Proclus and Neoplatonism 5:

Proclus and Neoplatonism 5: 

Proclus compared the gifts of the demiurge to a tetractys, which he likened to the ontology of consciousness and the universe. Hence, as such, each level of Being contains the lower level within itself, starting with the Monad, Dyad and Triad that ends with the lowest of these worlds represented in the four. Iamblichus regarded the soul as having entirely descended into matter upon incarnation, which is a stark contrast to Plotinus who believed that the soul only partly descends. Accordingly, certain higher souls expressed an initiated perspective of the soul's place in the universe containing its connection to the higher via certain structures in the world that mirrored not only the nature of the soul, but in their perfection, they mirrored the nature of the demiurge itself. Hence Theurgy and its principles serve the soul in cultivating a connection/relationship between it and the higher races necessary for its perfecting. Proclus compared the polis to a structure that mirrored the nature of Being and its perfecting potential, which is sometimes called the demiurgic art, that we are able with enough insight, to copy the nature of the higher that sustains corporeal reality, giving form to matter preventing us from drifting into chaos. The relationship between these structures may be represented by concentric circles, the middle one representing the soul the second the polis and the outer circle is the cosmos. Hence the reason theurgists placed such importance on studying astrology, and politics as they relate to the soul and its relationship to the demiurge is also clarified. Both the nature of the world and the universe as well as the constitutions of great countries and cities are subject to impermanence, it is only the soul that may be immortalized according to the neoplatonic doctrine. However it could be said that even such an immortalizing of the soul wouldn't fix its nature in permanency. As geography changes and cities are destroyed we see that the fleeting presence of these elements alludes to their imperfection, and according to this, perfection would have a character that is eternal. According to the philosophy here presented, only that which has been received by the priests and given to the world is eternal. Tradition, therefore, becomes the vehicle by which a soul develops its higher faculties, and it is tradition that will become the conduit of inspiration leading to its eventual immortalization. Proclus writes that these elements or gifts of the demiurge are held in place by friendship, and in the Thelemic tradition we call this Love in its highest sense. Hence, the substrate that tends towards the theurgist's transcendence is fostered by devotion or Bhakti Yoga to those elements that serve to inflame love within the heart of an aspirant. Here is the connection to Knowledge and Conversation with one's Holy Guardian Angel and the realization of the True Will; elements that within Thelema are metaphors for the Great Work, that too serve to immortalize the soul of an adept, and establishes him or her as a proponent of tradition.