Theurgy of Iamblichus Part 2:

 

Theurgy of Iamblichus Part 2:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

Porphyry:                                                                                                                                                   “As the gods dwell in heaven only, I ask therefore, why are invocations at the Theurgic Rites directed to them as being of the Earth and Underworld? How is it although possessing power unlimited, undivided, and unrestricted, some of them are mentioned as being of the water and of the atmosphere, and that others are allotted by definite limitations to different places and to distinct parts of bodies? If they are actually separated by circumscribed limitations of parts, and according to diversities of places and subject-bodies, how will there be any union of them one to another?”

Iamblichus:                                                                                           

“In regard to the superior races (the gods and souls) the former is chief, superior and perfect; the other is inferior and imperfect.” .

The Soul has the capacity for expression whereas the gods have no such luxury. This comes with a certain responsibility in our dealings with the world as we are in danger of manifesting to close a bond with our transient bodies, thereby neglecting to cultivate that which is eternal and that which influences our higher impulses and impressions, guiding us towards communion with the divine.

“The Former generates all things and is guardian over them; but the latter has a natural disposition to turn submissively towards what it creates and has under its guardianship.”

Creativity and the soul’s striving to create issues forth from the influence of the gods upon the soul. The gods have within their realm all and therefore they are an endless wellspring of inspiration. Indeed, all creation manifesting in the corporeal world has its origin there and it at times even seems miraculous to the creators how this may have been understood and how it came to be. This is the risk that the soul faces, that it may become the slave of its own creation and its hubris in that case too will have the potential to lead it astray and away from this communion with the divine.

“Further still, there exists with the former the highest and unlimited, superior to all measurement, and so completely formless as to be circumscribed by no formative principles; but the latter is dominated by impulse, habit and inclination, and is held fast both by longings for that which is inferior and by being familiar with things of a secondary character. At length it is molded in various ways and proportions from them. Hence MIND, the leader and king of the things that actually are, the demiurgic art of the universe, is always present with the gods in the same manner, completely and abundantly, being established in itself unalloyed according to one sole energy. But the soul partakes of divisible and multiform mind, adapting itself to the supreme authority over all. It also takes care of un-souled beings, having been itself born into various forms at different times. From the same causes, order itself and beauty itself are coexistent with the Superior races; or if it is desired so to express it, the First cause is coexistent with these. But with the soul the allotment of intellective order and divine beauty is always associated”   

The MIND is the Logos and from this, issues forth the phenomenal universe as a work of demiurgic art. Therefore, everything is exactly as it should be, all is in the correct place. The gods are the expression of the Logos, they have been created in the image of this word and keep evolving in accordance with it. Therefore, the nature of the gods is perfect as they are harmonized in accordance with this universal law. The souls however are as mentioned imperfect from the result of being bound by their material forms. These material bodies are swayed by that which are received through the senses. Souls are subject to emotions and other sense impressions, creating conflict which is out of accord with celestial nature. The Demiurge is wholly impersonal and detached from that which the body’s physical organs may latch on to in a misguided attempt to find clarity about the soul’s true nature. Even empathy is most often imperfect and akin to the lower nature of the soul whereas detachment is more akin to the higher. Hereby the souls striving for divine beauty is guided by the intellective faculty, and with the gods the intellective faculty is not present, they are perfect expressions of the Demiurge. What good is a pauper to the people? We can be of no good to anyone unless we have gained control over our lives and the same is true in the case of Theurgy with respect to mind and body and the aim of transcendence. We must raise our souls in wealth, and this can only be done by complying with the laws present, until we have established an insoluble union with the gods. Wherefrom we may direct our faculties in correct proportion to our capacities.

“With the gods, the measure of all things, or rather the cause of it, is perpetually co-ordinate; but the soul is confined to the divine limit and only participates of this in a limited degree. With good reason there may be described to the gods dominion over all beings, by the power of supreme authority of the First Cause; but the soul has defined limits over which it can have command.”  

The influence of the gods is felt by everyone, everywhere but the soul’s understanding and potential to receive this influence is limited by its capacity. Included in this limitation is the fact that we are bound to our corporeal forms which brings with it its own collection of limitations, added to this, are our particular circumstances and intellectual and emotional capacities, all of these play a role to what extent an individual may attain communion with the gods. As the superior races are the inspiration for all types of creative expression, they are equally influential in the development of every person. Our souls are subject to the impressions from the divine realm; some to a greater and others to a lesser extent, and at the same time we are subject to the sensory impressions we receive from the material world, thus being shaped by both of these in like manner. The nature of the soul then according to Neo-Platonism is of this two-fold nature and we may call these the (corporeal) lower soul and the (incorporeal) higher soul. The lower soul is that which receives influence from the material world and the higher soul receives impressions from the celestial. We may only serve the gods if we have elevated our souls to where they are guided by intellection and become like the gods themselves, inspired and guided by the impressions they receive from both. Theosophy and Theurgy are the two means employed to enlarge our capacity for this reception, it is through these two practices that the soul increases in understanding until it becomes a conduit for divine inspiration. Thus, there is a need for enlivening the soul to its purpose and this enlivening of the soul is called initiation. It is only through occult initiation that this sense of self is unveiled and from where the soul may become an active participant in one’s life; without which we remain as passive observers and subject to the tides of creation. This is not the case with the inferior celestial races, for they are limited in their capacity and are capable to receive only that which they are fitted for, this is the reason that the soul was so highly regarded by the Neo-Platonists, as it is capable of experience outside of its immediate surroundings which it perceives through the faculties of the physical body. Along with being intransient the lower races of celestial beings are incapable of influencing the higher spheres, this however is not the case with souls, the zeitgeist being an example of our influence.

“ Hence the secondary races being always towards the primary, and the superiors leading the inferiors as exemplars, essence and ideal come to the lower races from those which are superior, and those which are ignoble are produced primarily in the more excellent. Hence accordingly order and proportion come from the latter to the inferior races, and these are what they are through the former. But there is no transmitting of peculiarities from the inferior races to those which proceed them.” 

The peculiarities that the lower races receive from the superior races depends on the soul’s understanding of its role in the cosmic play that is life. The greater the soul’s insight into the nature of its own being the more concentrated these peculiarities become in suitedness to each individual soul, this in the Thelemic context, is the True Will. Only by realizing our True Wills are we able to govern our realities according to our inherent natures, a course of action we aren’t the least bit aware of before the True Will has been realized. Thus, the inferior races are influenced by the higher each in turn until finally this influence is experienced by the soul. Once a person has raised himself to sufficient union with all the races inferior to the gods, he unites with the gods and these inferior races support him to do his will. Whereby the soul stands in union with all these races and becomes a manifestation of the Logos. By the work of Theurgy the soul is not seeking to control any part of the celestial hierarchy, but is seeking to find its proper place within it.

“On the contrary, the superior races are characterized in this way: that they are encompassed by nothing and that they encompass all things in themselves. But those that belong to the earth have their being in the perfections (pleromas) of the gods, and when they become fit for the divine communion they at once, prior to their own essence, posses the gods that preexisted in it.”

The superior races have no limitations, for the simple fact that they are dependent on the psychic influence from the lowest world. They serve as a storehouse for this influence and there is thus no limit to the vastness of their expansion. Within them exists not only the beginning but eternity as may be conceptualized by one who has expanded his perception to accommodate them. We are essentially gods awaiting our return and as gods, as soon as this communion is achieved, we receive that which exists and has existed with the gods in its entirety at once.

“Whether the allotment be to certain parts of the universe, as to heaven or earth, whether to holy cities or regions, whether to certain temple-precincts or sacred images, the divine irradiation shines upon them all from the outside, just as the sun illuminates every object from within with its rays. Hence as the light encompasses the objects that it illuminates, so also the power of the gods comprehends those that participate of it.”

The gods are omnipresent however, it is when we draw our focus to the gods for any specific Theurgic operation that the force invoked becomes concentrated and manifests in a certain place for a specific purpose. Again, this manifestation depends on the will and participation of the soul or souls conducting the operation, without which the gods would go unnoticed. However still active in shaping our lives, their influence will be unconsciously perceived, going unnoticed and beyond the control of the individual. Hereby, the unconscious influences from the superior races in the lives of individuals are dependent on the psychic constitutions of any individual and those energies his soul has a greater affinity with will thus be naturally attracted to him, unless the art of Theurgy is employed. This unawareness creates imbalance and so the first step in Theurgy is to create equilibrium, such is the work done on the material level, and is the means by which we establish a firm foundation first, wherefrom the soul may be raised to power.

“…,the whole universe, being susceptible of division, is distinguished with the one and indivisible light of the gods. In short, this light is one and the same every-where, and is not only present, undivided, with all things that are capable of participating of it, but it, likewise, by an absolute power and by an infinite superiority fills all things, as a cause, joins them together in itself, unites them everywhere in itself, and combines the ends with the beginnings.”

This light is referred to by Thelemites as LVX and is sometimes called the astral light, it is the All-Soul that has been made referenced to in this essay and is mankind’s connection to the gods. As it states in the quote this light “fills all things” it is known as the "Khabs" in the "Book of the Law". It is from this light that prophecy is received and this light is relied on for success in divinatory operations of any kind. It makes sense then that such strange archetypes and symbols are presented on Tarot cards and the archetypal nature for the poetry of the I-Ching, as these techniques are used to establish a link with this light and the material world, from which the All-Soul is accessed, or in modern terms the collective unconscious.

I,8: The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs.

I,9: Worship then the Khabs, and behold my light shed over you!

Liber Al vel Legis (The Book of the Law)

“Love is the law, love under will.”