The Basics of Occultism: Unveiling the Hidden Mysteries on Mosher Mag

You’ve seen the symbols. Heard the whispers. Lit the candle. Felt the pull.

Welcome to occultism—the spiritual underground of seekers, skeptics, spellcasters, and the beautifully damned.

If mainstream religion is the over-lit mall, occultism is the trap door beneath it, lined in velvet, dust, and books that bite back. Whether you’re mystic-curious or already wrist-deep in sigils and salt circles, consider this your back-alley intro to the craft, the chaos, and the cosmic.

Let’s talk hidden knowledge, ritual power, and why the occult will always have a place in the hearts (and record collections) of alternative subcultures.

“Occult” literally means hidden—as in, veiled from the masses, passed in whispers, locked behind symbolism and smoke. It’s less about blind faith, more about direct experience. No dogma. No gatekeeping. Just you, the universe, and the strange in-between.

It’s not one single belief system. It’s a patchwork of mystic paths, a spiritual choose-your-own-adventure for people who ask, “but what if the veil’s actually real?”

If exoteric religion is the radio single, esotericism is the B-side only real heads know.

Esoteric knowledge is cryptic on purpose—it’s meant for those ready to decode, to initiate, to earn insight through practice and transformation. Think symbols, secret societies, layered texts, and inner work that doesn’t care about your Sunday school attendance.

It’s not elitism. It’s alchemy.

Let’s clear it up: occult magic isn’t about card tricks. It’s about intention + ritual = reality shift.

Whether it’s spellwork, divination, or planetary alignments, magic is the belief that your will can rewrite the code of the cosmos. A candle becomes a beacon.

A herb becomes a weapon.

A chant becomes a doorway.

Magic isn’t just art—it’s agency. It’s learning the rules of the universe so you can bend them.

Tarot. Runes. Astrology. Pendulums. Dreams. All of it’s just different frequencies tuned to the same thing: you asking the Unknown to text back.

But divination isn’t just future-guessing. It’s soul-mapping. Shadow-work. Reflection with flair. It’s that feeling when a card pulls you harder than gravity and whispers, “yeah, I see you.”

Mysticism is what happens when spirituality stops being a theory and becomes a full-body, ego-melting, kiss-the-divine experience.

It shows up everywhere: Sufi whirls, Buddhist stillness, Christian ecstatic visions, psychedelic epiphanies. Doesn’t matter where you start—it’s about transcending yourself and merging with something bigger.

In other words: you become the ritual.

Old school. High concept. Big robe energy. Hermeticism is the philosophical spine of Western occultism.

Built on the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, it’s where you get phrases like “As above, so below,” and ideas like mind-over-matter, divine math, cosmic correspondence.

It’s where alchemy, astrology, and spiritual science hold a three-way candlelit dinner.

Kabbalah isn’t just Madonna’s midlife phase. It’s Jewish mysticism at its most intricate, built around sacred texts, the Tree of Life, and meditative ascension.

The structure of the universe? Mapped. The soul’s connection to creation? Outlined in ten spheres.

Deep, symbolic, layered—Kabbalah offers divine cartography for the spiritually hungry.

Aleister Crowley said “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” And boom—Thelema was born.

It’s occultism with a punk edge—combining Western esoterica, magick rituals, and Eastern mysticism. Thelema is about finding your True Will and pursuing it unapologetically.

Not an excuse for chaos—a demand for purpose with power. (Also: killer aesthetics, ngl.)

Wicca is the modern witch’s entry point. Think: lunar rituals, seasonal festivals (Sabbats), working with the elements, and honoring both God and goddess energies.

It’s magic with roots, spiritual practice that celebrates earth’s rhythms—and teaches that what you send out comes back threefold.

Also: crystals, cauldrons, and hella moon water.

Why does the occult fit so perfectly with goths, punks, metalheads, and weirdos of every stripe? Because the occult is anti-mainstream, anti-authority, and all about inner power.

Goth’s death obsession. Metal’s anti-Christian rage. Queer spiritual reclamation. Dark fashion dripping in sigils. Bands quoting Crowley and hexing stage lights.

Alt culture sees beauty in shadows. And occultism? It is the shadow.

Here’s your starter pack for stepping into the void like a respectful, curious, chaos-loving pro:

• Read. Start with The Kybalion, The Book of Thoth, Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill, or anything by Dion Fortune, Lon Milo DuQuette, or Israel Regardie.

• Find community. Online forums, local occult shops, niche Discords—lurking is fine. Asking questions is better.

• Practice small. Light a candle with intention. Pull a tarot card daily. Meditate in the dark. Keep a journal of your signs, dreams, and gut feelings.

• Stay open. You won’t vibe with everything. That’s fine. Find your path. Build your gnosis. Stay weird. Stay wild.

Occultism isn’t about edge. It’s about evolution. It’s a map written in dreams and symbols, designed for those brave (or broken) enough to ask, “What if there’s more?”

You don’t need to believe everything. You just need to stay curious.

Because somewhere between shadow and light, veil and vision, sigil and silence—That’s where the magic happens.

For the freaks, by the freaks.

Thanks for reading. Stay strange.

✦ moshermag.wixsite.com/mosher-mag