History of the Occult

Although we cannot say exactly when the history of the occult began, we can say that humanity has gone through times of deep obscurantism where there have always been characters who have stood out for seeking answers to the reasons for human existence. The alchemists with their search for the philosopher’s stone, the elixir of long life, or to be able to transmute lead into gold. Like the alchemists, the astrologers also had their golden age, as well as the medical scholars of the time, where medicinal herbs are the mother of our current pharmacology and other various remedies, and of course all the fortune tellers without exception. In general, all that was out of the current norm, but the great boom of occultism was in the Middle Ages where the Church tirelessly persecuted anyone who questioned their beliefs. I would like to reference Paracelsus, who was a doctor born near Zurich (Switzerland) in 1493. Today they say that he is the father of medicine, the precursor of modern biology, anthropology and biochemistry. He was not only a doctor, but an astrologer and alchemist. Another controversial character was Cornelius Agrippa, born in 1486 in Cologne (Germany). He was a doctor, alchemist, philosopher and necromancer, perhaps the most powerful hermetic reference in the 16th century. He defended magic as an inferior but not terrifying power and searched in his books for the spirituality of man within himself, united with God. A great scholar of Kabbalah, he revealed a lot of occult knowledge, which led him to have a difficult life, although very successful at times. He was Luisa de Saboya’s doctor until he criticized the Queen Mother and was imprisoned. He too was expelled from his native Germany for defending a woman accused of witchcraft and even though he was considered a wise man at the time, he could be more considered a heretic.

Another character that is still talked about in our time is the Count of Saint Germain. It is said that his origin is unknown, and some argue that he is immortal. He was a musician, violin composer, and an occult scholar. He lived in London and there the mystery of him already began to be forged. He was introduced to France at the court of Louis XV, where the legend of him grew. In 1779, he met Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel who was part of several secret societies, a great seeker through alchemy of the purity of the soul and immortality, an art that the Count of Saint Germain was famous for mastering. For this reason, the prince provided a workshop in which both of them worked together, officially in gems and jewelry, but rumor has it that they were looking for the elixir of long life, and it was there in 1784 that he died, leaving several writings and musical compositions.

Currently, every few years, a man appears with a physique very similar to the portraits that were created of him, saying that he is him and that he is immortal. In the 70s, he toured several television stations in Spain. In April 1975, in the very direct program of Jose Maria Iñigo on TVE, he brought a crucible with a powder that he said could transmute lead into gold, several physicists and scientists were already there on the set. Then, with great surprise, he effectively completed the experiment in public and turned lead into gold. So, the experts had no choice but to certify it. They didn’t look happy.

This character disappeared, although there are those who say that he committed suicide…

With this small sample I do not want to forget many famous occultists Eliphas Levi, Gerard Encausse, Madame Blavatsky, Anni Bessant etc. I do not want to leave myself to Amadeus Mozart, whose knowledge of the occult is reflected in his music using musical notes to elevate the soul and for the listener to acquire an altered state of consciousness naturally, his great work “The Magic Flute” being his best sample. His music is used in this particular work in Masonic circles.

In the history of occultism, you will find all the schools of knowledge created throughout the centuries. Freemasonry, Anthroposophy, The Martinists, The Rosicrucian Order, Theosophy, and more.