Occult Definitions

OCCULT - 1. Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences, agencies, or phenomena. 2. Beyond the realm of human comprehension. 3. Available only to the initiate; secret. 4. Hidden from view; concealed.

astral plane - a place supposedly existing at a level just beyond normal human perception where the spiritual self, freed from its physical body, may exist.

astrology - the study of the positions and aspects of celestial bodies in the belief that they have an influence on the course of natural earthly occurrences and human affairs.

clairvoyance - 1. the paranormal power of seeing objects or actions beyond the range of natural vision. 2. quick, intuitive knowledge of things and people; sagacity.

divination - the art or act of foretelling future events or revealing occult knowledge by means of augury or an alleged supernatural agency.

ESP - extrasensory perception - perception or communication outside of normal sensory capability, as in telepathy and clairvoyance.

horoscope - 1. a diagram of the heavens, showing the relative position of planets and the signs of the zodiac, as at the moment of a person's birth, used esp. to predict events in a person's life. 2. predictions or advice for the future, based on such a diagram.

hypnosis - a trancelike condition usually induced by another person in which the subject is in a state of altered consciousness and responds, with certain limitations, to the suggestions of the hypnotist.

numerology - the study of numbers, as the figures designating the year of one's birth, to determine their supernatural meaning or influence.

OBE - 1. out-of-body experience. 2. near-death experience.

oracle - 1. (esp. in the ancient world) a shrine at which inquiries are made of a particular deity through a means of divination. b. the agency by which the inquiry is answered, as a priest or priestess. c. the typically terse, ambiguous response of the deity. 2. a person who delivers authoritative and usu. influential pronouncements. 3. any utterance regarded as authoritative, unquestionably wise, or infallible.

palmistry - the art or practice of telling fortunes and interpreting character from the lines and configurations on the palm of a person's hand.

paranormal - 1. beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation. 2. of or pertaining to events or perceptions occurring without scientific explanation, as clairvoyance or extrasensory perception.

parapsychology - 1. the study of the evidence for psychological phenomena, such as telepathy, clairvoyance and psychokinesis, that are inexplicable of science. 2. the branch of psychology that studies psychic phenomena, as clairvoyance and telepathy.

prediction - 1. the act of predicting. 2. an instance of this; something predicted; prophecy.

psychic 1. of or having to do with the psyche, or mind. 2. beyond natural or known physical processes. 3. apparently sensitive to forces beyond the physical world.

reincarnation (also pre-existence) - 1. rebirth of the soul in another body, as in Hindu religious belief. 2. the doctrine that the soul reappears after death in another and different bodily form.

supernatural - 1. of, pertaining to, or being above or beyond what is natural or explainable by natural law. 2. of, pertaining to, or attributed to God or a deity. 3. of a superlative degree; preternatural. 4. pertaining to or attributed to ghosts, goblins, or other unearthly beings; eerie; occult. --n. 5. a being, place, object, occurrence, etc., considered as supernatural or of supernatural origin. 6. "the supernatural,". a. supernatural beings, behavior, and occurrences collectively. b. supernatural forces and the supernatural plane of existence.

supernatural phenomena - of or relating to existence outside the natural world. 2. Attributed to a power that seems to violate or go beyond natural forces. (e.g. apparitions, ghosts, haunted houses, materialization, poltergeists, spirits, Lock Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Bermuda Triangle.

tarot - a set of playing cards bearing allegorical representations, used for fortune-telling.

telepathy - 1. communication between minds by some means other than the normal sensory channels. 2. transference of thought.

UFO - unidentified flying object

witchcraft - the power or practices of witches.

zodiac - 1. an imaginary belt extending about 8° on each side of the ecliptic and containing the apparent paths of the sun, moon, and principal planets through 12 constellations or signs. 2. a diagram representing this and often containing the symbol for each sign of the zodiac. 3. a circuit or round.