List of occult terms

The occult is a category of supernatural beliefs and practices, encompassing such phenomena as those involving mysticism, spirituality, and magic in terms of any otherworldly agency. It can also refer to other non-religious supernatural ideas like extra-sensory perception and parapsychology.

The occult (from the Latin word occultus "clandestine, hidden, secret") is "knowledge of the hidden". In common usage, occult refers to "knowledge of the paranormal", as opposed to "knowledge of the measurable", usually referred to as science. The term is sometimes taken to mean knowledge that "is meant only for certain people" or that "must be kept hidden", but for most practicing occultists it is simply the study of a deeper spiritual reality that extends beyond pure reason and the physical sciences. The terms esoteric and arcane can also be used to describe the occult, in addition to their meanings unrelated to the supernatural. The term occult sciences was used in the 16th century to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic, which today are considered pseudosciences.

The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky. Throughout the 20th century, the term was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors, but by the 21st century was commonly employed – including by academic scholars of esotericism – to refer to a range of esoteric currents that developed in the mid-19th century and their descendants. Occultism is thus often used to categorise such esoteric traditions as Spiritualism, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and New Age.

It also describes a number of magical organizations or orders, the teachings and practices taught by them, and to a large body of current and historical literature and spiritual philosophy related to this subject.

A

 * Abatur (Mandaean)
 * Abbey of Thelema
 * Abenaki mythology
 * Abiogenesis, the medieval belief that organic life could spontaneously generate from the inorganic
 * Ablution, the ceremonial washing of the body or its parts
 * Abracadabra, an ancient word in an unknown language popularly carved onto amulets in antiquity
 * Abramelin oil
 * Abraxas stones
 * Acupressure, an alternative to acupuncture using pressure on the meridian points
 * Acupuncture
 * Acultomancy, divination by the use of needles
 * Adamic language, a theoretical language believed by Christians to be the first language and thus the one that shaped creation
 * Adder stone, a rock that has a natural hole worn into it by forces like water, thought by medieval peoples to possess special abilities
 * Adept
 * Advent, (Christ.)
 * Aeon (Gnosticism)
 * Aesculapian snake, snakes used in rituals to Aesclepius
 * Aesopian language, language that is designed to be hide meaning through code, sometimes used by practitioners to hide their craft
 * Aether
 * Afflatus, revelation given (typically to a human or other mortal being) by a deity
 * Afterlife, a theoretical world inhabited by humans after death
 * Agalma, a votive statue made with the intent to please the gods
 * Agartha, a land at the center of the Earth
 * Age of Aquarius, an astrological age of massive change
 * Ailuromancy, divination by the movements of cats
 * Akasha, thought to be the fifth element in many forms of Neopaganism
 * Akashic Records
 * Akhetaten
 * Alchemy
 * Alkahest
 * Alleluia, a word used to give praise to the Christian Yahweh
 * All Saints Day
 * All Souls' Day
 * Alomancy
 * Alphabet of Desire
 * Altar, a place which one dedicates to an entity, often one which is worshipped or honored by the creator
 * Altar cruet
 * Altarpiece, a piece of art traditionally hung above Christian altars
 * Alter ego, an alternate identity or personality
 * Amen
 * Amniomancy
 * Amulet
 * Amulet, (Christian) see New Testament amulet
 * Anachitis, a form of divination stone
 * Anasyrma (Greek)
 * Anathema, an unholy or reviled item
 * Anchimayen (Mapuche- S. America)
 * Ancient astronauts, a conspiracy that aliens built many buildings thought to be created by ancient peoples
 * Angel number, repeating numbers believed to have special meaning by numerologists.
 * Angelic hierarchy
 * Angelolatry, worship of angels
 * Animal sacrifice
 * Animism
 * Ankh
 * Anointing, see also Holy anointing oil
 * Anthesteria, (Greek)
 * Anthomancy, divination using flowers
 * Anthropic principle
 * Anthropotheism, the imbuing of gods with human-like traits
 * Anthroposophy
 * Anti-Christ
 * Antikythera mechanism
 * Annunaki
 * Apantomancy
 * Apocrypha, noncanonical books of the Bible
 * Apotheosis
 * Apotropaic magic
 * Apotropaic mark
 * Apparitions - See Ghost
 * Aquarius, an astrological sign
 * Ara Pacis Augustae
 * Arcandam
 * Archangel, a powerful form of angel in Christianity
 * Archdemon, a powerful demon in some spiritual writings
 * Archon (Gnosticism)
 * Area 51
 * Area 52
 * Arthurian legend
 * Argenteum Astrum
 * Aries, an astrological sign
 * Ariosophy
 * Armanen runes, runes created by the Nazi occultist Guido von List, which he claimed to represent a series of alleged Aryan mythical kings
 * Armenian mythology
 * Armor of God, the metaphorical armor conferred by worshipping the Christian Yahweh according to the Bible.
 * Ascendant (astrology)
 * Ascended master
 * Aspergillum
 * Aspidomancy
 * Astral projection, see also Soul flight
 * Astral religion
 * Astrological age
 * Astrological aspect
 * Astrological progression
 * Astrological transit
 * Astrology
 * Astrology and alchemy
 * Astrology and the classical elements
 * Astrology and numerology
 * Athame
 * Atlantis
 * Augury (interpreting omens)
 * Aura
 * Australian Aboriginal mythology
 * Automata, beings or magick constructs that move independently, in antiquity often conjured up by priests and considered a domain of magick
 * Automatic writing
 * Avatar, a manifestation of a deity on earth
 * Awakening
 * Axinomancy
 * Aztec mythology

B

 * Banishing
 * Banshee
 * Baphomet
 * Beltane
 * Benedicaria (Italian)
 * Bibliomancy
 * Biosophy
 * Biorhythm (pseudoscience)
 * Black magic
 * Black Mass
 * Black Sun
 * Blarney Stone
 * Blue (color paint), see Haint blue
 * Body of light
 * Boline
 * Book of shadows

C

 * Candle
 * Cartomancy (divination using playing cards)
 * Cauldron
 * Censer, see also Thurible
 * Centiloquium
 * Ceremonial magic
 * Chalice, see also Ciborium
 * Chaos magic
 * Charmstone
 * Chinese astrology
 * Chromotherapy
 * Church grim (Christ.-Eng./Nord.)
 * Ciborium, see also Chalice
 * Cilice
 * Circumambulation
 * Clairaudience (ability to hear voices & sounds super-normally- spirited voices alleging to be those of dead people giving advice or warnings)
 * Clairsentience (supernormal sense perception)
 * Clairvoyance (ability to see objects or events spontaneously or supernormally above their normal range of vision- second sight)
 * Cleromancy
 * Coco (folklore)
 * Color symbolism
 * Color therapy see Chromotherapy
 * Cone of power
 * Conjuration (summoning up a spirit by incantation)
 * Cosmology, see Religious cosmology
 * Coven (a community of witches)
 * Crossroads (folklore)
 * Crystal gazing, see also Scrying
 * Cult
 * Cunning folk traditions and the Latter Day Saint movement
 * Curse

D

 * Da'at
 * Deal with the Devil
 * Déjà vu
 * Demonology
 * Demiurge
 * Discernment of spirits (Christian)
 * Djembe (West Africa)
 * Devil, see also Satan
 * Divination
 * Dowsing
 * Dragon
 * Drak (mythology) (Germ.)
 * Dream interpretation
 * Dybbuk

E

 * Earth mysteries
 * Esbat
 * Ectenia ( E. Orthodox)
 * Ectoplasm (unknown substance from body of a medium)
 * Eight-circuit model of consciousness
 * Ein Sof
 * Elemental
 * Enchanting
 * Energy (esotericism)
 * English Qaballa
 * Enochian
 * Ephemeris
 * E.S.P. (extra sensory perception)
 * Esoteric Christianity, see also Gnosticism
 * Esoteric cosmology
 * Esotericism, see also Exoteric
 * Entheogen
 * Evil eye
 * Evocation
 * Exorcism
 * Exoteric, see also Esotericism (for Esoteric)
 * Eucharist

F

 * Fama Fraternitatis
 * Familiar spirit
 * Fasting in religion
 * Feng shui
 * Feri Tradition
 * Fern flower (Baltic region & Slavic beliefs)
 * Figs in the Bible (Biblical)
 * Filakto (E. Euro.)
 * Firewalking
 * Florida Water
 * Flying ointment
 * Folk belief
 * Folk religion
 * Food- see Sacred food as offering, (see also Libation)
 * Four-leaf clover
 * Fortune-telling
 * Fraternal order, see also List of general fraternities
 * Freemason

G

 * Galdr (Old Norse)
 * Gargoyle
 * Gematria, see also Numerology
 * Gemstones in the Bible, see also List of plants in the Bible
 * Geocentric model, see also Heliocentrism
 * Geomancy
 * Geomantic figures
 * Ghouls
 * Ghost hunting
 * Glossolalia, see Speaking in tongues
 * Gnome
 * Gnosis
 * Gnosis (chaos magic)
 * Gnosticism, see also Esoteric Christianity
 * Gnostic mass
 * Goblin
 * Goetia
 * Golem
 * Gradobranitelj
 * Graphology
 * Gray magic
 * Great Work (Hermeticism)
 * Great Work (Thelema)
 * Greater and lesser magic
 * Grimoire
 * Guardian angel

H

 * Hadit
 * Haint blue (Hoodoo)
 * Hamingja (Norse)
 * Hamsa
 * Hand of Glory
 * Haruspex
 * Haunted
 * Hedgewitch
 * Heliocentrism see also Geocentric model
 * Hellfire club
 * Hermeticism
 * Hestia (Greek)
 * Hexagram
 * Hex
 * Holy Guardian Angel, see Guardian angel
 * Holy anointing oil, see also Anointing
 * Holy water
 * Homeopathy
 * Homunculus
 * Hoodoo
 * Huaychivo, (Mayan)
 * Huna

I

 * I Ching
 * Ifa
 * Imbolc
 * Imp
 * Incantation
 * Incense
 * Iconoclasm
 * Incorruptibility
 * Incubus, see also Succubus
 * Initiation
 * Invocation

J

 * Jinx
 * Jumbee (Colombian, Venezuela, Caribbean)
 * Juju

K

 * Kabbalah
 * Karzełek (Slavik)
 * Kia (magic)
 * Kirlian Photography
 * Kumina (Afro-Jamaican)
 * Kundalini energy

L

 * Lamen (magic)
 * Lammas
 * Lampadomancy
 * Law of contagion
 * Left-hand path and right-hand path
 * Ley line
 * Lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram
 * Libation, see also Sacred food as offering
 * Light, see Ceremonial use of lights
 * Liminality
 * List of alchemists
 * List of astrologers
 * List of channelers
 * Lists of deities
 * List of general fraternities
 * List of good-luck charms
 * Lists of legendary creatures
 * List of lunar deities
 * List of Mesopotamian deities
 * List of mythological objects
 * List of Old Testament pseudepigrapha
 * List of plants in the Bible, see also Gemstones in the Bible
 * List of solar deities
 * List of spirituality-related topics
 * List of Thelemites
 * List of theological demons
 * List of occultists
 * List of occult symbols
 * List of psychic abilities
 * List of vampiric creatures in folklore
 * List of religion see Outline of religion
 * Liturgy
 * Literomancy
 * Lithomancy
 * Lemures (Roman)
 * Lucifer
 * Luciferianism
 * Lughnasadh (Gaelic)

M

 * Magic (paranormal)
 * Magic circle
 * Magic square
 * Magic word
 * Magical formula
 * Magical thinking
 * Magick
 * Maleficium (sorcery)
 * Mami Wata
 * Martinist
 * Mass (liturgy)
 * Mathers table
 * Maypole
 * Mediumship
 * Melchizedek
 * Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints)
 * Mephistopheles
 * Merkabah mysticism
 * Mesmerism
 * Metaphysics
 * Methods of divination
 * Metoposcopy see also Phrenology, Physiognomy
 * Mojo (African-American culture), see also Sachet
 * Molybdomancy
 * Mood ring
 * Mystery religion
 * Mysticism

N

 * Nagual
 * Navigium Isidis, (Roman/Egyptian)
 * Necromancy
 * Necronomicon
 * Neodruidism
 * Neopaganism
 * Neotantra, see also Tantra & Plastic shaman
 * New Age
 * Neoshamanism
 * New Thought
 * Night terror, see also Sleep paralysis
 * Noa-name (Polynesian)
 * Nominalism
 * Nuit
 * Numen (Latin)
 * Numerology, see also Gematria

O

 * Obeah and Wanga
 * Obsession (Spiritism), see also Spirit possession
 * Occultism
 * Odic force
 * Omen
 * Oneiromancy
 * Oneironautics
 * Onychomancy
 * Orans
 * Ordination
 * Osculum infame
 * Otherworld
 * Ouija
 * Ouroboros

P

 * Paganism
 * Palmistry
 * Paranormal
 * paraphernalia
 * Parapsychology
 * Paten (Cath.)
 * Peijaiset (Finnish)
 * Pentacle
 * Penuel
 * Philosopher's stone
 * Phrenology, see also Metoposcopy
 * Physiognomy, see also Metoposcopy
 * Planetary hours
 * Planchette
 * Plastic shaman
 * Pneumatic (Gnosticism)
 * Podea
 * Poltergeist
 * Poppet
 * Potion
 * Power Animal
 * Pow-wow (folk magic)
 * Precognition, see also Retrocognition
 * Pseudepigrapha
 * Psionics
 * Psychic
 * Psychic surgery
 * Psychic vampire
 * Psychopomp
 * Psychonautics
 * Psychometry
 * Pyramid power
 * Pyx (Cath.)

Q

 * Qabalah
 * Qareen
 * Quantum mysticism
 * Quareia

R

 * Radiesthesia
 * Radionics
 * Regalia
 * Reiki
 * Renaissance magic
 * Retrocognition, see also Precognition
 * Rhabdomancy
 * Rosicrucianism
 * Rougarou, see also Werewolf
 * Rūḥ, Islamic
 * Rumpology
 * Runecasting
 * Runic magic
 * Rusalka (Slavic)

S

 * Sabbath, see also Witches' Sabbath
 * Sachet, see also Mojo (African-American culture)
 * Sacrament
 * Salamander, see Cultural depictions of salamanders
 * Salt, see Blessed salt
 * Samhain
 * Satan, see also Devil
 * Satanic panic
 * Satanism
 * Scrying, see also Crystal gazing
 * Séance
 * Secret Chiefs
 * Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)
 * Seeress (Germanic)
 * Seidr (Old Norse)
 * Selkie (Celtic & Norse)
 * Siren
 * Sefirot
 * Servitor (chaos magic)
 * Seven Rays
 * Seventh son of a seventh son
 * Sex magic
 * Shachihoko (Jap.)
 * Shadow person
 * Shamanism
 * Sheela na gig
 * Shekhinah (Hebrew)
 * Shem HaMephorash (Hebrew)
 * Shrovetide, (pre-Lent)
 * Sidereal and tropical astrology
 * Sefirot (Hebrew)
 * Sigil
 * Sigil of Baphomet
 * Sigillum Dei
 * Simiyya, (Islamic)
 * Simurgh (Persian)
 * Skin-walker
 * Sleep paralysis, see also Night terror
 * Smudging
 * Sorcery
 * Soul flight, see also Astral projection
 * Speaking in tongues, see also Xenoglossy
 * Spell
 * Spirit possession, see also Obsession (Spiritism)
 * Spiritual warfare (Christian)
 * Square and Compasses
 * Stigmata
 * Stole (vestment) (Cath.)
 * Stregheria
 * Subtle body
 * Succubus, see also Incubus
 * Sunwise (deosil), see also Widdershins
 * Supernatural
 * Sylph
 * Sympathetic magic
 * Synchromysticism

T

 * Table of correspondences
 * Tabernacle (Hebrew Bibl.)
 * Talisman
 * Tantra, see also Neotantra
 * Tau cross
 * Tau (mythology)
 * Tau robe
 * Tarot divination
 * Tattva vision
 * Thaumaturgy
 * Theophany
 * Theurgy
 * Thurible, see also Censer
 * Tithe
 * Tools see Magical tools in Wicca
 * Totem
 * Transubstantiation (Cath.)
 * Trance
 * Tree of life
 * Tree of life (biblical)
 * True Will

U

 * Unclean spirit
 * Underworld
 * Undine
 * Unicursal hexagram
 * Ukehi (Jap.)
 * Urim and Thummim
 * Ursa Major

V

 * Valkyrie
 * Vampire
 * Vashtu, East Indian version of feng shui (geomancy)
 * Vision (spirituality), see also Theophany
 * Vision quest
 * Vitalism
 * Vlach (Balkan)
 * Votive offering
 * Voodoo death
 * Voodoo doll
 * Vodun- see West African Vodun
 * Vril

W

 * Walpurgis Night
 * Wake (ceremony)
 * Wand
 * White magic
 * Wicca
 * Widdershins, see also Sunwise (deosil)
 * Witchcraft
 * Witches' Sabbath
 * Witch ball
 * Witch hunt- see Modern witch-hunts
 * Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible
 * Will-o'-the-wisp
 * Werewolf, see also Rougarou
 * Wendigo
 * Worship

X

 * Xenoglossy, see also Speaking in tongues
 * Xipe Totec (Aztec)
 * Xmucane and Xpiacoc (Mayan)
 * Xōchipilli (Aztec)
 * Xōchiquetzal (Aztec, classical Nahuatl)

Y

 * Ya sang
 * Yahweh
 * Yesod
 * Yggdrasil (Old Norse)
 * Yowie (Aust. abor.)
 * Yule

Z

 * Zalmoxis
 * Zamzam water (Islamic) see Zamzam Well
 * Zduhać (Serb.)
 * Zener cards
 * Zephyrus (Greek)
 * Zeus (Greek)
 * Zodiac
 * Zohar
 * Zombie
 * Zoroastrianism
 * Zorya (Slavic)
 * Zos Kia Cultus