Occult

The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to "knowledge of the hidden".[1] In the medicalsense 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.

The word has many uses in the English language, popularly meaning "knowledge of the paranormal", as opposed to "knowledge of themeasurable",[3] [4] usually referred to as science. 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 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 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
Reconstruction of the "Holy Table" as used by John Dee.Occultism is the study of occult or hidden wisdom (forbidden knowledge). To the occultist it is the study of "truth"[verification needed], a deeper truth that exists beneath the surface[verification needed] : "The truth is always hidden in plain sight". It can involve such subjects as magic (alternatively spelled and defined as magick), alchemy, extra-sensory perception, astrology, spiritualism,lithomancy, numerology etc. There is often a strong religious element to these studies and beliefs, and many occultists profess adherence to religions such as Gnosticism, Hermeticism,Luciferianism, Satanism, Thelema, Neopaganism etc. While Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism,Buddhism, and Islam are generally not considered occult, some of their modern interpretations can be, as the interpretation of Hinduism within Theosophy or the various occult interpretations of the Jewish Kabbalah. Orthodox members of such religions are likely to consider such interpretations false; for example, the Kabbalah Centre 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[verification needed]. Even religious scientists have difficulties in defining occultism.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="The material in the vicinity of this tag needs to be fact-checked with the cited source(s) from April 2011">[verification needed] A broad definition is offered by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke: 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, and the Kabbalah, all originating in the eastern Mediterranean area during the first few centuries AD.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[9] <p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">From the 15th to 17th century, these ideas that are alternatively described as Western esotericism, which had a revival from about 1770 onwards, due to a renewed desire for mystery, an interest in the Middle Ages and a romantic "reaction to the rationalist Enlightenment."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GoodrickClarke18_9-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[10] .Alchemy was common among highly important seventeenth-century scientists, such as Isaac Newton,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[11] and Gottfried Leibniz.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[12] Newton was even accused of introducing occult agencies into natural science when he postulated gravity as a force capable of acting over vast distances.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[13] "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,"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GoodrickClarke18_9-1" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[10] They were, however, preserved by antiquarians and mystics.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Based on his research into the modern German occult revival (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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[14] Since that time many authors have emphasized a syncretic approach by drawing parallels between different disciplines.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-IAO131_14-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[15]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">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<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="The material in the vicinity of this tag needs to be fact-checked with the cited source(s) from April 2011">[verification needed]. The term can refer to mental, psychological or spiritual training<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="The material in the vicinity of this tag needs to be fact-checked with the cited source(s) from April 2011">[verification needed]. 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, aritualistic action (for example, meditation or chanting), or a medium in which one becomes wholly immersedTemplate:Elaboration needed. These are just a few examples of the vast and numerous avenues that can be explored.

Science and the occult
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">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".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[16] <sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="The material in the vicinity of this tag may be based upon unreliable original research from November 2008">[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 facts.

Occult qualities
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">In the Middle Ages, occult qualities were physical properties that had no rational explanation. At that time magnetism was sometimes called an occult quality.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[17]

Religion and the occult
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">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".

Religious Jewish Views
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">In Rabbinic 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 heterodox 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.

Christian Views
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Christian authorities have generally regarded occultism as heretical whenever they met this: from early Christian times, in the form ofgnosticism, to late Renaissance times, in the form of various occult philosophies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[18] 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 Christian form of Kabbalism,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[19] mainstream institutional Christianity has always resisted occult influences, which are:<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[20]


 * monistic in contrast to Christian dualistic beliefs of a separation between body and spirit;
 * generally not monotheistic, frequently asserting a gradation of human souls between mortals and God; and
 * sometimes not even theistic in character.

Hindu Views
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">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.