It's not just through TV and film, our culture is saturated with the supernatural and the lines are blurred between good and evil. Marcia Montenegro is a former professional astrologer who practiced the paranormal. Learn how she found Jesus and lost the New Age practices.

The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids, Part 2 w/Marcia Montenegro

You can’t get away from it. It has permeated music and the media, cartoons and comic books, TV and film and the school classroom. Not to mention gaming, whether board games or video. Most parents don’t recognize it when they see it and even most kids see no harm in it. I’m Charles Morris and welcome to part 2 of a Haven Today called “The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids”. We’ll be joined again in the next few minutes by Marcia Montenegro, a former professional astrologer who spent many years engaging in New Age practices but who found her way out when she found Jesus. Marcia’s written a gripping book for all of us called “Spellbound”. Now before we get started I want to invite you to join me in taking the great story of Jesus to a special place around the world. It was the end of last October when we launched a new version of Haven Today in Mandarin and English. We’ve teamed up with Far East Broadcasting and twice each evening on two separate shortwave signals that cover all of China, we broadcast the good news of Jesus Christ to the most populated country in the world where everyone is trying to learn English. Now here in North America few people listen to short wave. But in China, where people want to hear media outside the country and TV and satellite aren’t that common yet, people listen to the outside world and that includes Haven Today. So if you want to help tell the great story in China please call us today at 1-800-654-2836 or go online at haventoday.org or I’ll give you our address later. And be sure and tell us you want your gift to go towards the Great Commission in China. From the “Win this War” project, Michael O’Brien opens our program with this fitting song, “God of All Mercy”.

Song: God of All Mercy
Performed by: Michael O’Brien

Welcome back again to Haven Today. I’m Charles Morris and from Arlington, Virginia, right across the river from our nation’s capital if you’re a US citizen, is where our guest lives. And Marcia Montenegro, thank you for joining us on part 2 of a program we’re calling “The Paranormal Seduction”.
MM: Thank you for having me back.
CM: We heard you yesterday give your testimony of how you were a professional astrologer. You believed in prior lives you had been prepared for that, maybe you were a monk, maybe you were a nun. Just briefly, because you’ve given that up, you’re now a follower of Jesus Christ, you’re no longer an astrologer, while you were in this process of the Lord drawing you to him, of finding faith in Christ alone, there were some bumps, weren’t there? It wasn’t that easy. People in your circles didn’t necessarily want to see you quit being an astrologer, did they?
MM: Oh, absolutely not, no. And yeah, I had some unusual things happen when the Lord was drawing me and I was getting this impression that he didn’t like astrology. I happened to be having a visit with my chiropractor and she, my chiropractor was a witch. And I had, she actually had got a lot of clients for me, especially from the neo-pagan community but also from her clients so I had a large number of clients due to her. And of course I was not saying anything to her at all about what was going on with me. I didn’t tell any of my friends this. But I was you know, lying on her chiropractor’s table and she actually invited me to be a part of her coven or group as an astrologer, her group of witches. Now I wasn’t a witch or a neo-pagan but I knew a lot of them because I was there astrologer and I knew different neo-pagans in Atlanta. There were quite a few of them there. So this woman was inviting me to be a part of her coven as an astrologer.
CM: So you had to tell her somehow.
MM: Well, as soon as she asked me that I just felt this tremendous weight on me and I was very, very uncomfortable and I just, I had a very hostile reaction, a hostile reaction to her asking me that question which normally I would have not. I’m not sure that I necessarily would have wanted to do it anyway but I would have been pleased or flattered, normally, you know –
CM: to be asked.
MM: that she was asking me this. Yeah, I would have been very pleased with that and instead I found myself extremely upset and just almost this kind of “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” reaction although I didn’t say that but that’s how I felt inside. So I just very politely said, “You know, thank you very much but I don’t think so. That’s not my path.” And that’s how I responded to her. And she didn’t really probe or ask why so I didn’t have to explain.
CM: OK. I was kind of dying to ask you this the last time we were together so I’ll go ahead and ask it now. Can you really tell the future through astrology?
MM: No, you can’t. Now this is, a couple of things to say about that.
CM: Alright.
MM: Number one, astrology today, contemporary astrology since the early 20th century when it began to absorb a lot of psychological principals, especially, primarily from Karl Yung, is not oriented to towards telling a person their future. It’s more oriented towards analyzing you as a person. Telling you about your relationship issues, your financial issues, what your potentials are with your talents or maybe with your work, areas that you need to watch, you know watch in your life where there might be problems. And then towards, usually towards the end of the reading the astrologer looks at the position of the other planets in the next 2 years or 3 years, because they move very slowly, in comparison to your birth chart. And astrology is not astronomy. Astrology is a picture of the position of the planets and the time and place of your birth and they’re put in a circle that’s divided into 12 areas that are called houses. So the astrologer believes that by looking at the influence of these outer planets on the birth chart they can tell you some of the things that you might be dealing with in the coming, anywhere from the coming 6 months to the next 3 years depending.
CM: OK
MM: But they’re not going to be, they don’t feel that they’re telling your future. What they think they’re doing is they’re giving you a forecast of things that might be triggered in your birth chart that you might be dealing with. So a particular outer planet that might be moving into this certain area of your chart, let’s say it could be the area of money or relationships or job and depending on what the planet is, that will describe what you’re going to be dealing with. So, you know, Neptune describes deception and things being ambiguous but it also stands for film.
CM: OK
MM: So if you’re dealing with someone who happens to be artistic and maybe wants to do films or make films -
CM: in the Hollywood community, Neptune would come up frequently.
MM: Yeah, yeah Neptune would be very, very prominent, you know. And so you see, and so the astrologer might say, “Well, here this kind of influence or energy is coming into your chart, or maybe it’s triggering the planet Venus in your chart, which has to do with relationships. So it’s going to be an issue that has to do with relationships from a Neptunian viewpoint. So you, you combine these things and you’re giving this forecast to this person of things they’re going to be dealing with but you usually aren’t very specific. Now you might say something like, “There’s going to be some unexpected changes with your job or with your goals in the next 6 to 9 months.” And in that case there’s a very strong chance that there will be some upsetting changes in anyone’s life in the next 6 to 9 months
CM: Right
MM: having to do with their job or you know, something will happen –
CM: Well, and somebody wants to believe
MM: if somebody wants to believe, something will happen and the person will think, “Well, that’s what the astrologer said. They said there would be something unexpected that I would have to adjust to and look what happened, you know, I got this new boss,” or something, whatever it wants to be. So the astrologer is making more of a broader statement and then the client applies it specifically.
CM: Then is it evil, is it wrong?
MM: Yes, it is wrong and there’s another thing that goes on in an astrology reading. The astrologer, I believe, is usually in an altered state of consciousness or a light trance state during the reading. Now this is the common state of mind for astrologers, psychics and mediums especially. Perhaps tarot card readers as well, although that’s a little, that could be the same thing too. And actually people who are psychics and mediums talk about this state of mind and actually advise you to go into it, because they feel then that your mind isn’t getting in the way, your thinking isn’t getting in the way and you are being receptive to the information, wherever they think that’s coming from.
Cm: Now as a Christian, you would think that that would be opening yourself up –
MM: Yes, to guidance from fallen angels or otherwise known as demons. Or actually, most people in the New Age and who do astrology who are mediums or psychics have spirit guides. And they know they have spirit guides. Many of them call on their guides before they do the reading. This is especially true with psychics and mediums. They will actually call on their guides to help them with the reading. I think with astrologers, unless the astrologer also happens to be a psychic or medium, the astrologer tends not to be as conscious of it but it is still there.
CM: And you told us in your testimony last time together that you had a spiritual guide and you were involved in that. Well –
MM: right
CM: Let’s just switch here a little bit. Are lots of people buying into astrology? What about young people? You’ve written this book called “Spellbound: the paranormal seduction of today’s kids.”
MM: Right, right. Yes I think that astrology is very popular in our culture. I do want to say one more big reason why I think astrology is evil.
CM: Yes, yes.
MM: and that is because God condemns it. Astrology is a form of divination which means that you are getting information through reading the hidden meaning in something or you’re getting it through a supernatural means that‘s not from God. And astrology, divination is condemned throughout the Bible and astrology is also condemned. So God has condemned it period, no matter how we may want to view it as harmless or as helpful, either way.
CM: And Marcia you’ve told me that it’s quite there in the church too. You run into Christians all the time
MM: Exactly
CM: Who read their horoscope and just think it’s a little bit of fun but it’s not just the fun they think it is, is it?
MM: Exactly. Most people have a tendency to want to try to understand themselves through some kind of external way that they think is going to, you know, maybe make things make sense about who I am. And astrology is very appealing in that way because people can read, oh a Gemini is like this, you know a Sagittarius person is like this
CM: Sure
MM: And you can think, “Oh, yeah that’s like me.”
CM: Kind of like psychological typecasting.
MM: Exactly
CM: Yes
MM: and this just appeals to us as human beings
CM: It does.
MM: And even Christians don’t understand how evil astrology is. Astrology, I believe connects you directly to the world of demons, aside from the fact that God condemns it and aside from the fact that it’s a pseudo-science, it’s not even based on anything scientific. So you have all of these marks against it but because it’s so popular and accepted in our culture and the latest polls show that 25% of people in this country believe in astrology, people tend to think it’s just innocuous, it’s just a fun thing. And they read their horoscope and then they get hooked on it. Christians have told me they’ve gotten hooked on it.
CM: You’ve told me it’s probably more women than men.
MM: Yeah, it tends to be, tends to be more women. I had a lot of men clients but as far as reading horoscopes, I think women tend to do that more.
CM: And what about young people? Back to the young people side.
MM: Yes. Definitely young people now, with the kinds of cartoons we have on TV that feature paranormal activity, casting spells is a fun thing, or astrological symbols and signs. There are zodiac dolls, of course, they are primarily for girls. These are, they have a doll for each of the 12 zodiac signs, each in a special outfit with a little piece of jewelry, I think it’s a bracelet, that has that particular zodiac symbol on it and then a little description. So if your daughter’s a Virgo here you get her a Virgo doll and she can read about who she is and she has a little Virgo symbol there. These dolls -
CM: Just sucking in these babies then!
MM: sell and it desensitizes these young girls to the idea of, you know, they thing astrology is fun, fun it’s a fun thing. And I think in our culture we just, certainly non-Christians don’t see any danger in astrology, but as I said before even Christians don’t understand how there is a spiritual power behind all of the occult arts. And I want to be very clear here: astrology is an occult art. It is an occult art. And if any Christian is wondering, what is the occult? Read Deuteronomy 18: 10-12 where God lists all the practices of the occult.
CM: Well then take it to the New Testament there, in the book of Acts, I was just reading the other day
MM: Yes
CM: There was the man who prayed to receive Christ as Savior but was also practicing fortune telling
MM: Magic
CM: Magic
MM: Yeah, he was doing magic and in Acts 16 is the young girl with the divination. She has a demon cast out of her. And she’s telling the future, she has a divination “gift” and God shows us there that the source of this is demonic, it’s not, in other words this is not from him.
CM: If you have just joined us you’re listening to Marcia Montenegro here on a Haven Today called “The Paranormal Seduction”. Advice, should I not even read my horoscope?
MM: And that’s a very good question. I do want to say, I do have a whole chapter on astrology in my book “Spellbound: The paranormal seduction of today’s kids” so I talk about the Zodiac dolls in there and horoscope columns. I also on my website I have an article on horoscopes as well as one on astrology.
CM: And for people that want to know a little bit more, we’ll, we’re linking your website on our website so we’ll tell them how to get there in a few moments. Advice?
MM: Yeah, I think, I tell people who say they are just hooked on reading their horoscope or they just think it’s fun, I try to tell them what astrology really is, how God condemns it, and then I say if you really have this urge to read, you know, your horoscope column when you open up the newspaper, go get, you know, read a passage in the Bible instead. You know, stop and think, why am I reading this? If God says this is wrong, if there’s really no truth in it, why don’t I go read something that’s true, which is God’s Word? And you have to, and of course pray for God’s help, if you’re in the habit of doing this you need to ask his help but I think you can break that habit.
CM: So it’s a spiritual addiction?

MM: I totally, that puts it very well.
CM: Marcia, we have people that are sitting on the edges of their seat or driver’s seat, wherever they are listening, they’ve turned the volume up and they really know it’s a problem for them and they don’t want to admit it. Can I just ask you to pray for people listening to Haven Today, people who are into astrology and they know in their heart it’s wrong. Would you mind praying for them right now?
MM: Oh no, I don’t mind at all.
CM: Lead us in prayer.
MM: OK
Dear Heavenly Father we come to you today and ask that you help those who have been convicted by your Word and by hearing this information on astrology that they know it’s wrong and they want to get it out of their lives. They don’t want to go to the horoscope column in the paper or the magazine any more. Lord and we just pray that they would turn to you for help and that they would want guidance from your Word and not from a horoscope column. I pray Lord that these people would just have a hunger for your word and that they would be able to break this habit. And for those who don’t know Christ who are listening Lord we pray that you would reveal the truth of Christ to them and that they would see that astrology does not hold the answers for them and it does not give the true guidance that comes from you. It is a total counterfeit and it takes people into bondage and into spiritual darkness so we just pray Lord that you would bring those people out of that and that they would seek the truth through Jesus Christ and I ask this in his name, amen.
CM: Thanks Marcia, for leading us in prayer on this second day of a Haven Today called “the Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids”. If you want to know more from a biblical context about what the Lord teaches about the occult and how we need to stay away from it I suggest you get a copy of Marcia Montenegro’s book “Spellbound” that we’d like to send you as our thanks for your gift to Haven Today. One of the things I appreciate about Marcia is how she handles the biblical text on key passages dealing with evil. She also delves into practical areas like how do we handle entertainment and games like playing on a Ouija Board? You can read more about her book “Spellbound” on our homepage, haventoday.org. You can even make your gift and order a copy of the book there. Haventoday.org, h.a.v.e.n.t.o.d.a.y, haventoday.org, thanks to everyone who gives above and beyond the suggested gift amount. You can also call us at 1-800-654-2836, that’s 1-800-654-2836. Let us know the station you’re listening to when you get in touch. In a moment I’ll give you our mailing address and I want to thank everyone who has already in the past week sent a gift to help towards telling the great story of Jesus in China. Several friends responded after I mentioned it last week and if you haven’t responded and would like to help just go online at haventoday.org or call us at 1-800-65-HAVEN and be sure and mention that your gift is to help share Jesus in China. One more thing, we’ve left our programs up on the homepage on Rhonda Burns’ “The Secret” as endorsed by Oprah. Can you believe it, that book is still number one on the New York Times bestselling list of advice books. Check out what we did and even order a copy of the programs called “The Secret behind ‘The Secret’”. Get it online or when you call. Now if you like to write, here is our mailing address:
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I’m Charles Morris with Marcia Montenegro. Thanks for joining us again today. Would you come back again tomorrow when again we’ll be telling the great story? It’s all about Jesus here on Haven Today.