OCCULTATION
An occultation (from the Latin occultus,meaning “to hide”) is an eclipse of a star or
planet by another heavenly body, particularly by the Moon. Despite its seemingly
“exotic” connotation, it is a commonly used term in astronomy as well as in astrology.
The astrological importance, if any, of occultations has been hotly debated. Part of
what is at issue in this debate is competing theories of celestial influence. If, as one
school of thought asserts, astrology works via the mechanism of acausal synchronicity,
then occultations should have no influence beyond what one would expect from a sim-
ple conjunction. If, however, the celestial bodies influence events on Earth through
forces analogous to gravity or electromagnetism, then an occultation should have a
measurable effect on the star or planet that has been “occulted,” especially when it is
being eclipsed by a large body like the Sun. Certain experiments, such as those in
which the Kolisko effect has been observed, seem to corroborate the latter view.
Sources:
Jansky, Robert Carl. Interpreting the Eclipses.San Diego: Astro Computing Services, 1979.
Robinson, J. Hedley, and James Muirden. Astronomy Data Book.2d ed. New York: John Wiley
& Sons, 1979.
OCCULTISM ANDASTROLOGY
In the same way the media seized upon the expression New Age in the late 1980s and
transformed it into a term of derision, an earlier wave of media interest in the early
1970s seized upon the word “occult” and succeeded in connecting it with such nega-
tive phenomena as black magic. Ever since the media sensationalized the “occult
explosion” of the 1970s, occult has come to be associated with images of robed figures
conducting arcane rituals for less than socially desirable purposes.
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