Chicken or egg? Which came first: the occult, the mystical, or
the esoteric? Faivre begins with the esoteric Hermes Trismegistus
connection of the second and third centuries, yet he doesn’t record
occult origins until the mid-nineteenth century. In contrast, the
Oxford English Dictionary traces the word origins of both “occult”
and “mystical” to the early 1500s, but “esoteric” doesn’t appear
until the mid-1600s.

What are the differences in meaning for these words? First,
Faivre acknowledges that they completely overlap in common use.
However, his focus on the esoteric is divided into six meanings.
These include 1) the “disparate grouping” seen in bookshops “to
refer to almost everything that exudes a scent of mystery,” 2)
teachings/facts that are “secret because they are deliberately
hidden;” 3) the mystery inherent in the nature of things; 4) a
gnostic emphasis on the mythical or symbolic; 5) pertaining to the
“quest for the ‘primordial Tradition;'” and 6) Faivre’s emphasis: “a
group of specific historical currents.”

Anyone who studies the kingdoms of the cults and the occult will
witness the most bizarre of spiritual inventions – especially in the
occult. (After all, in keeping with the word ¢â‚¬â„¢s very definition,
meanings may be deliberately hidden.) I’m inclined to think that a
fair amount of the embarrassingly obscure is involved as well. For
example, let’s suppose that my eccentric uncle was so odd that
almost nobody understood his strange habits when he was alive, and
they understood (and cared) less about them after his death. The
chance to really make sense of his life quickly disappeared after he
died, and major segments of his work were lost forever, leaving
others to reinterpret his experience as they liked.

Consequently, what I get from Faivre is the assurance that few
have been inclined to record much about occult history, confirming
the obscurity of its origins. Evangelicals may come away with the
strong impression that the occult realm resembles a toxic spiritual
oil slick. It breaks down as it spreads even as new pockets form and
then eventually fade over time marking its perpetually furtive
spiritual exploration, speculation, and reinterpretation.

* Western Esotericism: A Concise History, by Antoine Faivre (State
Univ of New York Prs, 2010, paperback, 128 pages) <www.j.mp/dYE1fe>