While theurgy lies within the realms of both magic and religion, thaumaturgy does not.
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2 (1999), 46-63 The book remains the seminal work on Theurgy and esoteric arts to this day.
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Julian favored ritual theurgy, with an emphasis on sacrifice and prayer. He was heavily influenced by Iamblichus' ideas.
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Book of Alchemy. Chapter 11. The principal means of effecting this was by the praxis of theurgy and bhakti.Holy Order of MANS.org.
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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.Louise Nelstrop, Kevin Magill, Bradley B. Onishi.
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Iamblichus had salvation as his final goal (see henosis). The embodied soul was to return to divinity by performing certain rites, or theurgy, literally, 'divine-working'.
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Theurgy (; from , theourgía) describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action or evoking the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis (uniting with the divine) and perfecting oneself.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.
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According to the Suda, and his biographer Eunapius, he was born at Chalcis (modern Qinnasrin) in Syria. He was the son of a rich and illustrious family, and he is said to have been the descendant of several priest-kings of the Arab Royal family of Emesa. He initially studied under Anatolius of Laodicea, and later went on to study under Porphyry, a pupil of Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism. He disagreed with Porphyry over the practice of theurgy; Iamblichus responds to Porphyry's criticisms of theurgy in a book attributed to him, De Mysteriis Aegyptiorum (On the Egyptian Mysteries).
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The two men differed publicly on the issue of theurgy. In his later years, he married Marcella, a widow with seven children and an enthusiastic student of philosophy. Little more is known of his life, and the date of his death is uncertain.
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In later days, Apollonios of Tyana showed in practice what this sort of thing must ultimately lead to. The theurgy and thaumaturgy of the late Greek schools were only the fruit of the seed sown by the generation which immediately preceded the Persian War.
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Within the works of Iamblichus of Chalcis (c. 245 – c. 325 AD), The One and reconciliation of division can be obtained through the process of theurgy. By mimicking the demiurge, the individual is returned to the cosmos to implement the will of the divine mind.
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Proclus described Helios as a cosmic god consisting of many forms and traits. These are "coiled up" within his being, and are variously distributed to all that "participate in his nature", including angels, daemons, souls, animals, herbs, and stones. All of these things were important to the Neoplatonic practice of theurgy, magical rituals intended to invoke the gods in order to ultimately achieve union with them. Iamblichus noted that theurgy often involved the use of "stones, plants, animals, aromatic substances, and other such things holy and perfect and godlike."(Myst. 5.23, 233) For theurgists, the elemental power of these items sacred to particular gods utilizes a kind of sympathetic magic.
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Julian's personal religion was both pagan and philosophical; he viewed the traditional myths as allegories, in which the ancient gods were aspects of a philosophical divinity. The chief surviving sources are his works To King Helios and To the Mother of the Gods, which were written as panegyrics, not theological treatises. As the last pagan ruler of the Roman Empire, Julian's beliefs are of great interest for historians, but they are not in complete agreement. He learned theurgy from Maximus of Ephesus, a student of Iamblichus;The emperor's study of Iamblichus and of theurgy are a source of criticism from his primary chronicler, Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 22.13.
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Theurgy has a clear relationship to Neoplatonism and Kabbalah and contains the concept of spiritual evolution and ultimately unification with God or the Godhead at its core. Theurgy is considered by many to be another term for high magic and is known to have influenced the members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn many of whom considered the order to be Theurgic in nature. Aleister Crowley also considered his Thelemic system of magical philosophy to be a Theurgic tradition as it emphasized the Great Work, which is essentially another form of spiritual evolution. The Great Work is believed to result in communication with one's personal angel or higher self.
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Between 1598 and 1604, Fludd studied medicine, chemistry and hermeticism on the European mainland following his graduation. His itinerary is not known in detail.Debus pp. 207–8. On his own account he spent a winter in the Pyrenees studying theurgy (the practice of rituals) with the Jesuits.
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In Hasidism, the displacement of practical Kabbalah using directly magical means, by conceptual and meditative trends gained much further emphasis, while simultaneously instituting meditative theurgy for material blessings at the heart of its social mysticism.Hasidism: Between Ecstasy and Magic, Moshe Idel, SUNY Press 1995. The term "Magic" used here to denote divine theurgy affecting material blessing, rather than directly talismanic practical Kabbalah magic Hasidism internalised Kabbalah through the psychology of deveikut (cleaving to God), and cleaving to the Tzadik (Hasidic Rebbe). In Hasidic doctrine, the tzaddik channels Divine spiritual and physical bounty to his followers by altering the Will of God (uncovering a deeper concealed Will) through his own deveikut and self-nullification.
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In Hasidism, the displacement of practical Kabbalah using directly magical means, by conceptual and meditative trends gained much further emphasis, while simultaneously instituting meditative theurgy for material blessings at the heart of its social mysticism.Hasidism: Between Ecstasy and Magic, Moshe Idel, SUNY Press 1995, p. 72-74. The term magic, used here to denote divine theurgy affecting material blessing, rather than directly talismanic practical Kabbalah magic Hasidism internalised Kabbalah through the psychology of deveikut (cleaving to God), and cleaving to the Tzadik (Hasidic Rebbe). In Hasidic doctrine, the tzaddik channels Divine spiritual and physical bounty to his followers by altering the Will of God (uncovering a deeper concealed Will) through his own deveikut and self-nullification.
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On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians (), also known as the Theurgia and under its abbreviated Latin title De Mysteriis Aegyptiorum (The Egyptian Mysteries), is a work of Neoplatonic philosophy primarily concerned with ritual and theurgy and attributed to Iamblichus. Porphyry is known to have had a disagreement with Iamblichus over the practice of theurgy, and the Mysteries consists mainly of Iamblichus' responses to the criticisms of his teacher. Proclus, writing 100 years after Iamblichus, seems to have ascribed to him the authorship of the Mysteries. However, the differences between this book and Iamblichus' other works in style and in some points of doctrine have led some to question whether Iamblichus was the actual author.
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A third form of esotericism in Late Antiquity was Neoplatonism, a school of thought influenced by the ideas of the philosopher Plato. Advocated by such figures as Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, and Proclus, Neoplatonism held that the human soul had fallen from its divine origins into the material world, but that it could progress, through a number of hierarchical spheres of being, to return to its divine origins once more. The later Neoplatonists performed theurgy, a ritual practice attested in such sources as the Chaldean Oracles. Scholars are still unsure of precisely what theurgy involved, although it is known that it involved a practice designed to make gods appear, who could then raise the theurgist's mind to the reality of the divine.
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Microsoft Corporation. Archived 31 October 2009. in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field as the founder of the Hippocratic school of medicine. This intellectual school revolutionized medicine in ancient Greece, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields that it had traditionally been associated with (notably theurgy and philosophy), thus making medicine a profession.
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He graduated from Charles University in Prague with a degree in arts. Kefer practised astrology, kabbalah, magick, alchemy and theurgy. He wrote many works about astrology and hermetism, and regularly discoursed on these themes in the Universalia Society. He also translated many meaningful books into Czech language, including Bardo Thödol or the books of Eliphas Lévi.
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Porphyry was opposed to the theurgy of his disciple Iamblichus. Much of Iamblichus' mysteries is dedicated to the defense of mystic theurgic divine possession against the critiques of Porphyry. French philosopher Pierre Hadot maintains that for Porphyry, spiritual exercises are an essential part of spiritual development. Porphyry was, like Pythagoras, an advocate of vegetarianism on spiritual and ethical grounds.
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Christian Mysticism: An Introduction to Contemporary Theoretical Approaches. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009, pp. 109–110. 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).
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Maximus of Ephesus (; c. 310 – 372 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher. He is said to have come from a rich family, and exercised great influence over the emperor Julian, who was commended to him by Aedesius. He pandered to the emperor's love of magic and theurgy, and by judicious administration of the omens won a high position at court.
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In demonology, Valefar (also Valefor, Malaphar, Malephar, Valafar) is a Duke of Hell.Waite, Arthur Edward (1913), The Book of Ceremonial Magic, Chapter IV: "The Mysteries of Goëtic Theurgy according to the Lesser Key of Solomon the King: Demons: I. (Baal) to IX. (Paimon)", p. 197 at sacred-texts.com He tempts people to steal and is in charge of a good relationship among thieves.
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The ascent through seven grades is viewed by Meyer as representing Mithraic initiation, but it also bears a more general resemblance to the ascent of the initiate in theurgy, with parallels in fragments from the Chaldaean Oracles.Sarah Iles Johnston, "Rising to the Occasion: Theurgic Ascent in Its Cultural Milieu," in Envisioning Magic: A Princeton Seminar and Symposium (Brill, 1997), p. 181ff.
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Berit Menuchah (Hebrew: ספר ברית מנוחה) (also Berit Menuḥah, Berith Menuḥa, or Brit Menucha) is a practical Kabbalah work written in the 14th century, by Rabbi Abraham ben Isaac of Granada. It consists of a system of theurgy which uses secret names of God and his emanations for spiritual and magical purposes. An English translation thereof was published in 2007.
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Aedesius was born into a wealthy Cappadocian family, but he moved to Syria, where he was apprenticed to Iamblichos. He quickly became his best pupil and the two became friends. Aedesius's own philosophical doctrine, however, was somewhere between Platonism and eclecticism and, according to Eunapius, he differed from Iamblichus on certain points connected with theurgy and magic. This cites: Ritter and Preller, p.
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And this tendency was at work all along; hardly a single Greek philosopher was wholly uninfluenced by it. In later days, Apollonios of Tyana showed in practice what this sort of thing must ultimately lead to. The theurgy and thaumaturgy of the late Greek schools were only the fruit of the seed sown by the generation which immediately preceded the Persian War.
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Through the combination of games and mysticism in the form of fortune telling books, a further focal point of his writing activity arose. In particular, he devoted himself to white magic, which he called theurgy, about which he published several works through Verlag Peter Erd. He also wrote radio plays, a theatre play and comic texts. As a poet he published anthologies.
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The Élus Coëns is an esoteric Christian order founded in 1767, with its focus on establishing an invisible church, independent of any earthly structure, to find the path that leads to the hidden knowledge of nature in anticipation of the coming destruction of the material Church. That is to say, by a progressive initiation and a direct knowledge of God to obtain the primordial unity, which was lost since the fall of Adam—the Reintegration—through the practice of theurgy, which relied on complex ceremonial practices aimed at what Pasqually termed the reconciliation of the ‘minor’ person with Divinity. This was to be accomplished through human communication with the angelic hierarchies. In other words, they practised theurgy which consisted of evoking the intermediary spirits, such as angels and celestial beings in order to obtain their help and support.
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"Letter 47: To the Alexandrians", translated by Emily Wilmer Cave Wright, v. 3, p. 149. Julian began his study of Neoplatonism in Asia Minor in 351, at first under Aedesius, the philosopher, and then Aedesius' student Eusebius of Myndus. It was from Eusebius that Julian learned of the teachings of Maximus of Ephesus, whom Eusebius criticized for his more mystical form of Neoplatonic theurgy.
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The exact origins of the Chaldean Oracles are unknown, but are usually attributed to Julian the Theurgist and/or his father, Julian the Chaldean.Lewy, Hans. Chaldean Oracles and Theurgy: Mystic Magic and Platonism in the Later Roman Empire (Paris: Institut des Études Augustiniennes, 1978): “The particular character of the Chaldean Oracles is evinced by the existence of accurate data concerning the biography of their authors.” (q.v.
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The archaic concept of conatus is today being reconciled with modern biology by scientists such as Antonio Damasio. The conatus of today, however, is explained in terms of chemistry and neurology where, before, it was a matter of metaphysics and theurgy. This concept may be "constructed so as to maintain the coherence of a living organism's structures and functions against numerous life-threatening odds".
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Some branches of Esoteric Christianity hold that if an Esoteric Christian, Rosicrucian or Theosophist practices it, he or she could potentially rise to the degree of 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.Aaron Leitch. Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, chapter 8, pp.
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Saint-Martin was born in a noble family in Amboise, France, on 18 January 1743. He became one of Martinez de Pasqually's students in the Elus Cohen, and also his close friend and secretary. St Martin was a Freemason and an Elus Cohen for many years. He decided to leave both these Orders and the praxis of theurgy, in order to work in a purely mystical way.
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241–278 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;Chic and Tabatha Cicero, Self- Initiation into the Golden Dawn tradition, Chapter 1 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.Israel Regardie, revised by Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero.
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68 In this belief system, the Leviathan appears as an Ouroboros, separating the divine realm from humanity by enveloping or permeating the material world.Kurt Rudolph Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism A&C; Black 2001 p. 69April DeConick, Gregory Shaw, John D. Turner Practicing Gnosis: Ritual, Magic, Theurgy and Liturgy in Nag Hammadi, Manichaean and Other Ancient Literature. Essays in Honor of Birger A. Pearson BRILL 2013 p.
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In the 370s and 380s, the Serapeum was still a major pilgrimage site for many pagans. In addition to possessing the largest library in Alexandria, the Serapeum remained a fully functioning temple and it even had classrooms for philosophers to teach in. It naturally tended to attract followers of Iamblichean Neoplatonism. Most of these philosophers were primarily interested in theurgy, the study of cultic rituals and esoteric religious practices.
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Similarities also were evident in the doctrinal elements of their theurgy and the story of creation in terms of emanationism. However, if one studies the Fama which was written by Lutherans, the main idea of Islamic connection is easily disproved. What was intended with the Fama was a novel in which the idea of reformation of Sciences and Arts in which a Hermetic tradition of European origin is well established.
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One goes through a series of theurgy or rituals that unites the initiate to the Monad. These rituals mimic the ordering of the chaos of the Universe into the material world or cosmos. They also mimic the actions of the demiurge as the creator of the material world. Iamblichus used the rituals of the mystery religions to perform rituals on the individual to unite their outer and inner person.
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Gebhard, David and Winter, Robert. (1994) Los Angeles: An Architectural Guide, Utah: Gibbs Smith Publishers, (978-0-879-05627-8), p. 128.INTERIOR DESIGN: zachary selig Selig specializes in Sekhem, utilizing an 8,000-year-old pre-dynastic Egyptian Neteru design theurgy with classical and modern design elements in the art of interior design harmonics. Selig contributed to Maureen Orth's book Vulgar Favors about the death of Gianni Versace.
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Julian's preference for a non-Christian and non-philosophical view of Iamblichus' theurgy seems to have convinced him that it was right to outlaw the practice of the Christian view of theurgy and demand the suppression of the Christian set of Mysteries. In his School Edict Julian required that all public teachers be approved by the Emperor; the state paid or supplemented much of their salaries. Ammianus Marcellinus explains this as intending to prevent Christian teachers from using pagan texts (such as the Iliad, which was widely regarded as divinely inspired) that formed the core of classical education: "If they want to learn literature, they have Luke and Mark: Let them go back to their churches and expound on them", the edict says. This was an attempt to remove some of the influence of the Christian schools which at that time and later used ancient Greek literature in their teachings in their effort to present the Christian religion as being superior to paganism.
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The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or, more commonly, the Golden Dawn) was a magical order of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, practicing a form of theurgy and spiritual development. It was probably the single greatest influence on twentieth century Western occultism. Some aspects of magic and ritual that became core elements of many other traditions, including Wicca,Colquhoun, Ithell (1975) The Sword of Wisdom. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
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It is perhaps mere accident that we hear nothing of the Clementines from 330 until 360. But about 360–410 they are interpolated, they are revised and abridged in H, yet more revised and abridged in R, translated into Latin, translated into Syriac, and frequently cited. It seems, therefore, that it was the policy of Julian which drew them from obscurity. They were useful weapons against the momentary resurrection of polytheism, mythology, theurgy, and idolatry.
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It is neither "incidental to the truth" nor "a barrier against it". # Theology functions through theurgy, "a co-operation between human and divine work", which both ultimately belong to God. This work (and its exchanges) is called liturgy, where "a collective human action invites the divine descent". # A rejection of postmodern nihilism, which concludes that since there is no grounding for truth in "an absolutely certain intuitive presence", then there is no such thing as truth to begin with.
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Later, the Neoplatonist Iamblichus changed the role of the "One", effectively altering the role of the Demiurge as second cause or dyad, which was one of the reasons that Iamblichus and his teacher Porphyry came into conflict. The figure of the Demiurge emerges in the theoretic of Iamblichus, which conjoins the transcendent, incommunicable “One,” or Source. Here, at the summit of this system, the Source and Demiurge (material realm) coexist via the process of henosis.See Theurgy, Iamblichus and henosis .
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Image magic stands in contrast to medieval ritual magic and theurgy, particularly of the Solomonic tradition descending ultimately from the Testament of Solomon. The two competing traditions remained separate in manuscripts until the early Renaissance at which point they were often combined into single codexes. As they originated from Arabic sources, image magic was often treated as a natural science manipulating the occult powers of nature rather that the invocation and necromancy associated with Solomonic ritual magic.
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His edict of toleration in 362 ordered the reopening of pagan temples and the reinstitution of alienated temple properties, and, more problematically for the Christian Church, the recalling of previously exiled Christian bishops. Returning Orthodox and Arian bishops resumed their conflicts, thus further weakening the Church as a whole. Julian himself was not a traditional pagan. His personal beliefs were largely influenced by Neoplatonism and Theurgy; he reputedly believed he was the reincarnation of Alexander the Great.
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In 1772, Martinez de Pasqually left France on family business for Haiti, two years later he died in Santo Domingo. Two of his disciples particularly distinguished themselves: Jean-Baptiste Willermoz and Louis Claude de Saint-Martin. Jean-Baptiste Willermoz was an ardent adept of Freemasonry and theurgy. For him, the doctrine of Reintegration is at the base of primitive and authentic masonry that is to be found by the meeting on this basis of all ‘rites and systems’.
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Martinez de Pasqually, whose biography is continually being researched, due to the lack of documentation, appears in the history of French freemasonry in 1754. His exact date and place of birth, as well as his true nationality is unknown. Some say he was of Jewish descent, without being able to establish this with certainty. Certain similarities between Pasqually's theurgy and Portuguese hermetic thought led philosopher Sampaio Bruno (1857-1915) to argue that he was probably of Portuguese origin.
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The Fratres Lucis admitted prominent Kabbalists such as Ephraim Hirschfeld and Franz Thomas von Schonfeld (Moses Dobrucshka) a Jew who later converted to Catholicism. The Order's predominant areas of study were the Kabbalah and mystical Christian theurgy. Kabbalistic scholar Franz Josef Molitor describes how the founder of the Frankfurt Fratres Lucis was initiated by "a Friar or monk who was the apothecary of his monastery and engaged in alchemical work, possessing occult knowledge he had received through Jews of a Kabbalistic mystical Sect".
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However, Dantinne states that Rosenkreuz may have found his secrets amongst the Brethren of Purity, a society of philosophers that had formed in Basra (Iraq) in the 10th century. Their doctrine had its source in the study of the ancient Greek philosophers, but it became more neo-Pythagorean. They adopted the Pythagorean tradition of envisioning objects and ideas in terms of their numeric aspects. Their theurgy and esoteric knowledge is expounded in an epistolary style in the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity.
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Sallustius or Sallust (; Saloustios) was a 4th-century writer, a friend of the Roman Emperor Julian. He wrote the treatise On the Gods and the Cosmos, a kind of catechism of 4th-century Hellenic paganism. Sallustius' work owes much to that of Iamblichus of Chalcis, who synthesized Platonism with Pythagoreanism and theurgy, and also to Julian's own philosophical writings.Nock 1926:xcvii The treatise is quite concise, and generally free of the lengthy metaphysical theorizing of the more detailed Neoplatonic texts.
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Players can take the role of either a member of a Noble House, of one the various merchant guilds, or a member of one of the numerous religious sects. A number of alien species, most notably the human-like 'psychic' Ukar and Obun, and the six-limbed, bestial Vorox, are also available as player characters. Two separate types of occult abilities exist within the game universe: psychic powers and Theurgy. Psychic powers manifest, generally, from the practitioners' own mental abilities.
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ECKists may do this with eyes closed or open, aloud or silently. Practitioners may experience the divine ECK or Holy Spirit.Eckankar: Ancient Wisdom for Today. p. 20, 1995 Practitioners of theurgy and Western esotericism may practice a form of ritual which utilizes both pre-sanctioned prayers and names of God, and prayers "from the heart" that, when combined, allow the participant to ascend spiritually, and in some instances, induce a trance in which God or other spiritual beings may be realized.
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Neither Las Casas nor Caignet played a very important role in the orders development. Despite the official closure, the Elus Coens continued to both practice theurgy, and to conduct initiations. On the other hand, the theosophical teaching of Martinez was not lost, in masonry, it spreads even long after the death of the leader through the Masonic system established by Willermoz shortly after death his master. Besides Willermoz and Saint-Martin, the last known personal disciple of Martinez was Abbe Pierre Fournié.
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After the fall of Rome, alchemy and philosophy and other aspects of the tradition were largely preserved in the Arab and Near Eastern world and reintroduced into Western Europe by Jews and by the cultural contact between Christians and Muslims in Sicily and southern Italy. The 12th century saw the development of the Kabbalah in southern Italy and medieval Spain. The medieval period also saw the publication of grimoires, which offered often elaborate formulas for theurgy and thaumaturgy. Many of the grimoires seem to have kabbalistic influence.
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These angelic entities appear in their characteristic images or in the form of their hieroglyphic symbols (hieroglyphs of angelic names used in the drawings of circles and words of power for the Élus Coëns ceremonial magic) to prove that the operator is on the right path of Reintegration. To attract the faithful to the Lord, the good angels follow the operation of an external cult, which is the theurgy passed along the initiatory chain from Noah to the Order of the Elected Priests (Élus Coëns).
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15) Hermetism and Kabbalah arose together in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Practical Kabbalah also relied upon magic and astrology but focused more on the Hebrew language in its incantations than the general language of Hermetism in general.(Wieczynski p. 22) Secondly, Jewish scholars of the Middle Ages attempted to make use of treatises on astrology, medicine and theurgy as a justification for practicing natural magic forbidden by a number of commandments in the Torah and reinforced by prophetic books codified by rabbinic authorities.
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The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn has been credited with a vast revival of occult literature and practices and was founded in 1887 or 1888 by William Wynn Westcott, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and William Robert Woodman. The teachings of the Order include Enochian magic, Christian mysticism, Qabalah, Hermeticism, the paganism of ancient Egypt, theurgy, and alchemy. Ordo Templi Orientis was founded by Carl Kellner in 1895. The Order was reworked by Aleister Crowley after he took control of the Order in the early 1920s.
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After World War 2 he immigrated to Melbourne, Australia where he resided until his death in 1972. Throughout his life he had ongoing correspondence with Christian mystic Thomas Merton, and Theosophists C.W. Leadbeater and Annie Besant. He wrote numerous books including a translation of Paul Sedir's Initiations, a book on theurgy, and a book entitled Tarot: The Quintessence of Hermetic Occultism. He later spent years in India at Arunachala, as a disciple of Ramana Maharshi, and an associate of Camaldolese Benedictine monk Bede Griffiths who established a "Catholic Ashram" in the area.
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The Neoplatonist philosopher Damascius (lived 458–after 538) records that a man named Olympus came from Cilicia to teach at the Serapeum, where he enthusiastically taught his students the rules of traditional divine worship and ancient religious practices. He enjoined his students to worship the old gods in traditional ways, and he may have even taught them theurgy. In 391 AD, a group of Christian workmen in Alexandria uncovered the remains of an old Mithraeum. They gave some of the cult objects to the Christian bishop of Alexandria, Theophilus.
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Much of the Western Esoteric tradition is based on a blend of Hermeticism and the Kabbalah Ma'asit, so called magical or practical Kabbalah. Occultism uses the Hermetic and Kabbalistic theory of creation and angelic/demonic forces, as a basis for ritual magic, and theurgy. Most magic theory involves the manipulation of Yetzirah, the world of Formation, and letting the effect trickle down to the physical universe (in accordance to the Hermetic concept of "as above, so below"). This includes the communication and manipulation of inhabitants of Yetzirah, angelic or demonic forces.
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The theurgy and thaumaturgy of the late Greek schools were only the fruit of the seed sown by the generation which immediately preceded the Persian War. Aristotle's principles of being (see section above) influenced Anselm's view of God, whom he called "that than which nothing greater can be conceived." Anselm thought that God did not feel emotions such as anger or love, but appeared to do so through our imperfect understanding. The incongruity of judging "being" against something that might not exist, may have led Anselm to his famous ontological argument for God's existence.
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The church had long spoken against anything smelling of magic and its uses. Polymnia Athanassiadi says that, by the mid fourth century, prophecy at the Oracles of Delphi and Didyma had been definitively stamped out. However, Athanassiadi says the church's real targets in Antiquity were home- made oracles for the practice of theurgy: the interpretation of dreams with the intent of influencing human affairs. The church had no prohibitions against the interpretation of dreams, yet, according to Athanassiadi, both Church and State viewed this practice as "the most pernicious aspect of the pagan spirit".
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Many Neoplatonists practiced theurgy (attempting to commune with God by special ritual actions), and there is a testimony according to which Maximus successfully broke a love-spell which had been cast on the philosopher Sosipatra by one of her relatives.Eunapius, Lives of the Philosophers and Sophists, 413. Around 350, Maximus left Pergamon in order to work in Ephesus as a philosophy teacher. Apparently Christians also participated in his instruction: a Christian named Sisinnius, who later became a Novatianist bishop in Constantinople, is said to have studied with Maximus.
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In 1768 he met with Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin. The personality and teachings of Pasqually made a deep and lasting impression on Saint-Martin. Conversely, Pasqually himself was influenced by Saint-Martin who decided to leave his military career in 1771 and become the personal secretary of Martinez, replacing Abbe Pierre Fournié. From this period the notable development of the rituals of the order starts and Pasquallys drafting of his magnum opus, the Treatise on the Reintegration of Beings, the main doctrinal foundation of the Martinist theosophy and theurgy.
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Theophilus had the cult objects paraded through the streets so they could be mocked and ridiculed. The pagans of Alexandria were incensed by this act of desecration, especially the teachers of Neoplatonic philosophy and theurgy at the Serapeum. The teachers at the Serapeum took up arms and led their students and other followers in a guerrilla attack on the Christian population of Alexandria, killing many of them before being forced to retreat. In retaliation, the Christians vandalized and demolished the Serapeum, although some parts of the colonnade were still standing as late as the twelfth century.
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Psionicists, castigated as 'demon worshippers' and heretics, are often hunted down and killed by the Church, or enrolled in the Church's ranks (after a good bit of 're-training'). Theurgy is a kind of ordained divine sorcery practiced by the Church through various approved rites and is capable of producing miracles, often by calling on the assistance of various saints and angels. A large library of supplements provides descriptions of locales (planets, space stations, whole sections of space), alien societies, minor houses, guilds and sects, monsters and secret conspiracies, thus expanding the thematic possibilities offered by the setting.
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Theurgy is possible because the powers of the gods (the henads) extend through their series of causation even down to the material world. And by certain power-laden words, acts, and objects, the soul can be drawn back up the series, so to speak. Proclus himself was a devotee of many of the religions in Athens, considering that the power of the gods could be present in these various approaches. For Proclus, philosophy is important because it is one of the primary ways to rescue the soul from a fascination with the body and restore it to its station.
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While some people fear demons, or attempt to exorcise them, others willfully attempt to summon them for knowledge, assistance, or power. The ceremonial magician usually consults a grimoire, which gives the names and abilities of demons as well as detailed instructions for conjuring and controlling them. Grimoires are not limited to demons – some give the names of angels or spirits which can be called, a process called theurgy. The use of ceremonial magic to call demons is also known as goetia, the name taken from a section in the famous grimoire known as the Lesser Key of Solomon.
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They stopped using corpse paint because the band members found it tedious to put on before concerts. Fans often toss hell money during Chthonic's stage performances to pay tribute to the lost souls described in the songs and to create a dark atmosphere. People of Chinese culture who are unfamiliar with Chthonic may find this offensive or disrespectful because the practice is considered to be taboo. The band is also known for burning the flag of the Kuomintang Party, of whom the band are well-known critics, first doing so in the video for the song "Forty-Nine Theurgy Chains" in 2009.
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Julian the Apostate, a scholarly man who was made emperor against his desire in 361, greatly admired Prohaeresius, and in a letter spoke of his "exuberant and overflowing stream of speech...mighty in discourse, just like Pericles". In the hope of winning Prohaeresius to Theurgy, Julian maintained him in a professorial chair, dismissing all others; but Prohaeresius remained loyal to his faith, and voluntarily resigned his lucrative post. Otherwise, Eunapius described Prohaeresius in pagan terms by comparing him to famous Greek mythological figures (Geryon and Hermes) and Athenian ruler Peisistratus. Overall Eunapius presented his teacher Prohaeresius as an icon of Hellenic holiness.
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The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (; or, more commonly, the Golden Dawn (Aurora Aurea)) was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was active in Great Britain and focused its practices on theurgy and spiritual development. Many present-day concepts of ritual and magic that are at the centre of contemporary traditions, such as WiccaColquhoun, Ithell (1975) The Sword of Wisdom: MacGregor Mathers & the Golden Dawn. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
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The great pagan antagonist of the 3rd century was the neo-Platonic philosopher, Porphyry; but under Constantine his disciple Iamblichus was the chief restorer and defender of the old gods, and his system of defence is that which we find made the official religion by Julian (361–3). Consequently, it is not astonishing to find that Simon and his disciples represent not St. Paul, but Iamblichus. The doctrines and practices repelled are theurgy, astrology, divinations, miracles, and claims to union with the Divine, which characterized the neo-Platonism of 320–30. It is not against Marcion but against Plato that Pseudo-Clement teaches the supremacy of the Creator of all.
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6–8 and 25.2.5 his system bears some resemblance to the Neoplatonism of Plotinus; Polymnia Athanassiadi has brought new attention to his relations with Mithraism, although whether he was initiated into it remains debatable; and certain aspects of his thought (such as his reorganization of paganism under High Priests, and his fundamental monotheism) may show Christian influence. Some of these potential sources have not come down to us, and all of them influenced each other, which adds to the difficulties. According to one theory (that of Glen Bowersock in particular), Julian's paganism was highly eccentric and atypical because it was heavily influenced by an esoteric approach to Platonic philosophy sometimes identified as theurgy and also Neoplatonism.
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Fearing a conspiracy, Constantius, the emperor of the Roman Empire, orders the execution of his uncle and the uncle's family, although the six-year-old boy Julian is spared. Julian is raised in Nicomedia; during the day he is taught Christianity by the Arian bishop Eusebius, but at night the old tutor Mardonius informs him about Homer and paganism. Attracted to paganism, Julian is initiated into theurgy by the neoplatonic philosopher Maximus of Ephesus. Marion May as Taianus, Silvia Malinverni as Helena and Rina Calabria as Isa Constantius summons the grown-up Julian to Milan where he is given the title of caesar, at the time signifying a subordinate to the emperor.
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The intent was to connect the Kabbalistic use of Hebrew letters in divination with his own "magical theory of language" in which "he believes that words have a real, not conventional, connection with things and can exert power over them"DP Walker, _Spiritual and Demonic Magic, from Ficino to Campanella_ , p69. \- another significant aspect of Hermetic mysticism that had its roots in Pythagorean and NeoPlatonic belief, and that he wished to integrate into the Christian message. Thus, Walker firmly associates Lazzarelli with the tradition of NeoPlatonic and Orphic magic, theurgy and ritual that emerged during the 15th century in Renaissance Italy, and that was widely debated amongst intellectuals and theologists of the time.
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Once in the body, our passions have a tendency to overwhelm our reason. According to Proclus, philosophy is the activity which can liberate the soul from a subjection to bodily passions, remind it of its origin in Soul, Intellect, and the One, and prepare it not only to ascend to the higher levels while still in this life, but to avoid falling immediately back into a new body after death. Because the soul's attention, while inhabiting a body, is turned so far away from its origin in the intelligible world, Proclus thinks that we need to make use of bodily reminders of our spiritual origin. In this he agrees with the doctrines of theurgy put forward by Iamblichus.
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NichoIas PurceII, "On the Sacking of Corinth and Carthage", in Ethics and Rhetoric: CIassicaI Essays for DonaId RusseII on His Seventy (Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 140–142. The caIIing forth of spirits was a reIativeIy practice in Neoplatonism, theurgy and other esoteric systems of antiquity. In contemporary western esotericism, the magic of the grimoires is frequentIy seen as the cIassicaI exampIe of this idea. ManuaIs such as the Greater Key of Solomon the King, The Lesser Key of Solomon (or Lemegeton), the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage and many others provided instructions that combined intense devotion to the divine with the summoning of a personaI cadre of spirituaI advisers and familiars.
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A seated lion statue, celadon, from Yaozhou, Shaanxi, 11th to 12th century Although Buddhism lost its prominence in the elite circles and government sponsorships of Chinese society, this did not mean the disappearance of Buddhism from Chinese culture. Zen Buddhism continued to flourish during the Song period, as Emperor Lizong of Song had the monk Wuzhun Shifan share the Chán (Zen) doctrine with the imperial court. Much like the Eastern Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate promoting Roman paganism and Theurgy amongst the leading members of Roman society while pushing Christianity's influence into the lower classes, so too did Neo-Confucians of the 13th century succeed in driving Buddhism out of the higher echelons of Chinese society.Brown, 93.
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Aedesius founded a school of philosophy at Pergamon, which emphasized theurgy and the revival of polytheism, and where he numbered among his pupils Eusebius of Myndus, Maximus of Ephesus, and the Roman emperor Julian. After the accession of the latter to the imperial purple he invited Aedesius to continue his instructions, but the declining strength of the sage being unequal to the task, two of his most learned disciples, Chrysanthius and the aforementioned Eusebius, were by his own desire appointed to supply his place.Eunapius, Vita Aedesius None of his writings have survived, but there is an extant biography by Eunapius, a Greek sophist and historian of the 4th century who wrote a collection of biographies titled Lives of the Sophists.
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Contemporary with the Zoharic efflorescence of Spanish Theosophical-Theurgic Kabbalah, Spanish exilarch Abraham Abulafia developed his own alternative, Maimonidean system of Ecstatic-Prophetic Kabbalah meditation, each consolidating aspects of a claimed inherited mystical tradition from Biblical times.Aryeh Kaplan, Meditation and the Bible and Meditation and Kabbalah, Samuel Weiser Books This was the classic time when various different interpretations of an esoteric meaning to Torah were articulated among Jewish thinkers.Concealment and Revelation: Esotericism in Jewish Thought and its Philosophical Implications, Moshe Halbertal, Princeton University Press 2007 Abulafia interpreted Theosophical Kabbalah's Sephirot Divine attributes, not as supernal hypostases which he opposed, but in psychological terms. Instead of influencing harmony in the divine real by theurgy, his meditative scheme aimed for mystical union with God, drawing down prophetic influx on the individual.
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Hippocrates of Kos (; ; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the Age of Pericles (Classical Greece), who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is often referred to as the "Father of Medicine" in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field as the founder of the Hippocratic School of Medicine. This intellectual school revolutionized Ancient Greek medicine, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields with which it had traditionally been associated (theurgy and philosophy), thus establishing medicine as a profession. However, the achievements of the writers of the Corpus, the practitioners of Hippocratic medicine, and the actions of Hippocrates himself were often conflated; thus very little is known about what Hippocrates actually thought, wrote, and did.
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The Simonians were variously accused of using magic and theurgy, incantations and love-potions; declaring idolatry a matter of indifference that was neither good nor bad, proclaiming all sex to be perfect love, and altogether leading very disorderly, immoral lives. Eusebius of Caesarea, in his 4th century Historia Ecclesiastica, writes that 'every vile corruption that could either be done or devised, is practised by this most abominable heresy'. In general, they were said to regard nothing in itself as good or bad by nature: it was not good works that made men blessed, in the next world, but the grace bestowed by Simon and Helena on those who followed them. To this end, the Simonians were said to venerate Simon under the image of Zeus, and Helena under that of Athena.
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Upon Elimelech's death in the now-partitioned Poland, his place in Habsburg Galicia was assumed by Menachem Mendel of Rimanov, who was deeply hostile to the modernization the Austrian rulers attempted to force on the traditional Jewish society (though this same process also allowed his sect to flourish, as communal authority was severely weakened). The rabbi of Rimanov hearkened the alliance the Hasidim would form with the most conservative elements of the Jewish public. In Central Poland, the new leader was Jacob Isaac Horowiz, the "Seer of Lublin", who was of a particularly populist bent and appealed to the common folk with miracle working and little strenuous spiritual demands. The Seer's senior acolyte, Jacob Isaac Rabinovitz, the "Holy Jew" of Przysucha, gradually dismissed his mentor's approach as overly vulgar, and adopted a more aesthetic and scholarly approach, virtually without theurgy to the masses.
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By expressing itself using symbols and myth that transcend single interpretations, Theosophical Kabbalah incorporates aspects of philosophy, Jewish theology, psychology and unconscious depth psychology, mysticism and meditation, Jewish exegesis, theurgy, and ethics, as well as overlapping with theory from magical elements. Its symbols can be read as questions which are their own existentialist answers (the Hebrew sephirah Chokhmah-Wisdom, the beginning of Existence, is read etymologically by Kabbalists as the question "Koach Mah?" the "Power of What?"). Alternative listings of the Sephirot start with either Keter (Unconscious Will/Volition), or Chokhmah (Wisdom), a philosophical duality between a Rational or Supra-Rational Creation, between whether the Mitzvot Judaic observances have reasons or transcend reasons in Divine Will, between whether study or good deeds is superior, and whether the symbols of Kabbalah should be read as primarily metaphysical intellectual cognition or Axiology values. Messianic redemption requires both ethical Tikkun olam and contemplative Kavanah.
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Hecate is the primary feminine figure in the Chaldean Oracles (2nd–3rd century CE),The Chaldean Oracles is a collection of literature that date from somewhere between the 2nd century and the late 3rd century, the recording of which is traditionally attributed to Julian the Chaldaean or his son, Julian the Theurgist. The material seems to have provided background and explanation related to the meaning of these pronouncements, and appear to have been related to the practice of theurgy, pagan magic that later became closely associated with Neoplatonism, see where she is associated in fragment 194 with a strophalos (usually translated as a spinning top, or wheel, used in magic) "Labour thou around the Strophalos of Hecate."English translation used here from: William Wynn Wescott (tr.), The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster, 1895. This appears to refer to a variant of the device mentioned by Psellus.
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Hellenistic Greek mosaic depicting the god Dionysos as a winged daimon riding on a tiger, from the House of Dionysos at Delos (which was once controlled by Athens) in the South Aegean region of Greece, late second century BC, Archaeological Museum of Delos Even in antiquity, the account of Dionysus' birth to a mortal woman led some to argue that he had been a historical figure who became deified over time, a suggestion of Euhemerism (an explanation of mythic events having roots in mortal history) often applied to demi-gods. The fourth century Roman emperor and philosopher Julian encountered examples of this belief, and wrote arguments against it. In his letter To the Cynic Heracleios, Julian wrote "I have heard many people say that Dionysus was a mortal man because he was born of Semele, and that he became a god through his knowledge of theurgy and the Mysteries, and like our lord Heracles for his royal virtue was translated to Olympus by his father Zeus." However, to Julian, the myth of Dionysus's birth (and that of Heracles) stood as an allegory for a deeper spiritual truth.
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He joined the German Order of Strict Templar Observance in 1773, the order was reformed by Willermoz under a new name, the Order of Knights Beneficent of the Holy City, which combined Templar Freemasonry with the ceremonial of the Élus Coëns. Meanwhile, Louis Claude de Saint-Martin had renounced Freemasonry and the theurgy used by Élus Coëns. By judging these methods of angelic evocation to be unreliable and even dangerous, he chose to take another path, what he called ‘The Way of the Heart’ to attain the Reintegration, the inward contemplation that opposes the exterior theurgic ritual. At the end of the 19th century, various occultist currents reclaimed Martinez de Pasqually—among them, the Ordre de la Rose- Croix catholique du Temple et du Graal—founded in 1890 by Joséphin Péladan, which claimed to fight against the ‘Latin Decadence’ by the return to the religion of the ‘Art God’ and an imperial theocracy. The order was revived by Robert Ambelain in 1942 (under the name ) on the basis of a few rare documents, among them, the most well-known one is the Manuscrit d’Alger discovered by Ambelain himself, currently preserved in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
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