The word occult comes from the Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native speakers, a small number of scholars can fluently speak it and it continues to be taught in schools and universities and has been, and currently is, used in the process of word occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to "knowledge of the hidden".^[1] In the medical Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Before scientific medicine, healing arts were practised in accordance with alchemical treatments and ritual practices that developed out of religious and cultural traditions sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g. an "occult bleed"^[2] may be one detected indirectly by the presence of otherwise unexplained anaemia Anemia is a decrease in normal number of red blood cells (RBCs) or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin deficiency.

The word has many uses in the English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, via, popularly meaning "knowledge of the paranormal Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena that are understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure. Paranormal phenomena are distinct from certain hypothetical entities, such as dark matter", as opposed to "knowledge of the measurable In mathematics, more specifically in measure theory, a measure on a set is a systematic way to assign to each suitable subset a number, intuitively interpreted as the size of the subset. In this sense, a measure is a generalization of the concepts of length, area, volume, et cetera. A particularly important example is the Lebesgue measure on a",^[3][4] usually referred to as science Science is, in its broadest sense, any systematic knowledge that is capable of resulting in a correct prediction or reliable outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique, technology, or practice. The term is sometimes popularly taken to mean "knowledge meant only for certain people" or "knowledge that must be kept hidden", but for most practicing occultists it is simply the study of a deeper spiritual reality that extends beyond pure reason and the physical sciences.^[5] The terms esoteric Esotericism or Esoterism is a term with two basic meanings. In the dictionary sense of the term, "esoterism" signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs, and derives from the Greek ἐσωτερικός , a compound of ἔσω (esô): "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward", mystic. Its antonym is & and arcane can have a very similar meaning, and the three terms are often interchangeable.^[6][7]

The term occult is also used as a label given to a number of magical organizations A magical organization is an organization created for the practice of magic or to further the knowledge of magic among its members. "Magic" in this case refers to occult, metaphysical and paranormal activities, not to the performance of stage magic. Magical organizations can include hermetic orders, Wiccan covens or Wiccan circles, or orders, the teachings and practices taught by them, and to a large body of current and historical literature and spiritual philosophy related to this subject .

Occultism

Occultism is the study of occult or hidden wisdom. To the occultist it is the study of "truth", a deeper truth that exists beneath the surface: "The truth is always hidden in plain sight". It can involve such subjects as magic Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is the practice of consciousness manipulation and/or autosuggestion to achieve a desired result, usually by techniques described in various conceptual systems. The practice is often influenced by ideas of religion, mysticism, occultism, science, and psychology.[citation needed] (alternatively spelled and defined as magick Magick, in the broadest sense, is any act designed to cause intentional change. This article discusses magick as described by Aleister Crowley, a British occultist, but he did not invent the underlying idea), alchemy Alchemy, possibly derived from the Arabic word al-kimia , is both a philosophy and an ancient practice focused on the attempt to change base metals into gold, investigating the preparation of the "elixir of longevity", and achieving ultimate wisdom, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances, extra-sensory perception Extrasensory perception , also commonly referred to as the sixth sense, involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by German psychical researcher, Rudolf Tischner, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as, astrology Astrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of celestial bodies and related details can provide information about personality, human affairs and other "earthly" matters. A practitioner of astrology is called an astrologer. Astrologers believe that the movements and positions of, spiritualism Spiritualism is a monotheistic belief system or religion, postulating a belief in God, but with a distinguishing feature of belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world can be contacted by "mediums", who can then provide information about the afterlife, lithomancy Lithomancy is a form of divination using crystals, gems or stones, and is sometimes referred to as 'reading stones' and/or 'divination by stone.' "Lithos" is the Greek word for stone, and "mancy" is the Greek suffix for "divination, prophecy, and to interpret signs so practical decisions can be made." There are many, and numerology Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical objects or living things. There is often a strong religious Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or a set of beliefs concerning the origin and purpose of the universe. It is commonly regarded as consisting of a person’s relation to God or to gods or spirits. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories associated with their deity or deities, that are element to these studies and beliefs, and many occultists profess adherence to religions such as Gnosticism Gnosticism refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that the material cosmos was created by an imperfect god, the demiurge with some of the supreme God's pneuma; this being is frequently identified with Yahweh, (as opposed to the Gospel according to the, Hermeticism Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs or gnosis based primarily upon the Hellenistic Egyptian pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus who is the representation of the conflation of the Egyptian god Thoth with the Greek Hermes. These beliefs have heavily influenced the, Luciferianism Luciferianism is a belief system that venerates the essential characteristics that are affixed to Lucifer, originally a name meaning the planet Venus when it rises ahead of the Sun, Thelema Thelema is a religious philosophy that was developed by the early 20th century British writer and ceremonial magician Aleister Crowley. He believed himself to be the prophet of a new age, the Aeon of Horus, based upon a religious experience that he had in Egypt in 1904. By his account, a possibly non-corporeal being that called itself Aiwass, and Neopaganism Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by pre-Christian pagan beliefs of Europe. Neo-Pagan religious movements are extremely diverse, with beliefs that range widely from polytheism to animism, to pantheism and other paradigms. Many Neopagans practice a. While Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity comprises three major branches: Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy (the two split from one another in 1054 A.D.), and Protestantism (which came into existence during the Protestant Reformation of the 16, Judaism Judaism is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Judaism, originating in the Hebrew Bible and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. According to traditional Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed, Hinduism Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as Sanātana Dharma by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as in Vaishnavism. Hinduism also includes yogic, Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by adherents as an, and Islam Islam (Arabic: الإسلام‎ al-’islām, pronounced [ʔislæːm] [note 1]) is a strictly monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur’an, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Arabic: الله‎, Allāh), and by the Prophet of Islam Muhammad's teachings and normative example (which is called the Sunnah in are generally not considered occult, some of their modern interpretations can be, as the interpretation of Hinduism within Theosophy Theosophy is a doctrine of religious philosophy and mysticism. Theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the "Spiritual Hierarchy" to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth. The founding members, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky , Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907), or the various occult interpretations of the Jewish Kabbalah Kabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an eternal and mysterious Creator and the mortal and finite universe (His creation). While it is heavily used by some denominations, it is not a denomination in and of. Orthodox The word orthodox, from Greek orthodoxos "having the right opinion", from orthos + doxa ("opinion" or "praise", related to dokein, "to think"), is typically used to mean the adherence to well-researched and well-thought-out accepted norms, especially in religion members of such religions are likely to consider such interpretations false; for example, the Kabbalah Centre The Kabbalah Centre is a 501(3) not-for-profit spiritual organization with headquarters in Los Angeles, California that provides courses online and through its local centres. To its proponents, the Kabbalah Centre is a spiritual organization that teaches principles of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in a unique and user-friendly system accessible to has been criticised by Jewish scholars.^[8]

The word occult is somewhat generic, in that almost everything that is not claimed by any of the major religions can be considered the occult. Even religious scientists have difficulties in defining occultism. A broad definition is offered by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke B.A. , D.Phil. (Oxon) is a professor of Western Esotericism at University of Exeter and author of several books on esoteric traditions:

OCCULTISM has its basis in a religious way of thinking, the roots of which stretch back into antiquity and which may be described as the Western esoteric tradition. Its principal ingredients have been identified as Gnosticism, the Hermetic treatises on alchemy and magic, Neo-Platonism Neoplatonism is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, founded by Plotinus and based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists. Neoplatonists would have considered themselves simply "Platonists", and the modern distinction is due to the perception that their, and the Kabbalah, all originating in the eastern Mediterranean area during the first few centuries AD.^[9]

From the 15th to 17th century, these kinds of ideas that are alternatively described as Western esotericism Western esotericism or Hermeticism is a broad spectrum of spiritual traditions found in Western society, or refers to the collection of the mystical, esoteric knowledge of the Western world. This includes, but is not limited to, alchemy, theosophy, herbalism, occult tarot, astrology, Rosicrucianism and Western forms of ritual magic. The tradition had a brief revival. Alchemy used to be common among highly important seventeenth-century scientists, such as Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton FRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is considered by many scholars and members of the general public to be one of the most influential people in human history. His 1687 publication of the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (usually called the^[10] and Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (German pronunciation: [ˈɡɔtfʁiːt ˈvɪlhɛlm fɔn ˈlaɪpnɪts] (July 1, 1646 - June 21, 1716) was a German mathematician and philosopher. He wrote primarily in Latin and French.^[11] Isaac Newton was accused of introducing occult agencies into natural science In science, the term natural science refers to a naturalistic approach to the study of the universe, which is understood as obeying rules or laws of natural origin when he postulated gravity Gravitation, or gravity, is one of the four fundamental interactions of nature , in which objects with mass attract one another. In everyday life, gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped. Gravitation causes dispersed matter to coalesce, thus accounting for as a force capable of acting over vast distances.^[12] This revival of alchemy and other occult studies was halted by the triumph of empirical sciences and the Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment is the era in Western philosophy and intellectual, scientific and cultural life, centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority. "By the eighteenth century these unorthodox religious and philosophical concerns were well defined as 'occult', inasmuch as they lay on the outermost fringe of accepted forms of knowledge and discourse,"^[13] and were only preserved by a few antiquarians and mystics. However, from about 1770 onwards, a renewed desire for mystery, an interest in the Middle Ages and a romantic temper encouraged a revival of occultism in Europe, "a reaction to the rationalist Enlightenment."^[13]

Based on his research into the modern German occult revival This article gives an overview of esoteric movements in Germany and Austria between 1880 and 1945, presenting Theosophy, Anthroposophy and Ariosophy, among others, against the influences of earlier European esotericism (1890–1910), Goodrick-Clarke puts forward a thesis on the driving force behind occultism. Behind its many varied forms apparently lies a uniform function, "a strong desire to reconcile the findings of modern natural science with a religious view that could restore man to a position of centrality and dignity in the universe.^[14]

That the Kabbalah has been considered an occult study is also perhaps because of its popularity among magi Pervasive throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia until late antiquity and beyond, Greek mágos "magian"/Magician was influenced by Greek goēs(γόης), the older word for a practitioner of magic, to include astrology, alchemy and other forms of esoteric knowledge. This association was in turn the product of the (the biblical wise men In Christian tradition, the Magi , also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men, (Three) Kings, or Kings from the East, are a group of distinguished foreigners who are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense. They are regular figures in traditional accounts of the nativity and in celebrations of who visited the Infant Jesus The Child Jesus represents Jesus from his birth to age twelve. At thirteen he was considered to be adult, in accordance with the Jewish custom of his time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries. The Child Jesus is frequently depicted in art, from around the third or fourth century onwards, in icons and paintings, sculpture, are said to have been magi of Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster . It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Persia (Iran). The term Zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism (the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority)) and Thelemites Thelema is a religious philosophy that was developed by the early 20th century British writer and ceremonial magician Aleister Crowley. He believed himself to be the prophet of a new age, the Aeon of Horus, based upon a religious experience that he had in Egypt in 1904. By his account, a possibly non-corporeal being that called itself Aiwass.^{[citation needed]} Kabbalah was later adopted by the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order founded in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development. It has been one of the largest single influences on 20th-century Western occultism and brought out into the open by Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was a member of the esoteric Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, as well as a co-founder of the A∴A∴ and his protégé Israel Regardie Israel Regardie, born Francis Israel Regudy was one of the 20th century's most significant[citation needed] popularizers of the occult, specifically the legacy of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Since that time many authors have emphasized a syncretic approach by drawing parallels between different disciplines.^[15]

Direct insight into or perception of the occult does not usually consist of access to physically measurable facts, but is arrived at through the mind or the spirit. The term can refer to mental, psychological or spiritual training. Many occultists have studied science (perceiving science as an adjunct to alchemy) to add validity to occult knowledge in a day and age where the mystical can easily be undermined as flights of fancy. An oft-cited means of gaining insight into the occult is the use of a focus; a physical object, a ritualistic action (for example, meditation or chanting), or a medium in which one becomes wholly immersed. These are just a few examples of the vast and numerous avenues that can be explored.

Science and the occult

To the occultist, Occultism is conceived of as the study of the inner nature of things, as opposed to the outer characteristics that are studied by science. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer designates this "inner nature" with the term Will, and suggests that science and mathematics are unable to penetrate beyond the relationship between one thing and another in order to explain the "inner nature" of the thing itself, independent of any external causal relationships with other "things".^{[16][original research?]} Schopenhauer also points towards this inherently relativistic nature of mathematics and conventional science in his formulation of the 'World as Will'. By defining a thing solely in terms of its external relationships or effects we only find its external, or explicit nature. Occultism, on the other hand, is concerned with the nature of the "thing-in-itself". This is often accomplished through direct perceptual awareness, known as mysticism. From the scientific perspective, Occultism is regarded as unscientific as it does not make use of the scientific method (that is, observation and experimentation) to obtain truth, but instead relies on philosophical assumptions.

Occult qualities

In the Middle Ages, occult qualities were physical properties that had no rational explanation. At that time magnetism was sometimes called an occult quality.^[17]

Religion and the occult

Some religious denominations view the occult as being anything supernatural or paranormal which is not achieved by or through God (as defined by those religious denominations), and is therefore the work of an opposing and malevolent entity. The word has negative connotations for many people, and while certain practices considered by some to be "occult" are also found within mainstream religions, in this context the term "occult" is rarely used and is sometimes substituted with "esoteric".

In Judaism, special spiritual studies such as Kabbalah have been allowed for certain individuals (such as rabbis and their chosen students — to qualify before even starting such learning, a student must be at least 40 years old, married, fully observant of all the Jewish laws and only study with an approved, qualified and recognised Kabbalist, remaining strictly within the specific parameters set out by his teacher and Halachic law). Furthermore, there are branches of Esoteric Christianity that practice divination, blessings, or appealing to angels for certain intervention, which they view as perfectly righteous, often supportable by gospel (for instance, claiming that the old commandment against divination was superseded by Christ's birth, and noting that the Magi used astrology to locate Bethlehem). Rosicrucianism, one of the most celebrated of Christianity's mystical offshoots, has lent aspects of its philosophy to most Christian-based occultism since the 17th century.

In orthodox Christianity, to seek truth or the knowledge of God outside his revelation in the Christian Bible, also called the word of God, is generally considered occult. Through certain scriptures the Bible forbids to seek God through magic or the occult; for example, Psalm 16:4: "Their sorrows shall be multiplied, who hasten after another god", and Deuteronomy 6:14-15:"Thou shalt not go after other gods...etc". Christians do not deny the reality of the spiritual realm, or of the supernatural in occult or in Christian experience. However, they distinguish knowledge of the true God from occult knowledge^[18].

Tantra, originating in India, includes amongst its various branches a variety of ritualistic practices ranging from visualisation exercises and the chanting of mantras to elaborate rituals involving sex or animal sacrifice, sometimes performed in forbidden places such as cremation grounds. Tantric texts were at one stage unavailable for mass public consumption due to the social stigma attached to the practices. In general, tantra was predominantly associated with black magic and the tantriks were held in great dishonor.

See also

• Ariosophy
• Esotericism
• List of magical terms and traditions
• Magic (paranormal)
• National Socialism and Occultism
• Neotantra
• Sex magic
• Spiritualism
• Theosophy
• Paranormal
• Poison affair

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