The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric beliefs and practices that generally fall outside the scope of organized religion or science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly experiences and wisdom, such as that obtained through mysticism. The word "occult" means "hidden" and it's worth noting that it has nothing to do with the word "cult" but rather is studying that which has been hidden, and in our case at the Sacred Wisdom Society, specifically what we refer to as:
- the mysteries of the universe
- the universal principles
- esoteric wisdom
- the sacred wisdom principles
- the hidden teachings
Another important note we often like to make is that occultism and religion vary in methods of teaching and expectation. Students of occultism, the mysteries, or esoteric wisdom are not asked to blindly have faith in anything but rather to research, ask questions, study, and explore the topics that pique their interest. While you may be asked to learn and think about certain teachings, the goal is never to force you to unquestioningly believe anything, and anyone who does place those expectations on you are worth turning-tail and running from.
"For more than five thousand years, since its origin in the temples of ancient Egypt, occultism—the science of the Unseen—has existed in the western world. Like everything else, it has had its golden ages and its time of obscurity, its successes and its failures; there have been times when its practitioners were welcome in the courts of kings, and other times when they were derided, persecuted, or burnt at the stake. Rationalists have condemned occultism as superstition and religious authorities have denounced it as devil worship; by and large, neither group has known much of anything about what it was they condemned, but blind hostility toward the unknown is a tolerably common bad habit among human beings.
In reality, occultism is neither superstition nor devil worship. It is a set of teachings about those things in our world that we don't experience through the five material senses. It is not opposed to science—occultists recognize that scientific research is the best toolkit our species has yet found for figuring out how matter and energy work, and only wish that scientists would notice that there is more to the world than matter and energy. It is not opposed to religion—many occultis are themselves people of faith, and pursue their occult studies and practices while still following the tenants of their religion. It is a third thing distinct from these two. You turn to science to learn about matter and energy; you turn to religion to learn about faith and morals; you turn to occultism to learn about consciousness and the unseen worlds that lie between the realm of Deity and matter."
The Way of the Golden Section: A Manual of Occult Training, John Michael Greer
Our personal journeys as students of esoteric wisdom and occultism began around 2011—we don't remember the exact day because when we were first introduced to these types of teachings, we had no idea what we were in for. We didn't know that it would become everything we would pursue and care about for the next decade (and it took us a very long time to get to the point we're at today because we're stubborn and human, and that's okay). We had no idea that it would change our entire life and save us from the monotony and void we had felt prior. Occultism gave us purpose—but with that being said—we also recognize that it isn't everyone's cup of tea, and that's perfectly fine. We don't bring up occult beliefs with people who we feel would be uncomfortable with the topic, for no reason other than respecting the point that they're at on their own path.
For us, occultism began with an opportunity to seek out answers to unanswered (or poorly answered) questions from science and religion growing up. We knew we had experienced things that science could not (yet) explain and we found discrepancies in the teachings of the churches we grew up in as well as tremendous overlap amongst different belief systems worldwide. All of these things collided at a moment when we were introduced to a new way of exploring and it was through the lens of questioning everything, learning to ask why, and not accepting because I said so as a valid answer.
Do we believe everything all other occultists believe? Of course not. Have we studied every single thing that every other occultist has studied? I sure hope not, because then what would we continue to explore for the rest of our lives? Do we have the exact same worldview or moral standards as every other occultist? I doubt it. After all, everyone's path is different. They're at different points on their journey, and potentially on different trajectories than we are, and that's okay. Our focus is, and as far as we know, always will be esoteric wisdom and the mysteries of the universe, and as you'll discover in our courses, this is the heart of everything made available for people to in turn study for themselves.
If forever exploring the unseen, seeking after the mysteries of the universe, and dedicating your life to becoming an initiate of esoteric wisdom still sounds appealing to you—then welcome to being a fellow student of occultism.