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

🇧🇧 Barbados and 2 moreObeah and Wanga A Caribbean folk magic tradition and a Haitian charm packet, referenced in Western occult texts.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living 🇺🇸 United StatesThe Michael Teachings A channeled New Age system for self-understanding and personality analysisTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation Living

🇩🇿 AlgeriaMawsimموسم Annual Maghrebi festival blending Sufi veneration with social and economic gatheringTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living 🇺🇸 United StatesChurch of Light An esoteric organization teaching astrology, alchemy, and magic as a way of life.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreFourth Way A spiritual path for inner development that does not require leaving ordinary lifeTradition · Change and initiation Living 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreIlluminates of Thanateros An international group dedicated to practical chaos magic and experimental ritual workTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living 🇮🇱 IsraelQlippothקְלִיפּוֹת Impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, opposites of the holy sefirotBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDianism A 19th-century American practice of sexual contact without ejaculationTradition · Power and authority Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesHail Satan A Satanic exclamation used as ritual greeting, rebel cry, and pop-culture punchlineBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChurch of Satan An atheistic religious body founded in 1966 that practices ritual magicTradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire (classical element) A classical substance of heat and transformation in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditionsSubstance · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreClassical elements Ancient theories that explain all matter as combinations of earth, water, fire, air, and aetherBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWerecat A feline shapeshifter found in global folklore and occult beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇹 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomTyphonian Order A British Thelemic esoteric body working with dark occultism, kalas, and cosmic mythTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandArbatel de magia veterum A 1575 Swiss grimoire focused on celestial spirits and Christian ethicsText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaEtheric body A subtle energy layer said to sustain the physical form and connect it to higher states.Being · Power and authority Historical 🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreToltecayotl A Nahuatl concept of the art of living and wisdom derived from Toltec traditionBelief · Power and authority Revived

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAstral body A subtle vehicle of emotion and dream said to travel beyond the physical formBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesDreaming the Dark A 1982 book by Starhawk linking magic, sex, and politicsText · Power and authority 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 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreMagical motto A chosen name used by occultists to separate their spiritual identity from their everyday life.Belief · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 IsraelBabalon A Thelemic goddess of fertility, ecstasy, and spiritual transformation.Being · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living 🇺🇸 United StatesLaw of attraction A New Thought belief that focused thoughts draw matching experiences into lifeBelief · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living 🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreOsirian Egyptian OrderOrdine Osirideo Egizio An Italian esoteric society tracing its roots to 18th-century Naples and ancient Hermetic traditions.Tradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyUR Group An Italian esoteric circle studying magic and traditional philosophy in the late 1920s.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSolar Lodge A California-based magical order active in the 1960s, known for its A∴A∴ curriculum and legal troubles.Tradition · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreOrder of Nine Angles A British Satanic network linked to neo-Nazism and violent extremismTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇬🇷 GreeceSacred mysteriesμυστήριον Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇫🇷 France and 4 moreEctoplasm A substance said to be excreted by mediums during séances, later exposed as common household materials.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesJoy of Satan Ministries An occult movement combining theistic Satanism with esoteric and extraterrestrial loreTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreGiants (esotericism) Spiritual beings linked to lost continents and root races in occult literatureBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇪🇬 EgyptPrima materia The formless base of all matter in alchemyText · Change and initiation Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptMagical alphabet Letter systems used in occult rituals and talismanic magicText · Protection · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstral projection An intentional out-of-body experience where consciousness travels through the astral planeTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaCausal bodyKarana-Sarira A yogic and esoteric concept describing the highest innermost body that veils the true Self.Belief · Change and initiation Living 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreBuilders of the Adytum A Western mystery school teaching tarot and Qabalah through correspondenceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreFraternitas Saturni A German esoteric order focused on Saturn magic and astrological teachingsTradition · Power and authority Living 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreAlpha et Omega An occult order formed from the Golden Dawn schism, active in London and Paris before World War IITradition · Power and authority Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesOpen Source Order of the Golden Dawn A modern magical order using open-source principles to adapt ceremonial ritualsTradition · Change and initiation Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaWater (classical element) A classical substance linked to emotion and intuition in Greek, Indian, and Western esoteric traditions.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇹 ItalyAlchemical DoorPorta Alchemica A Roman gate covered in alchemical symbols and legends of transmutationCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment 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.

Magical alphabet: Francis Barrett, Public domain, source
Astral projection: Hereward Carrington, Sylvan Muldoon., Public domain, source
Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Mediumship: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
Church of Satan: Palnu ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hail Satan: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0, source
Fourth Way: Londonlinks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Fire (classical element): Correogsk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Classical elements: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Astral body: Rad el Baluvar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Babalon: William Blake, Public domain, source
UR Group: Gruppo di Ur, Public domain, source
Order of Nine Angles: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Joy of Satan Ministries: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Giants (esotericism): Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
Alchemical Door: Sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
Gli Experimenti: Mattman723, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mawsim: Beghdadi Walid, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source