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What is your understanding of the occult?

SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
Again, which one?
Or are you claiming there is only one belief system hidden, non-revealed, concealed from view?
Which belief system is it?
You know, the one and only belief system which is hidden, non-revealed, concealed from view?
And why is it hidden, non-revealed, concealed from view?

So you meant "Which belief system?" and not "Which occult?"

Thanks for the clarification.

Carry on...
 

Yazata

Active Member
Did you know that occult actually means hidden knowledge?

Yes.

It is not evil from the beginning, but some people have made Occult a symbol of evil.

My impression is that the 'Western occult tradition' originated in the eastern Mediterranean in the 5th - 7th centuries CE, after it became illegal in the East Roman Empire for non-Christians to teach. So the surviving 'pagan' teachers had to go underground and teach secretly. Since informers were always a danger, teachers had to be sure of their students. So, following the traditions of the ancient 'mysteries', there were grades of initiation, where the non-Christian content was only revealed to the higher degrees of initiates. (We still see that model in Freemasonry.)

All kinds of things got swept under that secret rug, all assembled around a core of Neoplatonism. Astrology, alchemy, all kinds of divination, Hermeticism...

What is your view of the occult, and what do you know about it?

I like it because I see it as being an alternative religious tradition in the western medieval world (both Christendom and Islam).

While I don't take it seriously as literal truth, I do think that it has more historical and philosophical interest than is commonly acknowledged.
 
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SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
Interesting how you completely ignore the post you replied to.

Not that I expected anything resembling honest discussion from you.

I wasn’t claiming anything. I was pointing out that asking “which occult” didn’t make sense to me. So I was making sure that you weren’t confusing ‘occult’ with ‘cult.’ You clarified by saying you meant belief system. I saw nothing else that needed discussed.

If you weren’t expecting “anything resembling an honest discussion” from me, why bother responding to my post to begin with? Do you have an affinity for dishonest discussions? Or did you just decide it was a good opportunity to attack my character?
 

crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic ☿
Premium Member
The occult is a means of bringing hidden, repressed content from the unconscious mind into consciousness so you can consciously work out your psychological hang-ups. I find it better to face your inner demons and work things out rather than to banish them to the unconscious mind where all sorts of psychological hang-ups can fester.
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
"standard" ?.....no, but neither is Kabbalah, is it ?

oh darn, I'm not supposed to know anything about that
Actually, although most Jews don/t study Kabbalah, it is part of the standard core of Jewish literature.

Why would I think you don't know of the Kabbalah? It's not as if it's a secret. And in fact it's kind of become trendy among New Agers.

I think, rather, you don't know how Judaism works, and how we tier our writings.
 

WhyIsThatSo

Well-Known Member
Actually, although most Jews don/t study Kabbalah, it is part of the standard core of Jewish literature.

Why would I think you don't know of the Kabbalah? It's not as if it's a secret. And in fact it's kind of become trendy among New Agers.

I think, rather, you don't know how Judaism works, and how we tier our writings.

And I think you don't know what "Kabbalah" really is. Oh yes, I'm sure you know "of" it.
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
And I think you don't know what "Kabbalah" really is. Oh yes, I'm sure you know "of" it.
Now you are just being mysterious in what you are saying. What is it that you think you know that you think I don't know? Just come out and say it. There is no need to be secretive.
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
I think the god you think you know is not the God you should know .
This doesn't answer the question about the Kabbalah. So I ask again. What is it you think you know about the Kabbalah that I don't know?

The God I know is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Isn't that the God I should know?
 

WhyIsThatSo

Well-Known Member
See, I would say to you that if you don't know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that you don't know the God that you should know.

Yes, I'm sure. And I would say to you that a deceived person does not know they have been deceived,
because if they did " know," they would not be "deceived" .
 

PearlSeeker

Well-Known Member
Did you know that occult actually means hidden knowledge?
It is not evil from the beginning, but some people have made Occult a symbol of evil.

What is your view of the occult, and what do you know about it?
First things that come to mind: magic, spiritism, paranormal, astral plane, alchemy, hermetism.

It's about knowing and using hidden (less known, scientifically unproven) forces, potential and laws similarly as science and technology use known natural resources. Think of fire when it was first used by men. It was something occult. People didn't know how it works, they didn't know how to handle it, there were many accidents, people were afraid of it... Later it was different. But then came electricity. Same story... Now we still don't know some things.

Just do an internet search and you can see why it's associated with evil and demons. "Black magic" returned 38.100.000 results. "White magic" only 5.070.000. "Left-hand path" - - > 776.000. "Right-hand path" - - > 142.000.
 
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