Is the occult evil?

Etymologically, "occult" mean hidden. This typically mean of two things:

1. The information has been intentionally hidden. 
2. The information is innately obscure or hidden (such as the saying "Dao that can be named is no the true Dao".) 

In western society, matters concerning religion or ultimate reality are guarded by clergy. Gnosis(spiritual insight) or distribution of information threaten clerical structure. Occultism threatens the clergy who claim to be the only source of ultimate or divine knowledge. If your truths are not the truth's I preach, you must be evil/heretical/etc.

The only inherently evil thing about occultism is it's representation in western society. Nothing you read in any book (occult related or otherwise) is ultimately true, good, or evil. Books can only contain ideas; they do not contain knowledge or action. Knowledge and action must be produced by the reader.






Ideas themselves are not dangerous. It's the people they effect that can be dangerous. Is Islam or Christianity evil because religious ideas have inspired historical massacre? The same religious ideas have also also promoted a lot good in the world. It's the people who use those ideas (often for misguided or egotistical reasons) that are dangerous.

A responsible seeker distills knowledge structures (conceptual paradigms) from a variety of resources hidden or apparent and material or divine/psychological/magickal/etc.