National Occult Day
When people hear the term occult, they picture cults of devil worshipers and pagans dancing naked around a bonfire, having orgies, engaging in black magic and exploring the supernatural. What is occult, anyway?
Occult Means:
Per George Crabb’s 1818 book, English Synonyms Explained, in Alphabetical Order, Occult is connected to the word ‘secret,’ and it is located in his book under the title of “Secret.” Occult is from the Latin word occultius, which is the participle of occulo, compounded of oc or ob and culo or colo, which means to cover over by tilling or ploughing. “Occult is a species of the hidden.” Per Robert Sullivan’s 1872 book, A Dictionary of Derivations, or, An Introduction to Etymology, On a New Plan, “Occult, occulte, F,, occultus, L. Secret; hidden; literally, ploughed over or buried. From ob (oc) and colo, to till; participle cultus.” In a nutshell, the old meaning of the word occult means hidden or to bury.
Occult Means Today:
The old meaning of occult seems a bit archaic. In the modern world, occult is associated with pseudosciences such as alchemy, astrology, mediumship, cryptozoology, and parapsychology. Occult is also connected to esotericism such Gnosticism and Spiritualism. Conservative Christians view the occult as being evil, Satanic and life-threatening; pretty much anything opposite of their faith would be deemed occult. In other words, Occult is no longer hidden or buried; it is out there for the world to see.
What is Occult?
At one point or another everything was occult (hidden), then someone decided to dig deeper and what was once hidden and buried became exposed. Remember when Earth was the center of the universe? Philosophers such as Philolaus and Hicetas, mathematicians Aristarchus of Samos and Nicolaus Cusanus revealed the hidden truth and developed their heliocentrism system; the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Science has exposed the hidden truth, not just about the orbit of the Earth and Sun, but the truth of the solar and lunar eclipses, the changing of seasons, and the weather, and even how our bodies heal and work. If it were not for alchemy, deemed occult, we would not have chemistry and everything that was developed to aid us in our everyday lives.
Medical Science:
Occult is applied to medical science when there is no primary origin, such as
· Occult cancers, unknown primary origin, the tumor cannot be identified.
· Fecal occult blood is when there is no visible of blood in the feces.
· Occult atrial fibrillation, which is asymptomatic, which prevents early detection.
· Occult lesions localizations are lesions that are not clinically detectable.
· Occult hip fracture is a fracture that is not confirmed by radiographs.
Why Are We Talking About Occult?
Believe it or not, there is an Occult Day. November 18th is set aside for such a day. During my research, I could not find the person who started Occult Day, AKA National Occult Day. I guess it’s an occult person (hidden person). The purpose of this day deals with the supernatural and the arcane. In 2011, “Life of a Female Bible Warrior,” posted a ‘counter’ to the holiday by having her followers pray.
How to Celebrate
There are diverse ways you can celebrate this day. It all depends on how you view the word occult. If you are going to use the modern terminology of occult here are some ways you can celebrate, kind of like a second Halloween.
Kid-Friendly Activities
· Science experiments
· Learning another culture
· Watch kid-friendly movies such as Beetlejuice and Ghostbusters.
· Look up at the stars and try to find the star constellations.
· Use the telescope to view the universe.
What to watch and read?
Binge Watch:
· “Supernatural” (Netflix)
· “Charmed” (Netflix)
· “X-Files” (new season is coming) (Hulu)
· “The Exorcist: The Next Chapter” (Hulu)
· “Stranger Things” (Netflix)
· “Van Helsing” (Netflix)
· “Wynonna Earp” (Netflix)
· “American Horror Story” (Hulu, Amazon and Netflix).
Movies:
· “Practical Magic” (Netflix)
· “The Craft” (Netflix)
· “The Sixth Sense” (Netflix)
· “Young Frankenstein” (Netflix)
· “Men in Black” (Netflix, Hulu)
· “Pet Sematary” (Amazon, Hulu)
· “Little Shop of Horrors” (Amazon)
· “The Adams Family” (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon)
Books:
· “Frankenstein,” by Mary Wollstonecraft
· “The Stand,” by Stephen King (anything by him)
· “The Vampire Chronicles,” by Anne Rice
· “American Gods,” by Neil Gaiman.
· “Harry Potter,” by J.K. Rowling
· “Practical Magic,” by Alice Hoffman
· “The Rules of Magic,” by Alice Hoffman
· “The Lord of the Rings,” by J.R.R. Tolkien
What Else:
Masquerade Party
Have your guests dress up as their favorite person or characters. Such as Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, a vampire, or Freddy Kruger. I think you get the drift. Dig out your Halloween decorations to decorate the home, along with skull ice cubes and Jell-O brains. Play spooky music and do the Monster Mash.
Education:
Using the modern term of occult, why not educate yourself? Open the lines of communication with someone with different beliefs as yourself. Learn about the old ways by discussing with those who practice, such as the Norse faith, Wicca, Contemporary Paganism or talk to the indigenous communities and have them educate you on their culture. Go to a discussion from a group of paranormal investigators, or take a haunted tour. Go to a magic show or learn a thing or two about magic tricks and show off to your friends and family.
Occult has negative connotations but does not always have to be negative. You can make the day kid friendly and have adult fun. The idea of Occult Day is to celebrate what was once hidden, and to one day unearth other hidden knowledge.
How will you celebrate? Use hashtag #occultday.
