Modern Occult Arts
There are many words that have a slightly different meaning depending on the context. Sometimes one interpretation of these words develops such a reputation that people forget it ever meant anything else. Like when a celebrity or politician makes just one little mistake that no one can ever let go of.
No caption necessary.
One word that has suffered for its multiple meanings is in the title of this website. The word sinister means left. It also means evil. To most people, it just means evil. Apocalypse is a word that originally meant some kind of revelation. Now it is used exclusively to describe the fall of civilization.
Another word shares this predicament. The word Occult is often used to describe things that are supernatural, magical, or mysterious. Originally, the word came from Latin. It meant, “to conceal or cover-up.” To describe magic or the paranormal as occult is accurate, because magic and paranormal subjects are not usually exposed for everyone to see.
Come see how Aliens do their card tricks!
The word Occult can also have a more grounded meaning. It is used to describe things that seem mysterious, but only to the uninitiated. For many years mathematics was seen as an occult subject. Anyone who has been confused in a math class can see why. How are such gymnastics done with numbers? Well, it’s easy, after someone has uncovered the methods for you.
Many trades have achieved occult status in the minds of who those who do not practice them. Things everyone encounters, but few understand. In antiquity, masonry was considered an occult art. How could man make stone bend so thoroughly to his will? People began to associate masonry with secrets, organizations like the Freemasons developed, and conspiracy theories were never the same.
Now, because of simple trade secrets from thousands of years ago, freemasonry is the spokes group for secrecy. This despite the fact there are other, more threatening secret groups out there.
Novus Ordo
You don’t have to go back in time to find occult arts. The modern world is full of trades and practices that seem mysterious to the uninitiated. Everyone keeps secrets, but some folks are clearly more occult than others.
I. Finance:
Why have masons been looked at with suspicion, while bankers are left to their own devices? There is a simple answer. For much of Western history Bankers weren’t allowed to take part in everyday society. The common wisdom says they were exiled on moral grounds. Good Christians were not supposed to deal with other people’s money.
The truth is that Bankers were kept out of polite society because nobody understood what they did. Eventually, we all became so concerned with managing our own potential fortunes that we forgot to be suspicious of people who keep secrets. Like a magic show, as long as people are happy with the trick, nobody really cares how it’s done.
Now watch as I make all your money disappear!
Then began the real age of financial occultism. Simple banking turned into investment. People with no obvious skills became stockbrokers, and surpassed all of us uninitiated in wealth and influence. Now there are advertisements everywhere to invest in stock options and take care of your portfolio. The only portfolio I’ve ever owned came from my middle school art class.
This is all the management it needs
Accounts, interest, loans, mortgages, Dow Jones, Nasdaq: These are the ritual words used in financial occultism. How many of us know what they mean, but don’t really understand how they work?
When the crusaders occupied the holy land they brought back all kinds of secret and hidden knowledge. Why didn’t the people who occupied Wall Street do the same thing?
Oh, right. They were busy.
II. Taxes:
Everybody has to pay taxes. At least, that’s the idea. But for something so prevalent and necessary to our society, taxes are incredibly difficult to understand. Between all the forms, exceptions, credits, and super-secret circumstances, reading a tax code document is akin to trudging through a long, complex legendarium.
Its about as interesting, too.
Like an architect hiring a mason to work secrets on stone, we hire tax professionals and accountants to deal with that complicated stuff for us. Reliance on tax experts puts everyone else in a precarious position. We can either trust that occult knowledge is being used to our benefit, or we can worry about the use of accounting wizardry to our detriment. A pile of receipts, E-Z form 2A, and a lock of hair from your firstborn child should be enough to keep the IRS away, right?
“Wait, you want HOW much of my blood. Well…if it’s for the government.”
Of course, we could spend our time learning the accounting secrets ourselves. But that is so difficult. It is far easier to just hire someone who is already initiated. Or better yet, find a magic website that does it all from the comfort of your own home.
Today it is easy to bridge the gap between being a good citizen and not having to wear pants. But in order to be satisfied with this arrangement we must look away from the trade secrets of yet another profession.
III. Computer Science:
The most occult of all modern arts is perhaps the most ubiquitous. Even if you don’t have a bank account and have never even thought about paying taxes, chances are you interacted with a computer today.
Especially if you’re reading this!
We use computers for business .We use them for pleasure. We even use computers when we don’t really need them.
Most of us know about hardware, how to boot up a computer or plug in a flash drive. However, very few of us can take a pile of plastic and wire and build a thinking machine. Even Dr. Frankenstein didn’t have to build his monster from scratch.
Most of us know about software. We can use Mac OS or Windows. We can write documents, play games, and even troubleshoot problems. For all this, how many could actually write a working program, completely from the ground up using ones and zeroes?
Sure, I believe computers speak in binary at their most basic level. And the entire universe is made of tiny, vibrating strings.
People with occult knowledge tell me these things, and I believe them. But I don’t know how to prove it. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.
That looks like a start.
I love video games, and I love comparing reality to video games. But I don’t really understand how video games work. Then again, I don’t really know how reality works, either. The knowledge is out there. Maybe somebody knows. Its just difficult to uncover.
There are elements of the occult in just about any profession. Financiers, accountants, and computer experts may seem like wizards to the uninitiated. But so do cooks to people who never cook, or barbers to people who have never cut hair. Even janitors have secrets that are inaccessible to anyone who has never swept a floor or scrubbed a toilet.
All trades have secrets. Everyone knows something that is covered up to someone else. So, make it your life’s mission to uncover all the knowledge. Become a bastion of occult knowledge!
And then don’t tell anybody!
