Former medium warns Christians against the occult: ‘No such thing as a good witch’

Michie · Wednesday at 1:05 PM

GRAPEVINE, Texas — Jenn Nizza still remembers the moment the door first opened.

She was 13 years old, growing up on Long Island in a culturally Catholic family, when her mother, a hairdresser, hosted a psychic party in their home.

“It was in a little beauty parlor setting. Everyone got a 15-minute tarot reading,” Nizza told The Christian Post.

Hers, like her sister’s, left an impression that would last for decades.

The cards told her things that were true, facts about her past that felt impossible for a stranger to know. “That’s the hook,” she said. “Demons can see the past. They can’t tell the future — only God can — but they make good guesses. And that’s all it takes to get you in.”

What followed was a descent that, in retrospect, she describes as both seductive and sinister. “It was daily. Multiple times a day,” she said of the tarot readings she and her sister performed on each other. From there, she pursued numerology, astrology and eventually psychic mediumship. At one point, a professional medium told her she, too, had “the gift.”

Continued below.

Former medium warns Christians against the occult: ‘No such thing as a good witch’

After spending over two decades as a professional psychic deeply entrenched in the New Age movement, Jenn Nizza experienced a dramatic spiritual transformation after crying out to Jesus

www.christianpost.com

RileyG · Wednesday at 3:39 PM

Amen!

HBP · Wednesday at 4:28 PM

The woods are crawling with attractive young women who find their 15 minutes of fame in Christian publishing, podcasting and speaking. I can find no evidence that she ever actually was a professional psychic or medium. According to the Amazon reviews of her book, she is rather sketchy on the details of this aspect of her life. Her message that "it's all demons" seems to be a popular one on evangelical podcasts, so she's found her niche.

I've been a member of the American Society for Psychical Research and the (British) Society for Psychical Research as well as the International Association for Near Death Studies and other similar organizations. I am about as well-informed about psychics and mediums, dating back to the 1840s, as it is humanly possible to be. What Ms. Nizza says is not entirely illegitimate, but it lacks nuance. Her book suggests`that she was an emotional disaster waiting to happen before she ever dived into occultism and was so lacking in discernment that she is Exhibit A for what can go wrong.

The critical distinction is between (1) active involvement in the occult by SEEKING OUT experiences, whether via a medium, Ouija board, Tarot cards or whatever, and (2) simply experiencing anomalous phenomena that come your way. Number (1) is extremely dangerous; there are indeed dark and deceptive (and sometimes just mischievous) forces that prey on folks like Ms. Nizza. I have never and would never seek out occult experiences. However, I have had several come my way - two explicitly Christian ones, the first of which was what started me on a Christian path, and several After-Death Communications and whatnot. These experiences are probably the most important links in my chain of belief.

ozso · Wednesday at 9:11 PM

There seems to be a strange blend of occultism and Christianity that exists. I walked though an occult shop once, and they had items associated with Christianity mixed in with the occult items.

RileyG · Wednesday at 9:13 PM

ozso said:
There seems to be a strange blend of occultism and Christianity that exists. I walked though an occult shop once, and they had items associated with Christianity mixed in with the occult items.

Yup. I’ve seen it in an Asian/hispanic grocery store, too.

FaithT · Thursday at 1:26 AM

Michie said:
GRAPEVINE, Texas — Jenn Nizza still remembers the moment the door first opened.

She was 13 years old, growing up on Long Island in a culturally Catholic family, when her mother, a hairdresser, hosted a psychic party in their home.

“It was in a little beauty parlor setting. Everyone got a 15-minute tarot reading,” Nizza told The Christian Post.

Hers, like her sister’s, left an impression that would last for decades.

The cards told her things that were true, facts about her past that felt impossible for a stranger to know. “That’s the hook,” she said. “Demons can see the past. They can’t tell the future — only God can — but they make good guesses. And that’s all it takes to get you in.”

What followed was a descent that, in retrospect, she describes as both seductive and sinister. “It was daily. Multiple times a day,” she said of the tarot readings she and her sister performed on each other. From there, she pursued numerology, astrology and eventually psychic mediumship. At one point, a professional medium told her she, too, had “the gift.”

Continued below.

Former medium warns Christians against the occult: ‘No such thing as a good witch’

After spending over two decades as a professional psychic deeply entrenched in the New Age movement, Jenn Nizza experienced a dramatic spiritual transformation after crying out to Jesus

www.christianpost.com

I dabbled in New Age many years ago. Read about healing crystals and other books. I even bought and used crystals for a while. I read about Scientology and astrology. I even had an ouija board as a kid. I never got into New Age too deeply but was searching for something; was agnostic/athiest at the time and thought New Age could solve my problems. Yet at the same time I was playing Contemporary Christian Amy Grant’s music over and over. I eventually got out of New Age and began a very long journey back to Christianity, and finally back to Catholicism. I do have to say that I still find crystals pretty, though.

lismore · Thursday at 3:41 AM

ozso said:
There seems to be a strange blend of occultism and Christianity that exists. I walked though an occult shop once, and they had items associated with Christianity mixed in with the occult items.

At Halloween in this country supermarkets sell ouija boards as kids toys. I have know even 'Christian' families to see it as a bit of harmless fun. It seems to be harder and harder for many believers to go against the cultural grain now, to keep the distinction between light and darkness. God Bless

ozso · Thursday at 4:00 AM

lismore said:
At Halloween in this country supermarkets sell ouija boards as kids toys. I have know even 'Christian' families to see it as a bit of harmless fun. It seems to be harder and harder for many believers to go against the cultural grain now, to keep the distinction between light and darkness. God Bless

Actually it started out as a parlor game and "Ouija" is a trademark of Hasbro (inherited from Parker Brothers) Ouija - Wikipedia. I put them in the same category as crystal balls. Maybe sometimes demons channel though them or whatever. But I think most of the time it's all just make believe and nonsense.

Bob Crowley · Thursday at 6:26 AM

The critical distinction is between (1) active involvement in the occult by SEEKING OUT experiences, whether via a medium, Ouija board, Tarot cards or whatever, and (2) simply experiencing anomalous phenomena that come your way. Number (1) is extremely dangerous; there are indeed dark and deceptive (and sometimes just mischievous) forces that prey on folks like Ms. Nizza. I have never and would never seek out occult experiences. However, I have had several come my way - two explicitly Christian ones, the first of which was what started me on a Christian path, and several After-Death Communications and whatnot. These experiences are probably the most important links in my chain of belief.

Like HBP I've had a number of "anomalous phenomena that come your way". Some examples were my father turning up in my room the night he died; "double whammies" like a breath going through you in waves from head to foot always in response to statements by either a Bible study leader or my pastor; a few visions of my old pastor after he died - he would just say something and that was it; and so on.

I have no doubt God exists; the devil exists; and there is a supernatural world. I fail to see how CS Lewis could have written works like "The Screwtape Letters" and "The Great Divorce" if he also hadn't had certain experiences. Apparently he was also prone to nightmares - he was probably being woken up by irritated demons because he was letting the cat out of the bag.

But there's a difference between those that "just come" and those that are the result of searchng for such experiences. Not once have I anticpated the events that have occurred, nor have I been looking for them.

On a couple of occasions I think I've seen obvious signs of demonic influence if not possession. Once I was walking through a shopping centre and there was a young bloke there who had set up as a 'medium'. I only had to look at his eyes and the demonic grin he gave me as I walked past to know something was remiss.

Another time I was on a train, and young a chap was reading a book on Aleister Crowley, the Victorian "Beast" of my less than illustrious namesake.

Again there was something about his eyes.

Dabbling in the occult is dangerous. Even for "anomalous phenomena that come your way" I once asked my old pastor how we knew if something spiritual was initially from God or not. He thought for a moment and said "You don't (know)".

It can be tricky.

Chrystal-J · Thursday at 1:49 PM

ozso said:
There seems to be a strange blend of occultism and Christianity that exists. I walked though an occult shop once, and they had items associated with Christianity mixed in with the occult items.

The Catholic church I used to attend had a saint's name that was popular with Voodoo. They used to come in and try to steal the Holy Host. They left a voodoo cross on the alter rail. They tried to mix Catholicism with Voodoo.

Michie · Thursday at 1:53 PM

Chrystal-J said:
The Catholic church I used to attend had a saint's name that was popular with Voodoo. They used to come in and try to steal the Holy Host. They left a voodoo cross on the alter rail. They tried to mix Catholicism with Voodoo.

A lot of different cultures do that. Walking into various grocery stores display that quite prominently.

FaithT · Thursday at 1:55 PM

Chrystal-J said:
The Catholic church I used to attend had a saint's name that was popular with Voodoo. They used to come in and try to steal the Holy Host. They left a voodoo cross on the alter rail. They tried to mix Catholicism with Voodoo.

A friend went to a place like that with her grandson once, some time ago and because they had some Catholic items in there she thought it was a good place to go.i had to tell her and tell her it’s New Agey and to stay away from it.

ozso · Thursday at 1:56 PM

Chrystal-J said:
The Catholic church I used to attend had a saint's name that was popular with Voodoo. They used to come in and try to steal the Holy Host. They left a voodoo cross on the alter rail. They tried to mix Catholicism with Voodoo.

According to what I looked up, Voodoo is West African spiritual traditions with elements of Catholicism.

Fervent · Thursday at 2:09 PM

ozso said:
There seems to be a strange blend of occultism and Christianity that exists. I walked though an occult shop once, and they had items associated with Christianity mixed in with the occult items.

A lot of that is because superstitious people often like to cover their bases, so anything "spiritual" or that promises to give the adherents a sense of comfort in an uncertain world has an attraction for such people.

ozso · Thursday at 2:20 PM

Fervent said:
A lot of that is because superstitious people often like to cover their bases, so anything "spiritual" or that promises to give the adherents a sense of comfort in an uncertain world has an attraction for such people.

There's been a few times when I've come across Christians asking (online) if they should give up reading their Tarot cards.

HBP · Thursday at 3:35 PM

ozso said:
Actually it started out as a parlor game and "Ouija" is a trademark of Hasbro (inherited from Parker Brothers) Ouija - Wikipedia. I put them in the same category as crystal balls. Maybe sometimes demons channel though them or whatever. But I think most of the time it's all just make believe and nonsense.

That, alas, is the problem. It seems harmless ... until suddenly it doesn't. Ouija boards have a long history of being a doorway to ... well, I'm not sure exactly what, but forces you'll wish you'd never encountered and may have great difficulty eliminating from your life.

About 25 years ago, I brought home a very cool antique Ouija board that someone had brought to my office. Even though I knew the dangers, we couldn't resist "trying it out." My spouse and I sat at a table in a candle-lit room and said all the "prayers for protection" we could think of, including Christian ones. Just before our fingers touched the planchette, we looked at each other and said, absolutely in unison, "This is NOT a good idea." It was quite uncanny - maybe the Holy Spirit.

I go to a lot of rock shops, many of which have a New Age orientation, and I too notice the Jesus, Mary and angel paraphernalia along with all the pagan stuff. (OK, I did pay $100 for a 12" Egyptian figure of Bastet, the cat goddess, but it's beautiful and I'm a cat person.

) As Fervent said, I think it's a matter of blending all spiritualities together. Ascended Master Jesus, who bears only superficial resemblance to the actual Jesus, is a major figure in some New Age "theologies."

HBP · Thursday at 3:42 PM

Bob Crowley said:
Like HBP I've had a number of "anomalous phenomena that come your way". Some examples were my father turning up in my room the night he died; "double whammies" like a breath going through you in waves from head to foot always in response to statements by either a Bible study leader or my pastor; a few visions of my old pastor after he died - he would just say something and that was it; and so on.

I have no doubt God exists; the devil exists; and there is a supernatural world. I fail to see how CS Lewis could have written works like "The Screwtape Letters" and "The Great Divorce" if he also hadn't had certain experiences. Apparently he was also prone to nightmares - he was probably being woken up by irritated demons because he was letting the cat out of the bag.

But there's a difference between those that "just come" and those that are the result of searchng for such experiences. Not once have I anticpated the events that have occurred, nor have I been looking for them.

On a couple of occasions I think I've seen obvious signs of demonic influence if not possession. Once I was walking through a shopping centre and there was a young bloke there who had set up as a 'medium'. I only had to look at his eyes and the demonic grin he gave me as I walked past to know something was remiss.

Another time I was on a train, and young a chap was reading a book on Aleister Crowley, the Victorian "Beast" of my less than illustrious namesake.

Again there was something about his eyes.

Dabbling in the occult is dangerous. Even for "anomalous phenomena that come your way" I once asked my old pastor how we knew if something spiritual was initially from God or not. He thought for a moment and said "You don't (know)".

It can be tricky.

It can be tricky, but I tend to trust those that come my way. On another forum, a proponent of soul sleep assured me that my After-Death Communications from my father, late spouse, sister-in-law and others were all demonic, even though at least a couple of them greatly enhanced my faith. I replied that if I can't trust God not to allow demons to convincingly impersonate my father, spouse and sister-in-law in circumstances where I have made absolutely no attempt to initiate contact, then I give up.

Akita Suggagaki · Thursday at 6:13 PM

ozso said:
There seems to be a strange blend of occultism and Christianity that exists. I walked though an occult shop once, and they had items associated with Christianity mixed in with the occult items.

Christianity is the accepted religion. So we see all sort of things mixed in with it, as if "Christianity" makes it right.

Former medium warns Christians against the occult: ‘No such thing as a good witch’

Well-Known Member

Veteran

Active Member

✦

Veteran

Well-Known Member

Maranatha

✦

Well-Known Member

The one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

✦

Well-Known Member

✦

Active Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Similar threads