Theurgy: Theory and Practice

by P. D. Newman

• ISBN13: 9781644118368
• ISBN10: 164411836X
• Format: Bound Book
• Copyright: 2023-12-05
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary

Connects the magical practice of theurgy to the time of Homer

• Explores the many theurgic themes and events in the Odyssey and the Iliad

• Analyzes the writings of Neoplatonists Porphyry and Proclus, showing how both describe the technical ritual praxis of theurgy in Homeric terms

• Examines the methods of telestikē, a form of theurgic statue animation and technique to divinize the soul, and how theurgy is akin to shamanic soul flight

First defined by the second century Chaldean Oracles, theurgy is an ancient magic practice whereby practitioners divinized the soul and achieved mystical union with a deity, the Demiurge, or the One.

In this detailed study, P. D. Newman pushes the roots of theurgy all the way back before the time of Homer. He shows how the Chaldean Oracles were not only written in Homeric Greek but also in dactylic hexameter, the same meter as the epics of Homer. Linking the Greek shamanic practices of the late Archaic period with the theurgic rites of late antiquity, the author explains how both anabasis, soul ascent, and katabasis, soul descent, can be considered varieties of shamanic soul flight and how these practices existed in ancient Greek culture prior to the influx of shamanic influence from Thrace and the Hyperborean North.

The author explores the many theurgic themes and symbolic events in the Odyssey and the Iliad, including the famous journey of Odysseus to Hades and the incident of the funeral pyre of Patroclus. He presents a close analysis of On the Cave of the Nymphs, Porphyry’s commentary on Homer’s Odyssey, as well as a detailed look at Proclus’s symbolic reading of Homer’s Iliad, showing how both of these Neoplatonists describe the philosophical theory and the technical ritual praxis of theurgy. Using the Chaldean Oracles as a case study, Newman examines in detail the methods of telestikē, a form of theurgic statue animation, linking this practice to ancient Egyptian and Greek traditions as well as theurgic techniques to divinize the soul.

Revealing how the theurgic arts are far older than the second century, Newman’s study not only examines the philosophical theory of theurgy but also the actual ritual practices of the theurgists, as described in their own words.

Author Biography

P. D. Newman has been immersed in the study and practice of alchemy and theurgy for more than two decades. A member of the Masonic Fraternity, the Society of Rosicrucians, and the Martinist Order, he lectures internationally and has published articles in many esoteric journals, including The Scottish Rite Journal, The Masonic Society Journal, and Invisible College. The author of Alchemically Stoned and a contributor to Angels in Vermilion, he lives in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Ioannis Marathakis

Introduction

PART I
Porphyry and Proclus’s Para-Homeric Sources

1. Katabasis and the Presocratics
A Survey of Underworld Descents in Philosophy Prior to Plato

2. Platonic Allegories and Myths
A Discussion on Plato’s Reorientation of Soul Flight with Reference to His Influence on the Development of Theurgy

3. The Chaldæan Oracles and Theurgy
A Discussion on the Official Emergence of Theurgy from Platonic Metaphysics

4. Plotinus and the Platonizing S ethian Gnostics
A Look at the Father of Neoplatonism and His Precarious Relationship with the Sethian School of Gnosticism

5. Hermetica and Theurgy
A Discussion on the Emergence of Hermetism with Reference to Its Close Parallels with the Art of Theurgy

PART II
The Odyssey and the Iliad

6. Porphyry’s On the Cave of the Nymphs
An Exploration of Theurgic Theory with Reference to Porphyry’s Reading of the Odyssey

7. Proclus’s Commentary on Plato’s Republic
A Breakdown of Theurgic Praxis with Reference to Proclus’s Reading of the Iliad

PART III
Theurgic Telestikē

8. Animated Agalmata
A Discussion on the Process of Statue Animation and Its Vital Role in Practical Theurgy

Conclusion
Appendix
Homeromanteion
A Method of Bibliomancy from the Greek Magical Papyri Involving the Iliad, the Odyssey, and Astragaloi or Kuboi

Notes

Bibliography

Index