domingo, 25 de março de 2018

A short essay about Occultism - Part I





If we had no occultist background, maybe we would be the ones creating things nowadays. There are many people who have an unsettled mind. One that simply cannot accept this reality, and goes for more information. Feeling that, there is much more, and many things in the occult world.

Occultism is a term that applies to things that are hidden, covered, magick, mystery, but in reality, the occultist does not see anything as supernatural.

The occultist knows there are constructive principles in the universe that are the cause of many things some call mysterious, that exist beyond our regular senses.
The occultist understands that those things cannot be searched in an objective way, but must be researched in other kingdoms of the human experience.

Unfortunately, there has always been a prejudice against Occultism, and many people tend to see it with a bad reputation. A set of practices and creeds that link to superstition, and should be abandoned.


“Superstition has been defined as the use of a form whose significance has been forgotten.” 
― Dion Fortune, Esoteric Orders and Their Work and The Training and Work of the Initiate


But we know that through the centuries, occultism has developed its own sciences. So, at first, the occult sciences were ridiculed by the physical scientists, because their result would be beyond reason, and should not be taken into consideration.

However, these occult sciences brought light to the other sciences, that exist nowadays.
Astrology, for example, came from the rudiments of astronomy. From alchemy and its search for the quintessence, elixirs came chemistry.
Occultism favored the experiments of Franz Mesmer when he brought to the world his studies that human body could emanate, through the tip of the fingers a flow and reflow of energy, that could be detected by the others and used to influence them. It also provided Mesmer hypnotism experiences to happen in times where this was considered black magick.
Success in this area from the occultists finally compelled an investigation of the phenomena by the physical science and the discoveries resulting from the fundamental principles of psychology.


“Science is always discovering odd scraps of magical wisdom and making a tremendous fuss about its cleverness.” 
― Aleister Crowley, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography


Who were the first occultists?

Maybe we will never know, but we can say that they were those men and women that could see beyond the limits of the objective way of seeing things, that could hear beyond the limits imposed by their ears.

They were men and women that were not satisfied with the limitations of their regular senses.
Maybe the most ancient story from Egypt is the one written by Manetho. He was a man of great culture, power and with unlimited access to the arcane knowledge and Egyptian teachings.

Manetho is believed to have authored the Aegyptiaca (Αἰγυπτιακά, genitive Αἰγυπτιακῶν), or History of Egypt, at the request of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The work is of great interest to Egyptologists for evidence of the chronology of the reigns of the ancient pharaohs. It may have been the largest of all the works attributed to Manetho, and it is certainly the most important.

Being the high priest of Heliopolis, from the Great mystery school, that was dedicated to the sun.
Manetho is well known because he was the first one that tried to make a complete register ou tried to discover the lineage of the kings and dynasties from the Egyptians, from the most ancient times.
Even nowadays, with the advance of archeology, his chronology of dynasties is used a lot as a reference.

In his works, we can see that Egyptians might have been occultists, and therefore, would be the most ancient occultists in the world.
According to Manetho, ancient Egyptians tried to discover when the first mortal appeared on Earth. We can notice that they wanted to see beyond the limitations, beyond what was just there.
They were not happy in accepting things as they supposed to be, they did not want the unknown to remain unknown.

According to their conclusions, the first mortal on earth was someone known as Hephaestus, and they calculated that he would have shown up about 24.000 years before their time, or 30.000 before ours.
According to “The Sacred Book”, one of Manetho’s works, prepared by him to one of the Ptolomeys and to be put in the Alexandria Library, the ancient Egyptians contemplated long ago the principle of Unity of Existence.

For them, the goddess Aset /Isis was the maternal aspect of the universe. Besides, according to Manetho, Isis name meant “ I came from myself”. That would indicate that Isis was a movement that self-originated: she, therefore, perpetuated her own existence, she had no creator, she kept going from the nature of her own existence.

“All that has been, that is and shall be”





There are many legends among Egyptians trying to explain Isis origins as a goddess and her representations, however, among the adepts of the Mystery Schools and among the real occultists, Isis, the maternal aspect has always been a fundamental attribute to the being, of which the universe consists.

“The Sacred Book,” says that each being, in his primary condition has ever existed. He never had a beginning. There was always an eternal movement, attraction, and repulsion between two opposite forces, good attracting bad (Typhon).

According to this book, this oscillation, this continuous movement created the four principles, the four nature expressions, fire, air, water, earth. And these four expressions cross the whole world, exist and move everywhere, by this, they transform themselves, to the infinite variety of forms and creations, that we are aware of, like realities.

In those Ancient times, centuries before greek antagonists, before Heraclito and Empedocles, for example, it was declared by these occultists that the essence of everything, each thing is the same, meaning that they are all related.
It was also declared that nothing in the world, despite its complexity or importance, is independent of these primary forces of nature and nothing can elevate above them.

Meister Eckart,  a famous German, and occultist used to say “God is everywhere”. God is the same in each form or aspect. Eckart says that people should seek God, not as a light in dark places, but in every nature manifestation.



                                                                    (Meister Eckart)


According to him, it is important that people study the Self and nature.

The occultist knows that it is not enough just studying, pleasing ourselves with the notion of a God, “knowing” God. But that it is necessary to “use Him” everywhere, because just by “using” Him we could benefit from his power and nature.

“...spirituality alone will not take a man far in the Mysteries; he must have intellectual powers as well.” 
― Dion Fortune, What Is Occultism?


Traditional Occultism versus Popular occultism

There is a difference between traditional or classical occultism and popular occultism.

"Popular occultism refers to the simplistic esoteric culture of common people that is focused on reaction instead of the transformational path of inner growth; the readily accesible and endlessly more superficial side of broad magickal practice. That is the occult seen on television and in other media, as found in the majority of paid workshops and public classes, which is commonly referred to as Low Magick in occult circles and is entirely different in content and practice from the occult knowledge and systems developed in the various initiatory societies and found in ancient cultures that have dedicated their efforts to the understanding of nature and serious magickal practices." (1)
- Violet Throne

Being Popular and "easy" it is what primarly people seek, in order to achieve fast results, where they avoid the longer and more dangerous roads, as Luis Marques states, which are the ones that would bring valuable lessons, teachings in life.

"On the other side of the vibrational scale there is the traditional occultism, often referred to as High magick and the Great Work by the mystery schools. It refers to a diverse set of practices, hidden wisdom and initiatory information that is developed and used in honor, respect and exclusively for the spiritual evolution of the initiate through the means of an expanded understanding of the Universe and the mysteries found in Life and Death. It is a field of gnosis achieved through dedicated study, initiation and responsible practice that differs greatly from anything at the reach of popular occultists, commercial psychics and fortune tellers alike, by the simple fact that it is secrete." (2)
- Violet Throne

We can understand here that the worde Secrecy brings a deceptive connotation, but a necessary one.
It is not by desire of status or elitist mindest, or in way to fulfill ego. The secret is to empower and mantain a greater cause. It is necessary a high level of spiritual maturity to deal with it.

Unfortunately occultism has been transformed into a show, where we can see dishonest commercial books, poorly research works that sustain magazines, tv programs, documentaries, workshops that mislead people, harming more than helping.

So what are the studies we are loooking for? The answers, the questions that make us go ahead?
What is the occultism we are dealing with?

I see that occultism relates to a lot of things and inspires us to seek for those answers that exist inside us all, Those questions that bother us and we cannot simply ignore. I am grateful for those ancient occultists, from the past ones that brought a lot of knowledge to us, for modern occultists that keep these studies. The real ones.

 It is an endless road, it is an endless study. Eternally learning.

"A mystical path requires courage as you must take a first step of faith so that the second may be of science. ☥"
-Luis Marques


Sources and references:

 "Eternos Princípios de Ocultismo" by Ralph M. Lewis, FRC - Published in the Rosicrucian Digest, October 1946).



(1) , (2) Luis Marques - Violet Throne - Book of Orion - page 535

Introdutcion of Book of Orion and the "Traditional Occultism" text can be accessed through this link in the preview button on the page.



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