OCCULTISTS from United States

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary American Occultists of all time. This list of famous American Occultists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Edgar Cayce (1877 - 1945)

With an HPI of 63.07, Edgar Cayce is the most famous American Occultist.  His biography has been translated into 37 different languages on wikipedia.

Edgar Cayce (; March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945) was an American clairvoyant who claimed to diagnose diseases and recommend treatments for ailments while asleep. During thousands of transcribed sessions, Cayce would answer questions on a variety of subjects such as healing, reincarnation, dreams, the afterlife, past lives, nutrition, Atlantis, and future events. Cayce described himself as a devout Christian and denied being a Spiritualist or communicating with spirits. Cayce is regarded as a founder and a principal source of many characteristic beliefs of the New Age movement. As a clairvoyant, Cayce collaborated with a variety of individuals including osteopath Al Layne, homeopath Wesley Ketchum, printer Arthur Lammers, and Wall Street broker Morton Blumenthal. In 1931, Cayce founded a non-profit organization, the Association for Research and Enlightenment. In 1942, a popular and highly-sympathetic biography of Cayce titled There is a River was published by journalist Thomas Sugrue.

2. Anton LaVey (1930 - 1997)

With an HPI of 62.65, Anton LaVey is the 2nd most famous American Occultist.  His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

Anton Szandor LaVey (born Howard Stanton Levey; April 11, 1930 – October 29, 1997) was an American author, musician, and LaVeyan Satanist. He was the founder of the Church of Satan, the philosophy of LaVeyan Satanism, and the concept of Satanism. He authored several books, including The Satanic Bible, The Satanic Rituals, The Satanic Witch, The Devil's Notebook, and Satan Speaks! In addition, he released three albums, including The Satanic Mass, Satan Takes a Holiday, and Strange Music. He played a minor on-screen role and served as technical advisor for the 1975 film The Devil's Rain and served as host and narrator for Nick Bougas' 1989 mondo film Death Scenes. Historian of Satanism Gareth J. Medway described LaVey as a "born showman", with anthropologist Jean La Fontaine describing him as a "colourful figure of considerable personal magnetism". The academic scholars of Satanism Per Faxneld and Jesper Aagaard Petersen described LaVey as "the most iconic figure in the Satanic milieu". LaVey was labeled many things by journalists, religious detractors, and Satanists alike, including "The Father of Satanism", the "St. Paul of Satanism", "The Black Pope", and the "evilest man in the world".

3. A. E. Waite (1857 - 1942)

With an HPI of 55.89, A. E. Waite is the 3rd most famous American Occultist.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite tarot deck (also called the Rider–Waite–Smith or Waite–Smith deck). As his biographer R. A. Gilbert described him, "Waite's name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of Western occultism—viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of protoscience or as the pathology of religion." He was a Freemason, as well as being a member of the SRIA and Golden Dawn. He spent most of his life in or near London, connected to various publishing houses and editing a magazine, The Unknown World.