Focusing on a carefully curated selection of esoteric art and artefacts, Occult is a brilliantly illustrated exploration of the meaning and mystic power of occult manuscripts, ritual objects and symbols from around the world. The author begins by clarifying what we mean by occult', and in so doing identifies its five key elements alchemy, astrology, magic, mysticism and divination. He traces the pre-Christian origins of esotericism in Mesopotamian astrology and Egyptian, Greek and Arab alchemy and its development through the Middle Ages as occult sciences, encompassing Kabbalah and natural, astral and ritual magic. He then addresses the rebirth of the occult in the 19th century with spiritualism, theosophy and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the 20th century's anthroposophy, New Age' and occulture movements.Illustrated narrative text is interspersed with double page presentations of the key practices, figures and symbols relevant to its theme. Artworks and artefacts are examined in detail: the practices depicted are identified and explained, and the hidden symbolism decrypted. As the book progresses, readers will not only come to understand the mysterious practices and secret ciphers of the occult, but will also discover the beliefs, rituals and philosophies of occultists around the world from their origins in the early esoteric traditions of the ancient Egyptians to their reinterpretation in modern occultism.