Deborah Harkness Quotes

My mother is extremely interested in everything esoteric.

I can read the Tarot cards and believe in ghosts.

The 18th century, which is usually held to be the most "materialistic" of epochs, was, in fact, a most "spiritualistic" one; in which ghosts, demons, quacks, philosophers' stones, enchanters' wands, mysteries and mummeries, were as fashionable—as they will probably be again some day.

The occult stuff, I grew up having a fascination about world religion and that fascination grew into other religions and other things and I kind of dabbled my way into the occult and started reading about the occult.

I like to browse in occult bookshops if for no other reason than to refresh my commitment to science.

My grandfather was a faith healer and medium, and he always encouraged faith in the unseen. I believe in fortune tellers.

I'm a storyteller, and I have really good material to work with: I've been studying magic and the occult since about 1983.

I know there is something out there, and like most people, I tend to believe in it more when things go bad. But I'm not like Shirley MacLaine, who probably believes we were past lovers in another life.

I ain't got no magical powers and mystical trips and all that kind of crap. It's kind of silly.

Followers of the occult believe in only what they already know, and in those things that confirm what they have already learned.

Yeah, I believe in all the wild, witchcraft stuff. I don't like to dabble in that, but I believe they all know something.

I have friends who are scientists, strict materialists, who don't think science and religion are compatible, but I just think most of us - unless you're a strict atheist materialist, which there aren't many of - most of us believe in something outside the material world. And if you do believe that, I don't know how you're not obsessed with it.

I would like to do a role that has something to do with mysticism or even a supernatural one.

I have friends who practice witchcraft, and I study tarot myself. I guess, to be specific, I don't want to believe in a world without magic.

My mom is not religious, but she's a very spiritual, magical kind of lady. One time, when I was younger, my mom said she was a witch and that my grandmother was also a witch. It was late at night, and she was really sleepy, but I took it very seriously because I always wanted to go to Hogwarts.

Magic is the mysteries into which not everyone is so lucky, or unlucky, as to be initiated. It can be affected by belief, the whims of the unseen, harsh language. And it is not. Supposed. To make. Sense. In fact, I think it's coolest when it doesn't.

Intuition comes very close to clairvoyance; it appears to be the extrasensory perception of reality.

There's always moments where you creep yourself out, and you think you heard something and you convince yourself that some spirit is in the room with you, but truly, I don't believe in any of that kind of thing. A lot of my friends really do.

Tarot is just stories on cards.

I think it's nice to let people know that there is an invisible part of the world. I think there are many people now who are interested in the invisible world.

America may have great poets and novelists, but she never will have more than one necromancer.

The true Tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs.

In the past, people generally believed they could acquire magic in two ways: through learning the craft, either from another practitioner or from books; or through obtaining magic from a powerful being-think Faust or the classic, demonized witch, both of whom get their mojo from Satan.

Witchcraft and priestcraft, were introduced into this world together, … and has gone on, hand in hand together

Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy, the mad daughter of a wise mother. These daughters have too long dominated the earth.