Occult Day is observed on November 18. Which I guess answers the “When is it?” question, doesn’t it?
But what about the rest? What is it, who created it, and why? Let’s find out.
However, let’s first define what “occult” means.
What does occult mean?
The word “occult” derives from the Latin occultus, which means “concealed,” and is a past participle of occulere (“to cover over”) and celare (“to hide”).
Bringing that all together, here are the four definitions I found in my Webster’s New World Dictionary 2nd edition. (Which I’ve had since high school, so…not a 100 years but getting close.)
- Hidden; concealed
- Secret; esoteric
- Beyond human understanding; mysterious
- Designating or of certain alleged mystic arts, such as magic, alchemy, astrology, etc.
It defines “the occult” as the occult arts or studies.
What is Occult Day?
As noted above, November 18 has been designated as the date to honor the occult. Which, as a post on Medium.com pointed out, the word “occult” is a bit “archaic.”
It used to be associated with “the secret” or “the hidden,” and it was implied that only “the special” could access it, with “special” meaning “chosen.”
However, it could have also meant those “educated” enough to not only search for meanings in the hidden, but also to be able to comprehend and handle that knowledge as well.
In some people’s minds, the term “occult” conjures up “evil” images of black magic, naked pagans dancing around bonfires in the middle of forests, and Devil worshippers. However, most people know those who explore the dark side are the exception and not the rule.
These days “the occult” is most often taken to encompass unknown and pseudoscience pursuits like astrology, mediumship, cryptozoology, parapsychology, etc.
That’s what Occult Day honors.
Occult Day History Mystery
Fittingly, there is a mystery surrounding the mystic observance. Or, rather, three:
- Who created Occult Day?
- When?
- Why?
I have no idea. I couldn’t find any information about it.
The first newspaper mention I could find of it was in 2001 in both the El Paso Times and The Burlington Free Press, and that was simply to note what November 18 observed that year:
However, in my quest to see if I could find any who, when, why answers, I found some rather entertaining newspaper clippings with the words “occult” and “day” in them.
News Clippings
Did you know Friday the 13th and Halloween are occult days? That’s just one of the things I learned while trying to find any news stories mentioning Occult Day.
1800s
I got super excited by the first hit, which was from 1899. However, it was just an early classified for hypnotism lessons.
1970s
There were several promising hits during the 1970s, until further examination revealed that while these clips contained the words I was searching for, they were dead ends.
However, the 1975 Miami News one made me wonder if the writer was being cheeky saying “This really isn’t National Occult Day…,” or if he knew there really was such a thing.
Another one that got me excited was a TV listing for the movie The Legend of Hellhouse. The search engine on Newspapers.com doesn’t distinguish between columns, so it just so happened the words I was searching were together on the same line, but not in the same column.
The other clippings were for various things, including an event and another classified. (Which just goes to prove things really don’t change much, do they?)
1980s
This was the other find that at first found me hopeful I’d hit gold. Nope. It was just an internally-designated Occult Day for a fundraiser for a women’s society.
1990s
These were the clippings that taught me some view Halloween as not only an occult day but the holiest one of all…and not in a good way.
2000s
I’m not trying to rile anyone up with this last clipping, which I found hilarious. Sounds like whoever wrote this drank way too much of the QAnon conspiracy theory Kool-Aid. (Well, okay I’ll take a moment to get political for a second: even a sip of QAnon Kool-Aid is way too much.)
Views of occult days Fri, Dec 20, 2019 – A7 · The Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana) · Newspapers.com
Keep Calm and Occult On
Once in awhile, I’m inspired to create short videos celebrating the unusual days I collect on the Weird Holidays & Observances page. This year I felt inspired to create one for Occult Day.
Check-In
Have you read your horoscope today? If so, congratulations! That’s a form of celebrating Occult Day. (Besides reading this post, that is.)
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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I read the post, but not my horoscope.:-)
LOL, Priscilla!