Many people confuse occultism with esotericism. They were both closed and secret topics, and they remain to this day. Few people really know something and understand these areas.
Judging by advertisements and printed information, even experts, 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 indicate the presence of other forces, direct communication with which is impossible for everyone in a row. This communication is possible only for initiates close to the Divine world.
Communication with otherworldly forces takes place in the form of sacraments, magic rituals, trance, occult symbols and mystical attributes.
The occult sciences include:
- Alchemy. An area of philosophical knowledge that studied the process of turning metal into gold and the secret of immortality.
- Astrology. A real science that analyzes the effect of celestial bodies on events occurring on planet Earth. In it there are mystical, magical aspects.
- Bondage. This is a religious Jewish movement that exists at the present time.
- Theosophy. The theoretical part of the occult, studies the divine principle using magical methods.
- Theurgy. Practical magic that allows you to interact with higher powers in order to acquire certain benefits.
Occultism is a serious trend that broadens our understanding of the world. To understand what occultism is, one should learn its history of appearance and the development process.
History of occultism
This trend dates back to 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 term was widely used by the French tarologist and occultist Elfias Levy.
Practices and methods used in occultism run counter to the religious dogmas of various nations. In many countries, occultism is perceived as something sinful, since its methods are based on the use of higher forces, both light and dark, in achieving their goals.
Synonyms of occultism are concepts such as:
- Magus - communication with spirits and deities in pagan cultures and beliefs;
- witchcraft - the use of dark forces and forces of nature to achieve their goals;
- black book - communication with dead spirits;
- fortune-telling - fortune telling with the help of magic 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 Occultism
The generally accepted methods of occultism, with the help of which the knowledge of the surrounding world is realized, are sensory perception, experience and speculation.
There is a fourth method of cognition - hypersensitivity. It is impossible to verify it by any scientific method, namely, it involves communication with the other world, with the world of the dead, with superpowers and deities.
Famous Occultists:
- John Dee He suggested starting the countdown with the initial (zero) meridian, wrote a geography textbook, 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 a century (this is his statement, which many believed in those days).
- Count Cagliostro. He studied traditional medicine, while using secret magic methods that allowed him to heal even seriously ill people.
There were many people involved in occultism in the history of mankind. Scientists attribute the connection with the occult sciences to many writers, artists, political figures, 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 black magic, mediumship, hypnosis, black books, divination, divination, divination, tarotovka enter.
- Systemic techniques. This is Feng Shui, palmistry, numerology, Reiki.
- Unrecognized sciences. Alchemy, ufology, NLP, runes are ranked in this group;
- Bondage.
- Psychic.
These are the varieties that form the basis of occultism. There are many more such directions, and every day their number is growing, as a person is constantly in search of information about the mysterious, mysterious, hidden.
The church and other religious institutions urge people not to use occult knowledge, explaining this by the fact that they are associated with dark forces.
Thule Society: German Occultism
This is a German occult and nationalist movement, which first appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century in Munich. The name comes from the mythical Hyperborea, mentioned in ancient legends. The community consisted of prominent political figures and members of the National Socialist Party of Germany.
The Thule Society was created as an occult.
The legend about the island of Tula says that supposedly during his wanderings Pythaeus visited this mysterious land. This country was characterized by fertility, the cultural population lived here. So far, it has not been possible to correlate the island of Tula with a real geographical object. There is a hypothesis that this island has disappeared.
According to German ideologists, the island of Thule was part of the Arctic continent, a peculiar northern version of the legendary and mysterious Atlantis. This territory was inhabited by blond, 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, due to which they preserved traditions and purity of blood (Aryan). But as a result of a natural disaster, the climate changed, and life on this earth became impossible. About 15 thousand years ago, the Aryans left their lands and initially settled in the European zone of Scandinavia. Later they began to settle in that part of Central Europe, which later became the Holy German Empire.
The Aryans kept the memory of their ethnic land - Tula, so as not to forget their traditions, they everywhere put their sign - the swastika. Adolf Hitler became a member of the Thule Society in 1919.
Other teaching
What does esoteric mean? What does this concept include? Esoteric is a multifaceted doctrine of the soul; it includes occult sciences, mysticism, psychology, philosophy, and religious trends. There are no clear faces 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 translated from Greek, it means "inland". This is a combination of teachings, concepts, beliefs, the meaning of which is hidden from ordinary people, and is available only to the elect or initiates. This is the doctrine of the material world and spiritual development. This includes various practices: yoga, meditation, breathing, palmistry, and psychics schools. It is necessary to begin the study of esotericism by studying the fundamentals of the psychology of the human soul.
The most famous esotericists were Castaneda, Elena Roerich, Blavatsky.
Books on esotericism describe the three gunas (qualities) of human nature: goodness, ignorance and passion. Each person is influenced by all three components, but only one is fundamental in his life, it controls his life:
- The mode of goodness. A person who is under her influence, is virtuous, does good deeds, brings positive things to the world. He strives for spiritual development, he is conscientious, honest, noble.
- The mode 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 the desire to violate the laws of nature and adjust the world for themselves.
- Guna of passion. Such people place passion above all else. Pleasures, idle life, joys are the main characteristics of this group of people.
Esoteric directions
Scientists distinguish the following areas of esoteric knowledge:
- Knowing yourself. There are many schools that teach a person to be himself through meditation, travel, breathing practices. In the end, he should receive enlightenment, liberation. In this direction, esotericism is strongly intertwined with tantric yoga, Tibetan Buddhism, sutra yoga.
- Improving and discovering the ability to heal other people. Many are achieving good results in this direction. There are people who were able to develop superpowers in themselves: tearing stones with their fingers, bending forks and spoons with their eyes, healing other people from deadly diseases. A person can develop in himself a lot of different abilities, and various teachings and techniques help him in this.
- Impact on the world. These are teachings and practices that can help a person influence reality. These include teachings about black and white magicians, extrasensory perception, astral, energy, poltergeist, etc.
What gives esoteric?
Why is esoteric knowledge only comprehended by the elite? Because not every one of us is ready to say goodbye to the former idea of the world, to our former thoughts, to the usual three-dimensional space. Only the elite seek this knowledge, to transform 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 our consciousness is omnipotent.
Why is a person engaged in esotericism?
Esotericism and occultism are different paths that lead to the same knowledge. They appear in human life at the very moment when they are very needed:
- when he is in search of new sensations;
- when the world for him loses its attractiveness, it becomes boring and does not bring joy;
- when he ceases to see a miracle, and looks at the world only from a 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 knowledge and wisdom accumulated over many years. Esotericism and occultism are sacraments that everyone can comprehend, and with the help of which he can overcome difficulties. Become free and free from heaviness, achieve results, become healthy and happy.
What is the difference between occultism and esotericism?
Esotericism is an offshoot of occultism. This is exactly what the scientists and researchers who are interested in this question claim. Is there a difference between esotericism and occultism? The purpose of esotericism is not to attract the love of higher powers. It is aimed at gaining knowledge about the material and spiritual worlds, at self-knowledge, obtaining knowledge and information about higher powers.
Occultism is aimed at subjugating otherworldly forces, usually dark, in order to obtain any kind of blessings.
Esotericism and the Occultism: Substitution of Concepts
The occult sciences are a system of knowledge about the material and spiritual worlds that give a person enormous opportunities. They strongly resemble esoteric teachings, but there is one significant difference. Esoterics is self-knowledge and spiritual development, awareness of the divine essence and complete detachment from material wealth. Occultism is aimed at developing the ability to acquire power and strength in the material world. That is, occult knowledge should help achieve status and material benefits. Often the occult sciences, such as palmistry, astrology, numerology, fortune telling, are called esoterics. But this is an erroneous statement, since their main task is to improve the financial situation. While esotericism is a divine path and spiritual perfection.