Oculto: Análisis de la cultura visual del misticismo, la magia y la adivinación

by Peter Forshaw

A clear, concise, and detailed historical exploration of the eclectic and arcane visual and material culture of the occult. Focusing on a carefully curated selection of esoteric art and artifacts, Occult explores the meaning and mystic power of occult manuscripts, ritual objects, and symbols from around the world. The author identifies five central elements of occultism―alchemy, astrology, magic, mysticism, and divination. Key symbols are highlighted and examined, and important rituals and practices are explained to provide new insights into the philosophies and beliefs of occultists from antiquity to today. The book begins with an introduction that clarifies what we mean by "occult."  Occult is then organized into three broad sections, each containing three themed chapters―exploring the foundations of the occult, the philosophy of occult magic, and the modern occult revival. Readers are guided from ancient beliefs to the rebirth of the occult in the nineteenth century with spiritualism, theosophy, and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and on to the twentieth century’s anthroposophy, New Age, and occulture movements. Throughout, illustrated narrative text is interspersed with double- page presentations of the key practices, figures, and symbols relevant to that theme. Artworks and artifacts are examined in the practices depicted are identified and explained, and the hidden symbolism decrypted. As the book progresses, readers will not only come to understand the mysterious practices and secret ciphers of the occult, but will also discover the beliefs, rituals, and philosophies of occultists around the world from their origins in the early esoteric traditions of the Ancient Egyptians to their reinterpretation in modern occultism. 450 color illustrations

Genres: Nonfiction, Occult, Art, Spirituality, Witchcraft, Alchemy, Religion

256 pages, Hardcover

Published February 21, 2025

Reviews

[Tania tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto interessante
Da’ una visione generale dell’occulto e delle sue pratiche

[Carson Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting round up of various occult practices and the art that goes along with them. Very fascinating and high quality book (them pages are thiccc af).

[˗ˏ` twój stary ˊˎ˗]

dżoana idę po ciebie

[Harry Allard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very proud big brother to a member of the team who worked on this! Lots of fantastic illustrations from a huge variety of manuscripts and other sources, informative sidebars, and a surprisingly in-depth essay by Forshaw charting (broadly) the history of Western esotericism. From Ancient Greece, to the alchemists, to the ceremonial magicians, this is a great overview of an impossibly complex topic and not just a pretty coffee table book. One weakness I'd point to is that it largely overlooks Austin Spare, Ithell Colquhoun, and Hilma af Klint, which is pretty crazy considering it's all about the visual language of magic.

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Visually very cool. No in depth with analysis but for those wanting a general overview of the different branches of occult practices then this is your book.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know when you are reading a book on art and the text just says 'full of occult and alchemical symbols' but doesn't explain what those are? This book is a really good guide book for all kinds of occult imagery you might find in art. Alchemy, Kabbalah, astrology, tarot, and others, Peter Forshaw not only talks about the images themselves but also gives a historical overview of the evolution of those disciplines throughout Western history. The layout of the book made the flow of reading a bit of a pain, but I would definitely like to own this book not just check it out from the library.

[Diane Jeske · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an account of the history of the occult, including astrology, alchemy, Kabbalah, and various forms of magic. The last part of the book is about modern occultism, tarot, and new age in popular culture.

But the text is not the reason to buy the book, the illustrations are. There are many gorgeous color illustrations as well as two page spreads with text explaining elements of esoteric diagrams, drawings, and paintings. A beautiful book to have on your shelf.

[Stephanie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is BEAUTIFUL, it gets 5 stars just for the beauty of it, cover design = exquisite, the pages are thick, they feel like luxurious art paper. It’s not glossy like an art coffee table book, it is a book to read, but it feels like extra attention was applied to the production of it, which makes it feel extra suitable for all of the gorgeous and interesting art inside.

It’s split into sections and subtopics - broadly they are: astrology, alchemy, magic, kabbalah, and tarot, and it ends with a brief overview of the occult in modern day. For art history lovers, it’s a phenomenal collection of art. It brings the reader all over the place from really ancient works (the Nebra sky disc/first map of the heavens from 1600 BC on page 44!), to an amazing dissection of a Tarot painting by Leonora Carrington on page 235, to a photograph of David Bowie drawing the kabbalistic Tree of Life on page 240. There is also some fascinating decoding of ancient art such as on page 106, Princess Antonia’s altarpiece (where legend has it her heart was interred on the wall behind the painting), where she chose almost all female figures as representation for (nine of the ten) sefirot.

It’s chock-full of interesting things honestly - I was gasping in awe at practically every page. A really beautiful book that is honestly worth owning, mine was a library copy and it’s definitely going on my to-buy list.

It was a bit glaring for me that Hilma af Klint isn’t included, and there was quite an abundance on kabbalah, while there wasn’t much on witchcraft I thought? But, the book is broad strokes for most topics. Amazing and beautiful book - I highly recommend it!

[Ausiàs Tsel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A coffee table book dressed in scholarly robes. Let's be clear about what this is: a parade of beautiful images with accompanying text that rarely goes deeper than a museum placard.

Forshaw has compiled a visually stunning survey of Western esoteric iconography—alchemy, Kabbalah, astrology, ceremonial magic—but the emphasis falls heavily on survey. If you're looking for actual analysis of how these symbol systems work, how they evolved, or what they meant to their practitioners, you'll leave hungry.

That said, for fiction writers seeking visual reference material, there's value here. Every page offers atmosphere, composition, imagery that can feed the imagination. Just don't mistake the book for scholarship. It's a gallery, not a library.

If you want depth, read Frances Yates. If you want pretty pictures to flip through while your coffee gets cold, this delivers.

[Bill Theodorakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Considering this book holds a lot of content about histories and events mainly between the 16th-18th century, although I could not recite any of practitioner's names i still found it mesmerising to see how many of the points were threaded together and over other ideas for years and years often taken and adapted now suddenly not as it was before. As much as it is fascinating to have occulture be polymorphous in nature it allows for much misinformation to be passed and later adapted until these ideas that stemed from a man's desire for recognition now become the new standard of teaching. Definitely eye opening and a perfect book for inspiration for world building.

[Cori Sue Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone curious about the mystical, the magical, and the roots of today’s spiritual practices—The Occult: Foundations of Magic & Mystery is a stunning dive into the history of astrology, alchemy, Kabbalah, and tarot.

This coffee table book breaks down how these ancient arts evolved from sacred rituals and hidden teachings into the cultural touchstones of modern spirituality. Whether you're witchy, woo-curious, or just love learning about the unseen forces that shaped human imagination, this is a beautiful, accessible introduction to the esoteric world.

[Gabriele Di Sotto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genialità dell'Ippocampo. Include storia dell'occulto, religione, alchemia, cabala , astrologia e altro in un unico manuale. Scrittura leggere ed efficace, riassunti e infografiche impeccabili e illustrazioni che sono opere d'arte.

Un libro perfetto per chi vuole conoscere meglio questi mondi e per lasciarsi ispirare da immagini e concetti.

Meno consigliato per chi di queste cose ne sa già abbastanza e cerca un sapere più specifico.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was actually really cool and started out very interesting but the design was so annoying that you had picture profiles inbetween sentences so you lost track of the meaning that you were reading and overall it got a bit boring and hard to read as well, therefore I couldn't give more than 3 stars. Unfortunately if you would ask me I would probably not know what that booked talked more specifically about.

[Jenna McPhail-DePersia · Rating 5 out of 5]

[4.5 stars] Absolutely loved this collection of occult art, history, and cultural relevance. 4.5 stars for me because of the book’s format and dense-ness. A great introduction of new topics and ones I had previous interest in/knowledge of.

[Angel Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book a a variety of esoteric topics- great illustrations are worth the price of the book alone!

[Schubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wunderschöne Bildquellen, und durchaus interessant. Hat mir gut gefallen

[Daniel B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Utter nonsense. Also misrepresents the Star of David, neglecting its origins as the Seal of Solomon in Islamic and medieval mystical traditions, and potentially as the Star of Remphan.

[Melinoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting summary of the history of alchemy and its links with astrology, "magic", and divination as well as the occult from the middle-ages until the 2020s.

[Federico Tommasi Zardini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un'ottima panoramica sull'occulto e le sue origini. È senza dubbio una risorsa utile per orientarsi nel labirintico mondo dell'esoterismo e delle pratiche occulte.

[hajrah ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.65

[J. N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book filled with beautiful imagery!