The A-Z of Believing: O is for Occult

One should not believe in superstitions, but it is best to be heedful of them – Sefer Hasdim

Look round any bookshop and the section on the occult is likely to be next to, or close by, the section on religion. Counting the books alone (and I confess to have been an avid reader of the Denis Wheatley Black Magic thrillers) confirms the popularity of the occult. The word is derived from the Latin word occultus, which means “hidden”. Both religion and the occult seek to make clear what is hidden to those who are not practitioners or believers.

What makes the occult so popular? The answer is straightforward: human interest in the unseen, in the working of the universe, not to mention a quest for power and control over the future, and over other individuals. Where then lies the difference between the occult and religion? The former practises magic and divination, which is an anathema to religion; while the latter’s focus on prayer, and on a mythology, by which to understand the world is dismissed by the occult.

For occultists, religious adherents are simply passive observers of the spiritual world, whereas they, the occultists, take an active role; religious believers simply “believe” in angels, while occultists talk directly with them; religious people interpret the word of God; occultists encounter the gods and ask for clarification. In other words, occultists don’t pray to their gods, they communicate with them; they don’t hope for a miracle, they create the miracle they need.

In short, religion is faith and the occult is knowledge. And from the religious perspective, because that knowledge is attained independently of divine revelation, the occult is condemned and accused of working for a malevolent entity – whether it is called the devil, or Satan or, simply, evil. Occultism involves many practices including magic, astrology, spiritualism, extra-sensory perception and numerology. Another is divination, the attempt to foretell the future.

Ironically, there is a strong religious element to each of these. Moses was perceived by the Egyptians as a magician and Jesus was accused of using demonic powers to effect exorcisms. The Bible (and other sacred texts), accept the realm of the occult is powerful because the world has a spiritual dimension with mysteries we cannot comprehend.

Can seers foretell future events? Can mediums really talk to the dead? How do we explain psychic phenomena? If occultists possessed no real power, I suggest, they would have not been condemned to death, as the Book of Exodus has it, “a sorcerer shall not be allowed to live”. For his part, Jesus said the devil and his legion only seek to steal, kill, and destroy. And religious condemnation of the occult is common. Astrology is condemned in the Book of Isaiah, reincarnation in the Epistle to the Hebrews, divination and contacting the dead in Deuteronomy and fortune-telling by the prophet Ezekiel as well as in the book of Acts.

There are of course charlatans – the Jewish psychic Uri Geller was believed to have supernatural powers such as the ability to move or bend objects from a distance with his mind. He even managed to fool scientists. However, his powers were eventually shown to be false when retired magician and scientific sceptic James Randi performed the same feats.

Jewish tradition is no stranger to the occult, with its own history of golem-makers, sorcerers, and demon wranglers, and throughout the centuries Jews have been as afraid of evil spirits as anyone else. In theory, the Talmud states, rabbis did perform supernatural acts only to teach about God, as a means of recognising the creator. But people seem to have focussed on the supernatural rather than on its meaning.

The Talmud acknowledges many types of magic, such as magical blessings and acceptance of the power of amulets. As early as the Roman period, Jews used amulets as a defence against the evils and Judaism also speaks of Satan but sees Satan as an agent of God, testing the sincerity of human deeds and the stamina of moral conviction.

Jews practised astrology and looked for omens in the form of animals. Such beliefs persisted at least until the 19th century, when superstitions of the shtetl – that dybbuks could take possession of the body, or that the demon Lilith would come for misbehaving children, for instance – were largely left behind by the migrants to the west and Palestine. Still, immigrants couldn’t leave it all in Eastern Europe and I know Jews in America who grew up tossing salt over their shoulder to ward off the evil eye.

Likewise in the history of Islam, the occult has been commonly used. In 1453, Mehmet II stood at the gates of Constantinople and anxious to galvanise his siege-weary troops, summoned court astrologers, diviners and holy men to deliver their support. They predicted Muslim victory over the Christians and rode through the Ottoman camp spreading the good news and on 29 May, the city that had resisted so many sieges finally fell and the Byzantine empire breathed its last.

One of the most popular symbols of protection, for Christians, Jews and Muslims and others, is the human hand. Perhaps its most recognisable form in the Islamic world is the Hand of Fatima, a classic symbol to ward off evil influences seen in exquisite jewellery, from Qatar to Kuala Lumpar. CS Lewis warns us against ignoring the supernatural, but points out its dangers too: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”

Next week is: P is for Pilgrimage

Listen to each episode of ‘An A-Z of Believing: from Atheism to Zealotry’ on the Woolf Institute podcast site or wherever you get your podcasts

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Written and presented by Dr Ed Kessler MBE, founder and director of the Cambridge-based Woolf Institute, this compelling guide to religious belief and scepticism is a must-read for believers and nonbelievers alike.

Founded in 1998 to explore the relationship between religion and society, the Woolf Institute uses research and education to foster understanding between people of all beliefs with the aim of reducing prejudice and intolerance.

Says Dr Kessler: “Latest surveys suggest that 85 per cent of the world’s population identify themselves as belonging to a specific religion, and in many parts of the world the most powerful actors in civil society are religious. Understanding religion and belief, the role they play and their impact on behaviour and decision-making is, therefore, vital.”

Dr Kessler – who was awarded an MBE for services to interfaith relations in 2011 – is an affiliated lecturer with the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University, a principal of the Cambridge Theological Federation and additionally teaches at the Cambridge Muslim College.

He says: “This A-Z of Believing aims to show how the encounter between religions has influenced and been influenced by the evolution of civilisation and culture, both for good and for ill. I hope that a better understanding of believing will lead people to realise that while each religion is separate, they are also profoundly connected.”