In the broadest sense, theoccultis a category ofsupernaturalbeliefs and practices, encompassing such phenomena as those involvingmysticism,spirituality, andmagicin terms of any otherworldly agency. It can also refer to other non-religious supernatural ideas likeextra-sensory perceptionandparapsychology. Use of the term as anominalized adjectivehas developed especially since the late twentieth century. In that same period,occultandculturewere combined to form theneologismocculturebyGenesis P-Orridge.
The termoccult scienceswas used in the 16th century to refer toastrology,alchemy, andnatural magic, which today are consideredpseudosciences. The termoccultismemerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various Frenchesotericgroups connected toÉliphas LéviandPapus, and in 1875 was introduced into theEnglish languageby the esotericistHelena Blavatsky. Throughout the…
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