Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven. (Shakespeare)

Well, a lot of it was written in ancient Sanskrit. Things like the archaic Vedic tradition based on its primal hymns, later Hindu, Tantrik, and Buddhist spiritual traditions and their many Guru-disciple lineages, Yoga, the vast fields of Mantra Shastra (based on Seed Syllables) and Yantra Shastra, the chakra system, the Kundalini and the elaborate techniques to manipulate the inner anatomy of the subtle body, the fivefold breaths, the incredibly sophisticated Jyotisha system of astrology, Yogik and Tantrik alchemy, the Tattwas, the Hindu five element system, herbalism and Ayurveda medicine, the many different Lokas or worlds, the God- and Goddess-forms and their vehicles and animals, the ancient traditions preserved in specific temples, the old methods of warding off or exorcising demons, and many other traditions of magic. (Devala Rees)

The terms “esotericism” and “Western esotericism” were coined in the West, from a Western perspective. Various academics have posited that esotericism is a phenomenon or notion unique to the Western world. There is no clearly comparable category of Eastern esotericism. One main reason for this is that in the Western world, the dominant religion (Christianity) suppressed rival spiritual systems and practices, forcing them to become hidden, underground, “esoteric” traditions. (Devala Rees)

Esoteric is defined as “very unusual and understood or liked by only a small number of people, especially those with special knowledge.” The term “esoteric” comes from the Greek 'esōterikos' and is derived from 'esōterō' meaning “inner” or “further inside.” Thus, the idea of the esoteric is generally associated with secret or hidden knowledge, a theme that can be found throughout history and across cultures. (Cambridge Dictionary)

Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek mostly to know themselves. (Shakespeare)

Not everyone believed that this cluster of ostensibly non-Christian traditions was compatible with Christianity. In the late 17th century, German Protestant polemicists denounced these traditions and cited their ongoing influence as evidence for the “paganism” infecting the Roman Catholic Church. (brittanica.com)

Alchemy was the name given in Latin Europe in the 12th century to an aspect of thought that corresponds to astrology, which is apparently an older tradition. Both represent attempts to discover the relationship of man to the cosmos and to exploit that relationship to his benefit. The first of these objectives may be called scientific, the second technological. (brittanica.com)

Their secretive experiments, usually involving heat and the mixing of liquids, led to the development of pharmacology and the rise of modern chemistry. (merriam-webster.com)

Scholars have suggested that alchemy was never about creating gold but about the lessons learned along the way. Mixing metals to forge gold was never intended to be a realistic possibility. Instead, it was symbolic of the pursuit of knowledge and the futility of attaining material things like gold and wealth. (Joe Duncan)

Today we recognize alchemy as a pseudoscience, and give chemistry its rightful place as a serious scientific field, but the two terms initially overlapped in meaning before separating by the 17th century, just as astrology and astronomy did during the same period. (merriam-webster.com)

Anthroposophy has its roots in German idealism, Western and Eastern esoteric ideas, various religious traditions, and modern Theosophy. (Wikipedia)

In contrast to mainstream Theosophy, Steiner sought to build a Western approach to spirituality based on the philosophical and mystical traditions of European culture. (Wikipedia)

The Second World War temporarily hindered the anthroposophical movement in most of Continental Europe, as the Anthroposophical Society and most of its practical counter-cultural applications were banned by the Nazi government. In reality, Steiner had both enemies and loyal supporters in the upper echelons of the Nazi regime. (Wikipedia)

Though often regarded as a science throughout its history, astrology is widely considered today to be diametrically opposed to the findings and theories of modern Western science. (brittanica.com)

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves. (Shakespeare)

Zodiac signs “modify” the planets, adding nuance to their characters. The zodiac begins in the spring with Aries, which is the first sign, and travels through Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capircorn, Aquarius and finally to the last sign, Pisces. (astrostyle.com)

In countries such as India, astrology manages to retain here and there its position among the sciences. Its continued legitimacy is demonstrated by the fact that some Indian universities offer advanced degrees in astrology. (brittanica.com)

Still to this day, the roots of modern Freemasonry are the subject of intense speculation, but the general consensus among Masonic scholars is that they lie with the medieval stonemasons that built our castles and cathedrals. (ugle.org.uk)

In addition to learning the craft, members of the guilds also received esoteric knowledge, which in turn attracted non-craftsmen members to the guilds. These members became known as “non-operative” or “speculative” masons; gradually, with the decline in cathedral building, speculative masons took prominence in and eventual control of the organization. Drawing on the past, these individuals, who started to call themselves Freemasons, incorporated ritual and symbolic language, mostly relating to the building trades and specifically to the building of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. (encyclopedia.ushmm.org)

Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. (Micah 4:4)

Gnostic writings flourished among certain Christian groups in the Mediterranean world around the second century, when the Fathers of the early Church denounced them as heresy. Efforts to destroy these texts proved largely successful, resulting in the survival of very little writing by Gnostic theologians. (Wikipedia)

This son of hers was the demiurge. The Gnostic text Reality of the Rulers describes “him” as an androgynous being, an “arrogant beast” that resembled an aborted fetus in both appearance and character. (gnosticismexplained.org)

The demiurge is given many names in the Gnostic scriptures, but the three most common ones are Yaldabaoth (also spelled “Ialdabaoth”), Samael, and Saklas. “Saklas” comes from the Aramaic word for “fool,” and “Samael” is Aramaic for “Blind God” or “God of the Blind. (gnosticismexplained.org)

He lied when he claimed to be the only god and that Adam and Eve would die if they ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil; he insulted his mother and father by refusing to acknowledge their existence; he made a graven image of the divine when he modeled the material world on his corrupt and ignorant misunderstanding of Heaven; and he committed adultery by attempting to rape Eve. (gnosticismexplained.org)

From the Heliconian Muses let me sing:
They dance on soft feet round the deep-blue spring
And shrine of Cronus’ mighty son upon
The great and holy mount of Helicon. (Hesiod, The Theogony)

Uranus fell to the ground, enraged and in terrible pain. The vicious attack upon him by his own son was realized too late. Swearing vengeance, he gathered what little strength he had left and disappeared, leaving Cronus alone to witness the monstrous forms at the gates of their prison, Tartarus. (mythology.net)

Pythagoras was obsessed with finding the secret fundamental substance of the cosmos, which is in line with the goals of all occultism. Alchemy grew out of this tradition. (Joe Duncan)

7 laws of hermeticism: Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled. (Mastering the Gavel)

The foundational documents of the original Order of the Golden Dawn, known as the Cipher Manuscripts, are written in English using the Trithemius cipher. The manuscripts give the specific outlines of the Grade Rituals of the Order and prescribe a curriculum of graduated teachings that encompass the Hermetic Qabalah, astrology, occult tarot, geomancy, and alchemy. (Wikipedia)

Kabbalah is the most famous form of Jewish mysticism. It flowered in 13th century Spain with the writing of the Zohar, which was originally attributed to the 2nd century sage Shimon bar Yohai. (myjewishlearning.com)

These misunderstandings stem largely from the fact that the teachings of Kabbalah have been so badly distorted by mystics and occultists. Kabbalah was popular among Christian intellectuals during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, who reinterpreted its doctrines to fit into their Christian dogma. (jewfaq.org)

And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah. (Genesis 38:27-30)

Philip IV of France, who was in financial debt to the Templars, ordered the mass arrest of French Templars on Oct. 13, 1307, confiscating their property and wealth. (Livescience.com)

Martinism A spiritual, mystical, and magical organization that has been derived and fused into the Martinist Order from the system of Martinez de Pasqually and the philosophy of Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin. (occult-world.com)

Masonry is often called a secret society when we are not. We are a public society that just happens to have secrets. Martinism has some similar secrets in regards to methods of recognition, but they go further in that its members are in fact secret. One does not know who all has been initiated into Martinism. That is genuinely secret.

Around the turn of the century, Papus made several visits to Russia, which, along with his contacts with Emperor Nicholas II, helped the rapid spread of Martinist ideas in the country. (garagemca.org)

The Absolute "has its center everywhere but its circumference nowhere." (Plotinus)

This later Neoplatonism aspired to be not only a complete and coherent metaphysical system but also a complete pagan theology. (britannica.com)

You can search your name or any other phrase and the online gematria calculator will calculate the Gimatria value not only in English but also in Hebrew Gematria, Jewish Gematria and the Simple Gematria method. (gematrix.org)

The 15th to 19th centuries saw Christian Europeans expand into new areas across the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. In these lands they encountered a huge variety of religious traditions not devoted to the God of Abraham and which again they often labeled pagan or heathen. (brittanica.com)

A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. (Wikipedia)

The existence of abstract objects represents a significant challenge for the Christian in particular and for Traditional Theists in general since it is central to these worldviews that God is the creator of everything other than God himself. Generally, however, abstract objects are considered to be like God in that they are said to have always existed, and to always exist in future. Consequently, there is no point at which God is considered to have brought them into being. (iep.utm.edu/pla-thei)

Platonism has had some influence on Christianity through Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and the Cappadocian Fathers. St. Augustine was heavily influenced by Platonism as well, which he encountered through the Latin translations of Marius Victorinus of the works of Porphyry and/or Plotinus. (Wikipedia)

Among the most important of these abstract objects (as they are now called, because they are not located in space or time) are goodness, beauty, equality, bigness, likeness, unity, being, sameness, difference, change, and changelessness. (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Reiki may not be able to cure illness on its own, but it can offer profound relief from chronic fatigue, pain, anxiety, and depression. It’s become more popular in hospitals as a complement to Western medicine, as studies have shown that it helps to promote peace and relaxation in patients undergoing surgery. (theholisticcounseling.center)

The outer and inner Mind Without God's light you cannot find.

Wisdom about life after death has been preserved through the ages and is revealed only to the secret brotherhood. (gotquestions.org)

Within this world three Worlds in each other, namely this earth Sun-World, and also the Heavenly and the Hellish world have their effects. And the darkness cannot conquer the light. It also shows that the land of the dead, the entrance to Hell or superficial darkness, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth, as well as the land of the living, the heavenly paradise or third heaven are from this world. And that the human being has all these things in his heart; heaven and hell, light and darkness, life and death. (The Teachings of the Rosicrucians)

The origins of Shamanism stem from indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia. (Wikipedia)

The extraordinary profession of the shaman naturally distinguishes him socially. The belief that he communicates with the spirits gives him authority. Furthermore, the belief that his actions may not only bring benefit but also harm makes him feared. Even a good shaman may do inadvertent harm, and a wicked shaman, who is in contact with the spirits of the Lower World, is very alarming. (britannica.com)

All difficulties are easy when they are known. (Shakespeare)

Tarot decks were invented in Italy in the 1430s by adding to the existing four-suited pack a fifth suit of 21 specially illustrated cards called trionfi (“triumphs”) and an odd card called il matto (“the fool”). (The fool is not the origin of the modern joker, which was invented in the late 19th century as an unsuited jack in the game of euchre.) (britannica.com)

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. (Hebrews 1:14)

Tarot reading is the practice of divining wisdom and guidance through a specific spread (or layout) of Tarot cards. However, contrary to popular belief, the cards do not simply tell your fortune, and one does not have to be a psychic to give Tarot readings. The cards are meant to provide insight into the innermost truths of your higher self. (sagegoddess.com)

Theosophists also emphasize esoteric doctrine. Modern theosophists claim that all world religions contain such an inner teaching, and much attention is devoted to deciphering the meaning concealed in sacred texts. (brittanica.com)

The object is to honor the divine or the One according to Neoplatonic cosmology. This involves what's called The One, which created the Nous (mind, intellect, divine consciousness), which created the Soul, which created the material realm humans inhabit. Getting closer to divinity is achieved through theurgical acts.