In this article the author analyzes a number of popular concepts about the relationship between occultism and various phenomena of social life in the end of the 19th and in the early 20th century. The author shows that the idea of a link between occultism and fascism, which was popular in the middle of the 20th century, is largely false. As an alternative, the author suggests a perspective in which occult societies are described as a virtual space for social and cultural

experimentation and innovation.