List of occultists
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of notable occultists and mystics.
This is a list of notable people, whether contemporary, historical or legendary, who are or were involved in any of the following practices and traditions:
- paranormal or supernatural magic, 'black' or 'white'
- witchcraft
- sorcery
- wizardry
- astrology
- alchemy
- practical mysticism
- voodoo
- divination and fortune-telling
- theurgy
Since this subject has attracted hoaxes, folklore, and tall tales, the inclusion of historical persons is limited based on considerations of accepted historical fact - a restriction which obviously does not apply to legendary or mythological figures.
For a list of sleight of hand artists and practitioners of stage magic, see: List of magicians.
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[edit] Famous magicians
Some historical or legendary magicians, wizards, witches, or people who have been claimed to be so, are:
[edit] Classical mythology
- Cassandra, oracle
- Circe, legendary sorceress
- Hecate, goddess of witchcraft
- Medea, legendary sorceress
- Semiramis, semi-legendary queen and sorceress
[edit] Ancient world
- Hermes Trismegistus/Thoth
- Gyges of Lydia, king said to possess magical artifacts
- Heraclitus, philosopher important in occultism
- Plato, philosopher important in occultism
- Virgil, subjected to magical legends
- Apollonius of Tyana, wizard
- Apuleius, author of a magical novel
- Elymas, Jewish magus who opposed Paul on Cyprus
- Iannes and Mambres, magicians at Pharaoh's court mentioned in the New Testament
- Simon Magus, magician mentioned in New Testament
- The Witch of Endor, Biblical witch and spirit medium
- Zhang Jiao, leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion
- Zhuge Liang, advisor to Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms period
- Plotinus, neo-platonist philosopher important in occultism
- Iamblichus, neo-platonist philosopher, espoused theurgy
- Julian, practiced occult theurgy
- Pythagoras, philosopher important in occultism
[edit] Mediæval Europe
- Merlin, (probably fictional) Arthurian wizard
- Morgan le Fay, witch sister of King Arthur
- Albertus Magnus, had many magical texts attributed to him
- Roger Bacon, philosopher accused of magic
- Ramon Llull, syncretic mystic
- Abraham Abulafia, kabalist "messiah"
- Nicholas Flamel, alchemist
- Gilles de Rais, serial killer accused of sorcery
[edit] Renaissance
- Abramelin the Mage, alleged author of a grimoire
- Johannes Reuchlin, German cabalist magician, summoned angels
- Johannes Trithemius, cryptographer and magical writer
- Faust, made a pact with the Devil, also see Doctor Faustus
- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, occult philosopher, astrologer
- Paracelsus, medical pioneer and occult philosopher
- Benevenuto Cellini, sculptor whose diary relates experience summoning spirits
- Nostradamus, soothsayer, seer, astrologer
- Johann Weyer (aka Johannes Wierus), German physician, occultist and demonologist
- John Dee, Queen Elizabeth's court astrologist.
- Gerhard Dorn, Belgian follower of Paracelsus
- John Lambe, astrologer to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
- Giordano Bruno, occult philosopher
- Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor, employed alchemists
- Sir Walter Raleigh, practiced alchemy
- Edward Kelley, medium who assisted John Dee
- Henry Percy, "Wizard Earl"
- Robert Fludd, occult philosopher and astrologer
- Arthur Dee, hermetic author, and son of John Dee
- Athanasius Kircher, Jesuit priest, wrote on magical subjects
- Sir Thomas Browne, hermetic author
- Christina of Sweden, abdicated Queen who dabbled in alchemy
- Olaus Borrichius, alchemist
[edit] Enlightenment and early modern period
- Matthew Hopkins, commissioned English witch-finder
- Isobel Gowdie, self-confessed witch
- "La Voisin", French sorceress
- Françoise Athenaïs Rochechouart, marquise de Montespan, another royal mistress
- Sir Isaac Newton, physicist and alchemist
- Margaret Matson, New Sweden (colony) witch
- Emanuel Swedenborg, alchemist, founder of Swedenborgianism
- Count of St Germain, alchemist
- Antoine Court de Gebelin, connected tarot and esotericism
- Etteilla, fortune-teller
- Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, founder of Martinism, writer known as the Unknown Philosopher
- Giuseppe Balsamo, "Count Alessandro di Cagliostro," occult charlatan
- Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Illuminati
[edit] Nineteenth century
- William Blake, poet of the occult
- Alexis-Vincent-Charles Berbiguier de Terre-Neuve du Thym, French demonologist
- Marie Anne Lenormand, fortune-teller favoured by Joséphine de Beauharnais
- Francis Barrett, wrote a book on magic
- John George Hohman, American wizard
- Carl Reichenbach
- Marie Laveau, American voodoo practitioner
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, author of several occult novels
- Allan Kardec, founder of Spiritism
- Eliphas Lévi, occult author
- Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, founder of Theosophy
- Guido von List
- Dr. William Wynn Westcott, cofounder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
- August Strindberg, dramatist, alchemist
- Robert Felkin, medical missionary and explorer, member of Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Stella Matutina, author on Africa and medicine
- Samuel L. MacGregor Mathers, founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
- C.W. Leadbeater, wrote most popular book about the chakras
- Arthur Rimbaud, visionary poet, adventurer
- Theodor Reuss
- Arthur Edward Waite, occult author and member of Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
- Stanislas de Guaita, occult author
- Rudolf Steiner, founder of anthroposophy
- Arthur Machen, member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
- A. Frank Glahn
- Papus, pseudonym for Gérard Encausse, occult author
- William Butler Yeats, poet, Golden Dawn member, astrologer
- Max Heindel, author of The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception
- Evangeline Adams, astrologer to the famous
- Algernon Blackwood, member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
- Sri Aurobindo, invented Integral Yoga
- William Lyon MacKenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada
- Aleister Crowley, occult author, poet, magician, astrologer
- Edgar Cayce
- Pamela Colman Smith, Golden Dawn member, artist, did tarot deck
- Ludwig Straniak
- Constant Chevillon, the head of FUDOFSI
- Alice Bailey, author of The Treatise on White Magic
- Friedrich Bernhard Marby
- Rudolf John Gorsleben
- Harvey Spencer Lewis, founder of AMORC
- Gerald Gardner, founder of Wicca
- Rene Guenon
- Austin Osman Spare, occult artist
- Dion Fortune, occult author
- Meredith Starr, editorial writer for The Occult Review and The Equinox
- Evan Morgan, poet and aristocrat Lord Tredegar
- Robert Graves, poet and mythographer
- Antonin Artaud, poet, visionary, theorist of the theater
- Dennis Wheatley, author of several occult novels
- W. E. Butler, occultist and esoteric author
- Julius Evola, occult author
- Mouni Sadhu, occult author and mystic
- Siegfried Adolf Kummer
- Henri Gamache, authority on the Evil Eye
- Heinrich Himmler, Nazi occultist
- Gopi Krishna, experienced spontaneous permanent awakening of kundalini
- Ralph Maxwell Lewis, Imperator of AMORC
- Hellmut Wolff
[edit] Twentieth century
- Israel Regardie, occult Author, magician, pupil of Crowley
- Franz Bardon, occult author, magician
- Karl Spiesberger
- L. Ron Hubbard, originator of Scientology
- Robert Johnson, allegedly sold soul to Devil for musical talent
- William G. Gray, occult author and founder of the Sangreal Sodality
- William S. Burroughs, member of the Illuminates of Thanateros
- Jack Parsons, occultist and rocket scientist
- Sybil Leek, witch and occult author
- Samael Aun Weor, occult author, founder of the Gnostic Institute of Anthropology, Inc.
- Maya Deren, filmmaker
- Timothy Leary, member of the Illuminates of Thanateros; formulated the eight circuit model of consciousness
- Kenneth Grant, Occult author and Outer Head of the Typhonian OTO
- Kenneth Anger, disciple of Crowley
- Alejandro Jodorowsky, filmmaker, comic book writer
- Gareth Knight, occult author
- Anton Szandor LaVey, Founder of The Church of Satan, occult author
- Robert Anton Wilson, occultist and author
- Raymond Buckland, Wiccan author
- Michael Bertiaux, Hierophant of OTOA
- William Irwin Thompson, cultural historian
- Zsuzsanna Budapest, feminist witch
- Ior Bock, Finnish cult leader
- Allen H. Greenfield, occult author and UFOlogist
- Margot Adler, witch and NPR reporter
- Lon Milo Duquette, occult author, humorist, OTO member
- R J Stewart, author and musician
- Isaac Bonewits, occult author
- Genesis P-Orridge, artist, founder of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth
- Donald Michael Kraig, occult author
- Christian Bernard, Imperator of AMORC
- Draconis Blackthorne, occult author, Satanist
- Chic Cicero, occult author, co-founder of modern Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc.
- Sandra Tabatha Cicero, occult author, co-founder of modern Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc.
- Ramsey Dukes, occult author
- Peter J. Carroll, occult author, co-founder of the Illuminates of Thanateros
- Ralph Tegtmeier, member of the Fraternitas Saturni
- Ray Sherwin, occult author, co-founder of the Illuminates of Thanateros
- Alan Moore, occultist and comic-book creator
- Phil Hine, occult author
- Boyd Rice, occult musician etc.
- Jaq D. Hawkins, occult author
- Gerina Dunwich, witch and occult author
- Grant Morrison, chaos magician and comic-book creator
- Andrew D. Chumbley, occult artist and author. Magister of the Cultus Sabbatai
- Philip H. Farber, occult author
- Thomas Karlsson, founder of Dragon Rouge, musician and author
- Jordan Maxwell, occult author and researcher
- Denny Sargent, occult author
- Gary L. Stewart, founder of Confraternity of the Rose Cross, past Imperator of AMORC
- Sam Webster, occultist and writer
- Stephen Kasner, artist and musician
- Fairuza Balk, actress
[edit] Alleged Occultists
These people may or may not have been practicing magicians, mystics, or diviners, but later stories or folklore have arisen that link them to such practices:
- Albertus Magnus, Roman Catholic writer dubiously credited with several magical texts, notably the Book of the Secrets of Albertus Magnus [1]
- Francis Bacon, philosopher accused of magic
- Roger Bacon, medieval monk and Alchemist
- Livingstone Bramble, world champion boxer, suspected of practicing witchcraft before fights
- Doctor Faustus, made a pact with the Devil
- Gyges of Lydia, credited by Plato with ownership of the Ring of Gyges, a magical artifact
- Pope Honorius III, dubiously credited with the grimoire The Sworn Book of Honorius
- Jesus, although repudiated by later church fathers, the Gospel of Judas portrays him as having taught Gnostic mysteries to Judas alone of the disciples.
- Merlin, originally the Welsh poet Myrddin, who was turned into a wizard in medieval romance
- Moses, miracle worker, dubiously credited with the grimoires The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses
- Pythagoras, philosopher important in occultism
- Count of St Germain, during the centuries after his disappearance without a trace, numerous myths, legends and speculations have surfaced; he has been attributed with occult practices and other legends report that he was immortal, alchemist with the elixir of life, a true Rosicrucian ("A man who knows everything and who never dies" according to Voltaire)
- William Shakespeare, known among occult circles as "The Rosicrucian Mask" (influenced by the same Rosicrucian Initiate as Francis Bacon)
- King Solomon of Israel, falsly credited with the grimoires [2]The Key of Solomon and [3]The Lemegeton, or the Lesser Key of Solomon
- Taliesin, Welsh poet who was turned into a wizard in medieval folklore
- Virgil, Latin poet who was turned into a wizard in medieval folklore
- Olaus Wormius, incorporated into H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos as the supposed translator of the Necronomicon
