Occultism and The Occult

by Christopher Orapello

Much like the article I have written on Demonology, this article is here due to the misinformation caused by television, and no other reason, since I feel that topics such as this begin to venture into the area of religion, which is something I feel should not be a heavy focus on this site. However, when you are trying to help people regarding the concerns and issues we face in the field of paranormal research and parapsychology, religion and personal spiritual beliefs will need to be addressed at one time or another.

It is no secret that the occult, like paranormal research, has been one of my more fascinating interests through the years. As it has already been addressed on our FAQs page, the occult and occultism serve no direct purpose or use in researching the paranormal and there is no need or reason for a paranormal- based research group to have an alledged "occult specialist" on duty. Yet, despite its seeming irrelevance, knowledge of the occult does offer indirect insight to other unknown areas of human understanding, which are often feared by most individuals. The beauty of this knowledge is when you've gotten to the bottom of something, it is much easier to see what is floating at the top. But allow me to emphasize that occultism has no direct reason to be a part of paranormal research. It is completely non-applicable in a modern scientific paranormal investigation. Occultism is not science as we know science to be in today's world and can be best described as "ancient science" and will be discussed in depth a little later in this article.

Regardless of the modern conception and ideas surrounding it, the word 'occult' does not simply imply dark, evil, satanic practices or activities unless of course everything different to you and your beliefs are considered as such. In fact, by definition the term 'occult' refers to that which is unknown, hidden, or mysterious. In some cases anything “nonreligious,” but still mysterious in nature is said to be occult and even terms like "paranormal" have been associated with and have been used to describe the ‘unknown’ which is what the occult pertains to. Occultism, the practice or study of the occult, can involve many things.

Occultism in general typically includes all forms of magick and all forms of divination, which in many situations relate directly to one's personal religious and/or spiritual practices regardless of one's religion. Most religions of the world practice some form of magick or divination in one way or another. Any form of a blessing is a magickal rite of cleansing and instilling a person or object with a divine influence or protection. Asking for a sign or insight into a matter via divine means, through a prayer or by speaking out right and recieving an answer, is simply a form of divination or "divine seeing." Though most, if not all, forms of divination utilize some form of medium or tool to receive answers through.

Magick involves ways to affect the world by causing change to occur through practical and supernatural means. Aleister Crowley, a famous magickian and occultist, once equated magick to the act of writing a book. To paraphrase: An author has an idea and uses tools (pen, paper, typewriter, etc.) to formulate that idea in the form of a book. He summons a publisher who’ll aid him in carrying out his will by producing the book on a mass level. The newly published text goes out into the world and finds it way into the hands and minds of other people imbedding them with the new ideas of the author, forever changing them even in the most subtle but unrecognizable way. This was a classic analogy to how magick works, but also to how common practices such as writing a book, or even an article for a website, are acts of magick in themselves. In many ways what we know and refer to as science in today's world would seem like magick to the ancients; and in many ways, applied science and magick are the same thing at least when the desire to create change to occur is present like in the advances of medicine, technology, quantum physics, etc.

Divination utilizes ways of obtaining answers or information about the world or one’s life through supernatural or hidden means. An item (pendulum), medium, or system of symbols (tarot, runes, and I Ching) are often utilized to depict or convey the way in which the immediate future may pan out or is used to provide a quick answer to a question. The idea behind divination is the notion of relation between the cosmos and the act of associating a technique with the development of the cosmos and the unfolding nature of life. If some act is performed with the intention that the results will depict the outcome of the future, then the outcome of the technique is a reflection of the outcome of future. There are many numerous forms of divination and for your understanding, some are listed below.

The primary idea behind occult philosophy was the establishment of relationships between all aspects of the known and unknown worlds. By drawing connections and parallels between the various aspects of life and nature, the occultist was able to understand the way the world functioned by weaving a network of associations. This network was believed to provide someone with supernatural knowledge to enable them to cause change to occur (magick) by playing off and employing the relationships to obtain the desired effect or outcome. This notion embodies the old saying "knowledge is power." Occultism is based upon association and relationships, much like modern science. Many occult texts will contain correspondence tables displaying the relationships between things, which can then be used to further connect one thing with another through comparison. The primary differences between modern science and ancient occult thought was that occult thought still contained superstition, folklore, theology, and religious bias.

In fact, modern science grew out of ancient occult traditions. For example: astronomy grew out of the divination art of astrology; chemistry grew of out the magickal art of alchemy; the medicinal use of ancient herbs and potions grew into modern medicine. Occult philosophy was essentially the first science, but it was science based upon and including myth, folklore, and superstition. It was not based upon logic and reason like modern science is. It was the reflection of how mankind viewed the world, so it contained everything that the world contained including magick, supernatural powers, gods, goddesses, demons, angels, etc. Science today removed the superstition and focused on facts, like in the consistency of experimentation with the goal of having consistent results to find truth and to remove the mysterious and the unknown aspects of life from existence. For example, instead of studying and charting the planets to document how they may be affecting our lives by their occult influence, science studies and charts the planets to learn about them and the cosmos. The more we knew about the world, the less mystifying it seemed and the less afraid or superstitious we were towards it, each other, and ourselves.

I hope I have been able to clear up the misconceptions about the occult and even shed some light on the darkness it may have previously inhabited for you. Perhaps even now you realize how it has no relevance when it comes to researching the paranormal, but does present an understanding of the power of human perception. You may even be asking after all that which has been explained why some television shows pertaining to the paranormal have an "occult specialist" or often resort to occult practices. The simple reasons for this is because spooky stuff sells. Alledged dark secrets and the notion of the forbidden always attracts ratings by playing to basic human fascination with the mysterious and the unknown. And the longer the public is unaware, the longer resources like the occult, demonology, witches, demons, etc. can be tapped for monetary gain and attention. Now, that's marketing for you!

As you can see, the occult is not necessarily as it is commonly portrayed in the world. As researchers and scientists, it is our job to understand and to pursue that which eludes us or even that which we fear. After all, fear is a product of not knowing; it is an instinctual reaction to the unknown and it is the one thing we as researchers of the unknown can’t afford to harbor because knowledge is our journey and understanding is our destination.

 

Related Articles

Demonology and Paranormal Research by Christopher Orapello

"Oh No, Not Demons!" by Christopher Orapello