Occult and Satanism, a common mistake.
OK, now as soon as I post up my email address (assuming anyone reads this stuff - notice the new counter at the bottom, currently on 4, haha) I'm probably going to get some interesting mail from certain religious groups, no problem, but I want to make something a little clearer.
Satanism. The word 'occult' tends to be linked in poeples minds to Satanism and Devil worship. Firstly these are Christian invented terms, that have since actually been spawned into existence by poeple rebelling against the church. From the days of burning witches and blaming the Devil for all the wrongs in the world, the notion of Satanism and devil worship became an outlet for poeple who wanted a way to strike back at Christianity by welcoming the one thing that they can't stand, and is the epitamy of their evil. These days they are usually excuses for debauchery, or as in the case of the Church of Satan, really just a group who have different and actually quite intelligent ways to live life. In fact the Church of Satan is rather a poor title if you read some of their literature, although amusing (for them) in its capacity to irritate the Christian fanatics. In fact I tend to class true 'satanism' along with christianity as they are basically the same beliefs taken from extreme angles. And treat them both with a dose of salt :)
Occultism on the other hand is a more generic term: Occult \Oc*cult"\, a. [L. occultus, p. p. of occulere to cover up, hide; ob + a root prob. akin to E. hell: cf. F. occulte.]Hidden from the eye or the understanding; invisible; secret; concealed; unknown. [1913 Webster]
As with everything in the Occult world it has several meanings. Secret and invisible as in 'not obvious' and kept within secret systems and mysterie schools (the green language) etc, and also hidden within nature, and only seen by those who can "see behind the viel of Isis" and who have been initiated into the mysteries. If a path is traced throughout the history of occultism and the hidden meanings of things, we come from early Mithraic and Egyptian religions to western occultism via the Gnostics, Cathars, Alchemists, Kabala and other secret schools. It is the study of the secrets of nature, to view and perhaps harness their power. To turn every Demon into an Angel. To turn Lead into Gold. To turn the base animal of human nature into a spiritual being. Of course along the way there is Faustian pacts, communication with angels and Demons and of course facing oneself. Although in any study of occult texts one must remember there are several layers and meanings one must find to truly understand the work. Some poeple could read the texts and only see one meaning (as in constantine reading the works of the Gnostics and ending up with the modern bible - sorry couldn't resist) and their are other initiates who know how to look deeper and see the hidden meanings. They will read something on a completely different level. That way everything is kept secret from the masses and out of dangerous hands, by this I mean from poeple who cannot grasp the concepts. For example, most poeple still think the Alchemists of the middle ages were simply trying to turn base metal into gold, when actually it was allegorical for turning the base soul of man into a heavenly entity. This doesn't mean they didn't try to turn metal into gold, but that there was a far deeper pupose to it.
You find that with modern 'magick' for example, demons and gods will be chosen for a particular purpose. They must have particular qualities and realms, concerning prefererential days, hours and months, colours and planets to make the nature of the ceremonies more agreeable. To the outsider it certainly looks like an bizzare evil pact, but think of it as imagery to focus the mind completely into the detail of the wanted outcome, and it simply becomes a tool to harness the power of the 'magicians' mind completely on the situation at hand. Now many poeple believe in the power of the mind no? Many respected hypnotists and doctors will use and recommend 'visulization techniques' to help 'heal' a patient. Whats the difference?
I'll leave you with that tonight, tomorrow, who knows...
Satanism. The word 'occult' tends to be linked in poeples minds to Satanism and Devil worship. Firstly these are Christian invented terms, that have since actually been spawned into existence by poeple rebelling against the church. From the days of burning witches and blaming the Devil for all the wrongs in the world, the notion of Satanism and devil worship became an outlet for poeple who wanted a way to strike back at Christianity by welcoming the one thing that they can't stand, and is the epitamy of their evil. These days they are usually excuses for debauchery, or as in the case of the Church of Satan, really just a group who have different and actually quite intelligent ways to live life. In fact the Church of Satan is rather a poor title if you read some of their literature, although amusing (for them) in its capacity to irritate the Christian fanatics. In fact I tend to class true 'satanism' along with christianity as they are basically the same beliefs taken from extreme angles. And treat them both with a dose of salt :)
Occultism on the other hand is a more generic term: Occult \Oc*cult"\, a. [L. occultus, p. p. of occulere to cover up, hide; ob + a root prob. akin to E. hell: cf. F. occulte.]Hidden from the eye or the understanding; invisible; secret; concealed; unknown. [1913 Webster]
As with everything in the Occult world it has several meanings. Secret and invisible as in 'not obvious' and kept within secret systems and mysterie schools (the green language) etc, and also hidden within nature, and only seen by those who can "see behind the viel of Isis" and who have been initiated into the mysteries. If a path is traced throughout the history of occultism and the hidden meanings of things, we come from early Mithraic and Egyptian religions to western occultism via the Gnostics, Cathars, Alchemists, Kabala and other secret schools. It is the study of the secrets of nature, to view and perhaps harness their power. To turn every Demon into an Angel. To turn Lead into Gold. To turn the base animal of human nature into a spiritual being. Of course along the way there is Faustian pacts, communication with angels and Demons and of course facing oneself. Although in any study of occult texts one must remember there are several layers and meanings one must find to truly understand the work. Some poeple could read the texts and only see one meaning (as in constantine reading the works of the Gnostics and ending up with the modern bible - sorry couldn't resist) and their are other initiates who know how to look deeper and see the hidden meanings. They will read something on a completely different level. That way everything is kept secret from the masses and out of dangerous hands, by this I mean from poeple who cannot grasp the concepts. For example, most poeple still think the Alchemists of the middle ages were simply trying to turn base metal into gold, when actually it was allegorical for turning the base soul of man into a heavenly entity. This doesn't mean they didn't try to turn metal into gold, but that there was a far deeper pupose to it.
You find that with modern 'magick' for example, demons and gods will be chosen for a particular purpose. They must have particular qualities and realms, concerning prefererential days, hours and months, colours and planets to make the nature of the ceremonies more agreeable. To the outsider it certainly looks like an bizzare evil pact, but think of it as imagery to focus the mind completely into the detail of the wanted outcome, and it simply becomes a tool to harness the power of the 'magicians' mind completely on the situation at hand. Now many poeple believe in the power of the mind no? Many respected hypnotists and doctors will use and recommend 'visulization techniques' to help 'heal' a patient. Whats the difference?
I'll leave you with that tonight, tomorrow, who knows...
posted by Dr Occult at 5:03 PM
1 Comments:
Interesting stuff.
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