THE OCCULT Mackenzie Mohr

THE OCCULT

• Occult: from Latin occultus means “secret” or “knowledge of the hidden”• This is a very broad term that can be applied to refer to anything that cannot be

explained by science or common knowledge. • People often mistakenly assume that this word means anything to do with cults,

just based on the likeness between the two words. The Occult has nothing to do with cults or cult behaviour as cults are just groups of people that take part in socially deviant or criminal behaviour, whereas the Occult only applies to that which cannot be explained by science.

• Some of the broad spectrum of subjects that the occult can refer to are:• Magic• Sorcery• Alchemy• Astrology• Divination• Voodoo • Many more

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SORCERY AND WITCHCRAFT

• Many people use the words “magic” and “witchcraft” interchangeably; however, this would be incorrect.• Magic by definition is: “the use of means (as charms or spells) believed to

have supernatural power over natural forces” (Merriam Webster). • This means that the term ‘magic’ covers all things that refer to having

supernatural power over natural forces• There is, therefore, several categories or types of magic

• Sorcery is just one type of magic, under the category of “Black Magic”• Black Magic: “connected with or invoking the supernatural and especially the

devil” (Merriam Webster).• Sorcery specifically is the practice of evil magic used with the intent to harm

others.

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SORCERY AND WITCHCRAFT

• The practicing of sorcery dates back to the ancient Mediterranean world in the form of predicting the future when gambling and casting lots.

• In Ancient Rome, sorcery was called Maleficium• This new word referred broadly to any magic that was used to hurt or cause

death to any person or property and was thought to often involve the use of poisons

• Throughout the rise of the Christian Church in Europe and the Middle Ages, sorcery came to also mean ‘witchcraft’ as well• Both of these were still generalized under the Latin term Maleficium • Was criminalized by the Christian Church and European royalty as a felony to

practice or even claim to have knowledge in it.

SORCERY AND WITCHCRAFT

• The Church outlawed witchcraft in Europe between the 15th and 16th centuries• This lead to thousands of people to be executed in the ‘name of Christ’, usually by

burning them at the stake• This is because the largely uneducated population of Europe realized that once

they accused someone of this witchcraft, the medieval justice system didn’t really take the time for a fair and legitimate trial as one would see it today. So these uneducated people who witnesses alleged acts of sorcery were terrified because they could not understand what they saw.

• The accused witches and sorcerers were seen by the Church, and therefore all of Europe, as people who dealt with Satan and demons and false gods and idols and must be executed to cleanse their souls

• Documentary on Witchcraft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG4EH3FQjnI

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SORCERY AND WITCHCRAFT

• One of the first people put on trial for practicing Maleficium were the Order of the Knights Templar• Ironic because this Order was instituted by the Christian Church to purge the

Middle East of its false gods during the Crusades• Put on trial for committing heresy and worshipping false gods to gain unnatural

and unholy powers. • Almost all of the Order eventually confessed after extremely long periods of

torture, which lead them to be publically burned to death in the name of the Church.

• Because the Knights Templar were so well known in Europe and this trial was so publically attended that witchcraft became a common belief because of this trial which led to the great witch hunts in Europe

• Origins of the Knights Templar video http://www.history.com/topics/crusades/videos/origins-of-the-knights-templar

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DIVINATION

• Divination: “The practice of using signs or special powers to predict the future” (Merriam-Webster)• Different from sorcery because divination is used to foresee the future from

an observer’s view whereas sorcery is actively using magic to intentionally cause harm to other things

• Before the rise of the Christian Church, divination was widely accepted and used by the public and in popular religions as steadfast and official practices to foretell events and was used to see and understand the will of the gods, who caused all things to happen

• Divination first began as a religious practice in Ancient Egypt• Began through the use of Oracles who were considered to ‘embody’ the gods

on Earth to allegedly see the future and outcomes of important events, such as battles

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DIVINATION

• In Ancient Greece, divination was practiced by two kinds of people• Oracles, which were the embodiments of the gods on earth who spoke their

will and told prophecies• Seers, who were not in personal contact with the gods in any way but instead

interpreted signs of the gods in nature to determine the outcome of a future event based on the will of a god and tell which god was giving them this sign

• Seers could only answer yes or no questions, so they were often seen as unreliable

• Seers were often used by generals before and during a battle to determine how to best act and use their troops, such as where to retreat and where to bolster their defenses.

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DIVINATION

• When Rome conquered the Mediterranean, the way the seers performed their divinations carried on and evolved in the form of augurs • Augurs were often an official government position used to be an important

consult for the leaders and emperors• Augurs used signs in nature to determine the outcomes of certain events

based on the will and favorability of the gods• The word augur means ‘one who looks at birds’ • Would interpret things such as bird signs such as: how they flew, the different

sounds they would make or songs they would sing to determine and interpret different meanings of things to come

• would interpret thunder and lightning to determine whether a gathering of leader to represent the entire population of the Roman empire to be held

• Would interpret the eating patterns of chickens were used to divinate during military ventures

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DIVINATION

• Certain methods of divination were actually also accepted in the early Christian church• This is because divination was talked about and performed in the Bible

• several of the disciples of Christ performed divination in the form of casting lots to determine who should replace Judas Iscariot as a disciple after his betrayal and suicide regarding the crucifixion

• As the Catholic Church grew in power, divination soon became banned and forbidden as a form of pagan practice and was forbidden in canon law.

• Divination is very popular today and is one of the most long lived occult practices• Horoscopes used to determine what kind of person someone is based on the alignment of

stars when they were born is so popular it is included every day on almost every newspaper

• A little known fact is the practices involved in divination is what first brought about the popularity and creation of modern playing cards and card games, and board games all stem from the practice of divination.

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ALCHEMY

• Alchemy is a form of scientific and philosophic practice and is kind of a combination of magic and science and the base philosophy of alchemy is the study of transforming something into something else

• Origins of alchemy date back to Ancient China and Egypt

• Became popular in Europe during the Middle Ages

• The original main purpose of studying alchemy was to be able to turn normal metals into silver and gold through transmutation by creating and using the Philosopher’s Stone• The more magical side of alchemy is some other goals such as achieving

immortality through discovering the ‘elixir of life’

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ALCHEMY

• In Ancient Egypt, alchemy’s origins came from studying the fertility of the Nile River and came from the practice of mummification• However, most of the information and evidence about Alchemy in Ancient Egypt

was destroyed during the invasion of the Christians• Europe was introduced to alchemy through the trade with the Middle East and

how practices were learned from each other as knowledge was shared

• In Ancient China, alchemy originated with Taoist monks and in China• The original goal of alchemy in China was always to discover the elixir of life and

the secrets to immortality, rather than gold as it was in Europe• As Chinese alchemy developed, the transmutation of objects into gold also

became an aim• One of the main discoveries for the world, through the study of alchemy in

Ancient China, was the discovery of gunpowder as early as the 9th century AD

ALCHEMY

• Alchemy was widely popular in Europe from the 13th century till its decline in the 17th century when more modern approaches to science were discovered • Became popular mainly due to the belief that one could get rich quick with the transmutation of

gold• Also became popular due to the belief in the Philosopher’s Stone which in European belief was

used to transmute common metals into gold and also from which the elixir of life could be made.

• One of the most notable alchemists was Sir Isaac Newton• Credited with discovering theory of gravity and inventing calculus• He dedicated most of his life to the study of this field and wrote over a million words and several

manuscripts and books on alchemy • The Royal Society refused to publish these after his death, which is why most do not know he

was an alchemist• He was fascinated with discovering the Philosopher’s Stone and the transmutation of substances

into gold and performed thousands of experiments to try and validate his theories on alchemy• Newton’s Dark Secrets (documentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdmhPfGo3fE

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CONTEMPORARY MAGIC

• The idea of magic today has drastically changed from its role throughout history• Magic in history was a powerful and supernatural force, now it is commonly

seen as a fun, fable or fiction to learn about, and the performing of magic has become nothing more than a sleight of hand or an illusion

• This is mostly due to the rise of science as a source of knowledge and reason• People can now analyze and explain things that a couple hundred years ago

would be considered the work of gods or demons• Because science and education is so much more accessible now than it was a

hundred years ago, reason has dominated the way people think today• Instead of putting something one does not know yet to the work of the

supernatural, now one can come up with some new theory or experiment to eventually discover what one does not know

CONTEMPORARY MAGIC

• Magic as entertainment has become the escapist performance of illusion, usually using cards or some other props to bewilder and amaze the common person and performed for mass audiences.

• Types of performers of magic today include:• Hypnotists• Escape Artists• Illusionists

• Magic in the sense of sorcery and witchcraft today only exist in fantasy and pop culture in movies and books such as:• Harry Potter• Lord of the Rings• Percy Jackson

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CONTEMPORARY MAGIC

• Examples of Magic Tricks today:• Masters of Magic Penn and Teller, Amazing tricks https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJhYySXzOq0• America's Got Talent 2012 - Spencer Horsman, Escape Artisthttps://youtu.be/6xGdrgjpniE • Penn and Teller Bullet Trick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK0-ImFaSG4

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