Theurgy: Difference between revisions

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'''Theurgy''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|θしーた|iː|ɜr|dʒ|i}}; {{etymology|el|θεουργία}} {{transltransliteration|grc|theourgía}}), describesalso theknown practiceas of'''divine [[ritual]]smagic''', sometimesis seenone asof two major branches of the [[Magic (supernatural)|magical]] inarts,<ref naturename="Riffard">[[Pierre A. Riffard]], ''Dictionnaire performedde withl'ésotérisme'', Paris: Payot, 1983, 340.</ref> the intentionother being ''practical magic'' or [[thaumaturgy]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Josephy |first1=Marcia Reines |title=Magic & Superstition in the Jewish Tradition: An Exhibition Organized by the Maurice Spertus Museum of invokingJudaica |date=1975 |publisher=Spertus College of Judaica Press |page=18}}</ref><ref>''Hasidism: Between Ecstasy and Magic'', [[Moshe Idel]], SUNY Press 1995, pp. 72–74. The term magic, used here to denote divine theurgy affecting material blessing, rather than directly [[talisman]]ic practical Kabbalah magic</ref> Theurgy describes the action[[ceremonial magic|ritual practices]] associated with the [[invocation]] or evoking[[evocation]] of the [[divine presence|presence]] of one or more [[deity|deities]] (also called "[[godform]]s"), especially with the goal of achieving [[henosis]] (uniting with the divine) and perfecting oneself.<ref>Edmonds III, Radcliffe G. 2019. "The Illuminations of Theurgy: Philosophy and Magic" pp. 314-377. ''Drawing Down the Moon: Magic in the Ancient Greco-Roman World.'' Princeton University Press.</ref>

*[[Proclus]] (c. 480): theurgy is "a power higher than all human wisdom embracing the blessings of [[divination]], the purifying powers of [[Religious initiation rites|initiation]] and in a word all the operations of divine possession."<ref>[[Proclus]], ''On the theology of Plato'', 1.26.63. [[E. R. Dodds]], ''The Greeks and the Irrational'', University of California Press, 1959).</ref>

*[[Pierre A. Riffard]]: "Theurgy is a type of magic. It consists of a set of magical practices performed to evoke beneficent spirits in order to see them or know them or in order to influence them, for instance by forcing them to animate a statue, to inhabit a human being (such as a medium), or to disclose mysteries."<ref>[[Pierre A. name="Riffard]], ''Dictionnaire de l'ésotérisme'', Paris: Payot, 1983, 340.<"/ref>

''Theurgy'' means "divine- working". The first recorded use of the term is found in the mid-second-century neoplatonist work the ''[[Chaldean Oracles]]'' (Fragment 153 des Places (Paris, 1971): 'For the theourgoí do not fall under the fate-governed herd').<ref>Cf. "Lewy">Lewy, Hans, ''Chaldaean Oracles and Theurgy'', Cairo 1956, pp. 421–466 (mostly consulted and quoted from the revised edition by Michel Tardieu, {{lang|fr|Revue des Études Augustiniennes}} 58 (1978)).</ref> The source of [[Western culture|Western]] theurgy can be found in the philosophy of late [[Neoplatonism|neoplatonists]], especially [[Iamblichus]]. Although the neoplatonists are often considered [[pagan]] [[polytheism|polytheists]], they embraced a form of [[monism]].

[[Iamblichus]], a student of [[Anatolius of Laodicea|Anatolius]] and [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] (the latter himself was a student of [[Plotinus]]), taught a more ritualized method of theurgy that involved [[invocation]] and religious, as well as magical, ritual.<ref>[{{Cite web|url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/]{{Bare URL inline|datetitle=NovemberNeo-Platonism &#124; Internet Encyclopedia of 2021Philosophy}}</ref> Iamblichus believed theurgy was an imitation of the gods, and in his major work, ''[[On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians]]'', he described theurgic observance as "ritualized [[cosmogony]]" that endowed embodied souls with the divine responsibility of creating and preserving the cosmos.

Iamblichus' analysis was that the transcendent cannot be grasped with mental contemplation because the transcendent is supra-rational. Theurgy is a series of rituals and operations aimed at recovering the transcendent essence by retracing the divine 'signatures' through the layers of being.<ref>SIORVANES, LUCAS (1998). Iamblichus. In E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge. Retrieved September 17, 2013, from [http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/A062]</ref> Education is important for comprehending the scheme of things as presented by Aristotle, Plato, and Pythagoras. The theurgist works 'like with like': at the material level, with physical symbols; at the higher level, with mental and purely spiritual practices. Starting with correspondences of the divine in matter, the theurgist eventually reaches the level where the soul's inner divinity unites with the One.<ref>Cf. "Shaw">Shaw, Gregory, ''Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus'', Penn State Press, 1971, page 115.</ref>

== ChristianityIn Western esotericism ==

[[Esoteric Christianity]] accepts theurgy as a tradition that could greatly benefit a person. The main feat of Esoteric Christianity is to learn the mysteries of [[God]] (see [[Raziel]]) and to rise to higher consciousness in the understanding of God's relationship to individual consciousness. Theurgy, in the esoteric tradition, uses this knowledge to heighten one's own spiritual nature.<ref>Louise Nelstrop, Kevin Magill, Bradley B. Onishi. ''Christian Mysticism: An Introduction to Contemporary Theoretical Approaches''. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009, pp. 109–110.</ref> In Esoteric Christianity, theurgy usually is the practice of trying to gain the knowledge and conversation of one's [[higher self]], or [[Inner God]], to teach one spiritual truths and wisdom from God that one could not learn from man (see [[alchemy]], [[Kabbalah]], and [[Theosophy (Boehmian)|Theosophy]]).{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}} Some branches of Esoteric Christianity hold that if an Esoteric Christian, [[Rosicrucianism|Rosicrucian]], or [[Theosophist]]Theosopher practices it they could potentially rise to the degree of [[Magi#Esoteric Christianity and Magi|Magus]] or [[Adept]] after a certain level of spiritual attainment. In a traditional and magical sense, theurgy is seen as the opposite of [[Goetia]], even though many argue that they overlap.<ref>Aaron Leitch. ''Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires'', chapter 8, pp. 241–278</ref> Some organizations, such as the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]], claim to teach a type of theurgy that would help one ascend spiritually as well as understand the true nature of the self and its relation to the Divine and the Universe. The Golden Dawn has a somewhat significant historical following and influence;<ref>Chic and Tabatha Cicero, ''Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn tradition'', Chapter 1</ref> while it is held that many theurgists are usually solitary practitioners and seek the divine light alone through ritual and inner spiritual and psychological equilibration. Theurgy in this hermetic sense stresses the need for the individual to separate and analyze the individual components that constitute everyday consciousness and reunite them in a way that changes one's personal awareness into a state that understands and partakes in spiritual grace.<ref>Israel Regardie, revised by Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero. ''The Tree of Life: an Illustrated Study in Magic''.</ref>

==== Radical orthodoxy ====