Mysticism refers to the practice of discovering and explaining human experience and the natural world through spirituality. Nearly every known culture has religious and philosophical beliefs that are wide-ranging and varied, yet most strive to address certain grand unknowns like origins stories and the afterlife. 

From ancient pagans to contemporary Buddhists, certain religious practitioners are believed to have had special skills and mystical abilities allowing them to commune with god(s) and spirits. It's through these mystical experiences that religion and philosophy are written and handed down. These people who connect with the divine and have spiritual experiences are called mystics. 

In a contemporary sense of the word, mystics can be referred to as anyone who has spiritual experiences and spends their life pursuing divine knowledge. However, in an academic and historical sense, mysticism follows a precise philosophy, and mystics tend to share a particular set of traits. For instance, the famous 20th-century philosopher Evelyn Underhill wrote about the things mystics have in common, and the spiritual path they follow, including things like having a marked initial awakening, then hearing voices and having visions, and experiencing a darkness of the soul before truly communing with divinity. So, since pretty much every religion and culture on Earth has its own version of mystics with spiritual power, is it so far-fetched to believe you could be one of them? Answer these questions to find out what type of mystic you could be!