Occult Science

Occult science is the systematic research into or formulation of occult concepts in a manner that follows - in its method or presentation - the way natural science researches or describes phenomena of the physical world.

The idea of Occult Science appears in 19th century occultism, especially Theosophy, including:

• Blavatsky (who distinguished it from the "true Occultism" of Theosophy).
• Rudolf Steiner, whose Occult Science, a sequel to his earlier work Theosophy, deals with the evolution of the human being and the cosmos, as well as referring to the attainment of supersensible knowledge.
• Alice Bailey, who brought the idea of occult science into association with esoteric astrology; and in
• The 20th century New Age movement.
• Harold W. Percival joined the Theosophical Society in 1892. After the death of William Q. Judge in 1896, he organized the Theosophical Society Independent and then wrote Thinking and Destiny which covers in plain terms the purpose of the universe and occult meanings.

Kabbalah and Tarot have also been described as Occult sciences; Papus (Gerard Encausse)'s book originally published in French in 1889 as Le Tarot des Bohémiens: Le plus ancien Livre du monde, was translated into English in 1910 as The Tarot of the Bohemians: The Absolute Key to Occult Science.

Some authors have sought to show that various aspects of what have traditionally been considered "occultism" are in fact scientific in precisely the same manner that chemistry or physics is scientific. Scientific disciplines generally contain two highly synergistic and interactive elements: theories and practices. The theories are the ideas to explain the subject matter and provide operational concepts for conceiving and executing the practices. The practices in turn are the arsenal of methods and procedures that provide for the systematic study of a given area, and the results of the practices usually feedback upon the theories leading to the modification and refinement of the theories. When a branch of knowledge has this overall form, it can be considered "scientific" and that is the claim made for certain aspects of occultism. The aim is to synthesize or integrate scientific and occult concepts and fuse them into something that may be greater than either alone.