Esoteric Sciences

The organized study of hidden knowledge and inner truths believed to underlie surface reality. This encompasses systems like alchemy (as a spiritual metaphor), sacred geometry, numerology, and the symbolism of the Tarot or Kabbalah. Unlike the occult, it often focuses on personal transformation and understanding universal principles. It's a "science" of correspondences and symbolism, seeking the coherent structure beneath mythology, religion, and nature. Think of it as the qualitative physics of meaning, where experiments are conducted through meditation and ritual.

Example: "He didn't just study chemistry; he studied the esoteric science of alchemy. His lab notes detailed not just reactions, but the planetary correspondences of the metals and the spiritual state required for the 'Great Work.' His professor failed him but kept the notebook." Esoteric Sciences

by Abzugal January 30, 2026

Occult Sciences

The practical, applied wing of hidden knowledge, focused on causing change in accordance with will. This includes ceremonial magic, ritual, invocation, and divination. It treats the universe as a system of interconnected forces that can be understood and manipulated through specific words, symbols, and actions. The "scientific" claim lies in its systematic, experimental approach: if you perform X ritual under Y conditions, Z result should follow. Repeatability is debated, but the methodology aspires to be as formalized as a lab protocol, just with incense and daggers instead of beakers.

Example: "Her grimoire was less a spellbook and more an occult sciences lab manual. It had detailed protocols for evocation, control groups (a circle of salt), and notes on failed replications: 'Hypothesis: Summoning a spirit of knowledge. Result: Aphasia and a smell of ozone. Possible variable: mispronounced Enochian vowel.'" Occult Sciences

by Abzugal January 30, 2026

Divine Sciences

The study of God (or the divine) as the ultimate object of scientific inquiry. This attempts to deduce the nature, attributes, and actions of the divine through observation of creation, reason, and perhaps divine revelation treated as data. It's theology with a lab coat, trying to find empirical evidence for Providence, miracles, or intelligent design in the fabric of the cosmos. The fundamental axiom is that the divine is not just a matter of faith, but an active, observable principle in reality.

Example: "The Institute for Divine Sciences published a paper correlating statistically anomalous positive outcomes in cancer patients with the intensity of collective prayer logged on their app. They called it 'measuring grace.' Statisticians called it 'p-hacking with angels.'"

by Abzugal January 30, 2026

Theological Sciences

A more formal, academic discipline that applies scientific and philosophical methodologies to religious doctrine, texts, and experience. It uses historical criticism, linguistics, archaeology, and sociology to study religion as a human phenomenon, while also engaging in systematic theology to build coherent models of the divine. It's the bridge department where a professor might use quantum physics to model the concept of omnipresence one day and carbon-date a Dead Sea Scroll fragment the next.

Example: "His class in Theological Sciences was a trip: Monday was using game theory to model the Council of Nicaea, Wednesday was analyzing prayer-brainwave scans, and Friday was debating if AI could receive sacraments."

by Abzugal January 30, 2026

Psychic Sciences

The endeavor to study and quantify extrasensory perception (ESP), telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis under controlled conditions. Think remote viewing experiments for the CIA, Zener card tests, or random number generator influence studies. The field is plagued by the "shyness" of psychic phenomena—they often vanish under strict laboratory scrutiny. It's the science of maybe, where significant but small statistical anomalies are the holy grail, and fraud is the constant nemesis.

Example: "The lab for Psychic Sciences was full of Faraday cages, truly random number generators, and deeply skeptical researchers. Their biggest breakthrough was a subject who could consistently skew results by 0.001% above chance. The science was solid, but the effect was so tiny it was practically philosophical."

by Abzugal January 30, 2026

Psionic Sciences

The speculative next step: not just studying psychic phenomena, but engineering them. This involves developing technologies to amplify, focus, or weaponize mental energy. Concepts include psionic amplifiers, telepathic communication headsets, psychotronic generators that influence mood, or PK-based propulsion. It's where psychic research meets hardware design, living in a space between fringe science and military black project fantasy.

Example: "The patent was for a 'psionic resonance modulator'—a device to focus collective intention. The Psionic Sciences startup claimed it could help plants grow or calm crowds. It mostly gave people headaches and made old radios pick up static from three states away."

by Abzugal January 30, 2026

Theistic Sciences

A broad framework for conducting scientific inquiry within the explicit assumption that a God or gods exist. This doesn't mean twisting data, but allowing theistic explanations (like divine agency, purpose, or miracles) to be valid candidates within the interpretive model. It challenges methodological naturalism, arguing that if a creator is real, excluding that possibility a priori is bad science. To mainstream science, it's a category error; to proponents, it's a more complete form of inquiry.

Example: "Her paper in Theistic Sciences proposed a new model for abiogenesis that included 'guided quantum nucleation events' as a testable hypothesis for divine action at the quantum level. The journal's rejection letter simply said, 'This is not a scientific parameter.'"

by Abzugal January 30, 2026