What does occult means


Occult is a short-hand label for the entirety of European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern thought that emphasises developing a spiritual center within oneself or opening up to the one of which everyone is part. To refine further: the philosophical foundations of the occult tradition are most often within the bounds of Abrahamic, Hellenistic, Chaldean and Celtic inspired cultural groups; thus the word occult sums up the esoteric teachings of all theIndoeuropean peoples. The ways to achieve a deeper understanding of both the inner and outer world are varied; but most schools choose meditation andritual as their primary teachings.

The modern meaning of the word occult is: "to be associated with magic, ritual and esoteric sub-culture". (The modern meaning given here is what anthropologists call an associative definition. This is not terribly precise. Actually the word "occult" is taken from the Latin and means literally "to hide" or "hidden". It is an adverb and has no philosophical connotations. For verification pick up any Latin grammar.) This portal will therefore concentrate on occult authors, practitioners, philosophy, rituals, and the related field of magic(k). Most often this is referred to either as the Western Esoteric Tradition, Western mystery tradition, the Western Mystery Schools, or Western Thought.

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The School of Occult Art`s was founded in 2012 as a place to get an ongoing education in occult art`s.More than the skills you'll acquire, more than the mysteries of a great tradition that you'll learn, the study of occult is really a study of yourself — the way you see and interact with the world and the people you meet.Occult art`s are a window through which you can learn to see you and know others.The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g. an "occult bleed" may be one detected indirectly by the presence of otherwise unexplained anemia.The word has many uses in the English language, popularly meaning "knowledge of the paranormal", as opposed to "knowledge of the measurable", 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. The terms esoteric and arcane can have a very similar meaning, and the three terms are often interchangeable.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

Occultism is the term used to describe the study of occult practices including (but not limited to) magic, alchemy, extra-sensory perception,astrology, spiritualism, and divination. Interpretation of occultism and its concepts can be found in the belief structures of religions such as Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Wicca, Satanism, Thelema, and Neopaganism. 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.
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." Alchemy was common among highly important seventeenth-century scientists, such as Isaac Newton, and Gottfried Leibniz. Newton was even accused of introducing occult agencies into natural science when he postulated gravity as a force capable of acting over vast distances."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," They were, however, preserved by antiquarians and mystics.
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. Since that time many authors have emphasized a syncretic approach by drawing parallels between different disciplines.
Direct insight into our 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. 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, 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.

Science and the occult

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". 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

Occult qualities are properties that have no rational explanation. In the Middle Ages, magnetism was sometimes called an occult quality. Newton's contemporaries severely critiqued his theory that gravity was effected through "action at a distance" as occult.