When a person chooses to leave the occult behind and follow Christ, often they are plagued by confusion about their past and still have many distorted ways of thinking fueled by occult worldviews. When they start to go through the process I created to reform occult ideation, it often pisses off any demons attached to the person, and might cause a demonic manifestation. Here's why.
Leaving the Occult Requires an Entire Worldview Shift.
When a person leaves the occult to follow Christ, the first thing they will usually do is stop performing witchcraft and occult practices. They might even throw away their occult tools. They might stop habitually engaging in occult rituals. They might cut off and halt occult addictions.
But this does not mean that they've changed their worldview. Worldview goes deep. Worldview is the lens through which a person perceives reality.
This lens is built off the things you place on the throne of your heart. When you first put Jesus on the throne and remove the occult, you have to get rid of a long list of false beliefs. Those beliefs went deep enough to draw you into occult practices. So as you bring Jesus into your heart and that healing begins, with time and dedication, the change goes deeper and is integrated more fully. Now you aren't just cutting off a practice, you have the thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, and values that actually match the action of cutting off the practice.
I created a process that takes an ex-occultist step by step through leading their occult worldview to Christ. I've seen people use this process to reform their occult beliefs and values and lead them captive to Jesus. It's incredible to watch the transformation that occurs. After leaving the occult, I went through a difficult and intense process of breaking down the lies of the enemy until I had completely reformed my occult worldview and formed a Christian worldview. Then I standardized this process and put it into an easy-to-follow methodology that I now teach to others. It took me 3 years of rolling around in the chaos alone without a guide, to now people are going through this system in a year and are getting completely free of the demonic and exhibiting a fully formed Christian worldview.
What is Occult Dismantling?
This process I created is called "dismantling occult anchors" or "occult dismantling." Students in my academy know this process well and have used this extensively, in conjunction with exercises to lead thoughts and purposes captive to Christ, to walk out of the darkness and fully into the light of Christ. It's the bread and butter of the worldview rehab program I offer to spiritually afflicted persons.
The process involves an in-depth look at a particular lie of the enemy, one that (in part) locked a person into occult bondage. When a person draws into a lie of the enemy and then engages in an occult sin, they've opened a doorway to the demonic and made a pact or agreement with the enemy. These pacts give a license to Satan to oppress a person. Seeking after and often receiving satanic signs and wonders snaps a person into drawing even further into the occult. This is because there is now a belief attached to the lie. These lies can be extremely hard to dismantle because of the reinforcement of signs of the demonic.
The dismantling process takes a person into the lie and methodically has them tackle it, step by step, and apply Holy Scripture and theological truth to each aspect. I see people reform their worldview and have so many epiphanies as they are leading these lies to the foot of the Cross, to be pulverized by Jesus Christ.
But I will tell you right now. This process is not a cakewalk. In fact, it is HARD. And for those who hold occult worldviews and are filled with pride and idolatry, it makes them unable to actually approach the exercise itself. More times than I would like to admit, I have watched people's demons prevent them from even going through it.
Reasons That A Demonic Manifestation Might Happen
You might be asking yourself at this point, why would demons want to prevent a person from doing an exercise to reform an occult worldview?
Well, in short, it is because this is direct spiritual warfare. But let's get specific. I am here to give you five reasons a person might be experiencing a demonic manifestation as they prepare to go into the process of occult dismantling.
1 - Unrenounced demonic pacts and existing occult ideation make it difficult to see reality.
I've had students go through the process and have trouble gaining clarity because they have existing occult worldviews, active occult ideation, and things that they've done in the occult that they haven't repented for. They might not even see these sins as bad, and so they haven't offered them to Jesus, and asked for forgiveness, because they haven't actually arrived at an awareness of sin. This can make it really hard for a person to dismantle a particular lie. It's because they don't actually have the proper motivation to do it.
Let me just get real for a second. I want to talk about deliverance ministry for a second. Oftentimes, a person can seek freedom from the occult because of the negative consequences of the demonic pacts in their lives. They might have become possessed. They might be plagued by evil in their lives. And they simply just want relief. Simply wanting relief from pain doesn't mean that a person has what-so-ever made the connection that it's because of their own sin that they ended up where they are. These types of people seem to blame God for their spiritual affliction, acting as victims, instead of seeing clearly that their love for the occult and belief in it has opened them up to relationships with demons.
A person who is unrepentant of occult sin... means those pacts and agreements they made with the demonic are still in place. It means that they haven't actually turned away from those sins. So that person is not really looking to Jesus for freedom. They might at this point even just be looking to the next thing on the list of things that might work to help them get what they want. This modus operandi is often what lands a person in occult bondage in the first place. They want some kind of power in their life, so they turn to Satan to get it. Turning, then, to God to give them the power they want is hardly repentance. God is not a vending machine. And seeking a handout is not worship. Nor is it faith.
If a person has existing pacts preventing them from approaching the dismantling process, I often try to start from the basics. Start small with some basic lie that they do know is a lie, and try to open up the truth from there. Get them focused on theological grounding and spending time in the Word so that the Lord can grow in their heart and start to show them the way. By taking baby steps, hopefully, the person can tackle something easy, and then over time open up to deeper understanding as they go.
2 - Pride blinds a person spiritually to be able to approach the exercise.
Sometimes a person is completely booted out of the path by their demons fueling the strongest hook of them all, pride. I've had a situation where a person came to me in bondage, plagued by the demonic, going in and out of active states of demonic manifestation, lamenting that they kept falling back into occult practices and they didn't know why they couldn't get free. These beliefs were also clearly spilling out into all other aspects of their life. It was clear that just cutting off a practice wasn't enough to keep them out of the occult. Really, a shoo-in for the program, as this could be the actual antidote to help them dig deeper to understand the nature of why they were doing the practices in the first place. To find the very core of why would help them untangle the lie so they could finally release it to Jesus once and for all.
It became clear through their lexicon that the person still held occult beliefs. They had asserted that they had come to Christ and that they wanted help to get free of what was plaguing them. During the first two weeks of the intensive course that I offer, I focus solely on theological grounding and spiritual fortification. I explain that preparing to enter the occult dismantling process is much like preparing to enter a warzone and be ready for attacks. I explain that the process helps a person break down occult beliefs in a way that helps them let these beliefs go. I encourage each person to get grounded in a local church community, to lean into the sacraments and spiritual formation.
This person was already exhibiting spiritual blindness due to pride, but I held on prayerfully because I cared about their deliverance, and I wanted to offer a chance for things to work themselves out.
The very first day we entered into the occult dismantling process, this person began to assert that the process was obsessive over the occult. Then they started to call me an occultist obsessed with the occult. That the program was brainwashing, and they didn't need it, that it wouldn't help them get free of the occult. That everyone doing the exercise was being held into occult bondage by doing it. That I was obsessed with myself and making money off my program (they didn't know that I had let everyone into that intensive for free, and was paying for all associated costs out of pocket). The accusations went on.
It was really a tragedy this person allowed their demons to play them like a fiddle. They could not see the forest for the trees, and their demons were fueling their pride like a fire, pouring arrogance into their view of the circumstance, to attempt to prevent them from doing the work that would help free them. I was devastated.
They were right on the verge of finally entering into a process that, if taken seriously and prayerfully, would have helped them gain clarity. And maybe even helped them to realize the strongholds of false beliefs they still had. This person asserted they should just believe the Bible says no to the occult and move on. That they shouldn't have to understand any more than that. While I can appreciate the sentiment, the reality of their situation is they still had active occult beliefs and active idolization of occult systems that were continually drawing them back into the practices it appeared they could not - in their own power - stop doing.
But it's the power of God working in us that empowers us to do the right thing. It's this process of occult dismantling that helps a new Christian with occult worldviews FIND the cross, and help them lead those lies to the cross, so they can actually destroy these strongholds of the mind.
I am not in any way saying everyone needs this specific system to be free of the occult. But they do need something more than saying a few words and ignoring the past.
I am not in any way saying everyone needs this specific system to be free of the occult. But they do need something more than saying a few words and ignoring the past.
Occult dismantling is A WAY that helps to gain that clarity and show the path for people already having trouble seeing clearly. It is a system that works. Why? Because it points to Jesus. In a practical way that leads a person through taking a lie and learning how to think theologically.
DISCLAIMER: I also explain that the dismantling process is nothing without the Holy Spirit, and then also offer a litany of other tools and rule of life pieces to anchor a person to Christ as they are dismantling- it's not just the dismantling alone that helps. It's a system of things.
You see, the core of the issue is this. When a person leaves the occult and turns to Christ, some Christian denominations would tell them it's a one-and-done, you're saved, so put all that behind you. But this case was a case-in-point that wasn't enough. They still believed in the occult. They had simply just cut off the practice and asserted it was listed in the Christian rule book not to do the practice, so following the rule was good enough for them. They declared they said the believer's prayer, and that was enough. They were saved and they could continue to do whatever else they wanted after that. There was nothing else required of them after that, as long as they followed the rules (legalism).
But here's the problem with that. Christianity is not a list of rules and practices. Christianity is a person: Jesus Christ. Without surrendering in faith to Him, there is no health in us. Simply following the rules doesn't place the Spirit of God in us. And in this case, it's clear that they were fighting in their own power to try to cut off practice, and were being drawn back into it, stating they couldn't help themselves. While in the same breath declaring they were saved and that was all they needed to do to get free: say words. But sanctification does not come before salvation. Purification does not come before or without faith in Christ.
This is the attempt to put the cart before the horse. In this particular case, this logic was actually yet another indicator of an occult worldview. Witchcraft. The attempt to evoke something through words. Instead of surrendering to authority and doing the work that Jesus requires when we are called to follow him. We are called to give everything we have up to follow Him. To live our lives for him.
Occultists tend to treat Christianity as another form of witchcraft. The difference between this approach and a person actively trying to get FREE of occult worldviews comes down to two practical choices:
the dropping of pride, that is to say, HUMBLING ONESELF.
And the dropping of idolatry, that is to say: SURRENDERING to the truth of Christ.
Trying to steal salvation from God through saying a few words and believing you are once saved always saved and never actually doing any work to let go of the occult beliefs you have, it's not enough. In this case, you can see it wasn't. They kept falling back into bondage. They weren't able to get free. Sanctification is a process. And choosing Christ is done over and over. And the one who endures to the end is saved.
So many Christian denominations now are so eager to offer butterflies and rainbows to the masses that they fail and are tone-deaf to the pain-laden experience of coming out of the occult. It took me three painstaking years of intense clinging to God, being in the Word every single day for hours upon hours, searching out the truth in the heart of God, sacramental worship, perseverance, and really finding the core of the occult lie that trapped me in bondage. Jesus Christ's blood broke the chains and the truth of my salvation poured out in song, and the occult bondage lifted. I give my life to help others in the same situation to be able to get freed of these chains.
We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. For people coming out of the occult, and I've worked with many of them worldwide, I cannot describe just how imperative it is to actually take the time and effort to dismantle the worldview systems that held them in bondage. The pride and idolatry of the occult bleed into every aspect of the person's life. And refusing to look at those occult beliefs and truly let them go, a person is neglecting to lead all thoughts and purposes captive to the obedience of Christ.
LESSON: I learned a hard lesson. If you remember number one in this article, I outright stated "unrenounced demonic pacts and existing occult ideation make it difficult to see reality." I realized at week two of the second 8-week intensive that I had let someone into my academy when they weren't actually ready because of their pride. I know that in general, it takes time to discover who people truly are and where their heart is, so I couldn't have guessed how it was going to play out. This person could have proven to be okay and been able to actually approach the exercise, but that clearly did not turn out to be the case. I realized eventually that it was actually the strict vetting process that I instituted with the first round of students that led to the creation of such a healthy and successful environment. A core of the vetting process was learning where people were at in their ability to humble themselves and let go of pride. I have made changes now to try to prevent this situation from happening again.
3 - A person is targeting a core stronghold of belief and the demons don't want to lose the right to torment them.
I have a student right now on the precipice of getting freed. She has worked painstakingly for over a year to get freed of the demonic, and she's doing beyond amazing.
She is approaching a critical time in her journey, as she is preparing to meet with an exorcist and go through an official renunciation and other prayers.
As she prepared to zero in on this particular lie she wants to dismantle, the demons started in on their distraction tactics. She started to get confused, and her research points started to fracture. She started to go down avenues of other thought. She thought maybe she should work on something different. She started to have intrusive thoughts attacking her mental capacity to do the work. They were telling her, "You will never understand this!"
As this was going on, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a demonic presence. I started rebuking it. There were sounds in my house and knocking all over the walls. After rebuking and praying, I picked up my phone to see what time it was. I had received messages from the student, telling me about the dismantling she was doing.
I started to go through the assignment and catch my bearings on what she was working on. I started to focus her on the core of the issue and direct her toward the best path to take her dismantling down. As soon as I gave her this directive, a demonic presence came into my room. It was so angry that it was throwing hatred at me. It began to grip my stomach and put nausea on me. I rolled over on my side in excruciating pain and started to rebuke it.
After a few minutes, I texted the student to let her know I was coming under attack and to remind her of the binding prayer, and she confirmed she had come under attack too at the same moment.
The rest of the night, I prayed while she dismantled.
Now here's the cool part of the story. A day later, all the students were praying for her dismantling and there was an enormous BREAKTHROUGH. God is faithful! The Holy Spirit came through with the assist. We realized that we are over the target because the student was able to break into the core stronghold of her occult experience. It was at the very center of her occult beliefs! The core lie from which all others stemmed. This was truly a "Eureka!" moment!!! Thank you, Jesus. She is working through dismantling that now.
This is a testament to how the enemy works. The student was diving deeply into her experience to break apart the strongholds of the demonics that are still plaguing her.
This woman is a STRONG Christian. A woman of God who has more faith in her than most people I know. She still has occult ideation due to residual beliefs that she didn't fully understand where they were in her mind. Through the process, she was able to pinpoint the core lie that the demons were using periodically to distract her from the truth, and draw her into despair. She is on her way to reforming that occult belief and leading it to Christ!! (And stay tuned, because I am sure she will likely write an article sharing the nuggets of wisdom she is currently having about it.)
Here's my point. Because she still has a core belief that is an occult lie, the demons are able to use that belief to torment her. Once she prepared to target and dismantle that belief, that gives the demons an EVICTON NOTICE! They know that once that belief goes POOF into the air, they can no longer use it to torment her. The belief is the hook, and the demons will no longer have that to tether themselves to.
4 - Lack of spiritual fortification and open doors can create chaos and obstructions.
Sometimes a person just simply has way too much going on in their lives to slow down and do this work. It requires an intense level of dedication and regular spiritual fortification to be able to effectively approach. Even Christians who are not active occultists can have issues approaching the dismantling exercise caused by open doors in their lives. Satan knows that this work is in the field of getting souls freed from bondage, so whatever he can do to derail this mission or throw the train off the tracks, he's going to try it.
There is a whole foundational unit in the program about closing doors. For ex-occultists, this usually means cutting out people from the past and also getting rid of occult items. A lot of times, people leaving the occult have to be extremely vigilant and cut out more than less to give them the space they need to reform their occult worldview and create a Christian worldview. The occult is so normalized in our society that this can be really annoying. They will usually choose to go ahead and cut out social media, and even many stores and websites. The more closed doors the better.
The next layer is that it's really important to be vigilant in prayer and spiritual formation. Being aware that the enemy is going to try to thwart this work so as not to be enticed to sin. I've seen so much chaos around this ministry since it launched that I am never surprised when things blow up anymore. It's sort of par for the course at this point.
Ex-occultist or not, we are humans and so we are sinners. The core enticement of Satan is the sin of pride. Pride is one of the main ways that chaos is unlocked in our lives. When we are prideful, it's about us and what we can do to control things. We want to put ourselves first and not yield to what God has for us. We are impatient and jealous and covetous. Instead of slowing down and seeing the process. Appreciating it. Leaning into the transformation and sanctification. And that's what the dismantling is about. Slowing down and intentionally listening to the Lord, and yielding to what He is doing.
If a person has too many doors open and isn't equipping the full armor of God, they become an easy target to boot out of this ministry, whether a minister or a spiritually afflicted person.
5 - The person has a call to help other Christians get free so the demons want to interfere with God's plan.
I've seen this. And then I am usually the voice coming in to yell, "YOU GOT THIS! You've got a call on your life!"
It's fascinating to see how the enemy tries to steal people's inheritance and call by drawing them into the occult. As a person comes out of occult bondage and lands on my doorstep, the hard work begins.
I have seen people come from the pit into delighting in the Lord. One of the most inspiring cases I've ever seen is a woman who was fully possessed. She came from a traumatic background and had an occultist father. She came into the program barely even able to write a few words together because the demons were so loud in her head.
After a year of intense working with her through the dismantling process, she is able to write entire thesis papers. She is BURSTING with love for the Lord. She clearly has a gift for exhortation and draws insightful conclusions from Holy Scripture. She brings the light of Christ into so many situations.
I am blessed to know her. And she still continues to battle. She inspires me every day, just as all these students do.
Closing Thoughts
My closing thoughts are this. I am blessed to have this ministry where I can be a helper to those coming out of occult bondage. To pick them up off the ground and point them at Jesus Christ, the Healer. The Great Physician. It is Jesus who delivers. I am honored to give my life to him, as he rescued me out of the pit of my own darkness.
God is so faithful. The enemy has an eviction notice. We live in a grace period right now where are called to continue to choose Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter where you are or what you are going through, there is an avenue to safety. And it's through the Blood of Jesus. It is finished. Regardless of the fear or confusion or any other attacks that the enemy tries to place on you, lean on Jesus. The details will get worked out as you lean into Him.
Know that he is the Great Reconciler. It is through his blood alone that we are reconciled and conformed back to God, that we may be able to enter into his eternal Kingdom. Hallelujah!
If you are in spiritual bondage, you are not alone. Do not isolate. Email Teresa Yanaros at contact@spiritsanctified.com
About The Author
Teresa Yanaros, a degreed journalist with a passion for Jesus, has dedicated her life to investigating media, exposing occult lies, and driving home the truth of Christ. Earlier in her career, Teresa was a successful author who gave speeches and practical workshops across America, after publishing a book that investigated the phenomenon of modern American online spiritualism and attempted to reconcile her Roman Catholic roots with new-age practices. She then had a radical deliverance experience from the occult and now coaches Christians who left the new age to follow Jesus. With over 1M views on her YouTube channel, Teresa has impacted viewers across the world who seek to look deeper at spiritual warfare and how Satan deceives through occult traps in media. After going #newagetoJesus she attended seminary classes and continues to research, investigate, and share information about the new age deception, occult deliverance, spiritual warfare, and Christian theology.
She is at the helm of a Christian blog, Spirit Sanctified, which combats occult infiltration in society by illuminating the issue, advocating for the afflicted, and instigating change. She runs an academy to help people leaving the occult reform an occult worldview and build a Christian worldview, as they are going through their deliverance process. Teresa is the Director of Education for the Society of St Michael, a non-profit that advances the deliverance ministry through cultivating informed leadership, building effective teams, and providing spiritual intervention.
INTERESTED IN THE ACADEMY? If you are a Christian who left the new age, apply to join the CLARITY ACCELERATOR ACADEMY. The Academy takes the entire process from start to finish of getting oriented after leaving the new age, grounding into theology and spiritual warfare, deprogramming new age lies, renouncing Satan's influence, remaining delivered, and establishing a firm context for Christian living and spiritual formation, bible study, how to pray, how to share the gospel, how to build your testimony, how to share your testimony, and put it ALL into this academy. IT WORKS. People's lives are being transformed by this framework, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus, for deliverance!
Teresa is the founder of Spirit Sanctified.
The above article may contain affiliate links. You are not required to use these links, but if you use any of them to make a purchase, Spirit Sanctified makes a small monetary return at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
This article appeared first on Spirit Sanctified. This article (5 Reasons Why Occult Dismantling Can Cause a Demonic Manifestation) on Spirit Sanctified and is free and open source. You have permission to share or republish this article in full so long as attribution to the author and Spirit Sanctified are provided.