Two Ways of Looking at the World

It occurred to me that there are essentially two fundamental ways of looking at the world around us. There is the perspective that everything is connected and there is the perspective that everything is separate and distinct. It's my feeling that this is the primary issue that science and occultism differ on that gives rise to so many other disagreements.

In all schools of occultism everything is predicated on a fundamental connection between all pieces of the universe. How can the stars and planets influence earthly events or gemstones and plants add their virtues to a spell? Everything is connected by virtue of being a part of the same creation. This same connection is what allows the magician to draw power from the Akasha or command a spirit in the name of a deity. This connection is necessary to everything considered to be magical. The whys tend to be more important than the hows in this way of thinking.

The scientific method is all about separating and isolating things to observe how they work on their own and then combining these observations to predict how things will work together. It focuses on the obvious causality of objects bumping into each other and an action causing an equal and opposite reaction. This way of gaining knowledge assumes no inherent connection between all existence in the way that the occult sciences do and focuses entirely on a "strings and pulleys" modality. It excels at finding the hows but does little to answer the whys.

So which is superior? Neither in my opinion. Each has it's positives and negatives. The connected view asserts a deep connection between all things but very rarely goes so far as to flesh out the specific rules of these connections or interactions. A "good enough" attitude carries far and as long as something works there's not a lot of reason to question or explain it. The separate view is pretty good at discerning the physical virtues of a given thing on its own but neglects that in Nature everything is constantly interacting with everything else. Nothing exists in a perfect vacuum. Because of this the scientific understanding is not necessarily true to life and the very nature of the scientific method excludes it from being able to observe things on a more holistic level, without isolation.

This being the case, I can see potential value in a synthesis of these two approaches. Applying occult philosophy to scientific exploration and applying the scientific method to metaphysical operations would only serve to broaden our horizons and expand our understanding. Isn't that what it's all really about anyway? I am not naive enough to expect this idea to be taken seriously by mainstream academia though. I offer it as inspiration to fellow occultists and magicians who are looking for a way to refine and develop their art. Take a cue from science and explore and record. Try something new and document it. Actually, I find it easy to take occult inspiration from scientific knowledge of a given process or substance.

Those of a scientific mind may still be able to appreciate the fact that everything is made of the same stuff (matter and energy) and did ultimately come from the same place (the beginning of the universe). It's truly profound regardless of one's paradigm and I think it captures the feeling of awe that drives both scientists and occultists.