INFLUENCE OF THE OCCULT
Posted by anthonynorth on November 11, 2007
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The Occult. The term sends a chill down the spine – for some. This is the world of evil and mystery, where sinister magicians prowl the borders between the physical and ethereal.
Where the subject causes real fear, it is sanitised for western feeling, and images of Harry Potter fill our heads. Yet in reality the Occult has been essential to the life we live today.
ITS BIRTH
The Occult was actually born following the life of Christ. Up until this time, most religions had been pagan, and even the few non-pagan religions maintained a spiritual tradition of mysticism.
Survivals of this are the Christian tradition of Gnosticism and the Jewish Cabala. Both employing ritual and meditation designed to enter a more spiritual world in order to understand and manipulate the physical world, they enshrine what was to become Occult.
The death and Resurrection of Christ was, infact, a deeply Occult event. What Christ symbolised was that man could descend to a God-head, manipulate the physical world, and return.
This was the essence of Gnosticism of the time. But in order for Christ to be different, unique, He had to become the only person who could do this. Hence, Gnosticism had to be wiped out – ruthlessly – and this natural Occult power branded as evil.
This was the genesis of Occultism as evil. And it has remained so ever since – even though throughout Western intellectual life the Occult has been at the cutting edge of the knowledge systems and societies we have created …
This essay has now moved to Anthony North’s new website. Read more of it here, including his own theories and more data on the Hermetica, Astrology, Western Occult Tradition, Alchemy, Sacred Geometry & Witchcraft.
© Anthony North, November 2007
BEYOND THE BLOG 
lucy4 said
i dont agree that the origin of astrology was greek. this ignores the cultural traditions of the maya , olmec, inca,
not to mention sumerian & babalonian which are very much alike and much older. the same for the death & resurection of “jesus” (jeshua bin joseph), the farther back you go the more you will see the same story has been played out many years prior by other older cultures in both the “new” & “old worlds.”sacred geometry” also existed before the egyptians.
if occult means hidden then it is inherant to all power structures which maintain ineqaulity.
anthonynorth said
Hi Lucy4,
Welcome. I don’t actually say Astrology originated with the Greeks. What I said was the Greeks opened it up to all, and not just kings. I write about the subject fully here:
Similarly, I did not say that Jesus was a new story. The form is obviously associated with the mythological Hero, and appears in most cultures. What I said was that, with Jesus, the ability to approach the God-head in this way was, from then on, classed as un-Christian, and therefore evil.
Karen Collin said
Hi Anthony,
Overall a fine piece. Lucy is correct about the occult going back to the beginning of the beginning, however, the bias isn’t yours…it’s in all our classically ethnocentric history books. We begin with those we know and admire best and identify most intimately with out civil society. The good news is we’re starting to get over it.
If you want to read more about the Hermetic occult and it’s pervasive influence on our culture and icons like Leonardo da Vinci you might enjoy this:
http://altreligion.about.com/library/davinci/bl_differentdvc.htm
(If the link doesn’t pop search “A Different da Vinci Code”)
anthonynorth said
Hi Karen.
Welcome, and thanks for your kind words. I suppose a problem I’ve having here is in defining the ‘occult’ as evil in terms of how non-occultists see it. This is leading to confusion. I write:
‘The Occult was actually born following the life of Christ. Up until this time, most religions had been pagan, and even the few non-pagan religions maintained a spiritual tradition of mysticism.’
This is to do with non-occult perception. The tradition which is, therefore, classed as occult in these terms does, indeed, go back to the beginning of history – it is inherent in animism, in ancestor worship. It is, without doubt, the first religion.
But, again, the point I’m making is that it was not seen as ‘evil’ until Christianity.
I hope this clears the matter up.
Greg said
“The modern consumer world is the first authoritarian entity to have the genius to glorify this paganism, but by another name. The modern world calls it liberalism. And it says you can be what you want to be as long as you are not criminal.”
Interesting piece. i would question that in your digestion above, however, the alternative seems to be a caste system, if not a free world or free market, then what is the alternative?
Also, I often question the analysis of the Western society, not as studiers of the occult, but as observers. Having explored the teachings of the occult, I think to often they are interpreted on the surface and not on their meaning. Is the alchemist literally transforming lead to gold, or is it the metaphor? It seems, sadly, that this misinterpretation continues.
anthonynorth said
Hi Greg,
I’m not sure I understand your middle paragraph, here. All I can say is that the opposite of individuality is community – of any kind. But maybe I’ve got you wrong.
I don’t accept the western conception of alchemy. To me it is another form of transformation through meditation. I write on the subject more fully here:
Jo Burke said
Well done, Mr. North! You warm the heart of this barely-Christianized pagan. Keep up the good work.
anthonynorth said
Hi Jo,
Welcome, and thanks for the kind words.
Grace said
I loved this post. As one who is struggling to make sense of her own spiritual journey, it rings many bells. I posted about some of my issues yesterday….
Just this morning, in an email to a friend, I wrote this…the core of my struggles:
“See, it’s about Jesus. I’m convinced that the Jesus that is espoused today is NOT the Jesus that walked the earth. Too much has been lost in translation over the last 2000 years – both intentionally and accidentally.
Ever do that kid’s game? Someone whispers a little phrase to the person next to them. They do the same. By the time it’s gone around the circle, what the last person hears is like 180 degrees different that what was originally said!
It’s that quest for the TRUTH that keeps me going”
I want to find the Truth about Jesus. There’s so much out there, of every possible stance and opinion. But I have a feeling that if Jesus were around today, most Christians would condemn Him…for being a magician…an alchemist….a pagan…
Wonderful piece, Anthony 🙂 Blessings!
Maxim said
WOW! excellent article! aside from that last part about the wiccan rede!
“Of course, young Wiccans who get they spiritual lessons from TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer or pop paperbacks may prefer not to know the true roots of their religion.
But either way”
http://www.weeklyuniverse.com/2004/wicca.htm
Crowley ripped off Rabelais, Gardner ripped off Crowley, Lavey ripped off Crowley, Rand, Ragnar Redbeard, I think Anton is the greatest! Hail!
paganheaddreams said
great!
anthonynorth said
Hi Grace,
Many thanks for the kind words. I never try to knock a person’s peacefully held beliefs, and if someone wants to accept the Biblical view of Jesus, that’s fine by me. I’d never try to dissuade them.
For others, I often find a study of the Gnostic texts in the Nag Hammadi Scrolls can be of interest. I don’t know if you’ve ever researched them, but they’re interesting.
Another view I personally find most appealing is to see Jesus as a culture Hero or archetype. Jung and Campbell did some great work on this factor, with the story of the Hero having a transformation and walking a spiritual path that changed culture appearing in practically every ancient mythology.
In this respect, he is universal, and, I think, deep seated in the spiritual mind-set of the whole of mankind. Good grief, Campbell was even adviser on the Star Wars films, basing Luke Skywalker on the model 🙂
Hi Maxim,
Glad you enjoyed. I admit to maybe being a little flippant with the Wiccan Rede, but only a little. Of course, Crowley, Gardner (not sure about LeVay – is a Satanist an occultist in the same way, supposedly being an off-shoot of Christian theology?) etc, are essential to occult literature, but they’re importance declines when you remember the personal angle of each and every occultist. It is the unknown adepts who are alive in the system, not celebrities.
Hi Paganheaddreams,
Well thankyou!
Kevin said
I found your posting an interesting one. I am not overly interested in the occult by any means. I am however interested in Plato, and I think your coverage was rather limited at best. Plato did indeed speak of the forms and it was through an understanding of the forms that humans would recognize things on earth. However, the physical world for Plato was not real in any sense, only an illusion. Plato in a strict sense was not a dualist, one who believes in a split between the physical and material world. He was a monist, and understood reality as the forms. he had no interest in manipulating the physical world, he was concerned about the mind and remembering the forms.
I must also take issue with your understanding of Gnosticism as Christian Mysticism. Gnosticism is not Christian in any real or meaningful sense, it is Neo-Platonism expressed at times in Christian language, but not always and not consistently. There is indeed Christian Mysticism, and much of it has nothing to do with Neo-Platonism or Gnosticism.
If you would I would also appreciate understanding the way that you are using Pagan here. Pagan, in the simplest definition I’ve seen is one of the religion of the people of the country. If I remember correctly, it was a Latin term used to describe the religious practices of the country folk.
Thanks,
Kevin
anthonynorth said
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for your comment. However, I’d take issue on several points. For someone who you say had no interest in the physical world, Plato certainly went to great efforts to provide a political philosophy for his Forms, in concept and in much political conspiring. Hardly a monist. I write more about Plato here:
As for Gnosticism and Neo-Platonism, there is no real formalisation of either and both have many schools, and have changed much over time. As for Gnosticism being Neo-Plationist in its true sense, I hardly think so as Neo-Platonism was not even conceived until the 3rd century AD, several centuries after Gnosticism was known to exist.
Gnosticism could have existed before Christianity but there is no evidence. Certainly the early schools had Jesus as redeemer, so were clearly Christian based.
The word ‘pagan’ means, in its original, ‘villager’, that is true, but is generally accepted, today, as a label for any spirituality of non-monotheist western descent.
red pill junkie said
Principle to this was the 15th century Italian scholar Marsilio Ficino – an intellectual who is hardly known today because he is too much of an embarassment to modern scholars.
One of the first translators of Plato and other Greek philosophers, he became head of the Platonic Academy in Florence. His translations included the Hermetic texts. Around his work was the idea of a form of planet magic where the sympathies of the universe had an effect on the betterment of man.
I could be wrong, but I seem to recall that many of Boticelli’s paintings were intended to be representations of Ficino’s theories, as a means to educate some noble brat whom I don’t recollect his name at this moment.
But particularly, “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera”, are full of hermetic teachings.
Also, other classical discipline hat was later considered “evil”, was what was called “Ars Memoriae”, or the Art of Memory. Namely a mnemonic technique that used what was called “The Palace of Memory”, nd that enabled the practicioner with the astounding capacity to retain huge amounts of data in his memory, and retireve them at will, by simply “walking” through the halls of the palace…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci
anthonynorth said
Hi Red,
My mind often brushes against the problem of occult symbolism in art. To me, there are three possibilities:
The symbolism is intentional.
Modern researchers see what they want to see.
Culture was playing on the artist unconsciously.
How do we know which is correct? If we go to my first sentence in this comment, did I try a definite peice of humour; did you only see – or not – the joke in your mind; did the subject cause me to say it unconsciously?
Knowing me from here and other sites, you would no doubt opt for option one. But that is through knowing me. Hence, could it be that the symbolism in art will be best understood by studying the particular painter rather than his pictures?
Just a thought.
Michael said
Fantastic, passionate article with deep insight.
I look for contacts like you every day but do not find them.
Make an excuse to be in Cape Town for 2010.
I’ll put you up in Constantia and it will be fun.
We might even learn a few tricks from each each other.
anthonynorth said
Hi Michael,
Thanks for those kind words. Can’t make any promises about 2010, though. Sadly, my health doesn’t allow much travelling at present.
kola said
you guys dont know the truth about christ the messiah ,if GOD should open your eye to see what is going on in the true spirit realm you would respect him more .more over do you know that most claim of occult are spiritual manipulation from the devil to decive mankind from honoring jesus christ . no wonder GOD said in the bible that the people he made perish because of lack of knowlegde of him .do you also know that the anti christ is born . repent before it is too late because hell is real if you dont belive you would have to belive when you are in it