Imagine taking a stroll through a park on a warm spring day. As you walk, you see green grass, red roses, and a blue sky with white, fluffy clouds. Although lovely, you’re only seeing a tiny part of the picture.
The human eye can only see a small segment of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. The entire spectrum ranges from radio waves at the lowest frequency to gamma radiation at the highest. The visible part of the spectrum, consisting of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, lands roughly in the middle.
This means that the vast majority of the world is hidden from us. Let’s look at an example.
Below are two images of the spiral galaxy IC 5332 side by side. The image on the left was taken from the Hubble telescope, while the one on the right was taken from the James Webb. Why the difference between the two? The Hubble image was taken in the visible part of the EM spectrum, while the James Webb image was taken in the infrared. They’re both accurate.
Photo Credit: NASA
The EM spectrum is a helpful analogy for the cosmological model found in most Western esoteric thought.
In Western esotericism, the Cosmos also exists as a spectrum. Like EM radiation, this Cosmic spectrum emanates outwards from a Source. Our phenomenal realm and the divine Source of the Cosmos rest at opposite ends of this spectrum, with multiple realms of existence in between.
Another interesting aspect of the esoteric model is that, like the different images of the galaxy IC 5332, all the realms co-exist with us; it’s just that most are hidden. The realms of spirits, such as gods, angels, demons, ancestors, ghosts, and other ‘supernatural’ beings, are right here. They’re not elsewhere but are immanent.
The majority of the Cosmos is ever-present yet hidden. Or, to use the synonym for hidden, it’s ‘occult.’
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