לא ימצא בך מעביר בנו ובתו באש, קוסם קסמים, מעונן, נחש, ומכשף וחובר חבר, ושואל אוב וידעוני, ודורש אל המתים. "There shall not be found among you one who causes his son or daughter to pass through the fire; one who practices divinations, an astrologer, one who reads omens, a sorcerer. Or, an animal charmer, one who inquires of Ov or Yidoni, or one who consults the dead.⁠" These two verses enumerate nine different varieties of תועבות, abominable practices which the Canaanites were in the habit of relying on.
The Torah lists the practice the Moloch cult first, which involved exposing one's children to the fire in order to assuage that deity's feelings. There is no more despicable form of idolatry than to sacrifice one's own flesh and blood to such cults. Seeing that this practice is so distasteful to God, anyone who is guilty of it is subject to the karet penalty (compare Leviticus 20,3). People who violate Torah law by committing any of the other abominations listed here only qualify for 39 lashes, i.e. corporal punishment. After the Torah concluded by warning us not to become guilty of such practices, the Torah continues by emphasising the positive, i.e. asking us תמים תהיה עם ה' אלו-היך, "you shall be wholehearted with the Lord your God" (verse 13).
The expression מעביר used by the Torah describing the Moloch cult, means that the father makes the child walk between two columns of fire; I explained this already in connection with Leviticus 18,21.

קוסם קסמים, "practicing divinations;⁠" this is a person who takes a staff in his hand and says: "I will go to a certain place, or I will not go to a certain place" as the case may be; this is what the prophet Hoseah spoke about in Hoseah 4,12: "My people, it consults its stick, its rods direct it.⁠" [The idea is that decisions are based on the stick falling in a certain manner, pointing in a certain direction. Ed.]
מעונן, the word can have one of three meanings; 1) it is derived from עונה, a certain period of time. 2) it is derived from עין eye; 3) It is derived from ענן, cloud. If it is derived from עונה this is the way Rabbi Akiva understood it, i.e. that the person (astrologer) says that certain dates in the calendar are propitious whereas others are not. People determine when to engage in certain enterprises and when not, based on such predictions. The sages who differ with Rabbi Akiva claim that the people who practice the form of sorcery described as מעונן engage in sleight of hand, i.e. they deceive our eyes. The third view, relating the word to ענן, cloud, claim that the people engaging in this practice consult cloud patterns and presume to foretell future events based on this.
מנחש, "someone who interprets signs,⁠" such as if one's bread fell out of one's mouth, what does this portend? Or, if a deer crosses one's path what does this signify? Some explain the word to mean that such people look at birds and their wings or try and interpret the twittering of the birds. They believe that when Kohelet 10,20 speaks about "for a bird of the skies may carry the sound, and some winged creature may betray the matter,⁠" that Solomon spoke of people who through interpreting the movements of such birds could divine their message.

ומכשף, "a sorcerer.⁠" Nachmanides writes as follows concerning this term: "the Torah includes many different kinds of sorcery all under the heading of מכשף. The following words, i.e. חובר חבר, שואל אוב, שואל ידעוני, דורש אל המתים, are all sub-categories of the heading "sorceress.⁠" It is prohibited to consult any of the above regarding one's future or how to conduct oneself.
It is important to appreciate in the context of this whole subject matter that when God created the universe out of "nothing,⁠" He made the celestial beings into leaders of the terrestrial creatures who were below them. He established a kind of hierarchy in which "lower" creatures were subjected to input by "higher" creatures. Eventually, at some point, even these higher creatures become subject to direct input by totally abstract beings, angels, which have been assigned certain tasks by God. These angels, when they represent the nations on earth, for instance, may be perceived as the "soul" of their terrestrial protegees. This system is permanent for the duration of the terrestrial universe and the commander-in chief of these angels who represent these nations is the Lord Himself. However, God allowed these "protective" angels of the nations to "reverse direction,⁠" (turn their faces around) on occasion in order to head off certain dangers threatening their protegees as a result of planetary, horoscopic forces. Just as the word ענג, "pleasure" when spelled נגע means "plague,⁠" i.e. the reverse of its original meaning, so, without affecting any real changes, by merely turning their faces in a more propitious looking direction, these angels exert positive or negative influence on the fate of their protegees. This concept is reflected in Daniel 2,21 והוא מהשנא עדנ-יא וזמניא, "and He alters times and seasons.⁠" Amos 5,8 spells out an example of this when he says: "who made Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night; who summons the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth.⁠" His name is "the Lord.⁠" The prophet does not refer to regular phenomena, but to occasions when God exploits certain constellations and their relative positions to one another to effect changes for the benefit or detriment of His creatures on earth. By allowing such angels to "turn around" as it were, He minimizes the need for overt interference in the laws of nature.
The following is an excerpt of the Sefer Halevanah published by Bergamantzia and explaining the relevance of astrology, that if we observe [over a period of time Ed.] that when the moon faces in a certain direction that our undertakings prosper whereas when the moon faces in a different direction similar undertakings commenced at that time fail, then this is not proof of the independent power of the moon to influence events on earth but reflects indirect guidance by God of events on earth as opposed to direct guidance of events which the Jewish people enjoy, i.e. without the need to rely on intermediaries such as horoscopic constellations and what they appear to presage. The fact that God equipped the angels presiding over the nations with this ability to "turn their faces" in different directions at different times enables sorcerers to create the impression that they can foretell future events or even influence them. [The author discussed this in connection with Bileam's prophetic powers, i.e. to be alert to times at which God would be angry, so that a curse which came true would be attributed to his powers.] Similarly, expert astrologers who have a high rate of success in their predictions simply exploit the latitude God granted to these "agents" of His in the universe to "turn their faces around" in order to meet the requirements of their protegees on earth. [I trust I portrayed the gist of this correctly. Ed.]. If our sages accused sorcerers of "denying the system of celestial hierarchies,⁠" what they meant is that they ignore God's direct guidance of events in favor of indirect guidance of events by means of intermediaries such as the planetary system, etc. We can understand therefore why the Torah had to prohibit sorcery. Although whatever information these sorcerers come up with, is not an outright falsehood seeing that it is based on known forces in the universe which God had created, and they are aware that God had created them, sorcerers try to relegate God Himself to the farthest domains of heaven. They do not allow for God's benevolent direct supervision of events in this universe.
Such considerations also are at the root of the prohibition of כלאים, mixing of certain species. By grafting species which were meant to be separate inviolate species, new forces are added to the universe, forces which may have beneficial or destructive influences on nature, apart from constituting changes in the hierarchy prevailing in this universe. Thus far Nachmanides.

I have read in a volume of astrology published by current astrologers called "letter of Galinus,⁠" that if someone makes an iron replica of the planet Saturn, he should do so at a certain date and time of day or night when the horoscope is in a certain constellation, and if such a person will bury it beneath the store of a certain merchant, that that merchant will lose all his profit from the store. If the person who has constructed such an image at such a time as we mentioned buries it beneath the house of the owner of that store, all that owner's affairs will turn sour. Anyone with eyes in his head knows that this "science" will lead to destruction of the world as we know it, and that the only way to live on earth is by allowing the forces of nature to guide us instead of trying to bend them to our will. These forces were provided by God for the benefit of mankind. (This is part of the quotation from "letter of Galinus).⁠" The author of that volume writes further: "if someone is interested in attracting to himself the spiritual influence exerted by the planet Shabbtai (Saturn), a planet which exercises its domain on the Sabbath, he should eat a minimal amount of meat, diet very frugally, abstain from marital relations, wear black garments, construct a picture of a lion made out of copper and at the hour when the constellation of Saturn and that of the lamb intersect he should slaughter a cat. If he then approaches that idol and serves it and consults it concerning his future he will be given such information. Thus far the "letter of Galinus.⁠" (Compare also Parshat Vayishlach, Genesis 32,30 where the author copied from books on philosophy.)
It is clear that the Torah, which is most certainly concerned about our welfare and well being, commands us to do exactly the opposite of what is written in the "letter of Galinus.⁠" On the Sabbath we are to eat well (meat) and drink well (wine), to dress in finery, to engage in marital relations with our wives and in general to call the Sabbath ענג, "a delight,⁠" (Isaiah 58,13). Whereas the philosophy preached by Galinus results in man becoming depressed, adopting the ways of the Torah results in man becoming a happy personality. Instead of wearing black garments, we wear colored garments in order to lift our spirits. Our sages base this on Isaiah 58,13 וכבדתו מעשות דרכיך, a references to garments which lend the wearer distinction in the eyes of others. Rabbi Yochanan, in Shabbat 30, used to refer to his clothing as מכבדי, "that which bestows honor upon me.⁠" Thank the good Lord for having given us enough common sense through study of His commandments, thus saving us from falling victim to such foolish philosophies as those espoused in the book of Galinus. This same Torah has warned us not to pay heed to the constellations in the skies when it wrote (Deut. 4,19) "lest you raise your eyes towards the sky and behold the sun and the moon.⁠" He has, instead, given us the heritage of His commandments, observance of which will result in our accumulating a great reward.

וחובר חבר, "or an animal charmer.⁠" According to Ibn Ezra this is someone who assembles demons and unites them, i.e. charms them; alternatively, it may be a snake-charmer, i.e. someone who can attract all these animals to one single location [pied piper of hamelin. Ed.] (compare Sifri Shoftim 172).
ושואל אוב, "one who inquires of Ov.⁠" a type of sorcerer reputedly able to establish contact with the dead and have them manifest themselves on earth. The dead appears to speak out of the armpit of such a person (Kimchi on Samuel I 28,25). There are many differing opinions regarding the authenticity of necro-mancers. Some hold that the story described in Samuel where King Shaul spoke to a manifestation of the dead prophet did not take place, that it is quite impossible to resurrect the dead in such a fashion and that the woman in question recognized King Shaul immediately and put on an elaborate charade. She did not want to let on, and that is why she said to Shaul: "why did you try to trick me seeing that in reality you are King Shaul?⁠" She demonstrated by her remark that when she had "conjured up" the image of the long deceased Samuel she had done so merely by employing her wisdom and knowledge of psychology.
It is the manner of every woman practicing this art to hide a live human being who will speak solemnly and with a low voice from his hiding place as described by Isaiah 29,4: "and you shall speak from below the ground, your speech shall be humbler than the sod, your speech shall sound like a ghost's from the ground.⁠" The woman in the story in Samuel had hidden someone and told Shaul that the speaker was Samuel. When she made that hidden person say: "because you did not execute God's wrath against Amalek,⁠" this was something which was common knowledge and did not prove that Samuel was the speaker. When the Book of Samuel reports Shaul as "speaking to Samuel,⁠" this only describes that Shaul thought that he was speaking to Samuel. [Actually the Book of Samuel does not even quote Shaul as addressing Samuel at all in these words.] When the woman told Shaul that: "tomorrow your sons and you will be with me,⁠" (i.e. dead) this was all part of her psychology; she had previously instructed the person whom she hid to make this statement as she was well aware that the battle was going badly, and she knew that Shaul was being punished on account of his failure to heed the instructions in his war against Amalek. She considered it likely that he would fall into the hands of the Philistines as an act of retribution.

Others quoted by Rashi believe that the encounter described in the Book of Samuel between King Shaul and the spirit of Samuel was real and that Samuel indeed told Shaul all that is reported there in the text. Our sages in Chagigah 4 agree with the latter opinion. The problem with that interpretation is that if indeed Samuel really appeared to Shaul, how is it that a woman such as this necromancer was able to resurrect the dead by using the "science" called here שואל אוב?
The opinion of both Rav Hai Gaon and Rav Saadyah Gaon is that the woman claiming to be a necromancer most certainly did not resurrect Samuel, but that God did so. They write as follows according to Kimchi on our verses (end of commentary on verse 25) in the Book of Samuel. This is what the gaonim are reported as having said: it is quite far-fetched to assume that the woman knew the future nor that she knew how to resurrect the dead using methods attributed to necromancers. God revived Samuel in order for him to tell Shaul what would happen to him. The woman knew nothing of this at all. This is why she became so frightened and exclaimed: with a loud voice (verse 12-13) "why did you trick me when in fact you are Shaul?!⁠"...she then said: "I have seen "elohim" rise from the earth.⁠" The fact that she had asked in verse 11 "whom shall I raise for you?⁠" was a figure of speech used by necromancers all the time and did not mean that they had the actual power to do so. So far the quote of Rabbi Saadyah Gaon in the commentary by Kimchi.

The text appears to agree with both the opinions expressed in Chagigah and those expressed by these gaonim as well as by what our intelligence dictates, i.e. that Samuel was alive while he spoke to Shaul and that the woman had not brought him to life, seeing that it is not within the power of any ordinary human being to perform such an act. Only God Himself, or a prophet especially granted such a power can do this. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra also agrees with this view.

There is still another view held by a few of the scholars of the Talmud according to which necromancers are indeed able to bring back the dead during the first 12 months after they had died [or at least they know at what time the souls return to those bodies]. We find the following story in Shabbat 152: A certain heretic said to Rabbi Avuhu: "seeing that you people claim that the souls of the righteous are stored beneath the throne of the Lord, how could Samuel appear to Shaul as described in the Book of Samuel? Rabbi Avuhu answered this heretic that what is described in the Book of Samuel took place within less than 12 months after Samuel's death, and we have a Baraitha according to which the soul of the departed commutes to the body of the righteous departed during the first 12 months after it had left that body. After that time the body disintegrates so that there is nothing for the soul to return to.⁠"
You should know that the commuting of the soul described in the Baraitha does not depend on the state of preservation of the body. Even if the body has completely rotted away during the first three days after death, the soul still does the commuting described in the Baraitha. By the same token, if the body has been embalmed and therefore remains intact way beyond the 12 months described in the Baraitha, the soul still ceases commuting to it. The meaning of the words in the Baraitha "its body remains intact,⁠" is simply "the body that the soul was used to inhabit.⁠" It had been its container. This affinity comes to an end after 12 months.

וידעוני, this refers to the skill of introducing the bone of an animal called ידוע into one's mouth and making it appear as if it could talk independently, using some means of witchcraft to do so (Sanhedrin 65). This animal is also known as בני השדה and is referred to as such in Job 5,23: "for you will have a pact with the rocks in the field and the beasts of the field will be your allies.⁠" The letter א in the words אבני השדה in that verse is superfluous, leading to this interpretation, i.e. that the true reading ought to have been בני השדה.
ודורש אל המתים, this refers to people who lift the skull of the dead when consulting them as if they were oracles (compare Sanhedrin 65).