I've gone down the rabbit hole these last few months really trying to figure out the occult and from what I've read and experienced, I can tell you with certainty that it's real.
Occult practices are all based around exploiting parts of the human mind and body. It's like the lesser known features that don't generally get taught to people because they're either extremely difficult to actually practice or potentially dangerous (both are true)
The Freemasons knew about this stuff. Hillary Clinton and John Podesta hinted towards extremely specific practices all throughout the WikiLeaks. I don't even think most people picked up the that the time of day they were sending certain messages had ritual significance.
Anyway, this stuff is scary af but also very useful in the world. I've incorporated some of the safer practices into my daily routine (meditation, constant intentionality, thought-feeling separation) and I've noticed an insane change in my life. If anyone has questions about the occult I'd be happy to answer.
I can tell you have achieved some level of enlightenment through this work, and seem to be cautious as you should but I’ll give a little advice anyways. Stay in the light, do not entertain even gray types of thinking, remain a pure vessel of light and the dark will be less willing to attack you. Be careful who you discuss certain topics with, a high percentage of people will not be receptive of what you’re discussing and immediately reject you, even here it’s not really a topic that people can accept to study, much less practice. If it does not contradict your religious beliefs then you should have no problem practically applying what you gain from this path, but be warned it is littered with corpses that came before you and it is as treacherous as everyone makes it out to be, so while your head is in the clouds make sure to have two feet firmly planted in reality and stay purpose driven and goal oriented, also it’s a good idea to take stock along the way, writing a journal is the most common way to keep yourself on track to make sure you’re not slipping into something you can’t slip out of. You talked of pride being a sin, the real downfall of a practitioner of esoteric mysticism Is the “ego” which is pretty much a nice way of saying Psychosis.
Good luck to you, and Frens let’s be supportive of his research into this, many are too scared and do not have the willpower to do it much less the fortitude to come out unscathed. At the end of the day it’s OPs choice to realize their own spirituality and we should be willing to respect that. Just remember, this is real, and it’s not a game.