Bernhard Guenther: The Occult and Initiation
This is about testing the sincerity, commitment, and readiness of the seeker to determine whether they’re truly prepared to be initiated into deeper knowledge and the stages of genuine awakening
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but “occult” does not mean evil or negative. The word simply means hidden or concealed.
It comes from the Latin occultare (“to secrete” or “hide”), which is the frequentative of occulere (“to conceal”), rooted in celare (“to hide”).
There are occult Divine spiritual (positive) forces, and there are occult hostile (negative) spiritual forces.
“Occult” just means hidden from ordinary five-sensory perception. It points to the non-physical beings and forces that influence us from behind the veil.
The word has gotten a bad rap lately, often due to paranoid “truthers” oversimplifying it or because of dogmatic religious conditioning.
Most ancient esoteric knowledge was occulted (hidden) for a reason.
It wasn’t always to suppress truth, engage in Black Magic (left-hand path), or keep people in the dark (though that has happened and still happens). Often, it was to protect the seeker, the teachings, and to honor the esoteric principle:
“Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.”
Or, more pointedly:
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”
This is about testing the sincerity, commitment, and readiness of the seeker to determine whether they’re truly prepared to be initiated into deeper knowledge and the stages of genuine awakening.
Initiation, in that sense, has nothing to do with rituals, ceremonies, or anything external, as some “secret societies” have hijacked the esoteric meaning of the word, or as others may project into it.
True initiation is an inner process.
It is a trial that reveals whether the seeker is truly ready to cross the threshold, not driven by egoic demands, bargains, or fleeting curiosity, but by a sincere call from the immortal soul longing to unite with the Divine and bring forth the true Self.
https://substack.com/@bernhardguenther/note/c-153162800?utm_source=feed-email-digest