Exorcism

I am not going to tell you how to perform an exorcism, as there are so many ways and every exorcist has their own methods. It’s what’s right for the individual performing the ritual that matters.

It’s very important before you embark on an exorcism to ask yourself:

• Do you know what you’re doing
• Is it necessary to perform the exorcism in the first place!

There are some rules that are very necessary to follow. For example - if you are not an Ordained Priest you can't use phrases like "In the name of Jesus Christ  - leave this body!": that right was given to Jesus' disciples and His modern disciples are members of the priesthood. There is nothing wrong with taking a Bible with you, as long as you believe in God. If you don’t, it won't do you any good at all ... it might as well be a pack of tissues. Remember - it's your beliefs that will win the day, so you must have full confidence in your ability: falter and you won't only fail, but you are likely to put yourself in harm's way.

Most exorcisms are performed in houses, because there is some kind of poltergeist activity there. It's important to try and find out why this is happening and by whom (or what). Sometimes that information alone is all that needs to be done, especially when combined with a cleansing ritual. The power to 'create' a Poltergeist often comes from someone in the family; a teenager is often the unwilling power source. On rare occasions the individual will have to leave the property before the phenomena stop.

By going into a haunting with respect and a calm attitude you will have better results than if you go in shouting and losing your temper (as you sometimes see in the movies!).

If the entity is stubborn and won’t go, it’s often because you haven't managed to find the reason for it being there. It can work better in some circumstance to have a few like-minded people working together in harmony -  forming a circle and using their combined power.

The second most common reason for performing an exorcism is if someone is possessed, but this can have devastating effects if you get the diagnosis wrong. I would advise you to meet the ‘victim’ on a few occasions before you proceed with anything drastic; as first impressions are not always what they seem. I would like to tell you about someone I once met.

A few years ago, I got a call from a friend who had recently moved. She is a medium and tarot reader. She had a call from one of her customers who was having trouble with something in her house, something that was causing her to act in a way that was completely out of character. I gave the customer a call; she seemed to be in a bad state. I agreed to go over that evening.

When I got there, my first job was to check out the house. Apart from an energy going from the right corner of her lounge and then up into her bedroom, there was nothing untoward going on. The customer told me that she was sitting in a development circle and asked if she could have picked up something nasty from there. When she told me the name of the medium running the circle, I was sure that it was most unlikely for her to have got a 'nasty'  ... as the medium was well respected and experienced.

The customer told me that she had been hearing a voice telling her to do things and that same voice was constantly laughing at her. I asked if she had been to visit the doctor, she replied "no" and said there was nothing wrong with her apart from the entity inside. She wanted me to perform a exorcism on her right there and then. I declined, and told her it was not what she needed.

Her two sons walked in at that moment, and asked me to talk to them outside. The older son asked me what I thought about the lady and I told him she needed help urgently, but not the kind I could give her. I told him that she needed psychiatric help. 

The upshot of this case is that the lady was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. After a few weeks of psychiatric help,  she was released and is now living a normal life ...  albeit on medication. Had I performed an exorcism, I’m certain I would have not made things any better, and I'm also aware that an exorcism could have had disastrous circumstances in her case.

How can you tell if someone is possessed? Their character will change over a period of time. They will stop looking after themselves; stop going out; and often start drinking heavily. They tend to look pasty in colour; often walk with rounded shoulders; start talking to themselves and answering themselves back. In some cases you can notice that their eyes are darker then normal. They are also prone to a lot of swearing and cursing, and losing their temper at the slightest thing.

A psychiatrist might say these are the symptoms of someone with a mental illness. Quite so. Don’t be too quick in performing an exorcism, take time to investigate with an open mind first.

If whatever you are dealing with you believe to be demonic, you should leave it to the Church ... after all it’s their field. Recently though,  the modern church seems to be distancing itself from demons and things that go bump in the night, whilst trying to bring themselves into the 21st century.

I don’t know why! After all, where there’s good there’s evil, and without the ‘devil’ (or whatever you wish to call it) or the human desire for some ‘higher power’ to turn to, there wouldn’t be any need for the church.

If you have any comments you want to make about this subject or any other - please drop me an email.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

John