It’s October, which means everyone and their mom is currently shifting into spook-mode. Halloween, especially in America, isn’t just a single night—it’s a month-long celebration of all things creepy, kooky, mysterious, and ooky. And while the aphorism of the veil being thin is overplayed to the point of meaninglessness, it is true that many more people than usual will be open to (if not actively seeking out) spirits in the coming weeks.
People who have been walking a spiritual path for a while know that spirits truly are everywhere. What that means for you will differ depending on your tradition, your cosmology, and your lens—but just about everyone who is open and perceptive can attest to the reality of incorporeal energies. Call them ghosts, call them entities, call them weird vibes - the terminology isn’t really important. What is important is that the more we engage, the more whatever they are engages back.
Something I tell my clients and mentees is that once you start opening up spiritually, you become a little lantern shining in the darkness. That lantern, like a porch light in the depths of the woods, is going to attract all sorts of different creepy crawlies. Just like insects around a light source, the things your light attracts aren’t necessarily evil or bad. They’re just part of the spiritual ecosystem. But, just like bugs, some are beneficial and some not so much. Some might sting or bite. Some might appear to be one thing, but turn out to be something a little more dangerous. And whatever they are, maybe you don’t want to wake up with one on the pillow beside you in the middle of the night.
Spiritual discernment is the practice of figuring out what the fuck you’re dealing with, a compass and a road map to help steer you away from the not so great stuff and toward a benevolent and helpful spiritual ecology. In Christian circles, the term is used to describe a decisive binary between good and evil. That’s not how we’re using it here. There is a ton of nuance in the world of spirits, magic, and the occult, and I don’t find the good/evil dichotomy particularly useful. Nevertheless, a sense of discernment is absolutely necessary if you’re going to engage with witchcraft, magic, or occult practices. Without checks and balances, common sense, and practices in place to discern what you’re dealing with, the consequences can be dire.
Is this kind of a bummer essay for Halloween season? Yes, probably. But just recently the question of discernment has come up a lot in my sessions with clients, in conversations with friends, and in meetings with colleagues. Now more than ever, it’s essential for us to develop and utilize these skills. The rise of “ChatGPT psychosis,” where AI-meets-magical-thinking in the worst ways possible, is creating (or accelerating) spiritual delusions that have and will continue to cause serious harm. Even without AI involvement, it is very very easy for folks to get lost in the sauce. And when ‘the sauce’ is demons, spirit guides, curses, or psychic predictions, the results can be devastating.