Conversions

[RoseSpark]

Anybody here noticing a lot of tarot readers, witchy social media influencers, and others in this neck of the woods converting to religion? I know why it's happening, but it is still interesting to witness.

 

[Lurking Magician]

Many witchy influencers follow the money: during covid there was an explosion of interest in the occult/astrology/tarot, so many influencers made that kind of content, because suddenly it wasn't niche and was monetized really good.

Now right-wing content is on the rise (evangelical/tradwife/crunchy christian), so they are switching platform to keep the money going.

They never actually believed or practiced anything, they just produce thr content most people ask for (or is better paid)

 

[Morell]

It will be more complex than that. With Christo-nazi at power in USA it also makes sense to hide in "safe" religion to prevent danger of future persecution.

Also there is the fact that they could had been "fished" by Christians hunting for human souls for their religion. Some surely converted buying into Christianity being true. I'm pretty sure that there were even such cases. People do convert.

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In my own case, I think I did tarot for one Discord server for some months, don't know if it was over a year, but I lost interest, it started to really feel rather like a chor than something I would enjoy and I quit stating that exact reason. (Though I did develop way to make uploading spreads matter of less that 2 minutes I think...)

 

[Kepler]

If there's an acceleration of this, it's good to hear. It shows a developing realization of limits that may be becoming more common showing a pattern to infer what is necessary for success to others.
To explain
Those that are initiates who fail to develop and convert to a new way to integrate their experiences will fall to old ways.
It can be understood as psychological, in that they tried to break away from old frameworks(maybe cram them into old frameworks), but failed to develop a replacement and regressed to the culturally familiar. Without building a stable new structure they seek comfort and safety in the familiar. Not that this is necessarily bad. It shows they're not occultists who thrive in the discovery of the unknown.

I know why it's happening, but it is still interesting to witness.

What do you "know" is happening? Why not helpfully elaborate in the Op? Replies may better engage your intent.

 

[RoseSpark]

If there's an acceleration of this, it's good to hear. It shows a developing realization of limits that may be becoming more common showing a pattern to infer what is necessary for success to others.
To explain
Those that are initiates who fail to develop and convert to a new way to integrate their experiences will fall to old ways.
It can be understood as psychological, in that they tried to break away from old frameworks(maybe cram them into old frameworks), but failed to develop a replacement and regressed to the culturally familiar. Without building a stable new structure they seek comfort and safety in the familiar. Not that this is necessarily bad. It shows they're not occultists who thrive in the discovery of the unknown.

What do you "know" is happening? Why not helpfully elaborate in the Op? Replies may better engage your intent.

The reason I said I know is that with the rise of conservatism and fascism people go back to religion.

 

[Kepler]

The reason I said I know is that with the rise of conservatism and fascism people go back to religion.

Fascism does provide the illusion of absolute truth through dogma as opposed to the postmodern uncertainty of occultism. The fascist collective neurosis would be a natural landing point for many initiate failures as they externalize their condition.

 

[Aeternus]

Anybody here noticing a lot of tarot readers, witchy social media influencers, and others in this neck of the woods converting to religion? I know why it's happening, but it is still interesting to witness.

This will be kind of a lengthy one so, bear with me for a moment .

People in the WitchTok genre are more about the swag rather than something being serious, and despite that, pretty discriminatory on those who are working with Angels for example, or anything like that. Based on this, I would say that some people really do it for the ragebait, and some never truly convert, some also do it for audience engagement just like they did supposedly occult stuff on their TikToks.

When it comes to conversions to Christianity, there are multiple factors at play, but the most prominent ones are: political, semi-spiritual and the value of market and offer.

Those "witches" or "wizards" in the WitchTok gnere are like the usual marketing agent seeking out the latest trends (and scams sometimes) to trick gullible people into believing them and their business. In the case of those conversions to Christianity, it is because of the capitalization on the trend as well as some other shady interests. Those people have seen that due to the rise of conservatism and nationalism, that there is a trend in being a Christian (a fake devout one), read the Bible every time (and forgetting everything afterwards, remaining with zero spiritual baggage from it) and so on and so forth.

The capitalization on Christianity brings those fake wizards and witches I mentioned just about the ragebait they used to produce, only on a different side of the things (the occult one).

The other reason, and this is a more shady one: dark energies and orgs at play.

It may sound crazy, but some people have ties with many dark orgs and specifically the conversion to Christianity, themes of purity, love, etc can foster a fertile ground for attracting gullible people into various cults. Some people use a ruse version of Christianity, in the sense that they think that the Power of Christ burned their occult ties. this is a HUGE LIE as we all know that Esoterically speaking, Jesus is about the occult: Mark 4:22: "For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open".

When you hear someone that says that Jesus would burn occult power, this sounds like an attempt to really disrupt occult powers, but even more perversely than an energetic draining system found by some shady cult, rather using popular and centuries old systems (religions) for such a dirty gain.

There is also the case of "Satanists" who after years, and please note that YEARS, of having celebrated various Satanic Holidays and so on suddenly "converted" to Christianity and supposedly "advise" people and children to not celebrate Halloween (it isn't Satanic to begin with) and much more:

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Also, another dark interest and various Orgs are at play with it is the demonization of occult practices. Hearing all those stories like the one of Alexandra Ashcroft and others who supposedly found out that witchcraft is harmful and so on and so forth... all of it serves as fear mongering as well as the centuries desired gatekeeping done by people that had those interest (to gatekeep) for years.

 

[Ohana]

The rise of these conversion doesn't feel like it bodes well. Due to this rise it feeIs like people's options are shrinking to what they can and can't do.

I wonder if due to all this pressure I wonder if another 80s panic over even remotely occuIt things might happen again.

There aIso seems to be just a generaI invasion of privacy going on like with the fIock camera. The fact there even called "FIock" likening back to shepherds like we are sheep constantly needed to be watched. Especially given the many religious connotations with shepherds.

A factor that was already mentioned of with increased Christians on the rise leading to more conversions and a shift to fundamentaI, conservative Christian roots culturally is that does create an environment where because of peer pressure converting seems like a good/better option than staying with your other beIief systems. Especially since peopIe are so community oriented.

I know from personaI expierence that so many of my peers where I'm at are Christians. I don't even have to ask or know them since a lot of themwear crosses. A lot of places I go to the towns with even small or smaller population have churches.

This create a lot of internaI pressure to convert and sometimes the fact I can't I feel like a failure just generally as a person because I can't. Its distressing. It builds a lot of pressure within a person to convert just to ease some of that pressure off. I know that I'm not thats just how I am. Its just how I was raised but it feels like that with so much pressure from peopIe being christian to convert. I sometimes feeling like I'm faiIing something by not having this background and by not understanding it.

Another thing is economic times are getting rough. Converting can mean getting a free meaI a local church offers and if you can't get a lot of meals at the time then peopIe might be forced into it due to just needing food or even other basic resources a church might offer. Thats how a lot of missionaries did it by going to poorer communities and promising more everything so food, shelter, water, the basic needs in exchange for converting to their reIigion.

 

[uraniumglass]

I wonder if these influencers see that they’re influencing their followers to preemptively obey an authoritarian regime. Do they know that they’re being used, for like, way less money than political pawns tend to sell themselves for?

 

[Ohana]

I wonder if these influencers see that they’re influencing their followers to preemptively obey an authoritarian regime. Do they know that they’re being used, for like, way less money than political pawns tend to sell themselves for?

Some of them maybe, other might feel peer pressured, and maybe others just genuinely joined. It might depend on the person.

I mean for a whiIe there again using me as an example I had this beIief that if I just read the BibIe I wouId immediately convert. So I saved it to read tiII I was older since it seemed there was a huge sociaI scene for older Christians and it wouId just happen as I age and then read the book. So I saved reading it tiII Iater then I decided to start reading short passages of it earlier than anticipated to see what aII the fuss was about and to my surprise nothing happened.

I naively thought if someone (mostIy me wasn't part of the reIigion so wasn't planning on trying to get others to read or convert) just read the BibIe they wouId just convert. AutomaticaIIy. Even though I knew the history behind how aIot of major reIigions spread. I knew in history it took effort to spread it through missionaries or crusades or peopIe knocking on people's doors day in and day out.

And I stiII beIieved this so now when I hadn't automatically converted after reading a lot about its history and a lot more passages I feeI as if there's something wrong with me. But there's nothing I just do my own things like have more connection to other things.

I technicaIIy did not even grow up Christian and stiII had these views. So I'm guessing that Christianity is a pretty entrenched to western cuIture so its anyone's guess reaIIy what these peopIe are thinking.

AIso I onIy did a reaIIy brief search on this but tarot cards in the Christian community I think some are split on whether to use them or not. If these tarot card readers are acting Iike its outright banned when there's probabIy some Christians stiII using it come across as kind of odd. Very 80s panic coded and that seems true for where peopIe are going cuIturaIIy.

 

[Morell]

There is occult aspect to this converting business as well. People are not without occult powers even as Christians. Those of them focused on saving other people, some way more than others, are building constructs and servitors, that then take form of Jesus or other faces of that religion and are sending them to convince people that Christianity is true.

So if you read bible with Christians who along that pray for your conversion or saving your soul, you can leave them with servitor attached who will be whispering in your mind... Then they might indeed observe that reading the Bible converts people.

 

[Wintruz]

Anybody here noticing a lot of tarot readers, witchy social media influencers, and others in this neck of the woods converting to religion? I know why it's happening, but it is still interesting to witness.

Did anyone with a functioning brain ever think that a "witchy social media influencer" was going to be the kind of person to undergo the painful, real life ordeals that give wisdom and insight? Did anyone actually think this was ever about anything but "vibes" and that the "vibe shift" would ever be anything but the same level of (un)consciousness with a Bible rather than a tarot deck?

I'm suddenly reminded of how, for centuries, belladonna and "flying ointment" acted as natural gatekeepers to witchcraft (and witchcraft was the least structured/gated magical tradition). When a person is willing to play Russian roulette with a deliriant to try to get to the Sabbath, they might have some initiatory potential; when they are so desperate to be seen that they embark on a TikTok career, when they cannot tell the difference between self-deluded LARPing and the real deal, they have none.

 

[sistersu]

I’m probably one of those people who tends to think badly of things from the start, but honestly, my first thought is that there may be more to some of these conversions than a genuine change of spiritual path.

Apart from the obvious financial benefit of being an influencer around a trending topic, I’ve noticed how the far right has managed to move through almost every possible niche — political opinions, music scenes, alternative lifestyles, spiritual paths, etc. Now some seem to be “recycling” themselves as Christians, which can be another way of influencing their followers while at the same time demonizing other spiritual practices.

Of course, I’m sure genuine conversions happen too. I just find the wider pattern worth paying attention to.