As mentioned in my first post, the field of occult studies is as varied as each individual, the whole idea is to tailor a path that fits your own needs, beliefs and ethics.
Having said this, it is VERY helpful to base your belief system on one of the well established Archetypes, particularly in the early stages then build and expand upon this with your own ideas and studies as time goes on.
As one begins to delve into the world of the Occult, one very quickly realizes that there are Occult Practices dating back to the dawn of time itself as well as those "New Age" ones being born or Re-Born as I like to think of it, every day. For nothing in the Occult is entirely new. The Universal Tenets that underpin ALL legitimate Occult thought are the same, they are The Universal Truths, the essential core which pervades every belief system, even the most dogmatic, if one looks hard enough!
When first setting out on the path of Occult Study, I believe it is wisest to browse through as many different avenues of study as possible. Yes, the worship of the first known Idol ever to have been made by human hands: The Venus of Willendorf may appeal to some due to its roots as being the very first known avenue Humankind took towards Spiritual Enlightenment, however since there is so little known about those who worshipped her or how they worshipped her, one is likely to come to many dead ends in attempting to use Her as the Central Pillar of your Occult Study.
It is my advice that one looks to the period of time from Humankind's "Great Civilizations" onwards for ones path. This is a VERY open field now.
Search the world over, from the Mystery Schools of the Classical Greeks & Romans, the undeniable wisdom of the Ancient Egyptians, the Mayans and their civilization that remained untouched until the Spanish conquests, the Ancient Norse & Teutonic Gods & Goddesses of the Vikings, the Druidic & Celtic gods of the British Isles and Gaul, Voodoo; The mixing of African Spirit Worship and Christian belief melded together by slaves taken to the new world by the white man, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and even Christianity are ALL valid paths to spiritual enlightenment.
Within all of these paths of study though are a plethora of "Sub-Areas" of study, ones that over the ages have been hidden from the majority of Humankind, areas of these which have been refined, studied time and again, creating a "Well trodden path" for the Occult Student setting out on their own journey.
One very popular example of this would be Wicca. Wicca is based on the Equal Worship of both a Mother Goddess and Father God (often leaning towards the Mother Goddess in an attempt to swing the pendulum of patriarchal society beck in a feminine direction) both of which usually take the form of Ancient Celtic Gods & Goddesses. The Wiccan path is an Agrarian Based Spirituality which celebrates eight seasonal festivals throughout the year which coincide with the sowing, growing, ripening, harvesting etc times of the year as well as acknowledging their Goddesses and thus their connection with the Moon by celebrating Sabbats at each Full Moon.
In the same way that the Wiccan's have taken the Ideals of the ancient Celt's and Gaul's and brought them into a modern context, so others have done so with many of the Ancient Mystery Traditions like the Greeks, Egyptians and the Romans. Utilizing the well known Archetypes of their Gods & Goddesses along with surviving Occult Tradition and Wisdom passed down through the ages, thus forming a coherent system of spiritual study.
One of the areas of Occult Study that has remained most intact over a very long period of time is what is known as The Western Mystery Tradition. Though essentially based on the little known and even less fully understood (especially by modern Jews!) Judaic system of Universal Interpretation known as The Kabbalah.
Virtually ALL other Western and many Eastern Systems of Occult Study can be better understood if viewed through the lenses of the Kabbalah.
In the next instalment of this blog I'll go into both how The Kabbalah helps us to better understand other Occult Paths as well as more detail regarding other Occult Paths themselves.
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