From spirituality to politics and science, the occult has had an astonishing influence on the human experience across the centuries. It may surprise you to learn that everyday activities like attending church services or reading your daily horoscope all fit the broad definition of the occult. As you will see in the 24 illuminating episodes of Secrets of the Occult, the mystic and obscure are threaded through our ordinary lives in more ways than you may realize.

This revealing course is taught by Richard B. Spence, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Idaho, and covers a wide array of subjects and experiences that fall under the umbrella of the occult and stretch from the ancient world to the 21st century. According to Professor Spence, "Occultism posits that we inhabit a limited spectrum of reality within a much larger one. We're arguably surrounded by a larger world that we normally can't see, or touch, or knowingly interact with. This larger world is hidden or 'occulted' from us. However, the beliefs and practices broadly referred to as occultism aim to reveal, access-or even control-elements of this hidden world." Throughout these episodes, you will uncover these hidden elements and consider what these revelations have to say about our perception of the world.

Whether you accept occult perspectives as possible truth or reject them as desperate fantasy, the occult still has something to say about our relationship to the world, and even to reality itself. Science has solved many of the great mysteries of the universe, and yet, there are still so many questions left unanswered. Could some of these answers be found in the realm of arcane knowledge and mystic beliefs? What can the occult teach us about the universe and our place in it? With this journey through the occult across the ages, you will get the chance to pull back the curtain shrouding these mysteries and decide for yourself.