The word occult is one of those terms burdened with misunderstanding—especially among many Christians in America, a society that, in my estimation, can hardly be called a bastion of truth. It is often narrow in outlook, hesitant to look beyond its doctrinal walls, and reluctant to explore knowledge that does not conform to its inherited certainties. Such intellectual insularity hinders the very universal awareness that genuine inquiry demands.
Words, after all, are not mere instruments of communication; they are vessels of consciousness. To understand them fully, one must attend to their etymology, for within the roots of language lie the histories of thought itself. Much of the confusion surrounding our present understanding arises from a failure to do precisely this. Over time, our language has been subtly co-opted—its meanings diluted, its definitions politicized, its clarity eroded. A comparison between the definitions in Webster’s Dictionary of a century ago and those of our modern editions can be quite revealing—particularly if one consults Webster’s Annotated Second Edition, a work that still preserves linguistic integrity.
It is there that we encounter the authentic meaning of occult, a word whose lineage reaches deep into the Latin tongue. The following definition, drawn from Etymonline.com, illuminates this origin:
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Occult
1530s, “secret, not divulged,” from French occulte and directly from Latin occultus “hidden, concealed, secret,” the past participle of occulere “to cover over, conceal,” from the assimilated form of ob- “over,” and a verb related to celare “to hide” (from Proto-Indo-European root kel- meaning “to cover, conceal, save”).
The sense of “not apprehended by the mind; beyond the range of understanding” appears by the 1540s, while its association with the so-called “supernatural sciences”—alchemy, astrology, and magic—emerges in the 1630s. The verb occult, meaning “to conceal or keep secret” (c.1500, from Latin occultare), has long since fallen into disuse.
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Thus, my use of the word occult is not a careless flirtation with mysticism, but an invitation to study what lies hidden—knowledge that has been obscured, forgotten, or deliberately veiled. It encompasses the great spectrum of inquiry: from ancient mysteries and healing arts to political mechanisms and revelations within the most advanced frontiers of science.
When I speak of occult studies, I speak of the pursuit of illumination—the disciplined exploration of the unseen dimensions of knowledge that reveal the deeper architecture of existence. It bears no relation to sorcery or the so-called black arts, against which I have often advised caution for one’s own spiritual integrity.
Perhaps, though, what you had in mind were practices such as astrology or divination—arts that are by no means simple to master. When misinterpreted or practiced without understanding, they are indeed “occult” in the original sense: hidden from the grasp of the unprepared mind. If that is your concern, I can only suggest that you read more deeply, for the path of true knowledge is long, and the reward of patient study is clarity
