Nowadays many occultists are throwing the word “occult” around. They generate a lot of clicks/views, but when you dig deeper into their teachings, there isn’t much there. But this doesn’t only happen with modern-day YouTube occultists. Many “old-school” occultists, even those part of secret societies like The Golden Dawn, purposefully wrote books that send you in the wrong direction, away from true initiation.
To understand why they do this, we need to dive deeper into the word occult itself. The word occult has many different definitions. Some of the top definitions include:
- not revealed; secret
- not easily apprehended or understood; mysterious
- hidden from view; concealed
- not manifest or detectable by clinical methods alone
Clearly, the word occult means something that isn’t revealed to the public.
In today’s age of technology, we expect everything to be handed to us. Have a question that you don’t know the answer to? Google it. Want to know how to become successful? Buy a book from a successful person who will give you the exact formula.
But if you’re anything like me, you’ve realized that true knowledge doesn’t come cheap. Our world is filled with clickbait, and sure: there might be some tidbits of knowledge in the midst of it. But most of the deeper knowledge, the kind that has been around since Ancient Egypt, the knowledge at the basis of the ancient mysteries, can’t be found online.
Secret societies know this, which is why the initiation process into any secret society is so intense. And the people who do know don’t want it becoming public. You need to slowly initiate in order to integrate this knowledge. You might lose your mind if you tried to integrate it all at once. That’s why there’s a clear system for learning occult knowledge and why it’s so hidden. You have to want it and you have to try. You’ll be deceived in your journey over and over, and only the strongest will come out at the end.
So top members of these societies purposefully write books filled with some correct information and some information to throw you off the scent. They include rituals that work and inverted rituals that basically do the opposite of what you’re intending.
If you’ve ever read books by Aleister Cowley, A.E. Waite, Damien Echols, Israel Regardie, or others and felt like some of the information seemed off, then you know what I’m talking about.
Nowadays, many pagans have developed the idea that learning about the occult is about being educated and following those who came before. About learning the occult techniques that are the most popular. Yet these techniques never worked for me. Eventually, I realized that true knowledge is hidden between the lines. Sure, it’s in plain sight, but it’s something you have to search for. You won’t find occult knowledge spelled out in a book, but you will find the real truth hidden between the lines of the book in symbols.
You won’t be given anything for free during occult initiation. If something is easily accessible, consider that part of it may be false. This is simply the paradigm we live in; to truly initiate, you must push through all those barriers and find your truth. Nothing worthwhile comes easy.
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