What “Esoteric” Really Means: A No-Fluff Guide for Modern Seekers

The Key Difference: Arcane vs. Esoteric

The words “arcane” and "esoteric" often get used as synonyms. In reality, their use is rarely identical in meaning.

When something is arcane, it’s a secret. Only a very few people know about something that’s arcane. In other words, if you can buy a book about it at Barnes & Noble, then it’s not arcane.

Meanwhile, “esoteric” is still used to describe something that’s limited to a select few. It’s not so much that it’s a secret, like with something arcane. Rather, something esoteric is usually treated as private or confidential. The word gets used a lot when describing a tool or knowledge for initiates of special orders or groups, which is where the two words get mixed up.

Esoteric More Generally

One of my favorite official definitions for “esoteric” from Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary is “difficult to understand”. In other words, esoteric knowledge or practices being something that few people know or understand is mostly because it’s difficult to know and understand in the first place.

That’s why we also use the word “esoteric” to refer to “special, rare or unusual interest[s]”. When my son gets really deep into explaining the intricacies of Minecraft world building, I consider that esoteric knowledge in that sense. Unless I’m willing to sit down, explore, and commit to learning the software and gameplay to that degree, that’s knowledge I will never possess.

Meanwhile, when I start talking about what I consider simple, straight-forward knowledge about Tarot symbolism or major astrological placements (e.g. Sun, Moon, Ascendant), I’m often quickly reminded that these are more scholarly, mystical, or hermetic. In other words, they’re esoteric.

Speaking of hermetic…

What About Esotericism?

If you thought the word “esoteric” was confusing, then this could break your brain!

The word “estoericism” is categorical. It’s literally a wide variety of religious traditions grouped together for no other reason than that they have a shared cultural standing. (They’re the religious outcasts of society.)

Many such groups, considering the basic safety of their members, tended to be “closed groups”. That is, they require initiation and often make use of secret names, etc. to ensure the privacy of each member. Although, today, that’s becoming less necessary in many parts of the world.

The exact definition of esotericism is, annoyingly, elusive to this day. As scholars and societies argue, the basic definition expands to include more groups. Today, esotericism may include Zen Buddhism, Wicca, Theosophy, Kabbala, and many others.

But what all paths under the esotericism umbrella definitively have in common is the esoteric nature of their practice. These are not “sit in a pew and listen” or easily understood through 101 classes. They require practitioners to be studious, open-minded, and eager to learn no matter what setbacks they encounter. They are lifelong practitioners, not dabblers.

Metaphysics: The Philosophy Behind the Practice

Those who’ve known me for a long time know I like to use the word “metaphysical” every chance I get. I generally lump all my esoteric learning and practice under that term instead. That tendency of mine has to do with my heavy emphasis on science.

“Metaphysics” technically denotes an area of philosophy. Its focus is on the nature of reality–just like science–but is more about the abstract. That is, it’s those things we can’t objectively explain.

For example, I can objectively observe the growth of a plant and the variables that led to the growth of that plant. I can get “super scientific” with it and get all the way down to the atomic level and explain the chemical reactions taking place. Because we can observe these.

But no matter how much I learn and know in this way, there’s still unanswered questions. Why? Why does the plant grow? Why does it exist? Why do these variables specifically lead to its growth? What other variables could exist beyond my ability to observe? If I talk sweetly to it, will the plant grow faster or stronger? These questions are where we transcend from everyday science to metaphysics.

Because of this theoretical nature of metaphysics, many esoteric topics can also be described as metaphysical. It’s the “how and why” part of the esoteric practices.