On March 20, explore the many mysteries of ancient wisdom and occult belief when KOCH Vision releases DAN BURSTEIN’S SECRETS OF THE OCCULT, an illuminating DVD exploring the controversial and often overlooked link between magic and science. The spellbinding DVD, from Hidden Treasures Productions, includes two one-hour programs, The Magicians and The Scientists, which examine the world of the occult from the Ancient Greek and Egyptian magicians to the cutting edge scientists of today.

“In ancient times there was no separate study known as science. It was the magicians and the alchemists who were doing science. Since the birth of what we call modern science, science and the occult have parted paths,” said Dan Burstein, best-selling author and SECRETS OF THE OCCULT expert. Today however the old relationship between Science and the Occult is experiencing a new surge of popularity in holistic philosophy and New Age beliefs. “Serious physicists are contemplating time travel and parallel universes. We’re going to get some very big breakthroughs through science, but some of them may come from science looking at what some might call the occult,” adds Burstein.

From Harry Potter and Eragon to The Da Vinci Code and The Prestige, today’s pop culture is finding more and more of its inspiration in the occult. The growing interest in occultism’s underlining principles and beliefs has even spawned a new subgenre, called “enlightainment,” which blends life advice and the quest for greater truth with elements of entertainment. The quantum physics inspired, part narrative-part documentary film What the Bleep Do We Know!? was the first surprise hit of this category. In recent months, The Secret, a self-help DVD that reveals the hidden wisdom purportedly known to such thinkers as Plato and Albert Einstein, has become a top-seller on Amazon.com. “The merging of ‘magic’ and contemporary science is blurring the lines between old and new,” said Dan Gurlitz, General Manager of KOCH Vision. “SECRETS OF THE OCCULT investigates this transformation, presenting compelling fuel for thought and discussion.”

While clairvoyant Madame Helena Blavatsky and British occultist Aleister Crowley became forerunners of many new age ideals only later to be condemned, innovators such as Galileo, Einstein and Freud, whose advances are considered scientific in nature, were also fascinated with the occult. “Don’t forget, Sir Isaac Newton, the ‘father of modern science’ in many people’s eyes, is also considered the ‘last of the great magicians.’ He was fascinated with alchemy and the occult and spent much of his life trying to develop a scientific understanding of occult beliefs,” observes Burstein.

This sort of special knowledge is what the Secrets of… series is committed to uncovering. The previous two documentaries in the series, SECRETS OF MARY MAGDALENE and SECRETS OF ANGELS, DEMONS & MASONS, also explore the crossroads between spirituality, religion and science.