Occultism History See Also Guides, Tutorials

The word occult comes from Latin occultus (hidden), referring to the ' knowledge of the secret' or 'knowledge of the hidden' and often meaning 'knowledge of the supernatural', as opposed to 'knowledge of the visible' or 'knowledge of the measurable', usually refered to as science. The modern term's meaning is often imprecisely translated and used as a term for 'secret knowledge' or 'hidden knowledge', in the sense of meaning 'knowledge meant only for certain people' or 'knowledge that must be kept hidden'. Therefore in the context of this terms contemporary meaning in western societies anything refered to with the term occult is often regarded as superstitious.

Many people, especially Conservative Christians, use the term to refer to a number of practices which they disapprove of on religious grounds but which those who participate in for the most part do not consider occult. These include the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons; heavy metal music, and sometimes even CatholicismThis article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. See Catholicism (disambiguation) for alternative meanings Catholicism has two main ecclesiastical meanings, described in Webster's Dictionary as: a) "the whole orthodox Christian chu.

1 Occultism

Occultism is the study of supposed occult or hidden wisdom. It is a 'grey' area, perhaps larger than any other in the realm of religion. It can deal with subjects ranging from talismanTalisman can refer to: # An amulet sometimes believed to have mystical powers # The Talisman board game from Games Workshop.s, magicMagic (also called magick to distinguish it from stage magic) is a supposed way of influencing the world through supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. This article provides an overview of specific magical traditions and practices. It also discusses (alternatively spelt and defined as magickMagick is a spelling of magic, used by Aleister Crowley to differentiate the type congruent with sorcery from illusion or stage magic. His definition treats magic in the context of the paranormal and magic in the context of religion as special cases.), sorcery, and voudou, to ESPESP can mean Electronic Stability Program also known as Electronic Skid Prevention, a safety system in cars that detects the steering wheel angle, speed of each tire, yaw and direction of the car and can activate one brake at an appropriate wheel to preve, astrologyastrological chart (or horoscope) Y2K Chart This particular chart is calculated for January 1st, 2000 at 12:01:00 A. Eastern Standard Time in New York City, New York, USA. Longitude: 074W00'23" Latitude: 40N42'51") Astrology (from Greek: , astron "star" +, numerologyNumerology is an arcane study of the purported mystical relationship between numbers and the character or action of physical objects and living things. Numerology and numerological divination was popular among early mathematicians such as Pythagoras, but, and lucid dreams. It is all encompassing in that most everything that isn't claimed by any of the major religions is included in the realm of the occult. Even qabalah has been considered an occult study, perhaps because of its popularity amongst magi and Wiccans.

Direct insight into or perception of the occult is said not to consist of access to physically measurable facts, but to be arrived at through the mind or the spirit. The term can refer to mental, psychological or spiritual training. An oft-cited means of gaining insight into the occult is the use of a focus . A focus may be a physical object, a ritualistic action (for example, meditation or chanting), or a medium in which one becomes wholly immersed.

The beliefs and practices of those who consider their activities "occult" or part of "the occult" in the more usual western interpretation 'hidden knowledge' ( ceremonial magicians, Satanists, and so on) are generally far from being secret or hidden, being found very easily in print or on the Internet. This ready availability is historically recent and corresponds to a reduced interest in traditional religion and the promulgation by occultists of the perception of the occult as a broad term for a radical alternative to orthodoxy.

2 History

Occultism has seen countless resurgences throughout history, possibly because some people who investigate the occult seek for meaning in their lives.

Many occult practices remained within the circles of the subcultures until the nineteenth century when various academics and practitioners popularized occult studies. Occultists like Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, Eliphas Levi, Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Arthur Edward Waite who later influenced other occultists such as Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, William Butler Yeats, Ezra Pound, William Burroughs and Salmon Rushdie.

In the nineteenth century there were various occult orders and schools of thought that were forged and some continue to flourish to this day. Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Ordo Templi Orientis are two examples of magical lodges that were formed by early nineteenth century occultist with rituals based on the Kabbalah, ceremonial magic, and Masonic ritual.

The fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, who did not himself believe in the occult, would have an important effect on the subculture as the pessimistic realism of Lovecraft's worldview ultimately predict and described the course of the coming century. In a word, Lovecraft has dated much better, arguably, than the ceremonialists of the nineteenth century.

Between World War I and World War II the centre of occult and mystical activity was shifted from France to Belgium. Belgium became the main centre for many brotherhoods and secret societies of which many branches still exist today.

One of the more recent branches of Occultism originated in the 1970s with the advent of chaos magic. Under the meta-belief that "Nothing Is True, Everything is Permitted", chaos magic encouarges the occultist to deliberately paradigm shift in order to achieve magical results and to believe everything and nothing.

The most recent resurgence is in a large way due to paperback editions of Simon's Necronomicon, movies like The Craft, and the never-out-of-print works of authors such as Lovecraft, Anton LaVey and Robert Anton Wilson have ensured occultism a permanent place in western popular culture.

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