02/28/01

I happened to catch a few moments of a cartoon called "Cardcaptors" the other afternoon.  I stayed on the channel just to see what it was. This show, which is done in the Japanese anime style, looks just like Pokémon in style and artwork. I did a little research on the show.

The main character is Sakura "a normal ten-year-old fourth-grader." She carries a magic key and magic wand. Her mother is dead and she lives with father and older brother Tori, who claims to see the ghost of his deceased mother and other spirits.

The background story is that Clow Reed, an ancient sorcerer, confined the powers of earth, wind, water, fire, and so on into cards and placed them in a book. Keroberos is the guardian of the book. The book could only be opened by a person having magical abilities.  Sakura's father, an archaeologist, found the book but could not open it. Sakura opened it by accident, not knowing that she had magical powers. Now she has to capture all the cards and put them back in the book. Sakura becomes a hero as she struggles to save the world from destructive magical forces.

Sakura has a friend named Li Showron who claims to be "from a long line of magicians." Li caries a yin-yang "lasin board" and a book of incantations.  Keroberos, the guardian of the book, is a flying magical rodent and he claims to be a few thousand years old.

These Clow cards, according to the story, are "a bit like those tarot cards." Like tarot cards, they have some mystical significance.  However, the Clow cards have their own volition and when unleashed, can cause havoc.

A background symbol of the web-site is a circle containing a 13-point continuous star with a sun symbol in the center. On the web-site, this appears to be a design on the floor. The significance of this is its resemblance to witchcraft. Witchcraft involves inscribing or drawing stars on the floor before magical ceremonies. This is supposed to limit the spirits that can come into the center. Since the star has an odd number of points, it can be drawn with a single, unbroken line. This is also significant as it leaves no opening for evil spirits. The more complex the figure is, the better. Also, the number 13 is the typical number of witches in a coven.

I have several issues with this show. First of all, this show is aimed at elementary school aged children. Like the Harry Potter series, the main character is ten years old. Next, the issue of magic. The main character did not know she had magical powers. She did not seek magical powers, she just had them. This idea will most certainly influence many children.

Further is the idea of the cards. The official web-site openly admits that Clow cards are like tarot cards. They have a mystical air about them and could easily desensitize kids to the dangers of tarot. The cards also represent elements like earth, air, fire, and water.  The cards supposedly have the ability to harness the natural energy of these elements for magical purposes.  This idea that the elements have power that can be harnessed is central to witchcraft—and to some degree, paganism.  

Next we have the idea of communication with the dead in Sakura’s older brother who sees (and we are led to believe) converses with his dead mother and other spirits. There is the magic wand, magic key, and the various incantations (magic spells) that the characters use throughout the show.

And finally the character of Keroberos is a magical being who appears only to Sakura and a few of her friends to help them find the cards. This idea is similar to that of a "spiritual advisor" or "inner voice" of New Age religion.

It seems to me that each successive cartoon is even more occult than the last. Since these shows looks so much alike, parents will not be aware of the dangerous nature of these if they don’t pay close attention to what their kids actually watch.

Have you watched your kids' cartoons lately? I challenge you to watch everything your kids watch in a single week. After that week, will your attitude change about what you let them watch?