Spiritual Abuse Red-Flags
Spirit work is such a fulfilling practice. And yet, as rewarding as it is, it can also be incredibly harmful. We are used to seeing warning posts about entities that do jarringly obvious terrible things. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking this is the only sort of danger that might come from spirit work as a practice. However, emotional/ psychological abuse is also (unfortunately) common and can be deeply damaging.
This is a list of some red-flags to look out for when working with an entity.
1. They tell you power/ success can only be achieved through following them. They reject/ mock/ belittle all other spiritual paths and proclaim their way to be The One True Way.
2. They isolate you and block you from communicating with other entities and/ or people. They might say that “your path is a lonely one”. “You only need them.” “Your relationship must remain a secret.” “They are only doing it for your own good.”
3. They discourage you from looking after your mental health, physical health, emotional, and social well-being. They might say that “if you use medications your powers will wane.” Or that “having a social life will distract you from your spiritual path.”
4. They do things without your consent, over and over again, regardless of the impact it has on your health and emotional well-being. Discussions on boundaries are ignored.
5. They nurture feelings of codependency and paranoia. They will tell you “you only need them” while also belittling all outside sources. They might discourage critical thinking, safe discernment practices, and healthy interactions with other members of the spiritual community.
6. They get angry if you question them. They punish you for attempting to better understand yourself or your own spiritual practice.
7. They claim that your spirituality and intrinsic fulfillment both hinge on working with them.
8. They claim only they can give you what you truly want, or they offer things that sound “too good to be true”.
9. Interacting with them consistently makes you feel sick, tired, emotionally and physically drained, afraid, etc.
10. You notice yourself losing grip of your “real life” as they continue to push you to delve deeper into the occult.
11. They encourage unsafe spirit work practices
12. They want you to enter into a contract or to devote yourself without discussion. They also want you to do this very quickly.
13. They place unreasonable boundaries and expectations on your relationship.
14. They gaslight you and/ or do not hold their end of a bargain/ contract.
15. They threaten your safety and well-being or the safety and well-being of your loved ones.
To finish this post, I would like to remind everyone that spirituality should not make you feel broken and miserable. It might be challenging at times, yes, but if it does not bring you happiness and fulfilment at the end of the day, then please take some time to think about your own spirituality. Additionally, if you have been or are currently in a spiritual relationship that checks off many of these red flags…. it is not your fault.
Via ~ witch-of-color.tumblr.com