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Welcome to the Witchipedia's glossary of occult terms. Here you will find terms often used in the Pagan, Heathen, magical and occult communities that may confuse a newcomer. This encyclopedia of magical terminology is a wonderful place to get started if you don't know where to start in the Witchipedia. If you don't see the term you are looking for here, feel free to bring your question to the community in our forums or Ask A Witch!

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We have 331 terms listed in our glossary with more being added each day.

What you see on this page is the titles and first paragraph of the articles in our occult glossary whose titles begin with the letter O. To view the full article, please click on the title. You will also be able to comment, ask questions and add more information to the article once you've navigated to its page.


Occult

The word occult comes from the Latin occultus which means hidden or secret and the word occult refers to secret or hidden knowledge and typically refers to the paranormal. The study of the occult is generally called occultism and people who study the occult are occultists.

Occultism

Occultism is the study of the occult, of the hidden and most secret nature of the Universe and of the individual things within it. Occultists seek to understand and indeed manipulate reality at a level beyond the ordinary. Occultism may encompass the study of a variety of disciplines including sorcery, ceremonial-magick, witchcraft, Kaballah, alchemy, shamanism, astrology, and various forms of divination and may also incorporate the most accepted sciences such as Botany, Quantum Physics,...

Occultist

An occultist is a person who studies the occult. It is a general term that encompasses anyone who studies metaphysical subjects, paranormal phenomena, magick, divination, astrology, alchemy and anything else that might be considered supernatural. Self-identified occultists, however, aren't just dabblers. They tend to make deep and serious study of one or more of these subjects and seek to become experts in their field.

Omen

An omen is an unusual event that foretells a greater event. Omens can be good or bad. The translation of an omen as a good sign or a bad sign is often determined by the culture and background of the individual. If there is some question, various methods of divination may be used to clarify things. Historically, hepatoscopy, haruspicy, lecanomancy, or libanomancy were most often used, though any method of divination may be employed. See Also

Oomancy

Oomancy is divination using eggs. The word derives from the ancient Greek oon egg and manteia divination . Also known as ovomancy, ovamancy, ooscopy Oomancy was performed in ancient Greece and Rome. It was reported by Reverend John Hale in A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft that the girls at the heart of the Salem Witch Trials played at fortune telling using eggs and a glass to determine the profession of their future husbands. It seems that this was a common form of divination...

Out Of Body Experience

An out of body experience is the experience of leaving your body. Many report a sensation of floating or flying and some report viewing their body from the outside. This is often abbreviated OBE or OOBE. (Some pronounce this like OO bee.) Out of body experiences may be intentional or accidental. Accidental OBEs may occur when the subject is in a relaxed, dream-like state; while he is starting to drift off to sleep or as the result of a drug. OBEs have also been reported as a result of a serious...


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