John Thomas was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 mystic of the late 19th century. As a clairvoyant, occultist and healer he was better known by his professional name, Charubel.

Early years

As a young man John Thomas took the path traditionally taken by natural clairvoyants and studied for the Christian ministry

Christian ministry

In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...

. However, he ultimately felt forced to choose between his religious life and his occult

Occult

The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...

 and psychic

Psychic

A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...

 interests and abilities.

Writings

Adopting the pseudonym "Charubel", he published numerous books and was editor of several esoteric periodicals. He co-authored Degrees of the Zodiac Symbolised with the much younger mystic

Mysticism

Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...

 and astrologer

Astrologer

An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...

 Sepharial

Sepharial

Dr Walter Gorn Old was a notable 19th century astrologer, better known as Sepharial....

 (Dr Walter Gorn Old).

He developed a set of occult symbols

Symbol

A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...

 that he is known for; these were first published in Alan Leo

Alan Leo

Alan Leo, born William Frederick Allan, , was a prominent British astrologer, author, publisher and theosophist, and is considered by many to be the father of modern astrology....

's Astrologer's Magazine in 1893.