Esoteric and occult: magic in this belief world

Hermeticism, alchemy, ceremonial magic, theosophy and the Western occult tradition.

Esoteric and occult traditions are the Western learned currents of Hermeticism, Kabbalah, alchemy, astrology, ceremonial magic, Rosicrucianism, theosophy, anthroposophy, Thelema and the tarot. Their authors claimed hidden knowledge open to the initiated. Scholars call the field Western esotericism. This page covers its sources, its personalities and its problems. The field is large and often misunderstood, since popular culture blends occult, horror and fantasy. Tarot, astrology, Hermeticism and other currents belong here, and they have shaped the arts, psychology and popular culture.

Roots

The field draws on Greek and Egyptian texts of late antiquity, the Hermetic writings, Jewish and Christian Kabbalah, Arabic texts on astrology and talismans, and Renaissance revival. Marsilio Ficino translated the Corpus Hermeticum in 1463, and Isaac Casaubon showed in 1614 that it was later than once thought. Modern groups arose in the nineteenth century, including the Theosophical Society in 1875. Hermeticism takes its name from Hermes Trismegistus, and it taught that the universe is linked through correspondences between heaven and earth, a view that echoes through astrology, alchemy and magic.

Orders and leaders

Lodges, orders and charismatic leaders dominate its modern history: Helena Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner, Aleister Crowley, and the Golden Dawn. Some were open to women as equals, which was rare at the time. Others fostered personality cults or abuse. Occult ideas have also been absorbed by political movements, including some with far-right aims, a legacy scholars have documented. Kabbalah, in both its Jewish form and its Christian variants, offered a map of the divine and a language of letters and names that Western occultists adopted.

Relation to church and science

Esotericism has stood outside the Church and science alike. The Church condemned ceremonial magic, while early scientists such as Newton and Boyle studied alchemy. Writers such as Frances Yates and Wouter Hanegraaff have traced the influence of occult thought on the Renaissance, on psychology and on art. Jung's interest in alchemy shaped depth psychology. Many modern occultists say their path is not a faith but a method, and use the language of psychology and symbol, so that the line between spiritual practice and self-development is thin.

Today

Tarot, astrology and the language of energy are widespread, and online communities teach ceremonial work. Commerce is heavy, and fraud occurs when courses or readings promise results for large sums. Scholars treat esotericism as an object of study, sceptics ask for evidence, and practitioners describe a path of self-knowledge. Academics increasingly study the tradition as a significant part of European intellectual life, and its archives are being opened to scholars.

Esoteric and occult on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical

🇫🇷 France and 2 moreÉliphas Lévi A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreHermetica A collection of ancient texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, covering magic, alchemy and philosophy.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Change and initiation Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesThe Kybalion A 1908 book presenting seven principles of mental philosophy as ancient Hermetic wisdomText · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreThe Fool A tarot card of unique status, depicting a wanderer or madman outside the numbered sequence.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇫🇷 FranceEtteilla The first professional tarot occultist who created a system for card divination.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreNostradamus A French astrologer and physician known for a book of poetic propheciesText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreRenaissance magic A 15th and 16th century revival of magical arts blending philosophy, astrology, and hidden knowledge.Tradition · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇪🇸 Spain and 2 morePicatrixغاية الحكيم A medieval Arabic handbook of talismanic magic and astrologyText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreThe Holy Blood and the Holy Grail A 1982 book proposing Jesus had a bloodline protected by a secret societyText · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreJohn Dee An English scholar and advisor to Elizabeth I who pursued angelic communication through scrying.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreKey of SolomonClavicula Salomonis A Renaissance grimoire attributed to King Solomon, detailing ritual preparations and invocations.Text · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCorpus Hermeticum A collection of Greek writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus that shaped Western esoteric thoughtText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical

🇫🇷 FranceThree Books of Occult PhilosophyDe occulta philosophia libri III A Renaissance treatise on elemental, celestial and divine magicText · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇩🇪 GermanyChymical Wedding of Christian RosenkreutzChymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459 An allegorical romance and Rosicrucian manifesto detailing a seven-day alchemical initiation.Text · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyBasil ValentineBasilius Valentinus A pseudonymous alchemist whose chemical writings shaped early modern chemistry and hermetic tradition.Text · Power and authority Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomGrimoire (sample) A handbook of rites and names.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomThe Book of Thoth A guide to a tarot deck designed by an occultist and his collaboratorText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesDreaming the Dark A 1982 book by Starhawk linking magic, sex, and politicsText · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyDe Umbris Idearum A 1582 treatise by Giordano Bruno on memory, magic and philosophyText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇷 IranBalaibalanباليبلن An early constructed language from the Islamic world, likely created for sacred or poetic purposes.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie A foundational treatise on ritual magic by Éliphas Lévi, structured around the tarot.Text · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesThe Occult: A History A 1971 survey of occult figures and latent human powers by Colin WilsonText · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptPrima materia The formless base of all matter in alchemyText · Change and initiation Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyGli ExperimentiGli Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.r Caterina da Furlj Matre de lo inllux.mo S.r Giouanni de Medici A 16th-century manuscript of alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes by Caterina SforzaText · Healing · Power and authority Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
The Kybalion: American Libraries, Public domain, source
Marsilio Ficino: Marsilio Ficino, Public domain, source
The Fool: Johann Georg Rauch, Public domain, source
Nostradamus: After César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Picatrix: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
Gli Experimenti: Mattman723, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Key of Solomon: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Public domain, source
Basil Valentine: TomKidd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source