The occult are such things as alchemy, magic, astrology, and other "arts" of divination which use incantations or magic formulae in an attempt to gain hidden knowledge or power.
See also occultism.
further reading
Seligmann, Kurt. The History of Magic and the Occult (Random House 1997), reprint of 1948 edition.
A History of Doubt
No doubt, no enlightenment!
Print versions available in Estonian
, Russian
,
Japanese ,
Korean
, and
(soon) Spanish .
Freethinkers
What have you got to lose but
your shackles?
Occam's
razor