Chapter XIXb
◆Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
The text refers to Gods having bodies and being external to them, attributing physical characteristics to the divine.
All passages →◆Body As Obstacleanthropology
The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.
The distinction between incorporeal and sensible Gods implies a hierarchy where corporeality is less perfect or primary.
All passages →◆Correspondencecosmology
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The text describes the union of visible and intelligible Gods as an extension from on high to the end of the divine order.
All passages →◆Cosmic Sympathycosmology
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The passage describes a communion of indissoluble connexion between primary and secondary genera that extends through the divine order.
All passages →◆Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
The sensible Gods are described as external to bodies and established in the intelligible world, indicating a concealed nature.
All passages →◆Emanation Hierarchycosmology
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The passage outlines a structure where primary genera impart union to secondary ones and extend from on high to the end of the divine order.
All passages →◆Evil As Privationtheology
Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.
The distinction between incorporeal and sensible Gods implies a lack or deficiency in corporeality compared to the perfect.
All passages →◆Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The text emphasizes union and communion as the state of being with Gods rather than external ritual.
All passages →◆Infinite Cosmoscosmology
The doctrine of the universe as boundless and without center or circumference, populated by innumerable worlds — Bruno's rejection of the closed Aristotelian sphere; the divine and the cosmos as ontologically infinite.
The text describes an infinite union of divinities extending from on high to the end of the divine order.
All passages →◆Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
Gods are described as possessing energy and being established according to a common union.
All passages →◆Monadcosmology
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The text refers to 'the one of such as are primary' and the 'cause and orderly distribution of the Gods'.
All passages →◆Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
The passage centrally describes the union of Gods, both visible and intelligible, through communion and indissoluble connexion.
All passages →◆Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
The text presents the union of visible and intelligible Gods as an illustrious prerogative that would be wonderful if doubted.
All passages →◆Pleromacosmology
The divine fullness or totality of the highest realm, populated by aeons and divine attributes, contrasted with the deficient material world.
The 'intelligible world' and the union of Gods imply a divine fullness populated by archetypal beings.
All passages →◆Return To Sourcesoteriology
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
The union extends from on high to the end of the divine order, implying a connection back to the origin.
All passages →◆Separation From Sourcesoteriology
The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.
The sensible Gods are described as external to bodies and in the intelligible world, indicating a state of separation from their perfect nature.
All passages →◆Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The passage asserts that all divinities are united through an indissoluble connexion and one energy, establishing a fundamental unity of existence.
All passages →