occult

5/5/2015 Occult - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occult 1/6

OccultFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The occult (from the Latin word occultus "clandestine, hidden, secret") is "knowledge of the hidden".[1] Incommon English usage, occult refers to "knowledge of the paranormal", as opposed to "knowledge of themeasurable",[2] usually referred to as science. The term is sometimes taken to mean knowledge that "ismeant only for certain people" or that "must be kept hidden", but for most practicing occultists it is simplythe study of a deeper spiritual reality that extends beyond pure reason and the physical sciences.[3] Theterms esoteric and arcane have very similar meanings, and in most contexts the three terms areinterchangeable.[4][5]

It also describes a number of magical organizations 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.

Contents1 Occultism2 Science and the occult

2.1 Occult qualities3 Religion and the occult

3.1 Christian views3.2 Hindu views3.3 Religious Jewish views3.4 Hellenic religious views

4 See also5 Notes6 References7 Further reading8 External links

OccultismOccultism is the study of occult practices, including (but not limited to) magic, alchemy, extra-sensoryperception, astrology, spiritualism, religion, and divination. Interpretation of occultism and its concepts canbe found in the belief structures of philosophies and religions such as Chaos magic, Gnosticism,Hermeticism, Theosophy, Wicca, Thelema and modern paganism.[6] A broad definition is offered byNicholas Goodrick-Clarke:

OCCULTISM has its basis in a religious way of thinking, the roots of which stretch back intoantiquity and which may be described as the Western esoteric tradition. Its principal ingredientshave been identified as Gnosticism, the Hermetic treatises on alchemy and magic, Neo-Platonism, and the Kabbalah, all originating in the eastern Mediterranean area during the firstfew centuries AD.[7]



Reconstruction of the "HolyTable" as used by John Dee.

From the 15th to 17th century, these ideas that are alternativelydescribed as Western esotericism, which had a revival from about 1770onwards, due to a renewed desire for mystery, an interest in the MiddleAges and a romantic "reaction to the rationalist Enlightenment".[8]Alchemy was common among important seventeenth-century scientists,such as Isaac Newton,[9] and Gottfried Leibniz.[10] Newton was evenaccused of introducing occult agencies into natural science when hepostulated gravity as a force capable of acting over vast distances.[11]"By the eighteenth century these unorthodox religious and philosophicalconcerns were well-defined as 'occult', inasmuch as they lay on theoutermost fringe of accepted forms of knowledge and discourse".[8]They were, however, preserved by antiquarians and mystics.

Based on his research into the modern German occult revival (18901910), Goodrick-Clarke puts forward a thesis on the driving force behind occultism. Behind its many variedforms apparently lies a uniform function, "a strong desire to reconcile the findings of modern natural sciencewith a religious view that could restore man to a position of centrality and dignity in the universe".[12] Sincethat time many authors have emphasized a syncretic approach by drawing parallels between differentdisciplines.[13]

Science and the occultTo the occultist, occultism is conceived of as the study of the inner nature of things, as opposed to the outercharacteristics 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 beyondthe 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".[14] Schopenhauer also points towardsthis inherently relativistic nature of mathematics and conventional science in his formulation of the "Worldas Will". By defining a thing solely in terms of its external relationships or effects we only find its externalor explicit nature. Occultism, on the other hand, is concerned with the nature of the "thing-in-itself". This isoften 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 standardscientific method to obtain facts.

Occult qualities

Occult qualities are properties that have no known rational explanation; in the Middle Ages, for example,magnetism was considered an occult quality.[15] Newton's contemporaries severely criticized his theory thatgravity was effected through "action at a distance", as occult.[16]

Religion and the occult



Some religions and sects enthusiastically embrace occultism as an integral esoteric aspect of mysticalreligious experience. This attitude is common within Wicca and many other modern pagan religions. Someother religious denominations disapprove of occultism in most or all forms. They may view the occult asbeing anything supernatural or paranormal which is not achieved by or through God (as defined by thosereligious denominations), and is therefore the work of an opposing and malevolent entity. The word hasnegative connotations for many people, and while certain practices considered by some to be "occult" arealso found within mainstream religions, in this context the term "occult" is rarely used and is sometimessubstituted with "esoteric".

Christian views

Christian authorities have generally regarded occultism as heretical whenever they met this: from earlyChristian times, in the form of gnosticism, to late Renaissance times, in the form of various occultphilosophies.[17] Though there is a Christian occult tradition that goes back at least to Renaissance times,when Marsilio Ficino developed a Christian Hermeticism and Pico della Mirandola developed a Christianform of Kabbalism,[18] mainstream Christianity has always resisted occult influences, which are:[19]

Monistic in contrast to Christian dualistic beliefs of a separation between body and spirit;Gnostic i.e. involving the acquisition of secret knowledge rather than based on scripture and openchurch traditionSeen as involving practices such as divination and calling on spirits which are forbidden in the BibleNot monotheistic, frequently asserting a gradation of human souls between mortals and God; andSometimes not even theistic in character.

Hindu views

Tantra, literally meaning "formula", "method", or "way", (parallel to the Chinese Tao, which also means"the way" or "the method"), and also having the secondary meaning of "loom", "thread", or "warp andwoof", is the name scholars give to a style of religious ritual and meditation that arose in medieval India nolater than the fifth century CE, and which came to influence all forms of Asian religious expression to agreater or lesser degree.[20] Tantra is at the same time a method of psychoanalysis, a way of integrating thebody, mind, and spirit, and a way of using the mind or will to cause change in one's external situations andcircumstances, hence "magic". It includes amongst its various branches a variety of ritualistic practicesranging from visualisation exercises and the chanting of mantras to elaborate rituals. Alchemy, astrology,herbalism, yogic practices, sex magic, and trance also together form the multifaceted and multilevel natureof Tantra. Yantra, literally: "instrument" or "tool" are geometric diagrams considered to be the subtle orfiner representation of the psychological or natural powers that are the deities, the proper use of whichwould result in the yantra becoming "activated" and infused with the particular powers and capacities of thesaid deity, for the practitioner or adept to put to his or her use.

Occult concepts have existed in the Vedic stream too. The Atharva Veda, representing an independenttradition markedly different from the other three Vedas, is a rich source parallel to the Vedic traditions ofthe Rig, Sam, and Yajur Vedas, containing detailed descriptions of various kinds of magical rituals fordifferent results ranging from punishing enemies, to acquisition of wealth, health, long life, or a goodharvest.

Religious Jewish views



In Rabbinic Judaism, an entire body of literature collectively known as Kabbalah has been dedicated to thecontent eventually defined by some as occult science. The Kabbalah includes the tracts named SeferYetzirah, the Zohar, Pardes Rimonim, and Eitz Chaim.

Although there is a popular myth that one must be a 40-year-old Jewish man, and learned in the Talmudbefore one is allowed to delve into Kabbalah, Chaim Vital says exactly the opposite in his introduction toEtz Chaim. There he argues that it is incumbent on everyone to learn Kabbalaheven those who are unableto understand the Talmud. Further, the father of the Lurianic School of Kabbalah, Isaac Luria (known as theAri HaKadosh, or the "Holy Lion"), died before he was 40.

Hellenic religious views

Followers of Hellenismos or Hellenic Reconstructionist Polytheists, reject magic and occultism on the basisthat it pretends to force or compel the gods into taking action and also because severe laws were enactedagainst magic by the Athenian Assembly.

See also

Notes

AriosophyEsotericismList of occult termsList of occultistsMagic (paranormal)Nazism and occultismNeotantraOrder of the Occult HandOnmydRenaissance magicThe Morning of the Magicians (book)

1. Crabb, G. (1927). English synonyms explained, in alphabetical order, copious illustrations and examples drawnfrom the best writers. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co.

2. Underhill, E. (1911). Mysticism, Meridian, New York.3. Blavatsky, H. P. (1888). The Secret Doctrine. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing.4. Houghton Mifflin Company. (2004). The American Heritage College Thesaurus. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Page 530.5. Wright, C. F. (1895). An outline of the principles of modern theosophy. Boston: New England Theosophical

Corp.6. Nevill Drury, The Watkins Dictionary of Magic, ISBN 1-84293-152-0. p. 037. Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (1985). The Occult Roots of Nazism. p.17. ISBN0-85030-402-4.8. Goodrick-Clarke (1985): 189. Newton's Dark Secrets (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/newton/alch-newman.html).

10. Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716) (http://kirjasto.sci.fi/leibnitz.htm)11. Edelglass et al., Matter and Mind, ISBN 0-940262-45-2. p. 5412. Goodrick-Clarke (1985): 2913. IAO131. "Thelema & Buddhism (http://www.webcitation.org/query?

url=http://www.geocities.com/hdbq111/JoTS/JoTS1-1.pdf&date=2010-01-17+12:04:48)" in Journal of ThelemicStudies, Vol. 1, No. 1, Autumn 2007, pp. 18-32

14. Schopenhauer, Arthur. The World as Will and Representation



ReferencesWalker, Benjamin (1980). Encyclopedia of the Occult, the Esoteric and the Supernatural. New York:Stein & Day. ISBN0-8128-6051-9.Harold W. Percival, Joined the Theosophical Society in 1892. After the death of William Quan Judgein 1896, organized the Theosophical Society Independent and then wrote Thinking and Destiny whichcovers in plan terms the purpose of the universe and occult meanings.

Further readingBardon, Franz (1971). Initiation into Hermetics. Wuppertal: Ruggeberg.Fortune, Dion (2000). The Mystical Qabala. Weiser Books. ISBN 1-57863-150-5Gettings, Fred, Vision of the Occult, Century Hutchinson Ltd, 1987. ISBN 0-7126-1438-9Kontou, Tatiana Willburn, Sarah (ed.) (2012). The Ashgate Research Companion to Nineteenth-Century Spiritualism and the Occult. Ashgate, Farnham. ISBN 978-0-7546-6912-8Martin, W., Rische, J., Rische, K., & VanGordon, K. (2008). The Kingdom of the Occult. Nashville,TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing.Molnar, Thomas (1987). The Pagan Temptation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans PublishingCo.; 201 p. N.B.: The scope of this study also embraces the occult. ISBN 0-8028-0262-1Regardie, I., Cicero, C., & Cicero, S. T. (2001). The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic. St.Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.Newton, Isaac, Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John.Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John by Sir Isaac Newton(http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/275-0932910-2493948?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Observations%20Prophecies%20of%20Daniel%20and%20Apocalypse%20)Rogers, L. W. (1909). Hints to Young Students of Occultism. Albany, NY: The Theosophical BookCompany.Shepard, Leslie (editor), Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology, Detroit, MI: Gale ResearchCo., 1978Spence, Lewis, Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology (http://books.google.com/books?id=U1qqguX24fAC&printsec=frontcover), 1920.Davis, R., True to His Ways: Purity & Safety in Christian Spiritual Practice (ACW Press, Ozark, AL,2006), ISBN 1-932124-61-6.Partridge, Christopher (ed.), The Occult World, London: Routledge, 2014. ISBN 0415695961Forshaw, Peter, 'The Occult Middle Ages', in Christopher Partridge (ed.), The Occult World, London:Routledge, 2014 [1] (https://www.academia.edu/10048161/The_Occult_Middle_Ages)

External linksCenter for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related

15. Religion, Science, and Worldview: Essays in Honor of Richard S. Westfall (http://books.google.com/books?id=jbLWJPca_zoC&pg=PA185&lpg=PA185&dq=occult+qualities&source=web&ots=UPY2bsdAcp&sig=pOwVAmv9XFFq_Qu6x5x3D97oeEU#PPA187,M1), Margaret J. Osler, Paul Lawrence Farber, CambridgeUniversity Press, 2002, ISBN 0-521-52493-8

16. Gerd Buchdahl, "History of Science and Criteria of Choice" p. 232. In Historical and Philosophical Perspectivesof Science v. 5 (ed. Roger H. Stuewer)

17. Gibbons, B. J. (2001). Spirituality and the occult: from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. London:Routledge. p.2.

18. Yates, Frances Amelia (1979). The occult philosophy in the Elizabethan age. New York: Routledge and KeganPaul. pp.15.

19. Surette, Leon (1993). The Birth of Modernism: Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats, and the Occult. Montreal:McGill-Queen's University Press. pp.1215.

20. Einoo, Shingo (ed.) (2009). Genesis and Development of Tantrism. University of Tokyo. p.45.



Wikiquote has quotationsrelated to: Occultism

Currents, University of Amsterdam(http://www.amsterdamhermetica.com)University of Exeter Centre for the Study of Esotericism(EXESESO) (http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/research/exeseso/)ESSWE (http://www.esswe.org) European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism, with manylinks to associated organizations, libraries, scholars etc.Joseph H. Peterson, Twilit Grotto: Archives of Western Esoterica (http://www.esotericarchives.com)(Esoteric Archives: Occult Literature)Occult Science and Philosophy of the Renaissance (http://exhibitions.blogs.lib.lsu.edu/?p=1257).Online exhibition from the Louisiana State University Libraries Special Collections. Accessed 2013-09-15.

"Occult Art, Occultism". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.eLibrary of ancient books (http://transcommunication.org/) on occultism, spiritism, spiritualism,sances, development of mediumship in the Western and Oriental Traditions. Many technical adviceon ITC and EVP, and practical tips concerning the development of different forms of Mediumshipprovided by medium Maryse Locke.the MYSTICA.ORG (http://www.themystica.org/mystica/default.html) An on-line encyclopedia ofthe occult

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Occult&oldid=660048014"

Categories: Occult Esotericism

This page was last modified on 30 April 2015, at 12:34.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms mayapply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is aregistered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

occult

Documents