to this? We should not panic. We should not hide in a bubble. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians that we should expose the unfruitful works of darkness. We do this by walking as children of light.

We must know our Bible. We need to know the difference between fantasy fiction (like Narnia) and real occult practice. We must have open conversations with our children. We need to explain why God forbids these practices. He is not trying to ruin our fun. He is a loving Father. He is protecting us from spiritual realities that want to hurt us.

We need to build a strong Christian community. We must offer a true, powerful spiritual reality. It must be better than the cheap imitation offered by the occult. The Holy Spirit is not a force to be used like magic. He is a Person to be in a relationship with. The power of prayer is stronger than any spell. The peace of Christ is better than any comfort from a horoscope.

The occult has come out of the shadows. It is on our screens. It is time for the Church to see it. We must name it. And we must counter it with the true light of the Gospel.

Author Profile

Fr Jerry VM SDB is a Salesian priest from Dimapur, India. He is also the chaplain of the JY India pro-life team.