Meanings
- uncountableThe appropriation by a subculture of occult themes (New Age, etc.) in opposition to the dominant culture.
UFO religions drink deeply from the waters of occulture, while, at the same time, seeking to reconcile their ideas with a contemporary secular and scientific worldview.
2005, Christopher Partridge, The Re-enchantment of the West, volume 2, →ISBN, page 1672 more examples
With the term occulture I refer to a diverse milieu of spirituality that formed around esoteric discourses, as characterized by Nina Kokkinen in her dissertation about occulture and modern spirituality in turn of the century Finnish art, and its three notable artists Hugo Simberg (1873–1917), Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Pekka Halonen (1865–1933) (Kokkinen 2019: 44).
2020, Mikko Välimäki, “Decadence and occulture: Oscar Parviainen’s art”, in Approaching religion, volume 11, number 1, →DOI, page 99Conspirituality, in fact, helps describe some of the dynamics and one of the “contexts” in which Italian Pagan conspiracy-believing is embedded—one that, at a more general level, is characterized by what Christopher Partridge (e.g., 2004; 2005; 2014) defined as occulture.
2021, Giovanna Parmigiani, “Magic and Politics: Conspirituality and COVID-19”, in Journal of the American Academy of Religion, →DOI, page 12
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁ep-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éps
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁óp(i)
- Proto-Italic*op
- Latinob
- Latinob-
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱéleti
- Latin*celo
- Latinocculō
- Latinoccultus
- Englishoccult
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷélh₁eti
- Proto-Italic*kʷelō
- Latincolō
- Latincultūra
- Middle Frenchculture
- Englishculture
- Englishocculture
Blend of occult + culture. First used in Rapid Eye magazine by Simon Dwyer. Later used by Professor Christopher Partridge.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
occulture. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/occulture
“occulture.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/occulture. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “occulture,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/occulture.
Source: occulture on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.