In addition to these symbols, witchcraft has also been depicted in art through the use of specific motifs and themes. For example, many works of art that depict witchcraft feature themes of nature, such as plants and animals, which are believed to be connected to the spiritual world. Other common themes include the moon, which is often associated with feminine energy and the divine feminine, and the sun, which is often associated with masculine energy and the divine masculine. A symbol used with many different meanings, including but not limited to, gold, citrinitas, sulfur, the divine spark of man, nobility and incorruptibility. The tetractys is a equidistant and equiangular arrangement of ten points inside a triangle, akin to the fourth triangle number. It was developed by Pythagoras, and collectively signifies cosmic unity in the form of The Decad, as well as the musica universalis, or collective abstraction of the music generated by heavenly cosmic bodies. It also represents the four elements of nature, as well as the dimensional organization of space-time. Learning and adhering to its metaphysical knowledge was a requirement inside the occult Pythagorean religions.

An ancient symbol of a unicursal five-pointed star circumscribed by a circle with many meanings, including but not limited to, the five wounds of Christ and the five elements (earth, fire, water, air, and soul). In Satanism, it is flipped upside-down. See also: Sigil of Baphomet. Buchdahl, Gerd (1989). "History of Science and Criteria of Choice". In Stuewer, Roger H. (ed.). Historical and Philosophical Perspectives of Science. Vol.5. Gordon and Breach. pp.232ff. ISBN 978-2881243509. A different division was used by the Traditionalist author René Guénon, who used esotericism to describe what he believed was the Traditionalist, inner teaching at the heart of most religions, while occultism was used pejoratively to describe new religions and movements that he disapproved of, such as Spiritualism, Theosophy, and various secret societies. [17] Guénon's use of this terminology was adopted by later writers like Serge Hutin and Luc Benoist. [18] As noted by Hanegraaff, Guénon's use of these terms are rooted in his Traditionalist beliefs and "cannot be accepted as scholarly valid". [18] The Surrealists also drew inspiration from the occult in their exploration of the unconscious. They believed that the occult could provide them with a way to access the hidden depths of the human mind and explore the mysteries of the universe. This exploration of the unconscious was seen in the works of many of the movement’s most prominent figures, such as Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, and Andre Breton.The term occult sciences was used in 16th-century Europe to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, [1] amongst figures such as Antoine Court de Gébelin. [2] It came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky. A symbol of the Philosopher's stone. Depicted on the left image is Michael Maier's Emblem XXI from Atalanta Fugiens.

Osler, Margaret J.; Farber, Paul Lawrence, eds. (2002). Religion, Science, and Worldview: Essays in Honor of Richard S. Westfall. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52493-8. For Colquhoun, automatism was less about self discovery and more about spiritual connection. “Whereas the majority of the Surrealists felt that such images or dream-content came from within—their personal unconscious,” Shillitoe elaborated, “Colquhoun believed that they could come from the spirit realm.” Her works acted as rituals and incantations, documenting her attempts to achieve enlightenment and connect with spiritual forces. The Seventy-Two Goetia Sigils from The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King by S.L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.In 1853, the Freemasonic author Jean-Marie Ragon had already used occultisme in his popular work Maçonnerie occulte, relating it to earlier practices that, since the Renaissance, had been termed "occult sciences" or "occult philosophy", but also to the recent socialist teachings of Charles Fourier. [9] The French esotericist Éliphas Lévi then used the term in his influential book on ritual magic, Dogme et rituel de la haute magie, first published in 1856. [10] Lévi was familiar with that work and might have borrowed the term from there. In any case, Lévi also claimed to be a representative of an older tradition of occult science or occult philosophy. [11] It was from his usage of the term occultisme that it gained wider usage; [12] according to Faivre, Lévi was "the principal exponent of esotericism in Europe and the United States" at that time. [13] The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, And it’s not just historical artists who are having a moment. At New York University’s 80WSE Gallery in 2016, writer and practitioner Pam Grossman curated Language of the Birds: Occult and Art, an in-depth exploration of more than 60 modern and contemporary artists who engage with magical practice. Among them was Indian painter Rithika Merchant (b. 1986), a mid-career artist with a climbing presence, according to Limna. Merchant’s visionary paintings and collages are inspired by folklore, universal and natural motifs, and comparative mythology – stories that span across cultures. The French artist Paul Ranson was an educated skeptic and that is precisely the reason why he made it to this list. He was openly anti-clerical, being radically opposed to any religious authority, while at the same time studying religious texts and keeping a library that consisted of esoteric literature. Although it is unlikely that he was ever truly a believer, at different stages of his life he took inspiration from various spiritual and occult sources. He was interested in witchcraft, Christianity, Theosophy, and Satanism.

Strube, Julian (2016a). "Socialist Religion and the Emergence of Occultism: A Genealogical Approach to Socialism and Secularization in 19th-Century France". Religion. Routledge. 46 (3): 359–388. doi: 10.1080/0048721X.2016.1146926. S2CID 147626697.The alchemical symbol for the sun and various sun gods. Also the alchemical symbol for gold which is the metal represented by the Sun which is the astral counterpart.