Arcanum
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Arcanum, from the Latin arcere, "to shut away in an arca, cf. ark," is usually used to refer to occult mysteries and doctrines of various sorts. The plural of arcanum is arcana. In the oldest sense arcana were the rituals and artifacts of mystery religions and secret societies, which were not supposed to be shown or disclosed to outsiders. The word has a number of uses.
- In alchemy, the Grand Arcanum describes the secret of the philosopher's stone;
- By extension, in one older sense an arcanum is used for any nostrum said to be a panacea, such as the philosopher's stone was believed to be;
- Occult interpretations of the Tarot cards divide the deck into two parts:
- The Greater or Major Arcana, the trumps.
- The Lesser or Minor Arcana, the numbered pip cards.
- Arcanum is a pen and paper role-playing game by Bard Games based in the Lost Word of Atlantis.
- Arcanum is a comic book published by Image Comics.
- Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is the title of a computer role-playing game by Troika Games.
- Arcanum, Ohio is a village located in Darke County, Ohio.
- Arcana Studio is the name of a popular comic book company.
- Arcana is the name of a SNES RPG.