Shamanism
Short answer: Deuteronomy 18:9-14 confronts shamanism as the practice of the surrounding nations, not as a neutral cultural expression. God tells Israel, "When you have come into the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations" (Deuteronomy 18:9). The passage forbids seeking guidance, power, or contact with the spirit world through mediums, wizards, and diviners. It grounds the command in covenant identity: Israel belongs to Yahweh and is to receive direction from him, not from spirits. This is not a ban on curiosity about the unseen or on compassion for neighbors in other cultures. It is a ban on the practice itself, on the posture of depending on powers other than God, and on bringing those practices into the worship and life of God's people.
What Deuteronomy 18:9-14 actually says
The passage opens with a command about imitation. Israel is entering land that Yahweh has given them. They will see the practices of the nations around them. God tells them not to learn to imitate those abominations. The Hebrew word behind abominations is strong, and it is tied to the covenant. The nations do these things and are being driven out because of them. Israel is to be different, and the reason is given at the end of verse 14: they are to be blameless before Yahweh.
This is not a general ban on learning languages or farming methods. The command targets the practices that seek power, guidance, and spiritual contact outside of Yahweh. The text assumes that these things really exist, that the nations actually do them, and that they are dangerous. The issue is not whether the practices work in some measurable way. The issue is loyalty. God says that his people are to come to him, not to the spirits or the dead.
The passage also makes clear that this was not a hidden or obscure problem. The nations Israel was displacing were known for these practices. God is not warning against a rare temptation; he is warning against the ordinary religious atmosphere of the land. Israel is going to live surrounded by people who consult mediums, use divination, and seek power from spirits. They will have every social reason to join in. God says no, because they are his people and he is their God.
The practices listed and what they have in common
Deuteronomy 18:10-11 lists a range of practices. It begins with making a son or daughter pass through the fire, a practice associated with child sacrifice. It then names divination, soothsaying, sorcery, and interpretation of omens. It goes on to name those who use charms, consult mediums, consult spirits, and call on the dead. The list is not exhaustive; it is representative. The common thread is seeking knowledge, power, or guidance from sources other than Yahweh.
Shamanism, as it is often described, involves a practitioner who enters altered states to contact spirits, gain insight, or heal. The specific cultural forms vary widely. Some shamans are healers; some are diviners; some are ritual specialists. The Bible does not use the word shaman, but the category of seeking guidance and power from spirits is present in the passage. The issue is not the title a practitioner uses but the posture of relying on spirits rather than on God.
This matters for how we read the list. If we treat the passage only as a list of ancient techniques, we can miss the point. The point is that God's people are not to seek out spirits for help. That is true whether the technique is ancient or modern, whether it is called shamanism, spiritism, channeling, or something else. The form changes; the posture does not. The command is about who we trust for guidance and power.
Why the Bible treats this as a covenant issue
Leviticus 19:31 says, "Don't turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don't seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God." The command is tied directly to the statement of who God is. The reason not to turn to mediums is not first that they are ineffective. The reason is that Yahweh is their God. To seek out these practices is to defile themselves, to treat something else as a source of help that belongs to God alone.
Leviticus 20:6 adds a stronger warning. It says, "The person that turns to those who are mediums and wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people." The language of prostitution is covenant language. It describes betrayal. Turning to spirits is not presented as a minor curiosity; it is presented as a relational betrayal of the God who rescued them.
This is why the Bible can be so severe about these practices while also commanding compassion toward the people who practice them. The issue is covenant loyalty. God is not jealous because he is insecure. He is jealous because the spirits are real, the practices are dangerous, and the people he loves are being drawn away from the only safe source of help. The command is protective, not petty.
Saul and the medium at Endor
The story of Saul and the medium at Endor in 1 Samuel 28 is a case study in what happens when this command is ignored. Saul had earlier removed mediums from the land, but when he was terrified of the Philistines and got no answer from God, he sought out a woman with a familiar spirit. 1 Samuel 28:7 records his command: "Seek for me a woman who has a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her." He did not go because he had a settled trust in God. He went because he was desperate and God was silent.
The story is filled with irony. Saul disguises himself, goes at night, and asks the woman to bring up Samuel. When he was strong, he opposed these practices. When he was weak, he turned to them. The narrative does not present this as a success story. It presents it as the end of a downward spiral. Saul dies the next day, defeated by the Philistines, and the text leaves no doubt that his death is connected to his unfaithfulness.
The account does not tell us everything we might want to know about how spirit contact works. It does show that the practice is real, that it is tied to rebellion, and that it does not lead to safety. Saul does not receive a word that saves him. He receives a word of judgment. The passage functions as a warning, not a manual. It shows where the path of seeking spirits ends.
Shamanism, sorcery, and the deeds of the flesh
Galatians 5:19-21 places sorcery among the deeds of the flesh. The word Paul uses is pharmakeia, which is often translated as sorcery or witchcraft. It is listed alongside sexual immorality, idolatry, and outbursts of anger. The point is not that sorcery is worse than the other items. The point is that it belongs to the same category: it is a work of the flesh, not a fruit of the Spirit. It is part of the old life that must be put to death.
This matters because it shows that the New Testament continues the Old Testament's concern. The command in Deuteronomy is not a ceremonial law that expired with the temple. The underlying posture, seeking power and guidance from spirits rather than from God, remains incompatible with life in the Spirit. The New Testament does not soften the Old Testament's teaching on this. It assumes it and places it in the larger framework of the flesh and the Spirit.
This also means that shamanism is not primarily a missionary strategy problem or a cultural sensitivity problem. It is a spiritual formation problem. It describes a way of relating to the unseen world that is at odds with the way of Jesus. Jesus himself cast out demons by the Spirit of God. He did not enter into negotiations with them. He did not seek their guidance. He commanded them, and they obeyed. That is the model his people are given.
What about people who practice shamanism today?
The Bible's commands about mediums and sorcery are addressed to God's people first. They are given so that Israel does not imitate the nations. This means the primary application is to those who claim to follow Jesus. Christians are not to practice shamanism, consult shamans, or use shamanic techniques to gain spiritual insight or power. That is clear from the text. The command is not ambiguous on this point.
At the same time, the Bible calls God's people to love their neighbors and to treat all people with dignity. A person who practices shamanism is not a project or an enemy. They are a neighbor made in the image of God. The New Testament shows the apostles confronting sorcery when it was taught as a rival to the gospel, but it also shows them preaching the good news to everyone. The command against the practice does not cancel the command to love the person.
Faithful Christians differ on how to engage with cultural forms that have spiritual elements but have been repurposed in non-religious settings. Some believers are comfortable using traditional medicine, art, or music that have shamanic roots if the practice itself does not involve seeking spirits. Others are uncomfortable with anything that carries those associations. The Bible does not give a specific rule for every cultural case. It gives a clear principle: do not seek guidance or power from spirits. Applying that principle to complex situations requires wisdom, prayer, and often patience with those who see it differently.
How to read the prohibitions with the whole Bible in view
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 is not an isolated rule. It fits with the first commandment, the call to love God with all the heart, and the promise that God will guide his people. The prohibition assumes that God actually speaks and that his people can come to him. If God were silent, the command would be cruel. But the Bible presents God as the one who guides, who gives wisdom generously, and who invites his people to ask. The command against seeking spirits is a command to seek him instead.
This is why the passage ends with the note that Israel is to be blameless. That word does not mean sinless perfection. It means whole-hearted, undivided loyalty. The opposite of shamanism is not a life without any spiritual interest. It is a life of trust in Yahweh. The contrast is not between the spiritual and the secular. It is between two different sources of guidance and power.
When we read the passage with the whole Bible, we also see that God's concern is for the well-being of his people. The practices of the nations were not harmless hobbies. They were part of a worldview that put people in bondage to spirits. God's command is a rescue, not a restriction. He is saying, in effect, do not go back to the very thing that I brought you out of. That is the tone of the passage, and it should shape how we teach it.
Biblical fidelity check
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 establishes that God forbids his people from imitating the practices of the nations, specifically the practices of making children pass through fire, divination, soothsaying, sorcery, consulting mediums, consulting spirits, and calling on the dead. It does not establish that these practices are imaginary or always ineffective. It does not establish that every cultural practice of non-Israelite nations is forbidden. It does not establish that people who practice these things are beyond God's mercy. The text is a command to Israel, grounded in covenant, and it assumes the reality of the spirit world.
A common misreading is to treat the passage as a ban on anything that feels spooky or unfamiliar. That is not what the text says. The command targets specific practices that seek guidance and power from spirits or the dead. It does not forbid learning about other cultures, studying comparative religion, or engaging with the arts. Another misreading is to treat the passage as a flat prohibition on all contact with spiritual things, including the Holy Spirit. That is the opposite of the passage's intent. The God who forbids seeking spirits is the same God who invites his people to seek him. The issue is not spirituality but loyalty, not whether the unseen world is real but who has the right to guide and protect God's people.
Other passages that speak to Deuteronomy 18:9-14
1 Samuel Bible Study Guide: Kingship, Calling, and the Heart God Sees traces how Israel's demand for a king and Saul's failure to trust God lead to the very practices Deuteronomy forbids. Kingship in the ancient Near East and 1 Samuel: A Biblical Guide sets the religious and political context of these nations. 1 Kings 1: David Acts as Adonijah Rebels shows how covenant loyalty and succession are worked out in later royal history. 1 Kings 10: Solomon's Wisdom and Wealth Tested illustrates how the attraction of the nations' practices and wealth influenced even a wise king.
Frequently asked questions
Does Deuteronomy 18:9-14 forbid shamanism specifically?
The passage does not use the word shamanism, but it forbids the category of practices that shamanism belongs to. It names divination, consulting spirits, and calling on the dead. A shaman is typically a practitioner who contacts spirits for guidance, power, or healing. That is exactly what the passage forbids. The command is not limited to ancient techniques. The issue is seeking guidance and power from spirits rather than from Yahweh. So while the word is not there, the posture and the practices are addressed directly.
Is it wrong for a Christian to see a shaman for healing?
Deuteronomy 18 and Leviticus 19-20 place seeking help from mediums and spirits under God's prohibition. A Christian who goes to a shaman for healing is seeking help from a source the Bible forbids. This is not because God does not care about healing. It is because God cares about his people and does not want them to be defiled by turning to spirits. The Bible does not say that all healing outside of Christian prayer is off limits. It does say that seeking guidance or power from spirits is off limits. That distinction matters when thinking through specific situations.
How should Christians relate to neighbors who practice shamanism?
Christians are commanded to love their neighbors as themselves, and that includes people who practice shamanism. Love does not mean approving of the practice; the Bible is clear about that. It means treating the person with dignity, refusing to fear them, and being ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us. The New Testament shows Paul engaging with people who practiced sorcery in Ephesus. He did not attack them personally; he preached Christ. Christians can be honest about the danger of the practice while being kind to the person.
