arcane
Known to initiates
Arcane describes knowledge that is mysterious, obscure, or understood by only a few: arcane rituals, arcane legal procedures, the arcane world of derivatives trading.
The word suggests specialized or esoteric information—not necessarily secret, but requiring particular study to understand.
What seems arcane to outsiders may be routine to experts.
Impenetrably closed off
- reconditeObscure and specialized
- abstruseDifficult to comprehend
- cabalisticRelating to secret mysticism
- obscureUnknown to most
inscrutable · rarefied · specialized · scholarly · academic · technical · niche · inaccessible
Practice of dark magic
- alchemyMystical metal transformation
- necromancyCommunicating with the deceased
- witchcraftPractice of supernatural magic
- magickOccult arts, archaic spelling
spellcasting · incantation · conjuration · grimoire · talisman · amulet · ritual · hex
Hidden writing system
- codeSymbolic communication system
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
secret · hidden · indecipherable · mysterious · veiled · encoded · symbolic · encrypted
Divination card set
- astrologyDivination by celestial positions
- palmistryReading hands for fortunes
- runesOld Germanic script
- soothsayerOne who predicts futures
augury · prophecy · clairvoyance · scrying · bibliomancy · geomancy · prognostication · reading
Belonging to earlier times
lost · dusty · bygone · old-world · antiquarian · antediluvian · premodern · historical
hermetic
Impenetrably closed off
- reconditeObscure and specialized
- abstruseDifficult to comprehend
- cabalisticRelating to secret mysticism
obscure · inscrutable · rarefied · specialized · scholarly · academic · technical · niche · inaccessible · exclusive
sorcery
Practice of dark magic
- alchemyMystical metal transformation
- necromancyCommunicating with the deceased
- witchcraftPractice of supernatural magic
magick · spellcasting · incantation · conjuration · grimoire · talisman · amulet · ritual · hex · enchantment
cipher
Hidden writing system
enigma · secret · hidden · indecipherable · mysterious · veiled · encoded · symbolic · encrypted · clandestine
tarot
Divination card set
- astrologyDivination by celestial positions
- palmistryReading hands for fortunes
- runesOld Germanic script
soothsayer · augury · prophecy · clairvoyance · scrying · bibliomancy · geomancy · prognostication · reading · fortune-telling
archaic
Belonging to earlier times
obsolete · lost · dusty · bygone · old-world · antiquarian · antediluvian · premodern · historical · classical
transcendence
Surpassing usual limits
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- chakraSpiritual node in body
- auraPerceived emanation surrounding someone
shamanism · oracle · mantra · sacred · ethereal · spiritual · esoterica · gnosis · initiation · theosophical
- fantasywizard, witch, magic, dragon, elf
- magicwizard, wand, sorcerer, witchcraft, mage
- mysteriousmysterious, cryptic, enigmatic, obscure, puzzling
- Mysticalethereal, otherworldly, supernatural, numinous, transcendent
- complexitycomplex, complicated, simple, intricate, easy
- Unfamiliar Thingsstranger, unknown, mystery, enigma, novelty
arcanecommon knowledge
Widely shared information
well-known · exoteric · known · familiar · obvious
arcaneobvious
Easily perceived, unmistakable
clear · straightforward · understandable · plain · simple
- arcane knowledgeObscure, specialized understanding
- arcane ritualsSecret ceremonial practices
- arcane magicMysterious supernatural knowledge and power
- arcane symbolsMysterious signs with hidden meaning
- major arcanaTarot's twenty-two trump cards
- arcane energySupernatural force from secret knowledge