The Difference Between Occultism And Mysticism

By Debra Kelly on Friday, October 31, 2014

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It s close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mystici
sm you go vertically. You plunge into it.
Elie Wiesel
In A Nutshell
Both practices involve the alleged ability of the human mind to reach out and ex
perience that which is beyond our regularly experienced senses. Mysticism often
exists within the context of organized, established religion, while the same rel
igion condemns occultism. Occultism is an experience of conflict whereby the per
son practicing it is attempting to control something or learn something that the
y shouldn t know, while those who practice mysticism are striving to exist in harm
ony and peace with the greater world.
The Whole Bushel
At a glance, both occultism and mysticism seem like they d be pretty similar they bo
th involve dealing with things that many people would say are better left alone,
after all. And while that s true, there are some differences that those who pract
ice and those who study them will attest to.
First, the similarities in brief. Both schools of thought are ancient, and both
deal with contacting and in some way interacting with things that are beyond our
everyday perception. It s the connection with things that the everyday person can t
see, hear, or touch things that many of those everyday people don t even believe in
.
The differences are much more significant.
The first is the general feeling that comes from each respective practice. For t
hose that practice the different arts of mysticism, they report that one of the
defining characteristics is a sense of being connected: being one with whatever
it is that they re contacting but cannot see, being accepted into it, and being a
part of something greater than themselves. They re in a dream state, they re one wit
h the greater good, and it s a pleasant, all-encompassing feeling.
While working in union with the unknown world is part of mysticism, controlling
it is part of occultism. Those who practice occultism do so in order to control
or unnaturally influence part of their surroundings and to change the circumstan
ces in which they exist. Occultism is equated with different types of magic when
it comes to the religious definition it s the use of words, gestures, symbols, and
incantations to manipulate unseen forces that are only known to the practitioner
s of the art.
Mysticism can exist alongside (and is often a big part of) religious traditions.
In that it s often seen as a person s awareness of other things existing alongside
us, just outside of the reach of our traditional senses, there s more than enough
room within religions like Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity for the experienc
e of mystical events and sensations.
Occultism, on the other hand, exists so far outside of mainstream religion that
they can t even see each other. Even as far back as ancient Babylon, it was made c
lear that practicing dark occult magic wasn t to be tolerated there were punishments
and ordeals spelled out for those found guilty even in the Code of Hammurabi. T
he Bible was full of warnings to stay away from the evil of magic and occultism,
pushing its practice into the darkness and leading to the criminalization of th
e art. Catholic theology takes a direct shot at it, saying that occultism is ver
y, very much against the religion as it tries to acquire knowledge in a way othe
r than through God, the accepted source for everything mankind should spirituall

y need.
Broadly speaking, there are also two different types of mystical experiences the i
nward and the outward. The outward experience is said to allow the practitioner
to see how all the elements of the world are bound together by unifying forces t
hat others can t see or experience. And the inward version of mysticism is, as its
name suggests, the ability to look inside oneself to achieve a feeling of compl
ete peace peace which is sorely lacking in accounts of occultism.