Occult Science in India

Louis Jacolliot’s work attempts to describe Indian spiritual traditions, occult practices, and metaphysical ideas for Western readers. Though now dated and often read critically, it was influential in shaping European and American impressions of India’s esoteric heritage. Inside are discussions of yogic powers, ritual, reincarnation, and comparative claims about ancient wisdom traditions.

Louis Jacolliot (1837–1890) was a French colonial judge, writer, and controversial interpreter of Asian religions and antiquity. Though frequently speculative and not always reliable by modern standards, his books helped popularize comparative mythology, occult themes, and imagined links between Indian, Egyptian, and Christian traditions.