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About Theurgy

Theurgy is the combination of ritual and contemplation to effect the deification of the soul. It does this by engaging on a path, a path which contains these five phases or activities:

The Origin of Theurgy

Linguistically, theourgia comes from two words meaning "divine/god" and "work/make". Together it may be rendered as "divine work", in that the operations involved aid the soul towards divinity, or as "the work of god" in that it is the divinity invoked that does the real work upon the soul. Alternatively, it may be translated as "making gods" in that the theurgist attempts to make his and other souls divine.

The term originated with the Chaldean Oracles, a set of poetic revelations which were, according to legend, "sent down from the gods" to Julian the Theurgist, whose his father, Julian the Chaldean Philosopher, had prayed, previous to his son's birth, that his son should receive the soul of an archangel. Subsequently, the younger Julian was able to function as a medium to channel the Oracles from the soul of Plato. (Lewy, Chaldean Oracles and Theurgy)

The importance of theurgy for Platonism is both a spiritual and a political element. According to Plato, mankind once lived under the supervision and direction of the gods in a time known as the "Golden Age", but when mankind abandoned the gods, his world collapsed into barbarism and darkness. In order to return to this Golden Age, man needs to return to such a state in which he lives under the guidance of higher powers. (cf. Laws 716a-b, Rep. 500c). Theurgy aims to reconnect us to those powers for the individual and for the sake of the society in which he lives.

Theurgy contra Theology, Gnosticism & Magic

Is theurgy the same thing as magic?

We often learn things better by comparing and contrasting. So we may get a better understanding for what theurgy is by comparing it to what it is similar. (For the following distinctions, cf. Majercik, Chaldean Oracles)

First, for the ancients, the art of theurgy is more often contrasted against the art of theology, the latter is "talking" about divinity, while the former is actually "working" with them. They both bequeath knowledge, but one is acquired through vision, and the other through familiarity. It's like knowing a sports, the knowledge of the audience who watches a game is much different from the knowledge of the players who play it.

Besides theology, we could compare theurgy to magic (goeteia). In this case the difference we find is in the goal and disposition of the practitioner. Magic is a supernatural technique of using ritual to generate manifest and intended changes, either benevolent or malicious, in the physical world or upon the psychologies of others. Theurgy, on the other hand, is the use of ritual, both physical and mental, to purify and elevate the soul, to harmonise her with the divine order, and effect a communion and union with the gods and ultimately with the One. Magic aims at getting the divine (even trying to coerce it) to do what we want, to service our will, while theurgy emphasises uniting our will with the divine will, allowing the gods to bless us by incorporating us into their own creative activity.

We may compare the Platonist's approach to theurgy with similar practices of other esoteric groups. The Gnostic tradtion, for instance, has a conception of the Divine which not the same as for a theurgist. They veiw God as separate and distant from an evil world and a sinning soul, and the Gnostic seeks by their rites and contemplations to find a release from the world. A proper theurgic conception of the divine is that the universe is foundationally good and directly emanated from the divine. The world is a theophany and therefore the gods and the cosmos are intimately connected. The theurgist connects with aspects of the world in his efforts to effect divine communication.

Contemplation

So is theurgy not contemplation?

Theurgy is a combination of contemplation and ritual. The combination is not always 50/50, so the result can be a form of contemplative ritual or ritualized contemplation.

Contemplation is the stretching forth of the mind to touch and "know" an object, in this case a deity. (We discuss the procedures for contemplation elsewhere.) Contemplation however by itself cannot effect the deification of the soul, which is the goal of Platonic ethics. The reason is that we are embodied souls, and as such our physical aspects must be addressed.

Plato taught us to be holistic about our affairs in the world and with the gods. For instance, he believed that medicine, which he understood to be of divine origin, must be used to treat the whole person, both the body and the soul, if it is to be effective (cf. Charmides 156d ff., in which terms "whole person" and "soul" are interchangeable, the body is seen as a "part" of the soul. Thus, from one perspective at least, the one cannot just remove the body and be left with a complete soul.)

To transition from simple vision to direct involvement needs more than just contemplation, and this is where ritual comes in. For theurgy, it is not a matter of choosing ritual or contemplation, rather both support and complete each other.

Ritual

How does ritual help us to "know" god?

First, we must understand ritual. Rituals are stylised forms of acts which are quite common (like washing, moving, cooking) but done with a sense of reverence. Through the use of rituals we are able to step outside our day-to-day routines and enter into a sacred space.

When we conduct a ritual, our attitude should not be that adhering to a set of prodecures, or feeling that following the rules of the rite are paramount. Rather it is learning to adhere and follow the joy that comes when the rules and procedures are followed. Whenever you watch children play a game, the rules and etiquettes are major components, but these generate a pleasure all their own. [cite Prayer as a family book] Ritualized actions and even a ritualise lifestyle helps to cultivate as sense of the sacred, which is a state that facilitates engagement with the gods.

The Effectiveness of Ritual

But is theurgy necessary for gaining communion with the gods? Aren't there mystics who gain "union" with the One without theurgy?

Yes, they have attained union (henosis), but they did not achieve it without theurgy. Theurgy is not a matter of choosing ritual or contemplation, rather both support and complete each other. If you study the lives of any genuine mystic, you will find that they had some degree or type of ritual that assisted their method of contemplation.

The reason ritual is effective is because there exist three elements which are inherent in the universe. These are (a) cosmic "sympathy", (b) the presence of "tokens" within all things, and (c) the ability of "symbols" to activate them.

a. Sympathy

Rituals work through a principle called "cosmic sympathy". It is the interconnection that holds the universe together. It forms the basis for such concepts such as systems theory, holistics, and quantum mechanics.

The theurgists, as well as magicians and modern physicists, hope to create some change in their environment by influncing an object which has a special relationship or connect to the objects you hope to change. The difference between the theurgist and the others is that the effect they hope to create is vertical, rather than horizonal, meaning, that they hope by using a riutal to make beneficial change in their souls by aligning it with the gods, rather than making an impact in the world (though by divinising themselves in such a way, they do benefit the world in far more subtle ways).

b. Tokens

Within every object, there are elements which have connections with higher orders of reality. Higher powers, as they create and maintain the lower physical reality, leave their mark, a trace of themselves, within their creations or those aspects of the world in which they have particular dominion. These elements or traces are called by the Greeks "tokens" (sunthemata).

c. Symbols

Tokens are seen and activated by the "flower of the mind", that part of our soul which is the most divine. We open this "flower" by the use of symbols.

Some objects, because of the tokens they carry, are especially close to certain gods and creative forces. By choosing and surrounding ourselves with these objects, we strengthen the bond between us and the god which oversees these objects.

These symbols can be physical or spiritual or intellectual, and their efficiency depends on the quality of the persons and the deity he is seeking.

Worship appropriate to the God

What do you mean by the quality of person and deity?

Everyone works at the level he is at. Iamblichus wrote that "Each man performs his service to the Holy according to what he is, not according to what he is not; after all, the sacrifice must not surpass the proper measure of the worshipper." (De Myst. V.15) Not everyone approaches religion intellectually or materially.

Gregory Shaw writes that we have "different theurgies to match the different types of men, who, as Iamblichus said, have different cultic needs...What Iamblichus in fact was pointing out in his discussion of different sacrificial modes for different types of people was that the ritual performed should be suited to the person who performs it." ("Theurgy", Traditio XLI (1985), pp. 25-26) Accordingly, Iamblichus is saying that "there is nothing better about silent prayer than animal sacrific" (p. 23). Each theurgist must be honest with himself and worship the gods in accordance with the state of his soul.

Even though we worship at the state we are at, that state develops. We must proceed in an orderly way (according to taxis), from the most elementary to the intermediate to the higher.

In addition to the different levels of men, every layer of the universe has gods appropriate to it, so the gods are worshipped according to their properties of their domain. Gods which oversee the more physical parts of the universe are worshipped in physical ways; those gods which operate in the intelligible world receive worship which is less physical and more intellectual, for instance. Thus, there exists levels in theurgy.

These levels vary according to different theurgists. For Proclus, Anne Sheppard ("Proclus' Attitude to Theurgy" CQ, 32, 1982, pp. 212-224) proposed three levels: (1) that which is similar to "white magic", (2) that making "the soul intellectually alive" by elevating her to a level within the intelligible realm, and (3) that being a non-ritual "internal" theurgy. This level involves activating the "one of the soul" to effect a union with the supreme One.

Types of Ritual

The rituals of theurgy can be divided into two types. The first are rites of invitation, in which a deity is called down through what Porphyry calles "persuasive necessity" to animate a lifeless form or to possess a living being. The second type are rites of elevation, which deals with the ascension of the soul to the gods.

a. Rites of Invitation

Telestics refers to the art of animating statues. Often the rite involves placing certain sacred stones, gems, herbs, and/or living animals (all of which are specific to the deity being called upon) inside the cavity of an idol to establish, through cosmic sympathy, a "complete and pure recepticle" (as Iamblichus states) for the god, in which the god is persuaded to appear, often in the form of light.

Emperor Julian says that everyone should "worship the gods as though he saw them actually present." "When we look at the images of the gods, let us not indeed think they are stones or wood, neither let us think they are the gods themselves." "He who loves his son delights to see his son's statue, and he who loves his father delights to see his father's statue. It follows that he who loves the gods delights to gaze on the images of the gods and their likenesses, and he feels reverence and shudders with awe of the gods who look at him from the unseen world." "Our fathers established images and altars...as symbols of the presence of the gods, not that we may regard such things as gods, but that we may worship the gods through them." "Even though God stands in need of nothing, it does not follow that on that account nothing ought to be offered to him."

For an example of the telestic rite, in an oracle related from Hekete, the goddess of crossroads who represents the Cosmic Soul, says: "But execute my statue, purifying it as I shall instruct you. Make a form from wild rue and decorate it with small animals, such as lizards which live about the house. Rub a mixture of myrrh, gum, and frankencense with these animals, and out in the clear air under the waxing moon, complete this (statue) yourself while offering the following prayer..." (Chaldean Oracles, fr. 224, translated by Majercik, p. 137).

Possession, also called "binding and loosing", involves bringing down a god into a human medium. Often voces mysticae are used in initiate the process. The medium himself may break the possession by turning his thoughts to "earthly things." Before the rite, the theurgist(s) would purify themselves and don special garments. The presence of the god would be known by a number of unusual elements, for instance, levitation, odd movements, paralysis, changes in voice, immunity from fire, or "self-manifestions", that is, the presence of luminous apparititions, etc.

Another famous ritual involved the use of the "Wheel of Hekete." It is a golden sphere, engraved with magical characters and embedded with a sapphire, was swung around by means of a leather strap. With it, the theurgist imitates the motion of the heavens, and attracts to himself the cosmic forces (the Iynges) which would form a bridge between him and the gods.

b. Rites of Elevation

Sustasis refers to the "conjuction", "communication", or "contact" between the theurgist and his chosen deity. It is not the same as union (henosis), though. Sustasis is facilitated by invocations, in which the theurgist "calls upon" a god by the use of voces mysticae, chants consisting of a strings of vowels and consonants, often lengthy, which carry within them patterns of letters and numerology which are believed to be quite potent. Rituals are also used to gain sustasis with a deity.

Anagoge ("leading upwards") refers to the "ascent" of the soul. This anagoge has two parallel aspects: one is the theurgical purification of the lower soul (or the "vehicle" of the soul); the other is the contemplative or intellectual purification of the higher soul (cf. Ruth Majercik, Chaldean Oracles, p. 40).

It is a contemplative process in which the soul becomes purified and elevated to the first principles. It does this by purifying the "vehicle" of the soul, which is that part of us that binds the soul to the material world. When the "vehicle" is sufficiently cleansed, the soul is liberated.

The contemplative aspect operates under theurgic "Faith" (pistis), which is the activity of the "flower of mind" (anthos nou), the synthema of the One in the soul. It is Faith "which properly engenders that 'silence' within the soul which is the appropriate mode of response to the 'silence' of the noetic 'deep' where the One (of Father) resides" (Majercik, p. 40).

Proclus calls Union, "the undivisible contact and fellowship in the divine joy." (In Parm. 679, Morrow)

Ritual as Divine Act

The two types of ritual mimics the two types of divine creation. The Rites of Invitation follows the divine activity of Procession, while the rites of Elevation mirror the activity of Reversion.

A Variety of Rituals

The Chaldean Ritual of Philosophic Death

Can you give me a example of a ritual?

According to Ruth Majercik (Chaldean Oracles, pp. 36-39), the main Chaldean rite went something like this:

First, the lower soul, the "vehicle" of the soul, is purified and strengthened through the use of material rites, including the use of stones, herbs, incantations, prayers, magic wheels and lustrations. Following the rites of purification, the theurgist elevates his soul on the "rays" of the sun in the "central Chaldean sacrament" (as Lewy called it).

The initiate is ritually buried, in imitation of death, in which the elements of the body dissolve, releasing the soul. The head was left uncovered, as this was the seat of the rational soul.

The initiate would draw in the rays of the Sun, "inhaling" the "flowering flames" that come down from "the Father". The priest overseeing the rite would also being calling forth the soul from the body.

After the soul's release, the soul would be led along the rays of the sun through various spheres and elements, reversing her descent. The ascent to the celestial realms would aided by the singing of hymns, prayers, chanting the voces mysticae (which are the synthemata and symbola "sown throughout the cosmos by the Father"), and the guidance of the priest, ministering angels, and the three Teletarchs (Love, Truth and Faith).

Ritual beyond specific Symbols

As one develops, one will become very familiar with the feel of certain tokens. Soon, one will feel the token of one's god in things other than those objects which are symbolic to him or her. The expert theurgist can activate the tokens of the gods found in any object he possesses. He can do so because of the principle in which "all is in all, but appropriately." The tokens of Apollo, for instance, though found particularly in certain objects, are indeed found, to some degree, in all objects.

If this is so, could the theurgist just start by activating the tokens in any object without bothering himself with collecting those first objects?

No. It's just like someone learning to write: he cannot become a proficient writer of novels and poetry if he has not first mastered a basic vocabulary or basic grammar. Only after he is familiar and accustomed to using the basics can he proceed to play with the delicate and subtle.

Inner Ritual

When soul has become more purified and the gods one seeks are more supercelestial, the theurgy becomes less physical. (Yet it never stops being so, because we are still embodied.)

The Oracle states: "There exists a certain Intelligible which you must perceive by the flower of mind. If you should incline your mind towards it and try to perceive it as if perceiving a specific thing, you would not perceive it. It is the power of strength, visible all around, flashing with intellectual divisions. Therefore, you must not perceive that Intelligible violently but with the flame of mind completely extended which measures all things, except that Intelligible. You must not perceive it intently, but, keeping the pure eye of your soul turned away, you should extend an empty mind toward the Intelligible in order to comprehend it, since it exists beyond mind." (fr. 1, Majercik)

Concepts and Idols as Symbols

The vision of the god in the mind is an icon, a symbol. The mind will then go beyond the image and reach the reality with which the image is connected.

An example of concept as symbol, Plotinus: "Let us make a mental picture of our universe: each member shall remain what it is, each part distinct, yet all composing a complete unity, so that whatever comes into view shall show as if it were the surface of the orb over all." This image will begin to comprise the earth, sea, sun, all the stars, everything of the cosmos. "Bring this vision before your mind. Let there be in your mind the gleaming representation of that universe," some at rest, some in motion. "Keep this sphere before you, and from it imagine another, a sphere stripped of size and dimension," casting out all sense of material quality. "Call on the god who make this sphere whose image you know hold, and pray him to come. And may he come bringing his own universe with all the gods within him - he who is one god and all gods, where each is all, blending into a unity, distinct in powers, but by that one manifold power, they are all one, or rather, the one god is all..."

The One

The ultimate goal is union with the One. Since the One is the origin and source of all else, its token is found in all things. This token is their Unity.

The sacred word or token (synthema) of the One in the soul is the "flower" or "spark" of the mind. It has the power to "focus" and "elevate" the soul, ultimately "binding" and uniting her with god.

In the Chaldean Oracles, this faculty is also called the soul's "strength", specifically the "three-barded strength", which "binds us with god" and "excites us towards the flight up there" (fr. 119).

Conceptual symbols for the One include Light and the Centre of concentric circles.

Proclus calls union, "the undivisible contact and fellowship in the divine joy." (In Parm. 679, Marrow & Dillon 62)

Token in the Soul

The One is apprehended by that part of the soul which is most like it. This is the token (synthema) of the One in the soul, which the Chaldean Oracles tells us that it has the power to "focus" and "elevate" the soul, ultimately "binding" and uniting her with god. This token is also called the soul's "three-barded strength" which "excites us towards the flight up there".

Proclus calls this not the "flower of the mind" but "the flower of the whole soul". Thus, the complete range of theurgy is integrative, involving the whole of our being, not just its highest parts. (cf. Majercik)

Silent Theurgy

To join with the One, you must join him "there". Rituals are silent, solitary and still.

Concerning Proclus, Majercik writes, that "the higher levels of ascent would involve not only a process of intelligible or noetic contemplation, but a type of 'higher' theurgy as well, this latter involving the use of 'perfect' prayer, synthemata, noetic hymning, sacred silences, theurgic 'faith', the anthos nou - all of which had the power to elevate the soul and effect union with various aspects of the intelligible world, including the One itself" (p. 43).

It is not just being silent or still, but making that silence and stillness a ritual by which you seek it.

The height of the mystic enterprise is that of silent hymn, or the perfect prayer: a prayer beyond silence, an activity of the soul beyond motion.

Elements to good Ritual

a. Presence

The height of the mystic enterprise is that of silent hymn, or the perfect prayer: a prayer beyond silence, an activity of the soul beyond motion, the activity of being present in the divine. The key is openness to the Divine.

The rites are not just the manipulation of sacred objects. Iamblichus states that the objects used in a rite are themselves capable of opening the door to the divine, but anyone is mistaken who believes that the participation of the soul is not essential. The objects work on the soul, and the soul, when she is properly effected by working with these objects, makes that connection.

Thus, the acts of the rite must be praticipated in with one's soul, trusted in with faith, so that a connection and communion can occur, and divine energies received and cherished.

One must be present with the rite, one must see the motions of the sacred objects as motions of the parts of the soul. As the objects are arranged and organised to attune to the gods, so the parts of the soul are re-arranged and made in harmony with the divine chorus.

One can compare it to a combination lock. By moving the dial by specific degrees the lock is primed, so by manipulating the objects sacred to a god in a specific manner, the forces align enhancing the god's radiance to shine on those souls which are allowing the motions to affect the mechanics of their being.

b. Giving and Receiving

Two keys allowing such radiance to affect the soul are (a) being receptive to divine gifts, and (b) giving oneself as a gift to the divine.

Hierocles writes: "Whatever we love, we imitate as much as we can; and the honour we offer to Him who has no need of anything consists in receiving the good things He offers us. For you do not honour God by giving Him anything, but by rendering yourself worthy to receive from Him, and as the Pythagoreans say, 'You will honour God perfectly if you behave so that your soul may become His Image'."

"...'Only the wise is truly called a priest, that he alone is the friend of God, and that he alone knows how to pray.' For he alone knows how to honour who never confounds the dignity of those he honours, who offers himself first as a pure sacrifice, who renders his soul the Image of God, and who prepares his mind as a temple worthy to receive the Divine Light." "...'God has not upon earth a place more fit for Him to dwell in than a pure soul.'"

c. Faith

There are three levels of Faith: (1) the irrational, in which one keeps the beliefs of one's youth, (2) the rational, in which one's reason aids in one's understanding of divine things, and (3) the theurgic, in which the experiences of the divine confirm knowledge, but it is a knowledge which transcends reason and image.

The Paradox of Faith: Those most advanced in the art of meditation and theurgy realise that, from the beginning of their spiritual studies, the Gods have always been present. We didn't call them, they called us to call them: Only those that are already inspired by the Gods begin seeking them for inspiration. (Like only the wise know they are ignorant.)

About Idols

The use of idolatry in theurgy may seem confusing to some. But this is cleared up when one realises that the gods transcend the physical, but the physical points to the transcendent, which is its source. We do not deem the statutes of the gods to be powerful, rather, they statutes remind us of the presence of the gods around us and in us. I will end here with an except from a letter to a priest by Emperor Julian:

"Then let everyone make the basis of his conduct, moral virtues and actions like these, namely reverence towards the gods, benevolence towards men, and personal chastity. And thus let him abound in pious thoughts about the gods, and by regarding the temples and images of the gods with due honour and veneration, and by worshipping the gods as though he saw them actually present. For our fathers established images and altars, and the maintenance of undying fire and, generally speaking, everything of the sort, as symbols of the presence of the gods, not that we may regard such things as gods, but that we may worship the gods through them. For since, being in the body, it is by bodily ways that we must needs perform our service to the gods also, though they are themselves without bodies. They therefore revealed to us in the earliest images the class of gods next in rank to the first, even those (recognised as planets) that revolve about the whole heavens. But since not even to these can due worship be offered in bodily ways, for they are by nature not in need of anything, another class of images was invented on the earth, and by performing our worship to them we shall make the gods propitious to ourselves. For just as those who make offerings to the statues of the emperors, who are in need of nothing, nevertheless induce goodwill towards themselves thereby, so too those who make offerings to the images of the gods, though the gods need nothing, do nevertheless thereby persuade them to help and to care for them. For zeal to do all that is in one's power is, in truth, a proof of piety, and it is evident that he who abounds in such zeal thereby displays a higher degree of piety; whereas he who neglects what is possible, and then pretends to aim at what is impossible, evidently does not strive after the impossible, since he overlooks the possible. For even though God stands in need of nothing, it does not follow that on that account nothing ought to be offered to him. He does not need the reverence that is paid in words. What then? Is it rational to deprive him of this also? By no means. It follows then that one ought not to deprive him either of the honour that is paid to him through deeds, an honour which not three years or three thousand years have ordained, but all past time among all the nations of the earth.

"Therefore, when we look at the images of the gods, let us not indeed think they are stones or wood, but neither let us think they are the gods themselves; and indeed we do not say that the statues of the emperors are mere wood and stone and bronze, but still less do we say they are the emperors themselves. He therefore who loves the emperor delights to see the emperor's statue, and he who loves his son delights to see his son's statue, and he who loves his father delights to see his father's statue. It follows that he who loves the gods delights to gaze on the images of the gods, and their likenesses, and he feels reverence and shudders with awe of the gods who look at him from the unseen world. Therefore if any man thinks that because they have once been called likenesses of the gods, they are incapable of being destroyed, he is, it seems to me, altogether foolish; for surely in that case they were incapable of being made by men's hands. But what has been made by a wise and good man can be destroyed by a bad and ignorant man. But those beings which were fashioned by the gods as the living images of their invisible nature, I mean the gods who revolve in the heavens, abide imperishable for all time. Therefore let no man disbelieve in gods because he sees and hears that certain persons have profaned their images and temples. Have they not in many cases put good men to death, like Socrates and Dio and the great Empedotimus? And yet I am very sure that the gods cared more for these men than for the temples. But observe that since they knew that the bodies even of these men were destructible, they allowed them to yield to nature and to submit, but later on they exacted punishment from their slayers; and this has happened in the sight of all, in our own day also, in the case of all who have profaned the temples... It is our duty to adore not only the images of the gods, but also their temples and sacred precincts and altars." (A Letter to a Priest, 293a-296d, trans. Wilmer Cave Wright)


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