Esotericism and occultism: concepts and differences

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Many people confuse the occult with the esoteric. They were both closed and secret topics, and remain so to this day. Few people really know something and understand these areas.

Judging by the advertisements and printed information, even specialists, authors of books on esotericism do not know how these two directions differ.

What is called occult and what is esoteric? What is the difference between these concepts?

Occultism

This is the general name of the teachings that determine the presence of natural forces and testify to the presence of other forces, direct communication with which is impossible for everyone. This communication is possible only for the initiated, close to the Divine world.

Communication with otherworldly forces occurs in the form of sacraments, magic rituals, trance, occult symbols and mystical attributes.

The occult sciences include:

• Alchemy. The field of philosophical knowledge that studied the process of turning metal into gold and mysteryimmortality.
• Astrology. A real-life science that analyzes the impact of celestial bodies on events taking place on planet Earth. It has mystical, magical aspects.
• Cabal. This is a religious Jewish movement that still exists today.
• Theosophy. The theoretical part of the occult, studies the divine principle with the help of magical methods.
• Theurgy. Practical magic that allows you to interact with higher powers in order to acquire certain benefits.

Occultism is a serious direction that expands ideas about the world. To understand what the occult is, one should know its history and development process.

History of the occult

This trend originates from the time of the first mention of the term "secret philosophy", which was introduced by the German astrologer, occultist, philosopher Argipp Nettesheim in the 16th century. Three centuries later, the French tarologist and occultist Elfias Levi began to use the term widely.

The practices and methods used in the occult go against the religious dogmas of various peoples. In many countries, the occult is perceived as something sinful, since its methods are based on the use of higher powers, both light and dark, to achieve their goals.

Synonymous with the occult are concepts such as:

• magic - communication with spirits and deities in pagan cultures and beliefs;
• witchcraft is the use of dark forces and the forces of nature to achievetheir goals;
• black book - communication with dead spirits;
• divination - divination for the future with the help of magical rituals.

There are about 30 synonyms for the term "occultism", they are all based on the use of secret knowledge and ideas, rituals and occult symbols, as well as magical and mystical practices.

Theoretical foundations of the occult

The generally accepted methods of occultism, with the help of which knowledge of the surrounding world is carried out, are sensory perception, experience and speculation.

There is a fourth method of cognition - hypersensitivity. It cannot be verified by any scientific method, and it is he who assumes communication with the other world, with the world of the dead, with superpowers and deities.

Famous occultists:

• John Dee. He suggested starting the countdown from the initial (zero) meridian, wrote a textbook on geography, and at the same time was a famous occultist.
• Saint Germain. He boasted that he had invented the elixir of eternal life, which he allegedly used on himself and lived for more than one century (this is his statement, which many believed in those days).
• Count Cagliostro. He studied traditional medicine, while using secret magical methods that allowed him to heal even seriously ill people.

There were many people involved in the occult in the history of mankind. Scholars attribute links to the occult to many writers, artists, politicians, including Napoleon and Hitler.

Types of occultism

The number of currents and directions in the occult is incredibly large. There are such types as:

• Magical occultism. Where does black magic, mediumship, hypnosis, witchcraft, divination, divination, divination, tarotology go.
• System methods. This is feng shui, palmistry, numerology, reiki.
• Unrecognized sciences. This group includes alchemy, ufology, NLP, runes;
• Cabal.
• Psychic.

These are the varieties that form the basis of the occult. There are many more such directions, and their number is growing every day, as a person is constantly in search of information about the mysterious, mysterious, secret.

The Church and other religious institutions urge people not to use the occult knowledge, explaining that they are associated with dark forces.

The Thule Society: German Occultism

This is a German occult and nationalist movement that first appeared in the early twentieth century in Munich. The name comes from the mythical Hyperborea, mentioned in ancient legends. The community included prominent political figures and members of the National Socialist Party of Germany.

The Thule Society was created as an occult society.

The legend about the island of Tula says that allegedly during his wanderings, Pytheas visited this mysterious land. This country was distinguished by fertility, a cultural population lived here. So far, it has not been possible to correlate Thule Island with a real geographical object. There is a hypothesis that this island has disappeared.

As the German ideologists believed, Thule Island was part of the Arctic continent, a kind of northern version of the legendary and mysterious Atlantis. This territory was inhabited by fair-haired, tall people who created a highly developed civilization. This chosen race of people was called Aryan. Their land was isolated from the rest of the world, separated from it by the sea, thanks to which they preserved traditions and purity of blood (Aryan). But as a result of a natural cataclysm, the climate has changed, and life on this earth has become impossible. Approximately 15 thousand years ago, the Aryans left their lands and settled initially in the European zone of Scandinavia. Later they began to settle in that part of the territory of Central Europe, which later became the sacred German Empire.

The Aryans kept the memory of their ethnic land - Tula, in order not to forget their traditions, they put their sign everywhere - the swastika. Adolf Hitler became a member of the Thule Society in 1919.

Another teaching

What does esotericism mean? What does this concept include? Esotericism is a multifaceted teaching about the soul, it includes the occult sciences, mysticism, psychology, philosophy, and religious trends. There are no clear cut lines in this direction. The purpose and essence of esotericism is to study the mysterious worlds and the development of man in them.

The term "esotericism" was introduced by Pythagoras and in Greek it means "inner territory". This is a set of teachings, concepts, beliefs, the meaning of which is hidden from ordinary people, but is available only to the elect or initiates. itthe doctrine of the material world and spiritual development. This includes various practices: yoga, meditation, work with breathing, palmistry, schools of psychics. It is necessary to begin the study of esotericism by studying the basics of the psychology of the human soul.

The most famous esotericists were Castaneda, Helena Roerich, Blavatsky.

Books on esotericism describe the three gunas (qualities) of human nature: goodness, ignorance and passion. Each person is under the influence of all three components, but only one is fundamental in his life, it controls his life:

• Guna of goodness. A person who is under its influence is virtuous, does good deeds, brings positive to the world. He strives for spiritual development, he is conscientious, honest, noble.
• Guna of ignorance. Under its influence is a huge number of people. They prefer an idle lifestyle, momentary pleasures. They do not perceive other people, they try to retrain everyone and adjust the world for themselves. This does not mean at all that spoiled, bad people belong to this guna. Their ignorance lies in their desire to break the laws of nature and adjust the world for themselves.
• Guna of passion. Such people put passion above all else. Pleasure, idle life, joy are the main characteristics of this group of people.

Esoteric directions

Scientists identify such areas of esoteric knowledge:

• Knowing yourself. There are many schools that teach a person to be himself bymeditation, travel, breathing practices. As a result, he should receive enlightenment, liberation. In this direction, esotericism is strongly intertwined with tantric yoga, Tibetan Buddhism, and sutra yoga.
• Healing and discovering the ability to heal other people. Many achieve good results in this direction. There are people who were able to develop superpowers in themselves: tear stones with their fingers, bend forks and spoons with their eyes, heal other people from deadly diseases. A person can develop a lot of different abilities in himself, and a variety of teachings and techniques help him in this.
• Influence on the world. These are teachings and practices that can help a person influence reality. This includes teachings about black and white magicians, extrasensory perception, astral, energy, poltergeist, etc.

What gives esoteric?

Why can esoteric knowledge be comprehended only by the elite? Because not every one of us is ready to say goodbye to the old idea of the world, to the old thoughts, to the familiar three-dimensional space. Only the elect strive for this knowledge, for the transformation of themselves, their thoughts.

But esoteric practices and technologies give people not only knowledge, they help to start thinking differently, to feel the space, to understand that the world around us is not three-dimensional, but unlimited and our consciousness is omnipotent.

Why does a person do esotericism?

Esoterica and the occult are different paths that lead to the same knowledge. They appear in a person's life at the very momentwhen you really need it:

• when he is in search of new sensations;
• when the world loses its appeal for him, becomes boring and does not bring joy;
• when he stops seeing the miracle and looks at the world only from the negative side;
• when he is in search of a new method of treatment (traditional medicine is powerless);
• when a person is in a state of prolonged depression, despair, grief.

Esotericism and occultism, religion or magic help a person to recover spiritually and physically. This is knowledge and wisdom accumulated over many years. Esotericism and occultism are the mysteries that everyone can comprehend, and with the help of which he can overcome difficulties. Become free and free from heaviness, achieve results, become he althy and happy.

What is the difference between occultism and esotericism?

Esoterica is an offshoot of the occult. This is exactly what scientists and researchers who are interested in this issue say. Is there a difference between esotericism and occultism? The goal of esotericism is not to attract the love of higher powers. It is aimed at gaining knowledge about the material and spiritual world, at self-knowledge, gaining knowledge and information about higher powers.

Occultism is aimed at subordinating otherworldly forces, usually dark ones, in order to obtain any kind of benefits.

Esoterica and the occult: substitution of concepts

Occult sciences are a system of knowledge about the material and spiritual world, which give a person great opportunities. They stronglyresemble esoteric teachings, but there is one significant difference. Esotericism is self-knowledge and spiritual development, awareness of the divine essence and complete renunciation of material we alth. Occultism is aimed at developing abilities for acquiring power and strength in the material world. That is, occult knowledge should help achieve status and material benefits. Often occult sciences such as palmistry, astrology, numerology, divination are called esotericism. But this is an erroneous statement, since their main task is to improve their financial situation. While esotericism is the divine path and spiritual perfection.