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Since the beginning of time, religious doctrines and belief in the mystic have frightened humans. It has also helped in the advancement of human knowledge. Describing the word occult is a challenging task because people have divergent opinions about what the word means.

To some people, it implies that witchcraft and evil behaviors, while others see it as a sphere of paranormal activity and secrecy. Occult means hidden knowledge, and religious occultism is the study of hidden wisdom or knowledge. Other religious beliefs have distorted its meaning, which has resulted in fear of the word or its practice.

The occultist has several paths, which makes simplifying it tough. That is why it is useful to discuss these specific paths. 

For those who follow these beliefs, it serves as a spiritual experience for them, but it isn’t all of them that call themselves occultists. That is why it is crucial to understand the differences between them. 

These are five mysterious and obscure practices throughout history.

Hermeticism

It is an old practice that subsumes other ideas, works, books, and wisdom under it. Hermeticism began around the second century in a collection of letters credited to Hermes Trismegistus. These writings are known as Corpus Hermatica, where he tried to pass on knowledge to a student.

Hermeticism is associated with concepts of contemporary Gnosticism and Astrology. It has the purpose of attaining a pure appreciation of God’s Knowledge and separating natural from mystical thoughts, through discernment.

We can conclude that although these foundational concepts were vague, they led to the initial stages of our scientific and industrial advancements today by asking questions about the unknown and finding solutions. Gnostics, Alchemists, and Freemasons are branches of hermeticism.

Researchers have concluded that the science behind alchemy wasn’t about gold but experiences they could gain along the way. Nonetheless, hermeticism differs from science. While science seeks to understand the natural world, hermetic try to study the supernatural and attain the wisdom that is not obvious or intuitive. 

Demonism

Demonism is the belief about demons. A student of demonism aims to call upon real demons to perform a task. Some other occultist practices and Christianity refer to these demons as entities whose purpose is to perform evil acts in the world and undermine right. 

The Holy Bible, which records the first teachings of the Christian religion, describes that these dark forms as fallen angels. Since then, they have been consistent throughout other religious teachings. Examples such as Our Lady of Holy Death and Santa Muerte appear independent of Christian principles.

Since the olden times, occultists have tried to exploit these spirits to do their bidding and perpetrate evil. Occultists use rituals and incantations to call upon a mix of demons for various intents. Some works such as the Grimore of Pope Honorius and Lesser Key of Solomon have detailed instructions about summoning demons.

Dictators and serial killers are rumored to be under the influence of these demons because their actions and deeds seem too cruel to be human. Others attribute war, sickness, and starvation to their handwork.

Spells

Spells are theoretically recitals, words verbalized by an apprentice using paranormal powers to affect physical objects and events. They have been vocalized since the beginning of time. Although some believe that charms, ceremonial rituals, and tokens are needed for a spell to unleash its power. Others have determined spells work on their own.

Some practitioners speak them in a determined order; however, others demand flexibility with it. Examples of frequent spells are Hocus Pocus, Sim Sala Bim, Abracadabra, etc. For eons, people have gathered together to chant magic words to change history and events.

They include red magic spells, which are basically about love, money, and the good things of life. On the other hand, there are black magic spells that show the convoluted and twisted side of human thought. Most times, people use it to effect hardship or bad luck in others. Fairies, witches, and wizards use these mantras.

Satanism

People often misinterpret the occult and Satanism as the same thing, although they appropriate ideas from each other. Satanism is a religious belief based on Satan. The roots of Satanism are hard to identify because the church annihilated these groups whenever they tried to establish themselves. They are c rivals of the church.

It is linked to revered and worshiped creatures or entities that are shadowy.  Some include Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, and Marduk, the patron god of Babylon. Forms of Satanism are the Church of Satan, Our Lady of Endor Coven, Luciferianism, Order of the Nine Angles, and Temple of Set.

Divination

Divination is the method of seeking wisdom and information from the future through paranormal and magical means.  It is the process used by mediums and psychics to predict the future. Some popular types of divination include Bibliomancy, dowsing, astrology, numerology, and cartomancy. Others are tarot reading, scrying (crystal balls), tarot, and cowry shell divination. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, occultism is an alternate way of seeing the physical universe and all that it encompasses. History has shown that it is full of mystery, but we can learn realities and remove deceptions about the world that exists.  Other occultist practices to check out are séances, symbology, Wicca, necropants, and human sacrifice.

https://occultlibrary.info/