Is witchcraft and astrology 'demonic?' Here's what AstroloJill thinks

WITCHCRAFT, ASTROLOGY, TAROT READING...these are normally associated with the dark arts with some even going as far as branding these practices as 'evil' or worse 'demonic.'

There are even narratives of witchcraft being used in real life to cause misfortune to others and there are even stories where practitioners would use the dreaded ouija board to converse with unwanted entities.

However a thorough understanding of these practices would reveal that there is more to witchcraft and tarot reading than meets the eye, and this is what Jill Andrea aka AstroloJill wanted to emphasize in her business venture Celessya.

PHOTO: AstroloJill

The connection between astrology and Christianity

When it comes to the criticisms of witchcraft being associated with the darkside, here's what Jill said in an exclusive interview with Spin.ph.

"There's no such thing as really, truly good and evil. Everything is a duality," started Jill.

She further explained: "Exactly how the Catholic Church also has a good side. It's good because people get in touch with their faith. The bad side is people become too self-righteous. There's always a duality in things.

While devout Catholics and Christians would question the practice of witchcraft and astrology, Jill revealed a surprising revelation which would connect the dots between astrology and Christianity.

"Horus, the Egyptian sun god, was born also on December 25 of a virgin mother, announced by the eastern bright star, and also visited by three kings," she started.

"He also had 12 disciples. He also performed miracles. He was also baptized at 30, crucified and buried for three days. It's the same as Jesus."

"Same as Attis, one of the Greek gods, Krishna, Indian god, Dionysus, Greece as well, Mithra, also Persian. So everything is completely astrological."

And the similarities and coincidences doesn't just end there as there are other patterns that are worth noting as well.

"Horus and Jesus is actually the sun. So December 25 is the winter solstice. The three kings is in the Orion's belt. So if you look at the sky, you know, those three stars that are aligned, that's the Orion's belt, right?"

"The three kings is part of the Orion's belt, which lines up around the sun around the time of December 25, the winter solstice, with the eastern star, Sirius."

"And Mary is actually the constellation of Virgo. If you look at the glyph of Virgo, it's actually an M. It's an altered M, which is also the names of the other gods' mothers, Mira, Maya. Virgo also translates to house of bread. And Bethlehem is actually the house of bread," reflected the Celessya practitioner.

"So if you really look at it from a very objective point, it all goes back to astrology.
And that's where a lot of religions, actually, for me, it's all religions."

PHOTO: AstroloJill

On mythological creatures

Moving on from astrology, Jill likewise discussed other topics that were worth digging deep as well. Take for instance the supernatural.

In the Philippines, there are notable mythical and supernatural entities like Tikbalangs and Dwendes that we oftentimes see in fiction and pop culture. However there are those who believe that these beings exist.

From her childhood, Jill was accustomed to hear and even see these supernatural entities.

"Back then, my mother would tell me that when she was pregnant with me, she would hear wings flapping outside. It's the mythological creature tiktik, the one that targets pregnant women, that causes them to have miscarriages."

"So she would tell me that she would hear those, and my Lola would hang garlic.
I do believe it's garlic, and puts protection salt all over the windowsills and she would sway palm leaves at the roof to make sure that the tiktik is gone," revealed the psychic medium.

Then when she started her education, where she enrolled in St. Scholastica's College, she began sensing the supernatural.

"When I was younger, so at school, I went to one of the most haunted schools in Manila, St. Scho and we would have encounters," explained Jill.

She added: "There's a huge myth around St. Scho. that there's a tikbalang in one of the trees, and dwendes in the gardens and I do remember back then, I would mimic my Lola, minus the killing of the chickens, of course, where I would give them offerings, candies."

And where would these offerings lead to? Despite not being the brightest studen in class, Jill garnered numerous blessings from these entities.

"Back then at school, I was pretty blessed. I wasn't the best student because I didn't like going to school, but I would always be lucky. They would always choose me to be a representative of the class, or I would get gifts from teachers. And generally a good favor from the school, despite me not being the best student," she reflects.

But her encounters doesn't just end there as Jill currently has a collection of haunted dolls. As a flight attendant, Jill had the opportunity to travel around the world and adopt these possessed dolls.

"Now I have a brownie, an English version of the dwende back home. I got her when I was in London. She was residing in a doll so I brought the doll home. I do rituals for her every once in a while and she does give me a lot of abundance," she discussed.

And while Jill's narratives would make us believe that dwendes are small dwarf-like creatures that exist, she further elaborated that their physical appearances shouldn't be viewed literally.

"To clarify, kapag sinabi mong dwende, it's a spirit. It's not a small dwarf."

And she likewise emphasized that these entities shouldn't always be a viewed as a stuff of nightmares.

"So I've been seeing spirits and I've been so used to them and I don't see them as something to be feared of. I see them as something that can be made friends with," said the Tarot reader.

PHOTO: AstroloJill

On haunted dolls

For the unintiated, haunted dolls could be a frightening experience especially with movies like Child's Play and the Annabelle series being stuck in our imagination.

And while these films are a work of fiction, there are notorious real life haunted dolls that have creeped us out.

Jill does have one haunted doll named Patrick who once tormented his previous owner, though she eventually tamed him down.

But not all of Jill's dolls end up as Patrick as she also has others who are very friendly. She then narrated how these dolls ended up being possessed.

"When they choose the vessel, it's either two ways: they choose the vessel, or a magician or alchemist placed them there. So with the dolls that I have, most of them chose it."

With Violeta, she was placed there. She doesn't want to tell me why or who, but she said that she was placed there.

"So when you grow an attachment to something, and then you suddenly, or not suddenly, you lose your life essence, and you become a soul, you can choose to reside in that object," she explained.

However Jill discovered that not all souls would choose dolls as their vessel as they can also try other objects. She also realized from her experience that souls aren't just one whole piece, but multiple fragments.

"So when someone dies, a part of it gets reincarnated, a part of it goes wherever the universe tells them to go, and a part of it stays with you, or stays in the earthly plane until they decide to leave and that's what most of my dolls are, part of them stayed."

Now as to why these souls would stick to a vessel? Jill recounted that most of them have unfinished businesses.

"Like one of my dolls, Elizabeth, she told me that she wanted me to look for her grave and visit it. She doesn't want to tell me how she died, she's very closed off. But that's one of the favors that she asked me to do, is to look for her grave and she already told me where it was, it's in South Wales."

"So I told her that I'll definitely bring her when I have the time and the opportunity to do so. Maybe that will help her move on and leave the vessel," she explained.

PHOTO: AstroloJill

Ouija boards

And beyond haunted dolls, there are other spiritual objects that Jill likewise elaborated. Another mystic item that brings fear to the public would be the Ouija board and there have been accounts of individuals who unleash unwanted spirits due to the reckless use of it.

It it really dangerous? Jill currently has three Ouija boards at home and she reiterated that the use of these spirit boards require a lot of extensive training.

"Ouija board is just a tool, kind of like a gun, when it's in the hands of the right person, the gun is good. But if it's in the wrong hands, it can be used for something really bad."

She further explained: "It is a very powerful tool because it's true that it does open up something. It opens up a portal and if you're not very well-versed in how to use it, then it can open up a gateway that will welcome spirits in your home, be it good or bad."

Given the negative stigma surrounding the board, Jill revealed that one of her goals is to break the usual stereotypes.

"It has a huge stigma behind it because it is scary but one of the goals that I have here in life is to break stigmas and to show everyone that there's always a better way to use things. There's always a proper way to do things. Do it with integrity, accountability, and with proper knowledge," reflected Jill.

And besides interacting with spirits and other entities, Jill also has extensive training with other practices, such as Tarot reading and spell jars. She attended numerous institutions, digging deep into the craft of magick and esotericism.

"People tend to judge what they don't understand, and that's something people need to know. Before they actually conclude something, they have to study about it, and have to learn about it, learn the essence and then they will get everything that we're practicing," she reiterated.

She added: "We did take a lot of time to learn from very known institutions about our craft. We are not just people that claim to read one book and now we're experts. We actually went to institutions, and we do know what we're doing."