This may come as a surprise to some, but what we know as modern science began as studies into magic and the occult. One might not recognize this if one were to look at the current view of magic and the occult in the mainstream. To illustrate what I'm talking about I would like to call attention to the fact that natural magic (the study of astrology, alchemy, herbology, etc.) evolved to become the natural sciences. Allow me to explain.
Astronomy as a science owes everything to the practice of astrology. Astrology had us looking to the heavens to discover more about ourselves. We tracked the movements of the stars and planets, some cultures with more precision than others, and we were able to predict what celestial body was going to do what next and perhaps what that meant for us. When the telescope was invented astronomy really came into its own and the "superstitions" of astrology were divorced from the new science.
From the study of herbs and their magical and medicinal effects we arrived at pharmacology. Mankind has known since the dawn of time that certain plants are capable of doing certain things. Some are foods, some are medicines, and some are deadly poisons. Through the study of correspondences and the spirit of the plant we determined what it was capable of, both magically and medicinally. This knowledge of plant medicines led the way to modern pharmaceuticals. Many powerful medicines are still extracted from plants.
Alchemy is many things to many people, but the quest for the power of transformation ultimately led to the birth of chemistry. Over time, alchemy became less about transforming the self and more about transforming metals. From this we began to experiment and observe more closely how substances interacted with one another. New theories emerged and the symbolism of the reactions was forgotten. Thus chemistry was born.
Something else that may come as a surprise to the modern reader is that Isaac Newton was a bit of an occultist. That's right, the man behind universal gravity, calculus, and so much more was an occultist. More specifically, Newton was an alchemist. On top of his more accepted scientific pursuits, Newton had great interest in the Philosopher's Stone. Newton also worked with antimony and it has been said that the star pattern formed by antimony alloys inspired his ideas of light and gravitation.
There is a lesson in all of this. "Occult" simply means "hidden" and we should not run from what is hidden. Some of the greatest things that mankind has discovered have come from the study of the hidden aspects of reality. As such, some might do well not to hastily badmouth occult and magical pursuits. If the natural sciences emerged from natural magic then what mysteries might await us in the study of ceremonial magics like theurgy and goety? How about survival studies? Extra-sensory perception and psychokinesis? Astral projection and out-of-body experience? Instead of shunning modern occult or paranormal pursuits, shouldn't we perhaps be looking to them as a means to gain even more knowledge of our reality?
Wikipedia on natural magic.
More on Isaac Newton's occult studies.
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