Acts 8, 9-16 A man, Simon, used to practice magic

(Acts 8, 9-16) A man, Simon, used to practice magic

[9] A man named Simon used to practice magic in the city and astounded the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. [10] All of them, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, "This man is the 'Power of God' that is called 'Great.'" [11] They paid attention to him because he had astounded them by his magic for a long time, [12] but once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized. [13] Even Simon himself believed and, after being baptized, became devoted to Philip; and when he saw the signs and mighty deeds that were occurring, he was astounded. [14] Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, [15] who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, [16] for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

(CCC 2117) All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity. (CCC 2116) All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future (Cf. Deut 18:10; Jer 29:8). Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.