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 +[[Image:La main de gloire.JPG|thumb|right|200px|''[[Hand of Glory]]'', anonymous]]
 +[[Image:Speculum Sophicum Rhodostauroticum.jpg|thumb|left|200px|This page '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is part of the [[mysticism]] series.
 +<br><small>Illustration to the ''[[Speculum Sophicum Rhodostauroticum]]'' ([[1618]]) by [[Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens]]</small>]]
 +{| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
 +| style="text-align: left;" |
 +"'For [[Ludovico Maria Sinistrari|Sinistrari d'Ameno]],' observed [[Durtal]], "'the [[Incubus|incubi]] and [[Succubus|succubi]] are not precisely [[demon]]s, but animal spirits, intermediate between the demon and the angel, a sort of [[satyr]] or [[faun]], such as were revered in the time of [[paganism]], a sort of [[imp]], such as were exorcised in the Middle Ages. Sinistrari adds that they do not need to pollute a sleeping man, since they possess genitals and are endowed with [[prolificacy]].'"--''[[Là-bas (novel)|Là-Bas]]'' (1891) by Joris-Karl Huysmans
 +<hr>
 +"Ideas enter our above-ground [[culture]] through the [[underground]]. I suppose that is the kind of function that the underground plays, such as it is. That it is where the dreams of our culture can [[ferment]] and [[strange]] notions can play themselves out unrestricted. And sooner or later those ideas will [[percolate]] through into the [[mainstream|broad mass awareness of the broad mass of the populace]]. [[Occulture]], you know, that seems to be perhaps the last [[revolution]]ary bastion." -- [[Alan Moore]]
 +<hr>
 +"He began by turning over all his [[Latin literature|Latin library]], after which he re-marshalled the special works of [[Archelaus |Archelaüs]], [[Albertus Magnus]], [[Ramon Llull|Raymond Lully]] and [[Arnaldus de Villa Nova|Arnaud de Villanova]] treating of the [[Kabbalah|kabbala]] and the [[Occult|occult sciences]]; lastly he verified, one by one, his modern books and was delighted to find they were all intact, dry and in good condition."--''[[À rebours]]'' (1884) by Joris-Karl Huysmans
 +|}
 +[[Image:Diagram of the human mind, from Robert Fludd (1574-1637), Utriusque cosmic maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica]]'' by [[Robert Fludd]]]]
 +[[Image:Véritable portrait de Monsieur Ubu, par Alfred Jarry (1896).png|thumb|right|200px|
 +This page ''{{PAGENAME}}'' is part of the [[publication bias list of the Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia]], presented by [[Alfred Jarry]].]]
 +[[Image:The Music of Gounod is a 'thoughtform' from Thought Forms (1901) by Annie Besant & Charles Webster Leadbeater.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[The Music of Gounod]], a 'thoughtform' from ''Thought Forms'' (1901) by Annie Besant & Charles Webster Leadbeater]]
 +
{{Template}} {{Template}}
The word '''occult''' comes from the [[Latin]] ''occultus'' ([[clandestine]], [[hidden]], [[secret]]), referring to 'knowledge of the hidden'. In the [[medical]] sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g. an "occult bleed." The word '''occult''' comes from the [[Latin]] ''occultus'' ([[clandestine]], [[hidden]], [[secret]]), referring to 'knowledge of the hidden'. In the [[medical]] sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g. an "occult bleed."
 +==Occultism==
 +Occultism is the study of occult or hidden wisdom. To the occultist it is the study of "Truth", a deeper truth that exists beneath the surface: 'The truth is always hidden in plain sight'. It can involve such subjects as [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] (alternatively spelled and defined as [[magick]]), [[alchemy]], [[extra-sensory perception]], [[astrology]], [[spiritualism]] and [[numerology]]. There is often a strong [[religion|religious]] element to these studies and beliefs, and many occultists profess adherence to religions such as [[Gnosticism]], [[Hermeticism]], [[Luciferianism]], [[Thelema]], and [[Neopaganism]]. 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]]. [[Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] members of such religions are likely to consider such interpretations false.
-== See also ==+The word "occult" is somewhat generic, in that almost everything that isn't claimed by any of the major religions can be considered the occult. Even religious scientists have difficulties in defining occultism. A broad definition is offered by [[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke]]:
-*[[Occulture]]+
-*[[Occultism chronology]]+
-OCCULTISM IN THE 19TH CENTURY -- A CHRONOLOGY+
-1774+<blockquote>
-F.A. Mesmer discovers "animal magnetism," or Mesmerism+"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."(Goodrick-Clarke, [[The Occult Roots of Nazism]] (1985))
 +</blockquote>
-1781+From the 15th to 17th century, these kinds of ideas that are alternatively described as [[Western esotericism]] had a brief revival. Alchemy used to be common among highly important seventeenth-century scientists, such as [[Isaac Newton]] and [[Gottfried Leibniz]]. Isaac Newton was accused of introducing occult agencies into [[natural science]] when he postulated [[gravity]] as a force capable of [[action at a distance|acting over vast distances]]. This revival of alchemy and other occult studies was halted by the triumph of empirical sciences and the [[Age of Enlightenment]]. "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," (Goodrick-Clarke, 1985) and were only preserved by a few antiquarians and mystics. However, from about 1770 onwards, a renewed desire for mystery, an interest in the Middle Ages and a romantic temper encouraged a revival of occultism in Europe, "a reaction to the rationalist Enlightenment." (Goodrick-Clarke, 1985)
-H. Fuseli, The Nightmare+
-1790+Based on his research into [[Esotericism in Germany and Austria|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.
-William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell+
-1795+That the Kabbalah has been considered an occult study is also perhaps because of its popularity among [[magi]] (the biblical [[biblical Magi|wise men]] who visited the [[Infant Jesus]] are said to have been magi of [[Zoroastrianism]]) and [[Thelema|Thelemites]]. Kabbalah was later adopted by the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn|Golden Dawn]] and brought out into the open by [[Aleister Crowley]] and his protégé [[Israel Regardie]]. Since that time many authors have emphasized a [[syncretism|syncretic]] approach by drawing parallels between different disciplines.
-F. Goya, Witches Sabbath+
-1808+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 [[soul|spirit]]. The term can refer to [[mind|mental]], [[psychology|psychological]] or [[spirituality|spiritual]] training. It is important to note, however, that many occultists will also study 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, a [[ritual]]istic action (for example, [[meditation]] or [[chant]]ing), or a medium in which one becomes wholly [[immersion|immersed]]. These are just a few examples of the vast and numerous avenues that can be explored.
-J.W. von Goethe, Faust, part I; French translation 1827+==Occult fiction==
 +:''[[occult detective fiction]], [[supernatural horror]]''
-1820+;Examples
-Wm. Blake's visionary portraits for John Varley (Ghost of a Flea)+*In [[1670]], the [[Abbé Nicolas-Pierre-Henri de Montfaucon de Villars]] publishes ''[[The Count Of Gabalis]]''.
- +*[[Russian science fiction and fantasy]], see [[Vera Zhelikhovsky]]'s occult fiction.
-1829+*The most popular contemporary writer of occult fiction is [[Dan Brown]].
-Samuel Palmer paints in his Valley of Vision in Shoreham+*''[[Foucault's Pendulum]]'' was there for the thinking man
- +== See also ==
-1832+*[[Occulture]]
-J.W. von Goethe, Faust, part II finished. Goethe dies.+*[[Occultism chronology]] by Jeffery Howe
- +*[[Ariosophy]]
-1835+*[[Esotericism]]
-Honore de Balzac, Seraphita+*[[List of magical terms and traditions]]
- +*[[Magic (paranormal)]]
-1842+*[[Nazi occultism]]
-E. Bulwer-Lytton, Zanoni, a Rosicrucian Tale+*[[Spiritualism]]
- +*[[Theosophy]]
-1848+*[[Witch]]
-The Fox Sisters contact spirits through rapping; Spiritism Craze begins in Hydesville, N.Y.+
- +
-1850+
-Allan Kardec (pseudonym for Hyppolyte Leon Denizard Rivail) commences career as Medium in Paris;+
- +
-1855-57+
-Victor Hugo creates spiritist drawings, conducts seances+
- +
-1858+
-Victorien Sardou publishes automatic drawings of scenes on Jupiter (Mozart's house) in La Revue Spirite+
- +
-1860+
-Eliphas Levi (pseudonym for A.L. Constant), History of Magic+
- +
-1861+
-Allan Kardec, The Book on Mediums+
-William H. Mumler publishes first spirit photographs (in Boston)+
- +
-1862+
-Eliphas Levi, Fables et Symboles et leur explication+
- +
-1874+
-William Crookes, Research in the Phenomena of Spiritualism+
- +
-1875+
-Theosophical Society founded by H.P. Blavatsky & Col. Olcott in New York+
- +
-1877+
-H.P. Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled+
- +
-1882+
-Society for Psychical Research founded in London+
- +
-1884+
-J. Peladan, Le Vice Supreme+
-French branch of Theosophical Society founded; again in 1887 as Societe d'Isis+
- +
-1885+
-Carl du Prel, Philosophy of Mysticism+
- +
-1886+
-Stanislaus de Guaita, Au Seuil du Mystere+
-J.J. Tissot attends seances by William Eglinton to contact the late Mrs. Newton+
- +
-1888+
-H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine+
-W.B. Yeats joins the theosophists+
-S. de Guaita founds Kabbalistic Order of Rose+Croix in Paris+
-Papus (pseudonym for Gerard Encausse) founds journal L'Initiation (Paris)+
-Papus, Traite elementaire des sciences occultes+
- +
-1889+
-Edouard Schure, The Great Initiates+
-P. Gauguin, Self-Portrait with Halo and Snake+
- +
-1890+
-W.B. Yeats joins the Order of the Golden Dawn+
-James Frazer, The Golden Bough+
-Sar Josephin Peladan founds the Order ot the Catholic Rose+Croix, of the Temple and of the Grail (schism with Guaita)+
-Paul Serusier, Portrait of Paul Ranson in Nabi Costume+
- +
-1891+
-J.-K. Huysmans, La Bas (Down There)+
- +
-1892+
-War of the Roses; occult battles in Paris involving Jules Bois, S. de Guaita, J. Peladan, Abbe Boullan+
-Sar J. Peladan establishes Salons de la Rose+Croix in Paris; these continue until 1897+
- +
-1890s+
-Colonel de Rochas experiments with hypnotic regression to past lives+
- +
-1895+
-August Strindberg, "Introduction a une chimie unitaire," Mercure de France; alchemical experiments; see his Inferno+
- +
-1897+
-Bram Stoker, Dracula+
-S. de Guaita, La Clef de la Magie Noir+
- +
-1900+
-Fernand Khnopff erects an altar to Hypnos (date approximate)+
- +
-1901+
-Annie Besant & C.W. Leadbeater, Thought Forms+
- +
-1902+
-C.W. Leadbeater, Man Visible and Invisible+
-1908+{{GFDL}}
-Piet Mondrian joins the Theosophical Society in Amsterdam+
-(Wassily Kandinsky also a Theosophist) {{GFDL}} +
[[Category:Non-mainstream]] [[Category:Non-mainstream]]

Current revision

Hand of Glory, anonymous
Enlarge
Hand of Glory, anonymous
This page Occult is part of the mysticism series. Illustration to the Speculum Sophicum Rhodostauroticum (1618) by Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens
Enlarge
This page Occult is part of the mysticism series.
Illustration to the Speculum Sophicum Rhodostauroticum (1618) by Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens

"'For Sinistrari d'Ameno,' observed Durtal, "'the incubi and succubi are not precisely demons, but animal spirits, intermediate between the demon and the angel, a sort of satyr or faun, such as were revered in the time of paganism, a sort of imp, such as were exorcised in the Middle Ages. Sinistrari adds that they do not need to pollute a sleeping man, since they possess genitals and are endowed with prolificacy.'"--Là-Bas (1891) by Joris-Karl Huysmans

"Ideas enter our above-ground culture through the underground. I suppose that is the kind of function that the underground plays, such as it is. That it is where the dreams of our culture can ferment and strange notions can play themselves out unrestricted. And sooner or later those ideas will percolate through into the broad mass awareness of the broad mass of the populace. Occulture, you know, that seems to be perhaps the last revolutionary bastion." -- Alan Moore

"He began by turning over all his Latin library, after which he re-marshalled the special works of Archelaüs, Albertus Magnus, Raymond Lully and Arnaud de Villanova treating of the kabbala and the occult sciences; lastly he verified, one by one, his modern books and was delighted to find they were all intact, dry and in good condition."--À rebours (1884) by Joris-Karl Huysmans

The Music of Gounod, a 'thoughtform' from Thought Forms (1901) by Annie Besant & Charles Webster Leadbeater
Enlarge
The Music of Gounod, a 'thoughtform' from Thought Forms (1901) by Annie Besant & Charles Webster Leadbeater

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The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to 'knowledge of the hidden'. In the medical sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g. an "occult bleed."

[edit]

Occultism

Occultism is the study of occult or hidden wisdom. To the occultist it is the study of "Truth", a deeper truth that exists beneath the surface: '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 and numerology. There is often a strong religious element to these studies and beliefs, and many occultists profess adherence to religions such as Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Luciferianism, Thelema, and Neopaganism. 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.

The word "occult" is somewhat generic, in that almost everything that isn't claimed by any of the major religions can be considered the occult. Even religious scientists have difficulties in defining occultism. 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."(Goodrick-Clarke, The Occult Roots of Nazism (1985))

From the 15th to 17th century, these kinds of ideas that are alternatively described as Western esotericism had a brief revival. Alchemy used to be common among highly important seventeenth-century scientists, such as Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz. Isaac Newton was accused of introducing occult agencies into natural science when he postulated gravity as a force capable of acting over vast distances. This revival of alchemy and other occult studies was halted by the triumph of empirical sciences and the Age of Enlightenment. "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," (Goodrick-Clarke, 1985) and were only preserved by a few antiquarians and mystics. However, from about 1770 onwards, a renewed desire for mystery, an interest in the Middle Ages and a romantic temper encouraged a revival of occultism in Europe, "a reaction to the rationalist Enlightenment." (Goodrick-Clarke, 1985)

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.

That the Kabbalah has been considered an occult study is also perhaps because of its popularity among magi (the biblical wise men who visited the Infant Jesus are said to have been magi of Zoroastrianism) and Thelemites. Kabbalah was later adopted by the Golden Dawn and brought out into the open by Aleister Crowley and his protégé Israel Regardie. Since that time many authors have emphasized a syncretic approach by drawing parallels between different disciplines.

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. The term can refer to mental, psychological or spiritual training. It is important to note, however, that many occultists will also study 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, a ritualistic action (for example, meditation or chanting), or a medium in which one becomes wholly immersed. These are just a few examples of the vast and numerous avenues that can be explored.

[edit]

Occult fiction

occult detective fiction, supernatural horror
Examples
[edit]

See also


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