“神秘科学的教义、原则或实践”，1870年，由 occult（神秘的）+ -ism（主义）构成。相关词：Occultist（神秘主义者）。
Occultism, I should add, is to be distinguished from the primitive magic described by anthropologists, which is prescientific, prephilosophical, and perhaps prereligious, whereas occultism is a pseudo-science or system of pseudo-sciences, often supported by an irrationalist philosophy, and always exploiting the disintegrated débris of preexisting religions. [E.R. Dodds, "The Greeks and the Irrational," 1951, footnote]
我应该补充说明，神秘主义与人类学家描述的原始魔法是不同的。原始魔法是前科学、前哲学，甚至可能是前宗教的，而神秘主义则是一种伪科学或伪科学体系，常常受到非理性主义哲学的支持，并始终利用已有宗教的残余碎片。[E.R. Dodds, 《希腊人与非理性主义》，1951年，脚注]
