Childhood Use Of The Occult

[jazzytakara]

When I was eight-nine years old, my younger sister and I made a Ouija board out of paper and pen, in hope of contacting our recently departed dog Shadow, and to see if our house was truly haunted by the spirit my sister claimed to have seen in a dream (which now I think was based off of a story my uncle told us he had in the same house where he witnessed a female spirit in his early childhood years). Neither of knew any better, as we assumed we were only talking to good spirits. Neither of us knew that it was sinful and potentially dangerous, we were two young children not old enough to understand the gravity of our actions. The most we ended up doing was thinking our dog had found a pencil for us and scary ourselves for the next couple of nights. Thankfully our mother found out, and told us that Ouija boards were never safe or good to use, no matter how innocent our intentions, as we never know what evil may try to take advantage of such practices and enter our household. I have never touched any resemblance of divination since.

My question is, am I guilty of mortal or venial sin as a result of this event? I was a small child, but now I know better and I would like to know. I take my first confession next spring, and I want to ensure I include what I can as I examine my conscience the more I learn about Church teachings and Christ.

Also, when I was little I used to think horoscopes were accurate, the same with Chinese Zodiac. When I got older I rationalized that no one horoscope or zodiac profile could possibly be the same for multiple people. My faith also grew and I knew that only God knew the future of his children. These days I only read horoscopes for laughs, as some of them are truly funny at times, and I want to understand cold readings better for my own knowledge and to explain to others who may be deceived by such things. At times I read about astrology and the zodiac for fun and further understanding, but I by know means believe them like I did as a child. They were always fun to read, and at times creepy when a cold readings was eerily accurate, but understanding how cold readings work, the eerie feeling goes away. And even if it doesn't I believe that its the evil one trying to tempt me away from trusting God with my future. Would any of this be a mortal or venial sin?

Its kind of like how when I was younger I would wish upon stars, but now I view wishing on stars as being a method of prayer for children and plan on teaching my children than when you see the first star of the night to make their wish a prayer instead, because God created the stars, and stars can't grant wishes, so take the first star of the night as a reminder to tell God your concerns and your wishes, and remember to thank him and say Amen. Wishing on a star is such a popular plot in children's fiction, and children innocently believe in such superstitions, so I figured that wishing for things is similar to asking God for things, and I thought it would be a cute way to teach children to pray before bed.Is this okay?

[Theoketos]

What you write above sounds like the beginning of scrupulosity. Usually, if there is doubt that the sin was mortal, it probably is not. Go to confession and do not worry about it.