by Sunny Kirsten
In January 1987, mod.psi — a moderated Usenet newsgroup devoted to psychic and paranormal discussion — carried a remarkable post by a practitioner who signed only as "Sunny." The post responds to an argument that academic parapsychology and witchcraft are fundamentally different: one a science, the other merely a belief system. Sunny's rebuttal refuses that framing entirely, and instead builds a careful theological argument for why science, parapsychology, and witchcraft are all belief systems — and why the spiritual nature of occult phenomena means science is structurally incapable of studying them. The post offers a clear window into early internet Pagan theology, years before alt.pagan had taken shape.
Sunny Kirsten posted from [email protected] — The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (The WELL) in Sausalito, California, one of the earliest online communities. The voice is theological rather than polemical: direct, systematic, grounded in practice.
It is not at all clear to me that academic parapsychology has very much
to do with psychic phenomena (psi). It is not at all clear to me that
those who practice witchcraft do NOT engage in psychic phenomena. It is
not at all clear to me that witchcraft is ESSENTIALLY a belief system.
So, let me begin:
Witchcraft is both a belief system (as is ANY religion) and an occult
art. Both aspects of this are spiritual.
Science is a belief system (as is ANY religion). The scientific
approach to the study of paranormal, occult, metaphysical, psychic,
psi, extrasensory perception, or parapsychology is doomed to failure.
Why? Because the religion of science is an atheistic religion, and
these phenomena are spiritual.
OK... how to untangle this mess?
First is the issue of belief in the existence of GOD.
Witchcraft = Yes
Occult = Yes
Science = No
Second is the issue of spirit (human spirit) independent of the
existence of "GOD"
Witchcraft = Yes
Occult = Yes
Science = No
Third is the issue of whether actions of the spirit (prayer,
invocation, etc) can affect the physical world our bodies live in
Witchcraft = Yes
Occult = Yes
Science = No
Fourth is the issue of whether these actions should/may invoke spirits
other than one's own personal human spirit either into one's own
personal body, or into the immediate vicinity, or to assist in
performing some occult operation
Witchcraft = Yes
Occult = No
Science = No way, Jose.
The only thing Science has in common with most Occult phenomena, is a
lack of invocation of spirits. NOTE, I have NOT claimed that the
practice of Witchcraft must NECESSARILY involve the invocation of
spirits other than those human spirits present in the bodies of those
practicing it, nor have I made any claims as to what other spirits
might/should/would/could (not) be so invoked. Let it suffice to say
that many witchcraft rituals do involve the invocation of at least the
4 elements (fire, earth, air, water), the 4 directions (N,E,S,W), and
THE GODDESS, (which other religions call GOD).
But then, any good bible thumping Christian preacher will also be sure
to invoke not only Satan, but Hell, Brimstone, and the element Fire.
WHILE a witch circle has protected itself from outside intrusion
(usually by witch burning Christians) by the invocation of the Guardians
of the directions and elements, they may then get down to the business
at hand: prayer to the God(dess) of their hearts, as is common in any
religion, and occult activities. There is no difference between prayer
and occult operation, save whether you ask "God" to act as an
intermediary. That is, you may pray to God to do something FOR you, or
you may pray that something happen based on your own power. Since we
were all created in His/Her divine image, we are all divine ourselves,
and we all have the power to accomplish things directly ourselves.
Witchcraft and Occult arts share this in common: the belief that you
don't need God as a go-fer. Christian religions on the other hand,
insist that you need to go through either God or the Church to get what
you want, and even then you'll get it only if the collection plate is
full.
So, what are psychic phenomena? They are those spiritual operations
which allow you to exercise YOUR own divine powers. They don't require
the assistance of other humans or of other spirits (as MAY be done in
witchcraft), nor do they require the assistance of some special human
(rabbi, priest, father, etc), nor do they necessarily involve GOD
itself. Therefore, we may observe that MOST religions, including
witchcraft, tend to be based on the concept that you can't do it
alone. You can. However, it should also be noted that anything done
in a group, and the larger the group, is many more times powerful than
the factor of how many people there are. Thus the World Planetary
Healing Hour held at the end of the calendar year, involving the
simultaneous prayers of some 50 million people, of all different races,
religions, cultures, etc, was a MASSIVE occult operation, simply
because so many people focused at the same time on altering the world
in the same way.
PSI is not scientific (it must admit of spiritual involvement).
PSI is not witchcraft, though witchcraft may include psychic phenomena.
NOW... what underlies the question, is PSI = WitchCraft?
FEAR!
False Evidence Appearing Real
The fact is that what you think and what you believe and what you fear
ALL create the reality you live in. And if we all believe the same
thing, we collectively create that as OUR reality. So, do you believe
that the world will be blown up in nuclear holocaust? Please don't!
Instead, have faith in the positive. There is nothing more powerful
than a positive affirmation.
Colophon
Posted by Sunny Kirsten ([email protected]) to mod.psi on 5 January 1987. mod.psi was a moderated Usenet newsgroup for discussion of psychic and paranormal phenomena, hosted at the University of Lowell, Massachusetts, and moderated by Erich Rickheit. Sunny Kirsten posted from hoptoad.UUCP, the address associated with The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (The WELL), Sausalito, California. The post is a response to an argument that parapsychology and witchcraft occupy fundamentally different epistemic categories; Sunny's reply refuses that framing and instead positions witchcraft as a coherent theology of divine immanence, distinguishing it from both scientific parapsychology and the occult arts.
Preserved from the UTZOO Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Original Message-ID: [email protected].
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