Occult Timeline

This is a compiled timeline of significant "Occult" publications and events throughout history that shows where the influences/knowledge came from over time.

3100 o.c. Pyramid Texts [egy]
2953-2838 Chinese Emperor Fu Hsi, produced first w.v. of I Ching [cfu]
1800 Enuma Elish, Bablyonian Creation Myth. [ane]
1760 Gilgamesh Epic.[ane]
1600 Orig. Egyptian Book of the Dead. (Book of Coming Forth by Day)
1550-1450 o.c. Rig-Veda,Sama-Veda and Yajur-Veda [hin]
1300? Zarathushtra founds Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Magi
1000-500 Shih Ching (Book of Odes) [cfu].
1000 o.c. Atharva Veda [hin].
990-922 King Solomon.
950 o.c. Torah/Pentateuch, Song of Songs.
800-700 Brihad-Aranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads [hin].
800-400 Aranyakas, Brahmanas and Upanishads [hin].
800 or 700 Homer (?): Illiad and Odyssey.
800: Hesiod: Works and Days, Theogony
740 O.T. Book of Isaiah.
700 Books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Samuel. (O.T.)
700 o.c. Ramayana  [hin].
650 o.c. Tao te Ching.
600 w.v. Rig Veda [hin]
664-525 Rev. Egyptian Book of The Dead
628-551 Zarathustra/Zoroaster
610-570 Sappho.
599-527 (trad.) Mahavira, founder Jainism.
580-500 (trad.) Lao-tzu, founder of Taoism.
563-483 Buddha (b. April 8, 563 BCE).
540 w.v. Mahabharata  [hin].
540-468 (hist.) Mahavira, founder Jainism.
551-479 Confucius (K'ung tzu), founder of Confucianism.
520 (trad.) Tao-te Ching [tao].
520 Books of Zechariah, Isaiah. (O.T.)
500 w.v. Gensis, Exodus, Numbers. (O.T.)
480-390 (alt.) Lao tzu.
409 w.v. Confucian Canon.
400 Books of Proverbs, Job (O.T.)
371-289 Mencius (Meng-tzu). [cfu]
369-286 Chuang-tzu. [tao]
360 Critias by Plato: contains story of Atlantis.
350 (hist.) Tao-te Ching. [tao]
350 w.v. Song of Songs (O.T.).
300 w.v. Mahabharata, Bhagavad-Gita. [hin]
340 Writings of Chuang-tzu. [tao]
300 Book of Jonah (O.T.)
285 Septuagint, first Greek trans. of the O.T.
250 Abhidharma, part of the Tripitaka. [bud]
250 w.v. Tao te Ching. [tao]
240 Dhammapada canonized by Asoka. [bud]
213 Emperor Ch'in Shih burns books, including Confucian, Taoist texts and the Five Classics. [cfu]
200 w.v. Atharva Veda. [hin]
200 I Ching commentaries, Rev. Chinese Classics. [cfu]
164 Book of Daniel  (O.T.).
160 O.T. Apocrypha: Tobit, 1 Esdras, Enoch, others.
150 Yoga Sutras of Patanajali. [hin]
150 Early Qumran (Dead Sea Scrolls).
100 Ramayana of Valmiki. [hin]
86 Rev. Shu Ching (Book of History), Shih Ching (Book of Odes). [cfu]
47 First burning of the Library of Alexandria (by Romans). including works of Sappho, and possibly ancient manuscripts and maps from unknown Ice Age civilizations.

CE

5-7 (ca.) b. of Jesus, founder of Christianity.
10? Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra. [bud]
15? o.c. Kojiki, Nihongi. [shi]
1-33 (trad.) Jesus. Events described in the first four N.T. books.
33 (trad.) either April 3, 30 CE or April 7, 33 CE: the Crucifixion.
30-96 New Testament.
50-63 (N.T.) Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians, Philippians.
60-80 (N.T.) Acts of the Apostles.
70 (N.T.) Gospel of Mark.
80 (N.T.) Gospel of Matthew.
80 (N.T.) Gospel of Luke.
90 (N.T.) Gospel of John.
81-96 o.c. Revelation of St. John.
65 Entry of Buddhism into China.
100 o.c. Nag Hammadi scriptures.
100 Lotus Sutra, Buddha-Charita of Ashvagosha. [bud]
100-300 composition of Corpus Hermetica
150 N.T. Apocrypha. [chr]
150 w.v. Shu Ching (Book of History). Shih Ching (Book of Odes). [cfu]
166 Buddhism formally established in China.
170 Lotus Sutra, Buddha-Charita of Ashvagosha. [bud]
200 Mayan Classical Phase (to 900 CE), o.c. Popul Vuh.
300 Denkart in Pahlavi.
300-400 w.v. Nag Hammadi scriptures in Coptic
350 w.v. Avesta in Pahlavi.
350 Jewish Talmund and Gemara.
325 Council of Nicea, Can. of Christian Bible.
365-408 Burning of Sibylline Books.
391 Second burning of library at Alexandria (by Christians).
400 Babylonian Talmund [jud].
400 w.v. Angas in Prakrit [jai].
401 Confessions of St. Augustine. [chr]
404 Cod. of the Vulgate (Latin Bible).
400-450 Cod. of the Abhidharma (Tripitaka) [bud].
550-950 Bundahishn. [zor]
538-552 Buddhism reaches Japan.
550 Last temple to Isis (at Phiae) closes.
550-950 Bundahishn. [zor]
560 (to 7th Cent.) o.c. Eddas.
600 (to 9th Cent.) o.c. Welsh Mabinogion.
570-632 Muhammed, founder of Islam.
610 w.v. Qur'an. [isl]
630 First Hadith. [isl]
642 Third (and final) destruction of Library of Alexandria (by Moslems).
644-656 Can. of Qur'an. [isl]
712 w.v. Kojiki. [shi]
720 w.v. Nihongi. [shi]
742 Can. of Writings of Chuang-tzu
760 o.c of Bardo Thödol (Tibetean Book of the Dead). [tib]
800 Sepher Yetzirah  [jud].
800 Shikand Gumani Vazar  [zor].
800 w.v. Poetic Edda
850 Can. of Hadith [isl].
868 Diamond Sutra is first book printed in China [bud].
900 Agamas [hin].
927 Yengiski [shi].
946 Start of Tibetan calendar, Kalachakra Tantra [tib].
950 (trad.) Necronomicon of Abdul Alhazred.
1004-1007? al-Majriti, author of Picatrix, passes
1016-1100 Naropa [tib]
1039-1123 Milarepa [tib]
1054 Schism between East and West Church [chr].
1150 Kuo-an Shih yuan's Ten Pictures of the Ox. [bud]
1175-1120 compilation of Confucian Canon by Chu Hsi.
1179-1241 Snorri Sturlson (auth. Prose Edda, Heimskringla).
1220 Prose Edda.
1222-1282 Nichiren [bud].
1236 Dogen, founds Soto School of Zen [bud].
1250? Liber Juratus (Sworn Book of Honorius) compiled by Honorius of Thebes, son of Euclid
1280? Sefer Ha-Zohar written by Moses de León but attributed to Simon ben Yohai
1300 o.c. Key of Solomon.
1306-21 Divine Comedy by Dante.
1300-1325 w.v. White Book of Rhydderch (Mabinogion).
1375-1425 Author of Red Book of Hergest (Mabinogion).
1433 Marsilio Ficino, Italian philosopher born. Under the patronage of the de'Medicis, he translated many Greek classics including the Corpus Hermetica
1440-1518 Kabir, Isl. Mystic.
1456 First p.v. Vulgate Bible by Gutenberg.p
1463 first Latin translation of Corpus Hermeticum.
1469-1538 Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism.
1471 Ficino's translation of Corpus Hermeticum published
1483-1546 Martin Luther chr. reformer.
1486 Malleus Malificarum: textbook for witch-hunters.
1489 Ficino's Libri de Vita
1494 Reuchlin's De verbo mirifico published
1503-1566 Nostradamus
1517 Reuchlin's De arte cabalistica published
1517 Martin Luther's 95 Theses.
1525 N.T. Translated into Englsh by W. Tyndale (1494-1536).
1527-1608. Calls of Enoch, by J. Dee.
1531 Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa published in Paris ¤¤¤
1533 Agrippa's De Occulta philosopha published
1535 p.v. Bible in English by Miles Coverdale (1488-1569).
1539 (5th) Guru Arjan [skh].
1545 Giorgi's De Harmonia Mundi
1546 O.T. Apocrypha  Can. by Catholic Church.
1554-1558 w.v. Popul Vuh.
1558 Giambattista della Porta's Magia Naturalis ¤¤¤
1558 Zohar printed ¤¤¤
1560 Foxe's Book of Martyrs [chr]
1564 Dee's Monas Hieroglyphica
1575 Arbatel of Magic (first appears)
1584 Bruno's Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast published
1584 Reginald Scot, Discouerie of Witchcraft
1589 John Dee and Edward Kelley began the Enochian workings
1600 Janam Sakhis [skh].
1600 Final version of Adi Granth [skh]
1606 Trithemius' Steganographia first published
1614 Rosicrucian Fama Fraternitatis
1617-19 Fludd's Utriusque Cosmi Historia ¤¤¤
1618-9 Synod of Dordrecht. [chr]
1618 Maier's Atlanta Fugiens
1618 Johann Grossschedel published Calendarium magicum (The Magical Calendar)
1629 O.T. 1546 O.T. Apocrypha removed from Protestant Bible
1652 Kircher's Oedipus Aegyptiacus published Part One (¤), Part Two (¤)
1652 Thomas Vaughan publishes English translation (not his own) of the Rosicrucian Fama and Confessio
1677 Paradise Lost/Regained by J. Milton.
1677 Christian Knorr von Rosenroth published first volume of Kabbala Denudata
1678 Pilgrim's Progress by J. Bunyan
1684 Christian Knorr von Rosenroth published second volume of Kabbala Denudata
1700 Mahanirvana Tantra [bud]
1708 death of last Sikh guru
1749-56 Swedenborg's Arcana Coelestia published
1750 Walam Olum
1674 Westminster Shorter Catechism
1776 Weishaupt formed the "Order of Perfectibilists", later known as the Illuminati
1781 Tarot as book of Thoth, Monde Primitif by Antoine Court de Gébelin (¤)
1785 How to Entertain Yourself With the Deck of Cards Called Tarot by Etteilla
1793 Thomas Paine's Age of Reason
1802-1884 Elias Lönnrot (auth. Kalevala)
1805-1849 Joseph Smith, founder Mormonism
1812-1820 English trans. of Walam Olum
1817-1892 Baha'u'llah, (Mirza Husayn-'Ali), founder Baha'i, auth. Kitab-i-Iqan. [bhi]
1819-1850 the Bab  (Mirza 'Ali-Muhammad) [bhi]
1823 Book of Mormon  tr. Joseph Smith
1835-1849 Kalevala), national epic of Finland, by Lönnrot.
1855 Transcendental Magic by Eliphas Levi (pentagram, tarot) (¤)
1859 Darwins' Origin of Species
1861 Levi's masterpiece Le Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie published
1871 Darwins' Descent of Man
1871 Albert Pike - Morals and Dogma (¤)
1875-1947 The Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1875-1947 777, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1877 Isis Unveiled, H.P. Blavatsky
1879-1910 Publication of the Sacred Books of the East by Max Müller, 50 volumes of English translations of primary texts of Eastern religions. [hin][bud][zor][cfu][isl]
1880 The Book of Oahspe
1882 Kojikitrans. into English by R.H. Chamberlain.[shi]
1882 Atlantis, the Antediluvian World. by Donnelly
1888 Papus' Traité Elémentaire de Science Occulte published (¤)
1888 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn established in London
1888 The Secret Doctrine by H.P. Blatavsky
1889 Mathers' edition of Kabbalah Unveiled
1789 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer
1890 the 1st volume of The Golden Bough, by James Frazer, was published
1891 Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling  by Charles Godfrey Leland (¤)
1891 Baltimore Catechism
1892 The Art of Worldly Wisdom, by Balthasar Gracian, tr. by Joseph Jacobs
1896 The Nihongi  trans. into English by W.G. Ashton.[shi]
1897 Levi's Le Clef des Grandes Mystères published
1898 Aleister Crowley joins the Golden Dawn
1898 Mathers publishes The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage [original] (¤)
1899 Aradia, Gospel of the Witches, by C. Leland. [wic]
1900 Crowley expelled from the Golden Dawn
1903 the Societas Rosicruciana became the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
1904 the Book of the Law was dictated to Crowley (published?) (¤)
1908 The Kybalion by three Initiates. (Paul Foster Case?) (¤)
1909 The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception by Max Heindel (¤)
1909 Darwins' Voyage of the Beagle
1909 The Equinox, Vol. I, Aleister Crowley et al. (¤)
1910 the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck was published
1913 The Book of Pleasure by Austin Osman Spare (¤)
1919 The Blue Equinox, Aleister Crowley et al.
1921 The Witch Cult in Western Europe by M. Murray. [wic]
1923 HP Lovecraft first mentioned the Necronomicon in "the Hound" (¤)
1929 Magick in Theory & Practice, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1932 The Middle Pillar, Israel Regardie (¤)
1934 Declaration of Barmen by K. Barth condems Hitler [chr]
1933 God of the Witches by M. Murray. [wic] (¤)
1935 Dion Fortune's The Mystical Qabalah (¤)
1937 Israel Regardie publishes The Golden Dawn, includes the bulk of the Golden Dawns' rituals/teachings. (¤)
1945 Discovery of Nag Hammadi scriptures. (¤)
1947 Jack Pasons and L. Ron Hubbord did the Babalon Working
1947 Aleister Crowley died
1947-56 Discovery of Qumran (Dead sea) scrolls.
1948 The White Goddess  by R. Graves. [wic]
1949-61 Gardnerian Book of Shadows  [wic]
1950 I Ching (Richard Wilhelm translation)
1954 Gerald Gardner published early works on Wicca
1954 Magick Without Tears, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1956 Initiation into Hermetics by Franz Bardon was published (¤)
1957 The Fourth Way, P.D. Ouspensky (¤)
1962 The Secret of the Golden Flower, Tung-Pin Lu (¤)
1963 Meetings With Remarkable Men, G.I. Gurdjieff (¤)
1964 Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Frances A. Yates (¤)
1965 The Three Pillars of Zen, Philip Kapleau
1967 The Magus, Francis Barrett (¤)
1968 Principia Discordia
1969 Minutes to Go by Brion Gysin, William S. Burroughs, Sinclair Beiles, Gregory Corso
1969 The Satanic Bible by Anton LeVey
1971 Joseph Weed - Wisdom of the Mystic Masters (¤)
1972 The Tree of Life, Israel Regardie (¤)
1972 Programming and metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer, John C. Lilly (¤)
1973 Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle, Carl Jung
1975 Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea (¤)
1975 The Book of The Sacred Magic of Abramelin The Mage, S.L. MacGregor Mathers
1977 Exo-Pyschology by Timothy Leary
1977 Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson (¤)
1977 Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson (¤)
1978 Liber Null & Psychonaut, Peter Carroll (¤)
1978 Journey of Awakening, Ram Dass (¤)
1979 The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1979 The Spiral Dance, Starhawk (¤)
1979 Drawing Down the Moon, Margot Adler
1981 Light on Pranayama, B.K.S. Iyengar (¤)
1981 Alchemy, Marie-Louise Von Franz (¤)
1981 Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, Carl Jung (¤)
1981 The Magical Philosophy - 3 volumes, Denning and Phillips (Ogdoadic tradition) (¤)
1982 Edward Peters: The Magician, the Witch, and the Law
1982 Kabbalah, Gershom Scholem (¤)
1982 The Complete Guide to the Tarot, Eden Gray
1983 Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti by Maya Deren (¤)
1983 The Black Arts, Richard Cavendish (¤)
1983 The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths & Secrets, Barbara Walker
1985 Angel Tech, Antero Alli (¤)
1985 TAZ by Hakim Bey
1988 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (¤)
1988 Foucoult's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
1988 Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu (Stephen Mitchell translation) (¤)
1988 Tanya Luhrmann: Persuasions of the Witch's Craft
1988 Modern Magick, Donald Michael Kraig (¤)
1989 Voudon Gnostic Workbook by Michael Bertiaux (¤)
1989 Meditation and Kabbalah, Aryeh Kaplan
1989 Crowley’s Apprentice, Gerald Suster
1989 Real Magic, Isaac Bonewits
1980-1990 Internet Book of Shadows
1990 Lords of Light, W.E. Butler
1990 Gabor Klaniczay: The Uses of Supernatural Power
1992 Dead Sea Scrolls published on microfiche
1992 The Eye in the Triangle, Israel Regardie
1992 Liber Kaos, Peter Carroll (¤)
1992 Prometheus Rising, Robert Anton Wilson (¤)
1993 Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar (¤)
1993 Undoing Yourself With Energized Meditation, Christopher Hyatt (¤)
1993 Prime Chaos, Phil Hine
1994 The Mystical and Magical System of the A.'.A.'., James A. Eshelman (¤)
1994 Hermetica, Walter Scott
1995 Self-Initiation Into the Golden Dawn Tradition, Chic and Tabitha Cicero (¤)
1995 The Goetia, S.L. MacGregor Mathers
1995 Condensed Chaos, Phil Hine
1996 Total Freedom: The Essential Krishnamurti, Jiddu Krishnamurti
1996 Women of the Golden Dawn, Mary Greer
1996 Practical Solitary Magic, Nancy Watson
1997 Angels, Demons, and Gods of the New Millenium, Lon Milo Duquette (¤)
1997 The Art of True Healing, Israel Regardie (¤)
1998 The Golden Dawn Scrapbook, R.A. Gilbert (¤)
1998 The Ritual Magic Workbook, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki (¤)
1998 The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manley P. Hall (¤)
1999 My Life With the Spirits, Lon Milo Duquette (¤)
2000 Do What Thou Wilt, A Life of Aleister Crowely
2000 The Training and Work of an Initiate, Dion Fortune (¤)
2000 Richard Kieckhefer: Magic in the Middle Ages
2000 Georg Luck: Ancient Pathways and Hidden Pursuits: Religion, Morals, and Magic in the Ancient World
2001 Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu (Jonathan Star translation)
2001 The Chicken Qabalah, Lon Milo DuQuette (¤)
2001 Promethea, Alan Moore
2002 21st Century Mage, Jason A. Newcomb (¤)
2002 Richard Kazcynski's "Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley"
2003 Light on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengar (¤)
2003 Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, Lon Milo DuQuette
2003 The Essential Golden Dawn, Chic and Tabitha Cicero
2003 The Magick of Aleister Crowley, Lon Milo DuQuette
2005 Abrahadabra: Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thelemic Magic, Rodney Orpheus (¤)
2005 Nikki Bado-Fralick: Coming to the Edge of the Circle: A Wiccan Initiation Ritual (¤)
2005 Generation Hex, Various
2006 Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary, Aleister Crowley et al.
2006 Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Druidism, Isaac Bonewits
2006 Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Witchcraft & Wicca, Isaac Bonewits (¤)
2007 Alex Owen: The Place of Enchantment
2008 The New Hermetics, Jason A. Newcomb (¤)
2008 John Dee’s Five Books of Mystery, John Dee

 

Key to Abbreviations for BCE (Will add these later for CE)

auth. = author
b. = born
ca. = circa
Can. = Canonicalization
Cent.= century.
Cod. = Codification
comp. = composition.
d. = died
hist.= accepted historical date
o.c= date of original (typically, although not necessarily oral) composition.
Orig. = original
O.T. = Old Testament.
p.v. = printed version
Rev. = Revised.
trad. = traditional date
trans. = translation
w.v. = written version
[bhi] Baha'i
[bud] Buddhism
[tib] Tibetan Buddhism
[chr] Christianity
[cfu] Confucianism
[hin] Hinduism
[isl] Islam
[jai] Jainism
[jud] Judaism
[shi] Shinto
[skh] Sikhism
[tao] Taoism
[wic] Wicca
[zor] Zoroastrianism
[egy] Egypt

 

Updated: 18-5-2023