Angel numbers - 111, 444. Manifestation. The law of attraction. Crystals. Tarot cards. Zodiac signs. Spiritual guides.
These ideas have become so commonplace. Perhaps they have appeared on your “For You” page on social media. Maybe you have heard a celebrity casually talking about manifesting their dream career or following their star sign. Perhaps a colleague has mentioned crystals, tarot readings or angel numbers. Maybe you yourself have experimented with some of these things without thinking very deeply about them.
After all, what is the harm, you might think? It can seem like nothing more than a bit of fun - an aesthetic, a hobby, a wellness practice or something mildly superstitious that nobody really takes seriously.
Many of these things can be categorised under the “New Age” spirituality, although many people wouldn’t associate them with that. These things really are spiritual and for Christians, the spiritual world is not something we can treat casually, because the spiritual realm is not neutral.
The Evangelical Alliance’s recent ‘Spiritual Curiosity’ resource makes an important observation about the moment we are living in. After years in which Western culture has often been described as becoming increasingly secular, many people are once again openly interested in spiritual things.
That spiritual curiosity tells us something important: human beings are searching for meaning, hope, guidance and something beyond the purely material world. The problem is not the recognition that there is more to life than what we can see; Christianity agrees that there is. The question is where we go looking for answers.
Not everything spiritual comes from God
The Bible presents a world that is unmistakably spiritual. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God created everything, visible and invisible, and His creation was good (Genesis 1:31; Colossians 1:16; John 1:3).
But Scripture also tells us of rebellion against God. Satan is not an equal opposite to God, nor is he another god competing with Him (Isaiah 46:9; Job 1:6). He is a created spiritual being who rebelled against his Creator (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Jude 1:6).
From Genesis onwards, the Bible shows the consequences of humanity listening to voices other than God. The serpent’s first strategy was deception: “Did God really say...?” (Genesis 3:1). Jesus later described the devil as “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44), while John 10:10 contrasts the thief who comes “only to steal and kill and destroy” with Christ, who came so that people “may have life, and have it to the full.”
That is why Christians cannot simply ask whether something feels peaceful, helpful, empowering or spiritual. We have to ask where it is leading us and what authority lies behind it. Something can appear beautiful, therapeutic or harmless while still turning our attention away from God.
This is not actually new
Despite the name, much of what falls under “New Age” spirituality is not particularly new. Throughout Scripture, people seek supernatural knowledge, protection or power apart from God.
The Old Testament repeatedly warns Israel against divination, sorcery, mediums and attempts to communicate with the dead (Leviticus 19:31; Isaiah 8:19-20; 1 Samuel 28:7-19). Deuteronomy 18:10-12 warns against practices including divination, interpreting omens, sorcery and consulting mediums.
We see similar practices in the New Testament. In Acts 8, Simon had practised sorcery in Samaria. In Acts 16, Paul encounters a slave girl with a spirit of divination. In Acts 19, people who had come to faith in Christ publicly abandoned their former magical practices.
The terminology and packaging may have changed, but the underlying temptation is remarkably familiar: seeking spiritual knowledge, control, guidance or power somewhere other than God.
Tarot cards are now sold alongside candles and skincare products. Astrology may arrive through an app notification. Manifestation can be packaged as motivational self-development. But making something culturally fashionable does not render it spiritually harmless.
The desire for control
There is another reason Christians should think carefully about practices such as manifestation and the law of attraction. They can appeal to one of our deepest human desires: control. If I think positively enough, say the correct words, align my energy correctly or visualise something intensely enough, perhaps the universe will give me what I want.
But Christianity teaches us something radically different. We are not the masters of the universe, God is (Psalm 24:1; Isaiah 46:9-10; Daniel 4:35). Christian prayer is therefore very different from manifestation. Prayer is not attempting to bend spiritual reality to our will. It is coming before a loving Father, presenting our desires honestly and ultimately saying, as Jesus did: “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
There is nothing wrong with setting goals, working hard, thinking optimistically or bringing our desires before God. There is also a distinctly Christian form of meditation: Scripture itself encourages us to meditate on God’s Word (Psalm 1:2; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:15). The issue is what - or whom - we are trusting.
When we begin looking to the universe, crystals, stars, numbers, spiritual energies or unseen guides for direction, provision, identity or protection, something that belongs to God is being given elsewhere. And that is why the issue ultimately becomes one of worship.
Where does Christ fit?
Perhaps this is the most important question Christians should ask when encountering alternative spirituality: Where does Jesus fit into this?
If I need the stars to tell me who I am, what does that say about the identity Christ gives me? If I depend on angel numbers to guide my decisions, what does that say about trusting God? If I believe the universe will provide what I manifest, who has become my provider? If I look to crystals or spiritual energies for protection, where have I placed my security?
We may not consciously think ‘I am rejecting Jesus’, but idolatry does not always begin with an explicit rejection of God. Sometimes it begins simply by giving something else the trust, dependence or spiritual authority that belongs to Him (Exodus 20:3-5; Ezekiel 14:3-4).
Jesus leaves little room for the idea that all spiritual roads are equally safe. “I am the way and the truth and the life,” He says in John 14:6. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” For Christians, Jesus is not one spiritual guide among many; He is Lord (Acts 4:12; Colossians 1:18; Philippians 2:9-11).
Christ has already won
None of this should make Christians frightened of the spiritual realm. We should take it seriously, but we should not live in fear of it (2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:4). The forces of darkness are not locked in an equal contest with God (Job 1:12; Isaiah 46:9-10).
Scripture tells us that Christ has already triumphed. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus defeated sin and death (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14-15). Colossians 2:15 says that He “disarmed the powers and authorities” and “made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross”.
The Christian response to spiritual darkness, therefore, is not fascination with it, obsession with it or fear of it. It is submission to Christ (James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10-11). James 4:7 puts the order beautifully: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Our safety is not found in knowing enough about darkness, it is found in belonging to Jesus (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:38-39). And that is also why someone who has experimented with tarot, astrology, manifestation or other spiritual practices should not believe that they are somehow beyond God’s reach. The Gospel is a message of freedom. Christ calls people out of darkness and into His light (1 Peter 2:9; Colossians 1:13-14; John 8:12).
The answer is not shame. The answer is repentance, faith and a wholehearted turning towards Jesus (Acts 3:19; Mark 1:15; 1 John 1:9).
Final thoughts: spiritual curiosity can point us somewhere better
As the Evangelical Alliance pointed out, there is also an opportunity here for Christians. When someone tells us that they read tarot cards, believe in manifestation or look for signs from the universe, our first response does not necessarily need to be contempt, ridicule or panic.
Perhaps we can become curious about the deeper question underneath it. What are they searching for? Guidance? Meaning? Identity? Control? Healing? Hope? Reassurance that there is something beyond the material world? Those are deeply human longings.
And Christianity has something far greater to offer than an impersonal universe. It offers a God who knows us (Psalm 139:1-4; John 10:14). A Father who hears us (Matthew 6:8; 1 John 5:14). A Saviour who died for us (Romans 5:8; 1 Peter 3:18). And the Holy Spirit who dwells within those who belong to Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9-11).
Dear reader, we do not need signs from the stars to know whether we are seen (Isaiah 47:13-14; Deuteronomy 18:10-12). We do not need to manifest our future to know that our lives are held by God (Jeremiah 29:11; Proverbs 19:21). We do not need spiritual intermediaries to reach Him (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:16). Christ Himself has opened the way (Hebrews 10:19-20).
So yes, Christians should take New Age spirituality seriously. Not because we need to become preoccupied with darkness, but because we know the reality and sufficiency of the true light, Jesus Christ - and have a responsibility to share that with others. We have already been offered something infinitely better. Why settle for anything less than Jesus?
