The SDA Church has sought to memory hole some of Ellen G. White’s concerning occultic practices despite their clear presence amidst her own writings. Two specific examples being green cord magik and utilization of a water dowser.
In her recounting of a “vision” she had where she claims to have seen and talked with Jesus, she ends by stating:
The loving eyes of Jesus were fixed upon me still, and he smiled upon me. His presence filled me with such holy awe that I could not endure it. My guide opened the door and I passed out. Then all things I had left at the door he handed me again. And he also handed me a green cord, coiled up, and he bid me wear it next my heart, and when I wished to see Jesus, to stretch this cord. I must not let it lie still any length of time; for if I should, it would become knotted and difficult to straighten. I placed the cord near my heart, and joyfully went down the narrow stairway, praising the Lord as I went, and telling all I met where they could find Jesus. I then awoke.
Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 2, pg. 18
In this vision, she claimed that her angelic guide told her to leave all of her possessions at the door before entering into a room where Jesus was—to which she obliged. Upon leaving the room, this guide then gave her a green cord that, if she wanted to see Jesus, she could straighten the cord and be able to do so. However, if it were left to lie still for any length of time it had the ability to become knotted and difficult to straighten.
In the occult, cords and knots have a notable history for being used to cast spells. The cord given to Ellen White served that same purpose. Brandi Williams, a Wiccan priestess, in her book Cord Magic, states:
What makes the cord itself magical? Partly it’s material. Flax makes a comfortable cord and lightweight fabric, which would be especially welcome if your only alternatives are leather and fur. It’s also partly the color. Dyeing a cord enhances its power. Kasap and his friends wore their magical stones by stringing them on red, black, and white. So if someone asks you why, tell them the idea is at least as old as Babylonians.
Brandy Williams, Cord Magic, pg. 20
This Wiccan priestess explains, not only the ancient pagan roots of cord magic, but that dyed cords function in a particular fashion by adding power to the cord. She continues by explaining the significance of knots as well:
We can tie a knot to make something happen. We can also tie a knot to prvent something from happening. The knot puts the energy on a magical hold, keeping the energy itself locked up within the knot. This magic is used much less frequently than knot wishes because it’s tricky to get the intention right. In chapter 7, we learned that it is important to avoid using negative terms and to instead create intentions as positive outcomes. If you’re thinking about preventing something negative from happening, see if you can find a way to express this as something positive happening instead.
Brandy Williams, Cord Magic, pg. 171
This is precisely what Ellen’s “guide” told her. The knotting of the green cord would prevent her desire to see Jesus which is why the cord must be straightened and not left to lie dormant and develop knots.
Ms. Williams even goes on to explain how one can go about making a cord and performing cord magic themselves. She writes:
If you have created a cord to capture these energies, however, you can use this as a charging cord as described below:
Choose the intention—It’s a good idea to write out the intention you will twist into the cord in your own words. Chapter 7 has dozens of examples you can customize for your intention. The projects below also have suggestions for intention phrases.
Lay out the materials—Choose the colors, measure, and cut the strands. Add any beads you intend to wind into the cord as you make it.
Bless the materials—This is an optional step. You can bless the strands and the other items you will use to create the cord. There is a material blessing rite in chapter 9 called “Exercise: Bless the Materials.” If you have already blessed the materials when you assembled your kit, you don’t need to do it again.
Place and time energy—If you have created any of the cords listed in chapter 10, “Specific times and Places,” you can add the energy from that cord into the projects in this chapter. It is a charging cord because it charges the new cord with the energy already captured. If the charging cord is long and thin enough, you can simply ass it to the cord you are creating.
Speak the intention—Read the intention out loud just before you start the twist. Take a moment to hold the strands and impart your intention into the cord.
Twist the cord—The section “Exercise: Twist the Cord” in chapter 2, “Making the Cord,” has detailed instructions on how to do the twist. Remember to knot the ends when you have completed the twist secure it.
Complete the cord—As an option, you can add beads and pendants to the cord.
Seal the cord—Hold the completed cord in your hand and repeat the intention. Spend a moment visualizing and feeling the result you want.
Brandy Williams, Cord Magic, pg. 234-5
So she explains you “charge” the cord by speaking over it the intention it is to be used for and seal it by repeating the intention and visualizing what you want out of the cord.
Nothing about this is biblical and there is no reason for a Christian to believe such a thing is in accordance with the Word of God. God does not work and communicate with people in this manner. This is divination and is strictly forbidden by the Word of God as being abominable (Deuteronomy 18:9-13). God abhorred the paganism and witchcraft of the surrounding nations of Israel and said His people are not to engage in such practices.
The defense to this has been that Ellen White was simply in vision and didn’t receive a literal green cord. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that she attributed receiving this vision from God. Which means we’re supposed to believe that God was communicating directly to Ellen White in vision, sent her a messenger/guide who utilized pagan, occult practices to communicate to her.
But furthermore—why did her “guide” instruct her to not let it lie dormant for too long lest it become knotted and not work. She was given future instruction for how to utilize the cord which was that she could hold it unknotted at her bosom to be able to see Jesus when she so desired—which is perfectly inline with Ms. Williams description of the use of cord magik.
This “vision” was supposedly given in June 1842. In the February 20, 1917 issue of the Youth’s Instructor, the SDA Church later went on to recollect this “vision” by stating that it was “impressive” and “God given.” They have yet to release anything condemning such a practice or denouncing it.
This is why the scriptures clearly tell us to “test all spirits” (1 John 4:1).
But it doesn’t end there. In 1902, after her return to America from Australia, Mrs. White claimed to be shown a vision regarding the acquisition of buildings in southern California and that they would be available to the SDA Church at a price much cheaper than their going rate. These buildings were to be used for things such as sanitariums away from the congestion of the city, she says.
What’s fascinating about this, is that Ellen White’s grandson, Arthur White, documents down some details around the purchase of this building in his book The Elmshaven Years, where he explains that these buildings did not have adequate water access to service the needs of the people and a new well needed dug. Through the summer of 1904 they suffered severe problems due to drought.
Ellen White’s solution was to hire a “well digger” that she knew named Salem Hamilton who lived in Nebraska. Arthur White then explains that, upon hiring this individual, he surveyed the ground and tried to locate water with a “wizard water stick”—what’s also known as dowsing. A wizard water stick is also known as a dowsing rod. Ellen White knew and hired a water dowser to help them locate where on the property they could locate water.
Once again we have God supposedly leading and guiding Ellen White in a process that utilizes practices He has clearly stated are forbidden and abominable in the bible.
Looking again at the August 29, 1961 issue of the Youth’s Instructor, the SDA church speaks on the practice of water witching where it is painted favorably in a question and answer section. They write:
Question: What view does the church take of those who witch for water with a forked willow stick? My husband and I think it is spiritism.
Counsel: In dealing with unknown quantities it is impossible to make a hard-and-fast statement. This matter of “witching” for water seems to be something about which we do not have enough information to make a firm decision. It is easy to attribute directly to God or directly to the devil those things we do not understand. Only a few decades ago electricity was considered the product of some supernatural power. If we were natives of certain cultures we would imagine that the picture that came from a camera would be the soul or spirit of the person photographed. To make a decision on that which seems supernatural to us when we do not have all the facts is not wise.
The Bible does not discuss this problem, nor does the Spirit of Prophecy. God, in His desire that we become mature in mind as well as in spiritual things, has left many things to our own minds to figure out. Therefore this question of water witching must be held until we arrive at a fuller understanding of its nature or source, for it is entirely possible that this is a natural phenomenon.
The Youth’s Instructor, August 29, 1961
The author even goes on to state in the article that there are “intelligent, godly men who claim the ability to discover water by a method of ‘water witching.'” They would later go on, in the April 9, 1998 issue of The Adventist Review, to condemn such practices that rely on crystals and divining rods (which is what a wizard stick is) calling them pagan and a rejection of the truth that Christ came to bring. Which means that the early SDAs, by the organizations later admission, rejected the truth that Christ came to bring and were engaged in pagan practices.
God’s Word is clear about the forbidding of divination, witchcraft, enchanters, charmers, wizards, necromancers, and consulting familiar spirits (Deuteronomy 18:9-13; Leviticus 19:31, 20:6; 1 Samuel 15:23; 2 Chronicles 33:6).
