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An Abecedary of Occultism
Apr. 10th, 2023 09:51 amI had a good time making this into a video for TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@whitewitchoftheprairie/video/7219909657559584046
A is for Astrology Astrology is the OG Myers-Briggs personality type indicator, except way more specific and thorough, long before it was cool. Astrology isn’t just good for human psychoanalysis though — there are entire fields of astrology devoted to predicting and understanding world events, plus you use astrology to profoundly understand other systems, such as Tarot and Kabbalah.
B is for Helena Blatavatsky was a mystic born in Russia in 1830 who founded the Theosophical Society, an organization that had a huge part in reviving Western occultism. Madame Blatavatsky’s organization exists to this day, providing libraries and resources so people can understand the evolution the world’s religions and the pursuit of spiritual awakening.
C is for Cosmic Doctrine The Cosmic Doctrine was written by Dion Fortune a.k.a. Violet Firth, another woman occult mystic who lived between 1890 and 1946. Dion Fortune’s masterwork about how the Universe operates is very difficult to understand and takes a great deal of discursive meditation, but is completely worth every second of effort.
D is for Druidry Druidry is the modern take on the ancient practices of the Celtic Druids, who never wrote anything down and of whom very little is known. Druidry is generally acknowledged to maintain three pillars: a daily banishing ritual, daily divination, and daily discursive meditation. Other than that, saying that Druids are all over the map would be the understatement of the century.
E is for Eliphas Levi Eliphas Levi was the nom de plume of Alphonse Constant, a French author and ceremonial mage who made the occult cool again after centuries of persecution. His masterwork The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic, published in 1854, ushered in the Renaissance of European occultism.
F is for Freemasonry Freemasonry is a semi-secret lodge that only admits men with various oaths and initiation rituals.
G is for Golden Dawn The Golden Dawn was a group of European intellectuals who developed a complex system of magic called Hermeticism, building upon Eliphas Levi’s writings. The Golden Dawn’s members included Aleister Crowley, W.B. Yeats, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
H is for Hoodoo Hoodoo is a form of traditional folk magic that developed in America but originated in Africa. It was created by blacks during the time of slavery and is part magic, part prayer, and part medicine.
I is for Israel Regardie Israel Regardie was a pupil of Aleister Crowley who acted as Crowley’s secretary when Crowley had his own occult order. Crowley refused to teach Regardie magic or yoga, so Regardie took matters in his own hands and studied magic on his own, penning the masterworks The Garden of Pomegranates and the Tree of Life.
J is for John Michael Greer John Michael Greer or JMG is the J.S. Bach of modern occultism. He is an occultist and prolific author of approximately 100 books varying from magic to culture to speculative and occult fiction.
K is for Kabbalah The Kabbalah is a system with a symbolic map known as the Tree of Life at its heart. Though it is considered to be an ancient Jewish sect, some speculate the system is much older. The Tree of Life is said to contain all the meditations one needs to become an ascended master.
L is for Liber Legis Liber Legis or the Book of the Law was written by Aleister Crowley, who claimed to have dictated it from his Holy Guardian Angel, Aiwass.
M is for Manly P. Hall Manly P. Hall was a Canadian 20th century occultist, polymath, and polyglot. He was best known for his inspiring lectures and his book The Secret Teachings of All Ages. He founded the Philosophical Research Society.
N is for Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is named after the last school of Greek philosophy in 3rd century AD and is a form of Monism that melds Greek polytheism and Oriental mysticism. Neoplatonists believe there is essentially one God or ruling force with plentiful smaller gods, angels, and other non-embodied beings.
O is for Orphic Hymns The Orphic Hymns are a collection of 87 poems dedicated to the Greek gods and goddesses translated into English by Thomas Taylor. In 2019, I began to turn them into songs.
P is for Joseph Peladan Joseph Peladan was a Victorian era French Rosicrucian occultist whose vision was to understand initiation through through the beauty of art and work of being an artist.
Q is for Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba was a monarch in southwestern Arabia who traveled to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon. Both Solomon and Sheba were known for their magical powers.
R is for Rosicrucian Order Rosicrucianism is a combination of Hermeticism, Jewish mysticism, and Christian gnosticism. The Rosicrucian movement got its start in 17th century Europe.
S is for Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg was an 18th century mystic Christian genius with unique visions of what happens to humans after they die.
T is for Thoth Hermes Trismegistis The ancient Greeks combined the god Hermes with the Egyptian god Thoth and made him the deity of magic, arts, sciences, and writing.
U is for The Unicursal Hexagram This six pointed star that can be drawn in one continuous line is a symbol of infinity, as above so below, and spiritual evolution.
V is for Visconti-Sforza Tarot The Visconti-Sforza Tarot is the first known Tarot deck, originally used in the Renaissance as a card game.
W is for Wicca British occultist Gerald Gardner introduced Wicca to the public in the 1950s. Traditional Wiccans organize in matriarchal covens and worship a Triple Goddess and a Horned God.
X is for Christian Occultism It’s a common misconception that the occult and Christianity do not mix. Some of the greatest occultists of all time were churchgoing Christians, including Eliphas Levi, Dion Fortune, and Emanuel Swedenborg.
Y is for Catherine Yronwode is a hoodoo master and founder of the LuckyMojo shop. She has a popular hoodoo correspondence course, dozens of books, a forum, and multiple podcasts to her credit.
Z is for Oberon Zell is a modern-day jack of all trades, master of most wizard and artist who specializes in bringing magic down to Earth. His theories and writings can be found in books, periodicals, and online.
https://www.tiktok.com/@whitewitchoftheprairie/video/7219909657559584046
A is for Astrology Astrology is the OG Myers-Briggs personality type indicator, except way more specific and thorough, long before it was cool. Astrology isn’t just good for human psychoanalysis though — there are entire fields of astrology devoted to predicting and understanding world events, plus you use astrology to profoundly understand other systems, such as Tarot and Kabbalah.
B is for Helena Blatavatsky was a mystic born in Russia in 1830 who founded the Theosophical Society, an organization that had a huge part in reviving Western occultism. Madame Blatavatsky’s organization exists to this day, providing libraries and resources so people can understand the evolution the world’s religions and the pursuit of spiritual awakening.
C is for Cosmic Doctrine The Cosmic Doctrine was written by Dion Fortune a.k.a. Violet Firth, another woman occult mystic who lived between 1890 and 1946. Dion Fortune’s masterwork about how the Universe operates is very difficult to understand and takes a great deal of discursive meditation, but is completely worth every second of effort.
D is for Druidry Druidry is the modern take on the ancient practices of the Celtic Druids, who never wrote anything down and of whom very little is known. Druidry is generally acknowledged to maintain three pillars: a daily banishing ritual, daily divination, and daily discursive meditation. Other than that, saying that Druids are all over the map would be the understatement of the century.
E is for Eliphas Levi Eliphas Levi was the nom de plume of Alphonse Constant, a French author and ceremonial mage who made the occult cool again after centuries of persecution. His masterwork The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic, published in 1854, ushered in the Renaissance of European occultism.
F is for Freemasonry Freemasonry is a semi-secret lodge that only admits men with various oaths and initiation rituals.
G is for Golden Dawn The Golden Dawn was a group of European intellectuals who developed a complex system of magic called Hermeticism, building upon Eliphas Levi’s writings. The Golden Dawn’s members included Aleister Crowley, W.B. Yeats, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
H is for Hoodoo Hoodoo is a form of traditional folk magic that developed in America but originated in Africa. It was created by blacks during the time of slavery and is part magic, part prayer, and part medicine.
I is for Israel Regardie Israel Regardie was a pupil of Aleister Crowley who acted as Crowley’s secretary when Crowley had his own occult order. Crowley refused to teach Regardie magic or yoga, so Regardie took matters in his own hands and studied magic on his own, penning the masterworks The Garden of Pomegranates and the Tree of Life.
J is for John Michael Greer John Michael Greer or JMG is the J.S. Bach of modern occultism. He is an occultist and prolific author of approximately 100 books varying from magic to culture to speculative and occult fiction.
K is for Kabbalah The Kabbalah is a system with a symbolic map known as the Tree of Life at its heart. Though it is considered to be an ancient Jewish sect, some speculate the system is much older. The Tree of Life is said to contain all the meditations one needs to become an ascended master.
L is for Liber Legis Liber Legis or the Book of the Law was written by Aleister Crowley, who claimed to have dictated it from his Holy Guardian Angel, Aiwass.
M is for Manly P. Hall Manly P. Hall was a Canadian 20th century occultist, polymath, and polyglot. He was best known for his inspiring lectures and his book The Secret Teachings of All Ages. He founded the Philosophical Research Society.
N is for Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is named after the last school of Greek philosophy in 3rd century AD and is a form of Monism that melds Greek polytheism and Oriental mysticism. Neoplatonists believe there is essentially one God or ruling force with plentiful smaller gods, angels, and other non-embodied beings.
O is for Orphic Hymns The Orphic Hymns are a collection of 87 poems dedicated to the Greek gods and goddesses translated into English by Thomas Taylor. In 2019, I began to turn them into songs.
P is for Joseph Peladan Joseph Peladan was a Victorian era French Rosicrucian occultist whose vision was to understand initiation through through the beauty of art and work of being an artist.
Q is for Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba was a monarch in southwestern Arabia who traveled to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon. Both Solomon and Sheba were known for their magical powers.
R is for Rosicrucian Order Rosicrucianism is a combination of Hermeticism, Jewish mysticism, and Christian gnosticism. The Rosicrucian movement got its start in 17th century Europe.
S is for Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg was an 18th century mystic Christian genius with unique visions of what happens to humans after they die.
T is for Thoth Hermes Trismegistis The ancient Greeks combined the god Hermes with the Egyptian god Thoth and made him the deity of magic, arts, sciences, and writing.
U is for The Unicursal Hexagram This six pointed star that can be drawn in one continuous line is a symbol of infinity, as above so below, and spiritual evolution.
V is for Visconti-Sforza Tarot The Visconti-Sforza Tarot is the first known Tarot deck, originally used in the Renaissance as a card game.
W is for Wicca British occultist Gerald Gardner introduced Wicca to the public in the 1950s. Traditional Wiccans organize in matriarchal covens and worship a Triple Goddess and a Horned God.
X is for Christian Occultism It’s a common misconception that the occult and Christianity do not mix. Some of the greatest occultists of all time were churchgoing Christians, including Eliphas Levi, Dion Fortune, and Emanuel Swedenborg.
Y is for Catherine Yronwode is a hoodoo master and founder of the LuckyMojo shop. She has a popular hoodoo correspondence course, dozens of books, a forum, and multiple podcasts to her credit.
Z is for Oberon Zell is a modern-day jack of all trades, master of most wizard and artist who specializes in bringing magic down to Earth. His theories and writings can be found in books, periodicals, and online.
