Occult

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Part of a series on
Esotericism
Key concepts Western esotericism Eastern esotericism Mysticism Gnosis Correspondences Magic Astrology Alchemy Meditation Theosophy Theurgy Spiritual Hierarchy Hermeticism Kabbalah Occult Transcendental Unity of Religions Metaphysics Mystical theology
Esoteric rites Initiation Transmission Rites of passage Purification Divination Astral projection Invocation Evocation Visualization Egregore Propitiation Sacrifice Exorcism
Esoteric societies Sufi tariqas Philadelphian Society Freemasonry S.R.I.A. Élus Coëns Rosicrucians OTO Golden Dawn Thelemic Order
Notable figures Pythagoras Plato Hermes Trismegistus Dionysius Ibn Arabi Paracelsus Dee Böhme Lévi Blavatsky Waite Mathers Hall Crowley Gurdjieff Guénon Evola Schuon Steiner Jung
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The occult, sometimes called esotericism and literally meaning "unseen" or "obscured", is the category of practices, beliefs and knowledge in all fields which remains hidden or encrypted from others, usually the general public, either deliberately or incidentally. Commonly, it also refers to paranormal or supernatural knowledge, beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of mainstream religion and science, including phenomena of otherworldly agency, such as magic and its varied spells. While experimental spiritualists, secret societies and intelligence agencies are best known for using occultism in the modern world, it has played a major role throughout history, most commonly used to defend sacred knowledge from persecution, i.e. by practitioners of folk-spirituality and alchemy to defend against widespread persecution and extermination by the Catholic church. Occultism may also be implemented for the protection of the general public by insulating dangerous information such as weapons of mass destruction. Within systems of scarcity, it is often used to maintain a competitive advantage over others who are not initiated. Sometimes, occultism may occur within social systems in an accidental manner, usually as a consequence of systemic dysfunction or within a disinformation system. The occult may also simply refer to, and manifest within, areas of perceptual limitation.

In astronomy, "occult" is used to describe when a celestial body is hidden by another; i.e. when a star is covered, or "occulted", by the moon. In parapsychology, the same Latin root indicates that the phenomenon is "hidden" from the physical bodily senses, i.e. the subconscious. In terms of mysticism, it may refer to knowledge which is challenging or impossible to comprehend, as in the expression "the great mystery". Often times, "underground" or "the underworld" are used to describe the domain of the occult in art and mythology, either as a reference to secret or unknowable dimensions. It can also refer to ideas like extra-sensory perception and parapsychology, or hidden dimensions, sometimes mental, which are generally inaccessible within human limitations, or without specialized tools or training. Trade secrets in business, political conspiracies and secret clearances can also be considered forms of occultism, as can any practice which involves systematically hiding or withholding information from others. In Hermeticism, as in the scientific term "hermetically sealed", restricting passage serves a crucial role, well embodied in the Hermetic saying "milk for calves and meat for strong men", or more famously by Jesus: "Do not cast your pearls before swine". The most common justification for the occult / esoteric, as opposed to the open / exoteric, is the protection of wisdom-sets and their users from persecution, usually from a competing force or predatory egregores, and/or from abuse or devaluation by the general public. Thus, while occultism is often associated with the taboo, it is not necessarily wrong or evil, and may sometimes be necessary to defend sacred knowledge from a corrupt government, predatory religious institution, or hostile entity. While occultism has served a powerful role throughout history, it is important to note that it may only be necessary in situations involving scarce resources and hostile or adversarial entities, and thus may become obsolete in states of true security, abundance (such as in the theoretical state of post-scarcity) and peace.

The term occult sciences was used in 16th-century Europe to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France,^[1] amongst figures such as Antoine Court de Gébelin.^[2] It came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky.

Throughout the 20th century, the term was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors, but by the 21st century was commonly employed – including by academic scholars of esotericism – to refer to a range of esoteric currents that developed in the mid-19th century and their descendants. Occultism is thus often used to categorise such esoteric traditions as Qabalah, Spiritualism, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Wicca, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, New Age,^[3] and the Left-hand path and right-hand path.

Use of the term as a nominalized adjective has developed especially since the late twentieth century. In that same period, occult and culture were combined to form the neologism occulture.