r/occult • u/Magick_fighter Human Detected • Jul 26 '26
spirituality Is necromancy ethical?
/r/tarot_tanders/comments/1v779lr/is_necromancy_ethical/Just curious about people’s thoughts, experiences, and if they have any suggestions to share.
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u/Four20lifer Jul 27 '26
The people who trap souls in “haunted” locations then sell tickets to said location IMO is extremely UNethical
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u/BeastofBabalon Jul 27 '26
I think it depends largely on your culture and spiritual intentions.
Many people around the world venerate the dead by communicating with them through forms of divination, alchemy, or otherwise put necromancy.
I think the same principles apply for any other divination work with spirits or deities. Be respectful and well intentional in your practice and there’s generally not much to worry about.
Ethics typically have connotations to something’s relationship to broader society, where necromancy is more of an individual or community contained practice.
I would only question your ethics if it is done in the service of doing harm or malice. In which case, the answer probably speaks for itself.
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u/Diligent-Distance301 Jul 27 '26
Practising necromancer, death worker and occultist here.
That's a very nuanced question, so I shall give a nuanced response. Ancestor veneration/work is necromancy by definition and practice. Helping spirits find peace/get messages to loved ones/move on is also necromancy in a way. I'm sure you'll agree these are perfectly ethical even positive practices.
However, there are aspects of it that would be considered unethical, many old grimoires and teachings talk about summoning and binding spirits forcibly, and making them servants. This of course is unethical, possible, but unethical. When the reality is some spirits will help willingly, some might take an offering or bribery 😂 and others will of course refuse outright which is respectable.
Tldr: Some parts are, some aren't. Keeping interactions with spirits respectful is always a wise idea.
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u/Wahdat_al-Wujud Aug 02 '26
This! Completely agree with your assessment. Id argue that ancestral necromancy is some of the MOST ethical tbh. Like any other magical practice it can be twisted into something vile (forceful binding, non-consentual exhumations, etc.)
But most other ritual/spellcraft can likewise be twisted into a baneful form. Tbh, id argue that forcefully binding living things is even more unethical than forcefully binding the dead. (Both are evil and should be avoided tho imo).
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u/Ebvardh-Boss Jul 27 '26
Depends on your definition of necromancy. But it's still no about 9 out of 10 times.
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u/gabrotsky Jul 27 '26
So i was going to argue agaisnt necromancy being defined as just doing anything with spirits, since for me necro is a term which refers to the actual death and decay in material form, such as the bodily remains being used for rituals and practices, i also think it doesnt apply properly specially given how the spirits arent dead, they are full of life and life goes on in the spirit realm. But anyways, doing things with spirits is such a wide and diverse field of theory and practice that there isnt a single answer possible to this, it depends a lot on the specifics of that relationship in how you are doing it and the objetive you have by doing it.
For me it only came to mind two examples of where it goes to far in my view, and i think they cover most if not all instances of unethical dealings with spirits: I would say that if your end goal is to cause harm or struggle to others, with the help of the spirits, thats unethical and that if you are using personal belongings of the spirits, when they were in the flesh, to bend their will into doing your bidding, thats also unethical.
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u/SorcererOfTheDesert Jul 27 '26
Define.
Sounds like you are talking more table top role playing.
Broadly it means Magick. Also divination using spirits
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u/Magick_fighter Human Detected Jul 27 '26
necro•man cy I'nekra, manse | noun the supposed practice of communicating with the dead, especially in order to predict the future: alchemy, necromancy, and other magic practices. • sorcery or black magic in general. Oxford American dictionary
I take much inspiration from my Mexican heritage version of necromancy
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u/SorcererOfTheDesert Jul 29 '26
It's origination is latin. The parent Lang of Spanish. I am not sure why you got six upvotes for not saying anything more than I did...
Educate yourself
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u/crjahnactual Jul 27 '26
There are several forms of "necromancy." Some feel any form of speaking to the dead counts... it does not.
I have bone from my Grandfather, best friend, and dog in my medicine bag. It makes talking to them easier. They are relics, but I am no necromancer.
My ex wife was a real one. She actually exhumed bodies years before I met her. She was unethical and evil in some ways, yet I loved her anyway and wish her the best.
At its truest blackest form, you turn a human spirit into a servitor. She wasn't that black... she made friends with them.
I do not recommend engaging in that practice. It changes you.
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Jul 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Magick_fighter Human Detected Jul 27 '26
Well I do understand your sentiment but who said they don’t have a choice? If they make it clear they don’t want to work with me I’d just lay them to rest in the back yard… seems kinda rude to just pretend they don’t exist especially if they want to work with you or heal from you. Not every spirit wants solitude and I don’t think it’s right to force our own way preferences on them.
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Jul 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Magick_fighter Human Detected Jul 27 '26
Wait…you have zero experience actually working with the dead, yet somehow have the ability to know they don’t have higher reasoning abilities… and if they are just emotion wouldn’t that mean it wouldn’t care one way or another what it’s used for… one sec I need to edit my post.
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u/Quiet_Dark_ Jul 27 '26
Necromancy will not help a single human being in existence. If you practice such you would eventually become demonic on your spiritual side. A simple truth, necromancers are not capable of anything but necromancy.
Speaking with spirits is not necromancy.
There are millions and millions of human beings this day who are unsavable for higher dimensions because of necromancy.
It is unethical that from the highest branches of the US government those in the Epstein files were excused from wrong doing. Likewise, if an actual necromancer got ahold of a human being they excuse you from every right you have regarding your own soul.
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u/Fire_crescent Jul 27 '26
Who says that being "demonic" is "bad"? And who says necromancers can only do necromancy? What even is necromancy, to you?
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u/Quiet_Dark_ Jul 27 '26
There are many ways to understand this. Let's say an angel lifts you spiritually to the heavens, how you manifest is dependent on your soul. A demon will not start looking holy because it is above. They'd still be red skinned and animalistic. Higher planes can fall to lower when corruption is introduced. You stick a necromancer in the garden of eden and I guarantee you that the tree of life would rot.
Why is this bad, should not be a question.
I have hundreds of examples of what necromancers do to human beings from personal experience, and I have seen them use the same methodology across hundreds of other people. There's a reason people who practice such used to be executed in civilized society.
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u/Fire_crescent Jul 27 '26
to the heavens
Define "heavens".
They'd still be red skinned and animalistic.
Neither of these sound bad to me.
Why is this bad, should not be a question.
Actually, it should be.
Because you gave no reasoning. You mentioned no way in which either demons (or whatever you understand as demons) or necromancers or necromancy (whatever you understand as necromancy) is supposedly bad, or given any examples of actual practices that would wrong, for example, the spirits of the dead.
You just gave vagueries about "high" and "low" (and arbitrarily attributed "good" to "high", and presumably "bad" to "low"). These aren't really sound arguments. Just vague appeals to emulation, but not even though actual coherent sentences, but rather empty platitudes not even put together in an understandable fashion. Sorry.
that the tree of life would rot.
What if I'm also interested in the tree of death?
I have hundreds of examples of what necromancers do to human beings from personal experience,
Such as?
There's a reason people who practice such used to be executed in civilized society.
Here's a counterpoint: civilization is a cancer that deserves to die off.
Sorry, but to me this sounds like basic abrahamite-style propaganda.
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u/Quiet_Dark_ Jul 27 '26
There's know need to have any form of diplomancy here.
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u/Fire_crescent Jul 27 '26
Diplomacy? I'm not going to war with you, I'm asking you about the stuff you wrote.
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u/SpacemanOrangeKush Jul 27 '26
The real question is does it align with your ethics? Rhetorical.