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

🇬🇧 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

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreOracle A person or site believed to channel divine insight and predict the future.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇧 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 🇬🇧 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

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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical

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

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreNumerology The belief that numbers hold hidden meanings and influence human events.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇫🇷 FrancePlanchette A wooden device for automatic writing used in Victorian spiritualist séancesCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling 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

🇫🇷 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

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

🇹🇷 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 🇫🇷 FranceEtteilla The first professional tarot occultist who created a system for card divination.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇾 SyriaMetoposcopy A divination method that reads personality and fate from forehead linesOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια Ancient Greek secret initiation rites honouring Demeter and Persephone at EleusisTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

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

🇮🇹 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

🇪🇬 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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreIsisꜣst (Egyptian) Egyptian goddess of magic, mourning and kingship, mother of HorusBeing · Protection · Healing Historical

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

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

🇮🇷 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

🇻🇳 Vietnam and 2 moreVietnamese numismatic charmsBùa Việt Nam Coin-shaped charms used for protection, luck, and ritual in Vietnamese cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptBarbarous name A magical word whose meaning is unknown or ignored, valued for its sound alone.Text · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreAstaroth An arch-demon in Western occultism, derived from the ancient goddess Astarte.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 2 moreOrder of the Solar TempleOrdre du Temple solaire A neo-Templar new religious movement responsible for mass deaths in the 1990s.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAeonαἰών Emanations of the divine source in Gnostic cosmologyBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇯🇵 JapanAllocer A duke of demons in grimoires who teaches sciences and commands legionsBeing · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAbyzou A female demon of envy who targets newborns and pregnant women in late antique magic.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection 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

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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreGiants (esotericism) Spiritual beings linked to lost continents and root races in occult literatureBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

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
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
Numerology: Pietro Bongo, Public domain, source
Order of the Solar Temple: George Stock derivative work: thumperward ( talk ), Public domain, source
Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
Barbarous name: Aktiophis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
The Kybalion: American Libraries, Public domain, source
Marsilio Ficino: Marsilio Ficino, Public domain, 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
Metoposcopy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
Nostradamus: After César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Scrying: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Isis: Ägyptischer Maler um 1360 v. Chr., Public domain, source
Abraxas: Louis Breton, M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
Picatrix: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Vietnamese numismatic charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
Astaroth: M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
Dianism: Guillaume Seignac, Public domain, source
Allocer: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Abyzou: Paul Perdirizet (1870-4 juin 1938), Public domain, source
Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source
UR Group: Gruppo di Ur, Public domain, source
Giants (esotericism): Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
Oracle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Key of Solomon: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Public domain, source
Mundane astrology: Andreas Cellarius, Public domain, source
Basil Valentine: TomKidd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
Aeon: Jacques Matter, Public domain, source