The Rise of the Occult

Rational answers to spiritual questions

To the modern psyche, belief in the occult seems antiquated. When reason prevails, returning to an age of magic seems unthinkable. It is a misconception, however, that scientific progress has erased humanity’s metaphysical yearnings. There is no endpoint in history where we become wholly logical, our mystical beliefs reduced to relics behind museum glass. The pendulum continues to swing, and belief in mysticism is now rising once again.

While scientific discoveries have helped elevate our material comfort and wellbeing, it is becoming increasingly clear that reason alone cannot answer our longing for a transcendental purpose. The persistent rise of mental health conditions, despite the supposed achievements of psychology and psychiatry, speaks to this reality. One study notes, “A move toward secularization of modern populations should also be considered [as a factor in the rise in depression and anxiety], as religious activity is correlated with lower risk of depression and more social support.”

Nietzsche defined this as an age of nihilism: “Any answer to the question why is lacking. Nihilism means that the supreme values devalue themselves.”

The trend began with the Enlightenment, a movement in the West that advanced a philosophy predicated on pure reason. Its defining premise was the triumph of secular humanism over irrational superstition. While it helped liberate us from medieval Christian dogma and enabled scientific advancements, it moved beyond the humanism of the Renaissance. The Enlightenment brought the veneration of the empirical at the expense of the metaphysical. Like a closed circuit, it sought answers within a purely material reality, but its questions were transcendental.

Today, as our lives become increasingly rational, mysticism and a hunger for hidden knowledge stir beneath the surface. A variety of occult groups are reemerging: Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, Wicca, and European neo-Paganism are a few of them.

My own journey towards the esoteric began when I was a teenager. At the time, I was discontented, adrift, and in search of change. I began to consider religious ideas seriously. Although I had always believed in the divine, I was unconvinced by the teachings of my Protestant upbringing, troubled by the gaps between the Old and New Testaments, and the critiques of Christian morality that were, by then, finding more vocal expression in Western society. When I began my spiritual exploration, I first looked into folk traditions from Appalachia and Wicca. These traditions, rooted as they are in practice rather than doctrine, were not wholly satisfying. While the rituals did bear positive outcomes, I craved a system that extended beyond practice. One that contained metaphysical explanations for the cosmos. For this reason, I moved on to Pagan occultism.

The rise of occult groups speaks to a human desire not just for metaphysical knowledge and meaning, but for belonging and communal purpose. Cults are regarded as a dangerous form of extremist groupthink by the individualist ideology of our age. However, esoteric societies based on voluntary commitment and inner transformation can offer their members a profound sense of connection.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was an occult secret society that grew in the 19th and 20th centuries as a response to the Enlightenment. To join the organization, a student was required to undergo a series of hierarchical initiations, including advanced metaphysical teachings. This process created a sense of being a valuable member of a community that shared a spiritual mission. Interestingly, the Golden Dawn had several high-status members in multiple nations. A century later, seeing intelligent and creative minds moving towards a similar occultist reawakening should be welcomed, rather than feared.

Belief in the mystical is revived whenever reason seeks to exclude it. While people are sometimes imagined to be fundamentally rational beings, guided by immutable logic, this theory denies an innate aspect of our humanity: A desire to feel connected to something larger than ourselves. Across centuries, we have looked up at the sky, wondering about who created us, and sought answers. The occult emerged quickly after the Age of Reason because the empiricism it advanced was incapable of addressing these foundational questions. Occultism speaks to the essential mystery of our condition. We have created symbolism and rituals as phenomenological expressions to honor our mystical beliefs; they are reflections of a primordial truth that can only be felt and cannot be proven. There is a reason why even the most atheistic cultures, ones where individuals abandon their religion, are still tethered to folk customs, festivals, and rites of passage, like weddings and graduations that were inspired by those religions. They provide grounding and structure to our lives. Their original meaning may be lost on the attendees, but the need for them endures.

The current resurgence began with increasing curiosity about ‘the spiritual’. In most cases this curiosity was vague and detached from any understanding of doctrine. “I’m spiritual, but not religious”, is an expression of this nebulous pull towards esotericism that has entered into common usage. Astrology, crystal healing and Tarot readings are gaining traction. For many, this remains a surface-level interest, but others are taking it further. They recognize that spirituality without conviction feels hollow. We need more; we need to feel divinely guided. This is why Europe’s ancient polytheistic myths have risen in prominence. In America, Paganism is now the fastest-growing religion.

The rise in esoteric modalities reflects the recession of Christianity as a transcendental, spiritual religion. Incenses, hymns, and sacral preaching have faded from a Christian tradition that is motivated by a desire to be accessible and contemporary. But this is driving people away from the church: When a faith sacrifices its message and traditions to remain palatable, it betrays uncertainty in itself and an earthly focus antithetical to its spiritual purpose.

While there are strains of Christianity, particularly within Catholic and Orthodox denominations, that honor their mystic heritage, most Christians in Europe have subscribed to a form of rational morality that denies the key tenets of their faith. The concept of demons and angels, for example, or of miracles, is an inherent part of Christian belief. Yet, the majority of churches have minimized these “irrational” theories to keep up with the rise in scientific knowledge. But science isn’t concerned with metaphysical questions and, as such, it can be reconciled with the supernatural. The two need not be mutually exclusive.

Historically, even art had a devotional and sacral element. From statues carved to honor Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses in Temples, to medieval mosaics in Churches that illustrated Biblical stories, to Renaissance paintings that brought Pagan myths and Catholic beliefs back to life. Unsurprisingly, as religion declined, our art likewise descended into the conceptual, and non-representational. Art was stripped away from the richness of meaning that once made it awe-inspiring.

The secularization within Christianity and the politicization of the Catholic church, has led many to feel unfulfilled and move towards a more overtly esoteric path to find a spiritual identity, either through traditional forms of Christianity or neo-Paganism. The appeal of religion is precisely that it offers an avenue away from the mundane aspects of our lives and towards the divine and magnificent. The occult is simply an esoteric way of exploring this fundamental truth.

Religious desire cannot be contained. When this is attempted, new religions fill the void. More questions are asked. There is no time in which humans have not tried to seek communion with a higher power, and there likely never will be. It is hard to understand the world if a person lacks a spiritual belief because we cannot understand what we cannot grasp: The meaning of our existence. The new occult revival simply provides an alternative answer to this fundamental question.

Georgina Rose is a YouTuber, podcaster, and writer exploring esotericism and alternative religious thought. She can be found on the podcast Pagan Perspectives By Georgina Rose.

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