Flowers of the Fall

The ancient practice of conjuring the spirits and even the departed started its revival in the middle of the nineteenth century as spiritualism. It spread its toxic bloom across Europe and the America. Relatives were promised that they can converse again with their dead loved ones and the daring rogues were promised new friends for the risen spirits.

Perhaps even the Fox sisters or Madam Blavatsky were themselves really duped by the spirits. But they were effective sowers for the seduction into this chilling addiction and the séances they formed were indeed but substrata for the flowers of the fall.

Created mortal, mankind’s natural consequence is death. But having had the chance to enjoy life, he naturally yearns for an extension of something he has enjoyed and so do the relatives, friends and family members who enjoyed life with him. There is, of course, a natural yearning for them to continue communicating with one another. May be just to give a word of comfort or two or conversely to be reassured that everything is alright even if there was a failure of communication at the instance of death.

Inspite of the fraudulent means discovered in some mediums and fakirs, the truth about spirit communication endured through hundreds of years. Necromancy, though condemned as a great offense against God in the old testament times continued to gain support even among people of influence. King Saul’s disguised approach to the Witch of Endor is a documented undoing of Israel’s first King. The prophet Samuel though obliged from the afterlife rebuked him for disturbing his peace and going against the Will of God.

But then, one is challenged to think, if the soul indeed continues to have a conscious existence even after the corporeal death and being conscious, at that, it may be able to provide counsel for the living; why is it found to be sinful? What is wrong if they, the spirits of the dead can still counsel? What is wrong if people talk to the departed?

This writer would like to put it this way. If he can prove that a simple game of chance involving spirits could be dangerous then, it would follow that there are really ethical issues at hand. Moreover, if there will be evil spirits getting involved in such a game of chance, then, there are also theological issues because evil spirits are supposed to be enemies of the Holy Spirit.