Occult: Decoding the visual culture of mysticism, magic and divination

A clear, concise, and detailed historical analysis of the eclectic and arcane visual and material culture of the occult.

Focusing on a carefully curated selection of esoteric art and artefacts, Occult explores the meaning and mystic power of original occult manuscripts, ritual objects and symbols from around the world. The author identifies five key elements of occultism - alchemy, astrology, magic, mysticism and divination. Key symbols are highlighted and examined, and key rituals and practices are explained to provide new insights into the philosophies and beliefs of occultists from antiquity to today.

The book begins with an introduction that clarifies what we mean by 'occult'. It traces the pre-Christian origins of esotericism in Mesopotamian astrology and Egyptian, Greek and Arab alchemy and its development through the Middle Ages as occult sciences, encompassing Kabbalah and natural, astral and ritual magic. Occult is then organized into three broad sections - foundations of the occult, occult philosophy, as three major forms of magic, and the modern occult revival – that guide readers from its origins in antiquity through to the rebirth of the occult in the 19th century with spiritualism, theosophy and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the 20th-century’s anthroposophy, 'New Age' and occulture movements.

For each of the nine themed chapters, illustrated narrative text is interspersed with double-page presentations of the key practices, figures, and symbols relevant to that theme. Artworks and artefacts are examined in detail: the practices depicted are identified and explained, and the hidden symbolism decrypted. As the book progresses, readers will not only come to understand the mysterious practices and secret ciphers of the occult, but will also discover the beliefs, rituals and philosophies of occultists around the world from their origins in the early esoteric traditions of the ancient Egyptians to their reinterpretation in modern occultism.