The Way

Beyond Literalism: How Alchemy, Magic, Psychology, and Secret Orders All Derive from Biblical Symbolism

Many people read the Bible as a historical account or a moral code. But beneath its surface lies a rich symbolic structure that has inspired not only religions, but also secret societies, magical systems, alchemical traditions, and psychological frameworks. Most of these systems place another framework on top of the Bible—drawing from it but filtering it through esoteric lenses. Neville Goddard, however, revealed that the Bible is already a complete symbolic text in itself, unified by the key of imagination. By shifting the perspective of God from an external figure to the reader's own imagination, he showed that any part of scripture—when read imaginatively—unfolds the same inner principles of creation, transformation, and spiritual evolution.


The Bible as a Symbolic Blueprint

The thread connecting these systems is this: they read the Bible symbolically, not literally.

These interpretations gave birth to alternative paths—many of which were forced underground or called “occult” simply because they approached scripture differently.


1. Alchemy: Turning the Fall into Gold

Spiritual alchemists didn’t just aim to transmute lead into gold. They saw the biblical fall as the soul’s descent into matter—and sought to reverse it.

Christian alchemists like Jacob Boehme and Isaac Newton studied both the Bible and alchemical texts, seeing no contradiction between the two.


2. Witchcraft: Hidden Wisdom, Not Heresy

Though often called “pagan,” much of Western witchcraft is deeply interwoven with biblical imagery and structure—particularly in its more ceremonial and folk forms.

So while witchcraft may wear a pagan face, many of its inner workings derive directly from biblical archetypes and texts.


3. Secret Societies: Building Solomon’s Temple Within

Esoteric orders have long mined the Bible for meaning. Among the most well-known:

In each case, the Bible is not a barrier to magic—it’s its foundation.


4. Rider-Waite Tarot: Christian Mysticism in Arcane Form

The Rider-Waite Tarot deck (1909) is one of the most well-known tools in the Western esoteric tradition—and it’s loaded with biblical symbolism:

Created by Arthur Edward Waite, a devout Christian mystic, the deck was designed to encode biblical and Kabbalistic teachings, not to undermine them.


5. Carl Jung: Depth Psychology Meets Scripture

Perhaps no modern figure bridges psychology and biblical symbolism as gracefully as Carl Jung.

Jung’s lifelong assertion: the Bible is the psyche’s dream-book—and its symbols are eternally alive within us.


6. Other Systems Rooted in Biblical Symbolism

Tradition / System Biblical Roots or Influence
Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism) Tree of Life derived from Genesis and Ezekiel
Christian Gnosticism Jesus as the revealer of inner divine knowledge (gnosis)
New Thought Reinterprets Gospels and Proverbs as instructions in mental causation
Anthroposophy (Steiner) Revelation and the Gospels as esoteric guides to spiritual evolution
Hoodoo / Rootwork Psalms and Bible verses used directly in ritual
The Book of Enoch Source for angelic hierarchies, linked with Genesis 6
Biblical Numerology & Gematria Hebrew letters and numbers decode divine patterns
Mystical Christianity Focuses on Christ as an inward, mystical experience (St John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart)

7. Additional People and Groups Derived from the Bible

Below is a brief list of other notable individuals and movements whose work sprang from symbolic engagement with the Bible:


Conclusion: One Book, Infinite Interpretations

For too long, literalism has obscured the Bible’s true power—not as history, but as symbolic scripture. From the potions of alchemists to the visualisation methods of modern mystics, nearly every “alternative” tradition shares a common root: the Bible as a symbolic guide to inner transformation.


ⓘ It's important to understand some concepts from the beginning. Please check out: Genesis Foundational Principles