r/theurgy

Most Neoplatonic works on theurgy are lost. Proclus's On the Hieratic Art according to the Greeks is one of the few surviving fragments, and it is a direct transmission of theurgical practice.

This one isn't just a philosophical treatise, it's more like a manual: theurgy as a science of sympathy, blending, and ascent. Proclus shows how the theurgist moves from natural sympathies (the sunflower turning to the sun, the lotus folding at night) to the operation of systaseis (conjunctions), synthêmata (symbols), and statues.

The text describes the stages of theurgic union: from the many to the One, and from the One back to the many. It addresses ritual actions (purifications, invocations, epiphanies) and the philosophical principles that underpin them; mixing, unity, and diversity.

Unlike Iamblichus's On the Mysteries, which is a defence and exposition of theurgy, Proclus's Hieratic Art is a practical guide. It is theurgy as it was practiced.

The Greek text survives in two manuscripts: Vallicellianus F 20 (copied by Marsilio Ficino) and Laurentianus Plut. 10.32 (a copy of the first). The Latin translation by Ficino has been the primary source for centuries. The Greek text is now available in a critical edition here by Eleni Pachoumi.

This is a book to be entered. I am holding the door open for you

Enjoy.

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Title: Πρόκλου Περὶ τῆς καθ’ Ἕλληνας ἱερατικῆς τέχνης (Proclus on the Hieratic Art according to the Greeks)
Editor/Translator: Eleni Pachoumi
Publisher: Brill, 2024
Manuscripts: Vallicellianus F 20 (V, 138r–140v) | Laurentianus Plut. 10.32 (L, 119r–121v)
Language: Greek text with English translation and commentary

Greetings everyone,

I would like to ask for your opinions and suggestions regarding telestikē. I am currently in the process of constructing an agalma and selecting the synthēmata dedicated to Saturn, with the aim of achieving empsychōsis.

It is a hollow, 15 cm tall 3D-printed sculpture representing the deity. Inside, I intend to fumigate it with myrrh incense and then place crushed cypress and pine, along with small lead spheres.

As for the consecration procedures themselves, I would rather not discuss them here. I am mainly interested in suggestions and opinions regarding the elements that will make up the interior. Should I add anything else mineral, vegetal, or animal elements? Would some kind of inscription or prayer be appropriate?

Thank you for your attention.