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

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAstrology A divinatory practice that reads human fate through the positions of celestial bodies.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreTarottarocchi A set of playing cards used for games and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 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

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

🇲🇬 Madagascar and 4 moreGeomancy A cross-cultural system of divination using earth, sand, and landforms to read the future or align spaces.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living

🇪🇸 Spain and 2 morePicatrixغاية الحكيم A medieval Arabic handbook of talismanic magic and astrologyText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAbraxasἈβράξας A Gnostic archon and the name on ancient protective gemstonesBeing · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptScrying A divination practice of gazing into a medium to receive visions or guidance.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAleister Crowley English occultist and founder of the religion of ThelemaText · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living

🇫🇷 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

🇮🇹 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 🇪🇬 EgyptTheurgyθεουργία A Neoplatonic ritual path to unite the soul with the divine through sacred actsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical 🇪🇹 EthiopiaPlanetary hours A system assigning celestial rulers to each hour of the day and weekTradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm 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

🇪🇬 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

🇪🇬 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

🇺🇸 United StatesThe Kybalion A 1908 book presenting seven principles of mental philosophy as ancient Hermetic wisdomText · Power and authority 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 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSamuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers British occultist and co-founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden DawnFigure Historical 🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇸🇪 Sweden and 4 moreEmanuel Swedenborg An 18th-century Swedish scientist who became a mystic and claimed to visit the afterlife.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇩🇪 GermanyBasil ValentineBasilius Valentinus A pseudonymous alchemist whose chemical writings shaped early modern chemistry and hermetic tradition.Text · Power and authority Historical

🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreApollonius of TyanaἈπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς A first-century philosopher and miracle worker whose life became a legend of divine power.Figure · Wonder and entertainment 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

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreNumerology The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical 🇨🇳 China and 4 moreQimen Dunjia奇門遁甲 An ancient Chinese divination system mapping time and space for strategic decision-makingOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived 🇫🇷 FranceEtteilla The first professional tarot occultist who created a system for card divination.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreOnomancy Divination based on the letters, numbers, or written strokes of a person's nameOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSatanism A modern set of beliefs using the figure of Satan as a symbol or deity.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇳 IndiaLeft-Hand and Right-Hand Paths Two distinct orientations in occult magic, dividing taboo-breaking from orthodoxy.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomHermetic Order of the Golden DawnOrdo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae A late-19th-century British magical order that shaped modern Western occultismTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 7 moreSlavic Native FaithРодноверие A modern polytheistic movement drawing on Slavic folklore, romanticism, and global spiritual traditions.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇹 ItalyThe MagicianLe Bateleur A tarot trump symbolizing power and the link between spirit and matterText · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Living

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

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreAnthroposophy A spiritual movement founded by Rudolf Steiner to explore the intellectual side of the unseen worldTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomGrimoire (sample) A handbook of rites and names.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreDaeva𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 A Zoroastrian entity that evolved from rejected gods to personifications of evil.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaElemental Mythic beings linked to earth, water, air, and fire in Renaissance occultism.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNeotantraनवतन्त्र (navatantra) A Western movement blending Tantra with modern views on sacred sexualityTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation Living

🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreMundane astrology A branch of astrology that reads the horoscopes of nations and governments instead of individuals.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandPsychological astrology A system that maps horoscopes to psychological theories and archetypesTradition · Change and initiation Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreThelema A Western esoteric philosophy centered on discovering and following one's True WillTradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living 🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreLocational astrology A branch of astrology that maps planetary influences to specific places on Earth.Tradition · Power and authority Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Tarot: World Web Playing Card Museum, Public domain, source
Elemental: No machine-readable author provided. Ragesoss assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source
Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
Mundane astrology: Andreas Cellarius, Public domain, source
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
Anthroposophy: Wladyslaw, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
Sex magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Aleister Crowley: Aleister Crowley, Public domain, source
Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Public domain, source
Corpus Hermeticum: Marsilio Ficino, Public domain, source
The Kybalion: American Libraries, Public domain, source
Emanuel Swedenborg: Carl Frederik von Breda, Public domain, source
Basil Valentine: TomKidd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Apollonius of Tyana: Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
The Fool: Johann Georg Rauch, Public domain, source
Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
Onomancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Satanism: Alexandre Cabanel, Public domain, source
Natural magic: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
Slavic Native Faith: Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (Союз Славянских Общин Славянской, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Nostradamus: After César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
Key of Solomon: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
The Magician: Pamela Colman Smith, Public domain, source
Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Scrying: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Abraxas: Louis Breton, M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
Picatrix: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Geomancy: Jacopo188, CC BY-SA 3.0, source