Part 1: Automatic Writing and the Danger of Spiritually Dictated Books

By Doreen Virtue, author of How to Avoid New Age & New Thought Deception

Professing Christian women sometimes find themselves being lured by popular books that claim to offer divine insight or healing, when in reality, they’re nothing more than repackaged occultism with a Christian-sounding wrapper. At the heart of this deception is something called “automatic writing,” a practice that’s not only spiritually dangerous but categorically opposed to the true, God-breathed Word of Scripture.

I should know, because I regrettably used automatic writing with many of my heretical and blasphemous books before I was saved. The process is to go into an altered state of consciousness (when the Bible warns us to be sober-minded and alert lest the prowling devil devour us, 1 Peter 5:8). Then, a person in a trance will allow herself to write whatever impressions come into her mind. Sometimes it’s like an actual dictation where you seem to hear words in your mind that you write down. Other times, it’s an emotional or even physical impression that you describe in words. Either way, it’s opening yourself up to spiritual dangers of demons and it’s the equivalent of inviting random strangers into your home.

Automatic writing is a form of spirit communication in which a person becomes a passive vessel through which a spirit entity allegedly transmits information, often by moving the writer’s hand without their conscious control or by impressing thoughts and messages into their mind that they believe are coming from a higher spiritual being. These spirits are often presented as benevolent guides, angels, ascended masters, or even Jesus Himself; but according to the Word of God, they’re deceiving spirits, for Satan himself disguises as an angel of light, and his servants likewise disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14–15).

Books such as A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman, who claimed to have received direct messages from “Jesus,” were composed through automatic writing, as she transcribed what she believed was his voice inside her mind, even though these messages flatly contradict Scripture, deny the atonement, and promote a false, universalist salvation. In the same way, Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch presents a false god who tells readers there’s no sin, no hell, and no judgment, which sounds comforting until you realize that it twists the Gospel of all urgency, repentance, and truth.

Then there’s Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, a book many Christian women have on their nightstands, unaware that the author modeled her process after a New Age book called God Calling, which itself was received through channeled messages; Sarah admitted that she wanted more than Scripture, so she began listening for Jesus’ voice and writing down what He supposedly said, yet the content of these messages sound like letters from a romantic boyfriend that often departs from biblical truth, watering down sin and Christ’s commands to repent, take up your cross, and follow Him. She was either channeling her imagination, or a deceiving spirit.

The Enneagram has also gained popularity among Christian women as a supposed tool for spiritual growth and self-discovery, yet few realize that the nine personality types weren’t discovered through psychology or biblical exegesis, but were received by the occultist Claudio Naranjo through automatic writing with spirit guides. He freely admitted this in interviews, stating that the Enneatypes didn’t come from science but from spirit revelation which is something any Bible-believing Christian should immediately reject.

Books like The Secret and the Abraham-Hicks teachings, along with my 2017 or earlier books, or Medical Medium by Anthony William who claims to receive health advice from a spirit he calls “the Spirit of Compassion,” all fall under the same demonic umbrella; they’re not inspired by the Holy Spirit, they’re guided by familiar spirits, and the Bible warns explicitly in Leviticus 19 and 20 against turning to mediums and spiritists, for doing so defiles us and leads us away from the Lord.

J.K. Rowling herself has spoken in interviews about how the idea for Harry Potter “just fell into her head,” fully formed, while she was riding a train; she said it came to her with such clarity and detail that she didn’t know where it came from, only that she had to start writing it down. This kind of sudden, overwhelming creative download is not unheard of among authors—but when the content centers on witchcraft, divination, sorcery, and spiritual power apart from God, then Christians must ask a serious question: What spirit was speaking?

Rowling has never explicitly said she used automatic writing in the formal occult sense, where one’s hand is guided by a spirit without conscious control. Yet, the way she describes the inspiration for the series has striking similarities to those who’ve received messages from familiar spirits, just like Helen Schucman (A Course in Miracles), Sarah Young (Jesus Calling), or Anthony William (Medical Medium). It’s what many occultists describe as channeling: receiving supernatural information from a non-human source.

Rowling even admitted that she wrote Harry Potter “in a kind of trance,” and that entire scenes would pour out of her so fast she could hardly keep up. She often didn’t plan or plot chapters ahead of time, yet everything would come together, sometimes with symbolic connections and foreshadowing that she claimed she hadn’t even thought about. That sounds suspiciously like spiritual dictation.

And when we examine the fruit of that inspiration, the warning signs multiply. The spells in Harry Potter aren’t just make-believe nonsense words. Many are drawn from real Latin incantations used in ceremonial magic and historical grimoires. The books also reference alchemy, astrology, the “third eye,” crystal balls, and divination. The school system itself, Hogwarts, is structured like an occult training ground, complete with familiar spirits (patronuses), protective charms, necromancy (resurrection stone), and forbidden spells that are essentially curses.

This isn’t fiction that merely includes magic as a theme. It’s dangerous teachings about the structure, worldview, and language of sorcery, all while making the practitioners appear admirable, sympathetic, loyal, brave, and compassionate.

When you consider all of this in light of how Rowling claims the story came to her, it’s not unreasonable at all to conclude that there may have been demonic inspiration at work: spirit communication disguised as artistic creativity. The devil rarely comes with smoke and sulfur; he often enters as a muse, whispering seductive ideas into the minds of artists, authors, and influencers, who then pass those ideas on to the masses.

God’s Word is clear: Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:31). We are not to receive “revelation” or stories from any spirit except the Holy Spirit, and He never inspires material that glorifies sin, darkness, or occult power.

By contrast, the writers of Scripture weren’t overcome by spirits or entranced by mystical downloads. The writers were chosen vessels, set apart, carried along by the Holy Spirit, and they never contradicted one another or glorified what God calls evil. The Bible warns us to test the spirits (1 John 4:1), because many false prophets have gone out into the world, and the fruit of their inspiration is deception, distraction, and destruction.

Some women object and say, “But these books help me feel closer to God,” or “They give me peace and insight,” yet feelings aren’t the litmus test of truth. God’s Word is. Satan is perfectly willing to offer you comfort if it keeps you away from the cross of Christ, and he’ll wrap a lie in just enough emotional pleasure or spiritual language that it feels like love, when in fact it’s bondage dressed up as freedom.

What makes these books so spiritually deadly isn’t just their unbiblical content, but their entire process of reception. Automatic writing bypasses the discernment of the mind and the filter of Scripture and opens the writer to direct spiritual influence, which is precisely how demons deceive by appearing as angels, whispering false doctrines, and mimicking the voice of God in order to lead souls away from the true Shepherd.

By contrast, the Bible wasn’t written by mediums or mystics trying to hear voices or tap into the spirit realm. It was written by men who “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), meaning it originated from the very mouth of God and was preserved under His sovereign control.

Unlike automatic writings, the Bible has stood the test of time, has never been contradicted by archaeology, history, or itself, and always points to Christ crucified, risen, and coming again.

We must remember that the devil doesn’t just come with red horns and pitchforks; he comes with “secret knowledge,” channeled books, peaceful feelings, and a seductive voice that sounds like love, but leads to hell. As Christian women who desire to follow the Lord in truth, we must be discerning, grounded in Scripture, and willing to cast aside anything that smells of the serpent, even if it’s sitting on the shelf at a Christian bookstore.

Come back next week for part two where I’ll discus this more.