Chapter VI
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 dæmons who pay attention to the parts of the universe and preserve their permanency.
All passages →Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
The text emphasizes that divine power is accessed through arcane signatures rather than direct perception.
All passages →Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The passage explicitly links the acquisition of power to 'knowledge of arcane symbols' rather than ritual alone.
All passages →Hidden Sayingssoteriology
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The text refers to 'arcane signatures' and 'arcane symbols' as keys to accessing divine power.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
The Gods are described as actively preserving the permanency of mundane natures.
All passages →Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
The text describes a state where the theurgist 'makes use of greater mandates than pertain to himself' through union with the Gods.
All passages →Sacred Namestheology
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The passage centrally discusses 'arcane signatures' and 'arcane symbols' as the means by which the theurgist commands divine power.
All passages →Theosis Deificationsoteriology
The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.
The theurgist is described as existing superior to mundane natures through a union with the Gods.
All passages →Theurgypraxis
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
The passage explicitly defines and describes the practice of commanding mundane natures through arcane signatures and symbols.
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