Iamblichus: On the Mysteries · 166 of 218 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Chapter VIIIf
Thus they recognised things supreme in such as are subordinate, and the subordinate in the supreme: in the celestial regions, terrene properties subsisting in a causal and celestial manner; and in earth celestial properties, but according to a terrene condition.
For how shall we account for those plants called heliotropes, that is, attendants on the sun, moving in correspondence with the revolution of its orb, but selenitropes, or attendants on the moon, turning in exact conformity to her motion?
It is because all things pray, and hymn the leaders of their respective orders; but some intellectually, and others rationally; some in a natural, and others after a sensible, manner.
Hence the sunflower, as far as it is able, moves in a circular dance towards the sun; so that if any one could hear the pulsation made by its circuit in the air, he would perceive something composed by a sound of this kind, in honour of its king, such as a plant is capable of framing.
Hence, too, we may behold the sun and moon in the earth, but according to a terrene quality; but in the celestial regions, all plants, and stones, and animals, possessing an intellectual life according to a celestial nature.
Now the ancients, having contemplated this mutual sympathy of things, applied for occult purposes, both celestial and terrene natures, by means of which, through a certain similitude, they deduced divine virtues into this inferior abode.
For, indeed, similitude itself is a sufficient cause of binding things together in union and consent.
Thus, if a piece of paper is heated, and afterwards placed near a lamp, though it does not touch the fire, the paper will be suddenly inflamed, and the flame will descend from the superior to the inferior parts.
This heated paper we may compare to a certain relation of inferiors to superiors; and its approximation to the lamp, to the opportune use of things according to time, place, and matter.
But the procession of fire into the paper, aptly represents the presence of divine light to that nature which is capable of its reception.
Lastly, the inflammation of the paper may be compared to the deification of mortals, and to the illumination of material natures, which are afterwards carried upwards, like the enkindled paper, from a certain participation of divine seed.
“Again, the lotus, before the rising of the sun, folds its leaves into itself, but gradually expands them on its rising: unfolding them in proportion to the sun’s ascent to the zenith; but as gradually contracting them as that luminary 345 descends to the west.
Hence this plant, by the expansion and contraction of its leaves, appears no less to honour the sun, than men by the gesture of their eyelids, and the motion of their lips.
But this imitation and certain participation of supernal light is not only visible in plants, which possess nothing more than a vestige of life, but likewise in particular stones.
Thus the sun-stone, by its golden rays, imitates those of the sun; but the stone called the eye of heaven, or of the sun, has a figure similar to the pupil of an eye, and a ray shines from the middle of the pupil.
Thus, too, the lunar stone, which has a figure similar to the moon when horned, by a certain change of itself, follows the lunar motion.
Lastly, the stone called helioselenus, i.
e.
of the sun and moon, imitates, after a manner, the congress of those luminaries, which it images by its colour.
Themes
◆Active Contemplationpraxis
A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.
The passage describes how the ancients 'contemplated this mutual sympathy of things' to deduce divine virtues.
All passages →◆Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
Plants are described as moving in a 'circular dance' and plants are said to 'pray' and 'hymn' the sun and moon.
All passages →◆Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
The text acknowledges that plants possess only a 'vestige of life' compared to celestial beings.
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 passage explicitly states that celestial properties subsist in a causal manner in terrene things and that similitude binds things together in union.
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 text describes a 'mutual sympathy of things' where celestial properties subsist in terrestrial matter and plants move in correspondence with the sun and moon.
All passages →◆Divine Lighttheology
The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
The text mentions 'divine light' and 'sun-stone' rays that imitate the sun's light.
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 describes a hierarchy where celestial properties subsist in terrene things and superior natures influence inferior ones.
All passages →◆Hidden Sayingssoteriology
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The text refers to 'occult purposes' and 'similitude' used by the ancients for occult applications.
All passages →◆Inner Lightanthropology
The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.
The text discusses the 'presence of divine light' capable of reception by a nature that is capable of its reception.
All passages →◆Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
The divine leaders are described as active agents who are prayed to and hymned by inferior things.
All passages →◆Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
The text describes the 'union and consent' of things through similitude and the deification of mortals.
All passages →◆Prayerpraxis
Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.
The text states that 'all things pray' and hymn the leaders of their respective orders.
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 text describes how material natures are carried upwards like enkindled paper from a participation of divine seed.
All passages →◆Ritual Firepraxis
Fire as medium of divine presence.
Fire is used as a metaphor for divine presence descending from superior to inferior parts.
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 passage explicitly states that 'the inflammation of the paper may be compared to the deification of mortals'.
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 text describes how ancients applied occult purposes by similitude to deduce divine virtues into this inferior abode.
All passages →Related passages · 23 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 1, Section 1f
“And in all the other Divine enlightenments which the occult Tradition of our inspired teachers hath, by mystic Interpretation, accordant with the Scriptures, bestowed upon us, we also have been initiated: apprehending these things in the pr…”
Both passages explore the concept of divine illumination and the relationship between the divine and the material world. They discuss how the divine is manifested in the material and how humans can approach or participate in the divine, albeit from different theological perspectives.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1d
“Nay, even the foundation and the boundaries of the heavens (as we forgot to say while 91 thinking of other matters) owe their origin to the Good.
Such is this universe, which lessens not nor grows, and such the noiseless movements (if nois…”
Both passages explore the concept of divine influence manifesting in the natural world, particularly through celestial bodies like the sun and moon. They share the idea of a hierarchical and interconnected universe where the divine is reflected in creation, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 6 (part 6)
“Not that he contains their essences, but their life arose from his centre in the beginning." ( Threefold Life , iv.
27.) "The sun is the heart of all the powers in this world, and is configurated from the powers of all the stars, while, on…”
Both passages explore the interconnectedness of celestial and terrestrial realms, emphasizing the influence of celestial bodies on earthly elements. They share a mystical perspective on the harmony and mutual sympathy between different levels of existence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 6 (part 7)
“That which Sol (the sun) is spiritually becomes corporeal in Luna (the moon)." ( Signature , ix.
24.) After the world of stars had begun to exist, the sidereal life appeared by the power of the former—that is to say, that living organisms…”
Both passages explore the interconnectedness of celestial and terrestrial realms, and the influence of celestial bodies on earthly life. They share a mystical perspective on the harmony and mutual sympathy between different levels of existence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 4)
“28.) "In Paradise the substance of the divine world penetrated the substance belonging to time, comparable to the power of the sun penetrating a fruit growing on a tree, and endowing it with such qualities as render it lovely to the sight a…”
Both passages explore the interplay between the divine and the natural world, highlighting the reflection of higher realities in lower ones. They describe how celestial qualities manifest in terrestrial forms, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 3)
“Thereby it receives the form of the latter as a light and power, without, however, being able to grasp the interior spirit itself; for the spirit does not dwell in the exterior, but has possession of its own self in its own interior state."…”
Both passages explore the symbolic and mystical significance of the sun and its influence on the natural world, highlighting the interconnectedness of celestial and terrestrial realms. They share a common theme of the sun as a divine symbol and its role in sustaining and illuminating life.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 4)
“But the constellation has still another woman, wherein it breeds out its substance, namely, the moon, she being the wife of all the planets, but especially of the sun." 3 ( Mysterium , xi.
31.) p.
171 "As the stars, full of desire, draw u…”
Both passages discuss the interplay between celestial bodies and terrestrial elements, highlighting the mutual influence and symbiotic relationship between the heavens and the earth. They share a mystical perspective on the interconnectedness of all things, though they come from different traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 6)
“1.) "The terrestrial consciousness corrupted the celestial one, and the former became the Turba of the latter.
Likewise, the Fiat made the earth and stones out of the eternal essentiality." ( Menschwerdung , i.
9.) "But in the earth we fi…”
Both passages explore the interconnectedness of celestial and terrestrial realms, and the hidden divine qualities within natural elements. They share a mystical perspective on the relationship between the spiritual and material worlds.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 8)
“Neither is God measurable, and there has no place of residence been discovered in Him, unless He should establish for Himself such a dwelling in one of His creatures; but even then He remains a whole apart from and beyond such a created bei…”
Both passages explore the relationship between divine and created beings through the metaphor of the sun. They discuss how the divine (God, Christ, or celestial properties) interacts with and is reflected in the created world (plants, stones, or human beings), emphasizing the interconnectedness and mutual sympathy between the divine and the natural.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Front Matter, p. 4 (part 15)
“For the generative causes of things, are contained by similitude in their effects; and in causes themselves their progeny subsist, comprehended in perfect union and consent.
Hence the celestial orbs impart a copious defluxion of good to th…”
Both passages discuss the concept of mutual sympathy and similitude between celestial and terrestrial realms, using examples like heliotropes and the behavior of plants and stones to illustrate the interconnectedness of all things. They also explore how ancient practitioners used these principles for occult purposes and divine virtues.
13 more
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Front Matter, p. 4 (part 16)
“This heated paper we may compare to a certain relation of inferiors to superiors; and its approximation to the lamp, to the opportune use of things according to time, place, and matter.
But the procession of fire in the paper aptly represe…”
Both passages discuss the interconnectedness of divine and material natures, using similar examples like the lotus plant and various stones to illustrate their points. They also share the metaphor of heated paper to represent the deification of mortals and the illumination of material natures.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn VI. THE STARS
“VI. TO THE STARS. The FUMIGATION from AROMATICS. WITH holy voice I call the stars on high, Pure sacred lights and genii of the sky. Celestial stars, the progeny of Night, In whirling circles beaming far your light, Refulgent rays around the…”
Both passages explore the idea of celestial bodies influencing and being connected to earthly elements, with the Orphic Hymn focusing on the stars' divine influence and the second passage discussing the mutual sympathy between celestial and terrene natures, including plants and stones that reflect celestial properties.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn XXXIII. APOLLO (part 2)
“Gesner well observes, in his notes to this Hymn, that the comparison and conjunction of the musical and astronomical elements are most ancient; being derived from Orpheus and Pythagoras, to Plato.
Now, according to the Orphic and Pythagori…”
Both passages explore the concept of celestial harmony and the interplay between celestial and terrestrial realms. They discuss how celestial bodies and natural elements reflect divine order and harmony, though from different mystical traditions.
◆platonism|Plato: Timaeus|Section 1~
“That which yields has a small base; but that which rests on quadrangular bases is firmly posed and belongs to the class which offers the greatest resistance; so too does that which is the most compact and therefore most repellent.
The natu…”
Both passages explore the interconnectedness and mutual influence of different elements and realms (celestial and terrestrial). Plato discusses the relativity of terms like 'above' and 'below' in a spherical universe, while the second passage describes the mutual sympathy and influence between celestial and terrestrial natures, using examples from the natural world.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fifth Dialoguej
“So also is the hemisphere of this earth ever equally irradiated, although from the watery surfaces she from time to time sends her splendours unequally to the moon,—which like innumerable other stars we consider as another earth—in the same…”
Both passages explore the relationship between celestial bodies and earthly phenomena, using them as metaphors for spiritual or intellectual concepts. They share a common theme of the interconnectedness of the cosmos and the reflection of higher truths in the natural world.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fifth Dialoguee
“"The sun is equal to thy chiefest nymph, By virtue of the everlasting laws, And pauses alternating, Amongst my stars she's equal to the sun." [AJ] Plato says that [Greek: Theos] is derived from the verb [Greek: Theein], to move, to run, as…”
Both passages explore the idea of divine or celestial influence on earthly and natural phenomena. They discuss the movement of natural elements in response to celestial bodies, reflecting a deeper mystical or spiritual connection between the heavens and the earth.
◆western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Pythagorean Theory of Music and Colorc
“The allowing arrangement is most generally accepted for the musical intervals of the planets between the earth and the sphere of the fixed stars: From the sphere of the earth to the sphere of the moon; one tone; from the sphere of the moon…”
Both passages explore the concept of harmony and the interconnectedness of the cosmos, with Passage A focusing on the Pythagorean theory of music and color and Passage B discussing the mutual sympathy of things in nature. Both highlight the idea that celestial and terrestrial phenomena are interconnected and reflect higher principles through their properties and behaviors.
◆western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Pythagorean Theory of Music and Colore
“Popular taste, being always tickled by sensuous and meretricious effects, was to be treated with deserved contempt.
(See The History of Music .) Even today martial music is used with telling effect in times of war, and religious music, whi…”
Both passages explore the concept of celestial harmony and the interconnectedness of the cosmos, albeit from different traditions. Passage A discusses the Pythagorean theory of the music of the spheres, while Passage B describes the mutual sympathy of celestial and terrene natures, including the heliotrope and other natural phenomena that reflect celestial influences.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|17. Astrologya
“STELLA OS INFLEXUS Of ALL THE ARTS which have originated in ancient magian wisdom astrology is now the most misunderstood.
No one believes any longer in the universal harmonies of Nature and in the necessary interconnection of all effects…”
Both passages discuss the interconnectedness of celestial and terrestrial realms, emphasizing the influence of celestial bodies on earthly phenomena. They share the concept of universal harmony and the interplay between macrocosm and microcosm, though expressed within different mystical traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi)|7. The Septenary Of Talismansb
“We have observed previously that in this sense the planets are only signs; they have the influence which universal faith attributes because they are more truly the stars of the human mind than the orbs of heaven.
The sun, which Antique Mag…”
Both passages explore the concept of correspondences between celestial bodies and earthly phenomena, highlighting the interconnectedness of the macrocosm and microcosm. They share the insight that celestial influences manifest in terrestrial forms and human experiences, though they use different traditions and examples to illustrate this idea.
◇renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XXXIII — Of the Seals and Characters of Natural Things|Chapter XXXIII, Section 1a
“CHAPTER XXXIII.
Of the Seals and Characters of Natural Things .
All Stars have their peculiar natures, properties, and conditions, the Seals and Characters whereof they produce, through their rays, even in these inferior things, viz., in…”
[auto] Both passages discuss the influence of celestial bodies on natural objects, describing how stars imprint their characteristics on plants, stones, and animals. They share the concept of a harmonious disposition between celestial and terrestrial realms, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◇renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XXXVII — How, By Some Certain Natural and Artificial Preparations, We May Attract Certain Celestial and Vital Gifts|Chapter XXXVII, Section 1a
“CHAPTER XXXVII.
How, By Some Certain Natural and Artificial Preparations, We May Attract Certain Celestial and Vital Gifts .
Platonists , together with Hermes, say, and Jarchus Brachmanus and the Mecubals of the Hebrews confess, that all…”
[auto] Both passages discuss the concept of mutual sympathy and correspondence between celestial and terrestrial realms, and the use of natural and artificial preparations to attract celestial virtues. They share the idea that inferior things reflect and participate in the nature of superior things, and that this relationship can be harnessed for divine purposes.
◇renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XXXVIII — How We May Draw Not Only Celestial and Vital, but Also Certain Intellectual and Divine Gifts From Above|Chapter XXXVIII, Section 1a
“CHAPTER XXXVIII.
How We May Draw Not Only Celestial and Vital, but Also Certain Intellectual and Divine Gifts From Above .
Magicians teach that celestial gifts may, through inferiors being conformable to superiors, be drawn down by opport…”
[auto] Both passages discuss the concept of drawing celestial and divine influences down to the earthly realm through natural objects and their correspondences. They share the idea of a harmony or sympathy between celestial and terrestrial entities, using similar examples of plants and stones that exhibit this connection.