Iamblichus: On the Mysteries · 203 of 218 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Chapter VIII-aq
και αετοι μεν, και δρακοντες, βιωσιμοι αυτοις προς υγειαν υποθεσις´ αιλουροι δε και κυνες, και κορακες αγρυπνητικα συμβολα.
κηρος δε και πηλος εις τας των μοριων συμπλασεις παραλαμβανονται.
φανταζει δε πολλακις, και πυρος ουρανιου εδοσεις, και διαμειδιωσι επι τουτων αγαλματα· πυρί δε αυτοματῳ λαμπαδες αναπτονται .
i.
e.
“ Goeteia , or witchcraft , is a certain art respecting material and terrestrial dæmons, whose images it causes to become visible to the spectators of this art.
And some of these dæmons it leads up, as it were from Hades, but others it draws down from on high; and these, too, such as are of an evil species.
This art, therefore, causes certain phantastic images to appear before the spectators.
And before the eyes of some, indeed, it pours exuberant streams; but to others it promises freedom from bonds, delicacies, and favours.
They draw down, too, powers of this kind by songs and incantations.
But magic , according to the Greeks, is a thing of a very powerful nature.
For they say that this forms the last part of the sacerdotal science.
Magic, indeed, investigates the nature, power, and quality of every thing sublunary; viz.
of the elements, and their parts, of animals, all-various plants and their fruits, of stones, and herbs: and in short, it explores the essence and power of every thing.
From hence, therefore, it produces its effects.
And it forms statues which procure health, makes all-various figures, and things which become the instruments of disease.
It asserts, too, that eagles and dragons contribute to health; but that cats, dogs, and crows are symbols of vigilance, to which, therefore, they contribute.
But for the fashioning of certain parts wax and clay are used.
Often, too, celestial fire is made to appear through magic; and then statues laugh, and lamps are spontaneously enkindled.” This curious passage throws light on the following extract from the first book of the Metaphorsis of Apuleius: “Magico susurranime, amnes agiles reverti, mare pigrum colligari, ventos inanimes expirare, solem inhiberi, lunam despumari, stellas evelli, diem tolli, noctem teneri.” i.
e.
“By magical incantation rapid rivers may be made to run back to their fountains, the sea be congealed, winds become destitute of spirit, the sun be held back in his course, the moon be forced to scatter her foam, the stars be torn from their orbits, the day be taken away, and the night be detained.” For it may be inferred from Psellus, that witches formerly were able to cause the appearance of all this to take place.
The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.
The passage describes Iamblichean dæmons as material and terrestrial beings inhabiting the sublunary realm, with specific animals (eagles, dragons, cats, dogs, crows) serving as symbols and instruments of power in their domain.
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 links terrestrial dæmons with celestial fire and the power to influence statues and lamps.
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.
Evil species of dæmons are contrasted with health-promoting ones, implying a lack of positive being.
A non-physical dimension of reality, interpenetrating the physical world, populated by forces, beings, and forms ordinarily imperceptible to physical senses and instruments, that can affect embodied life without being seen — Dion Fortune's 'mind-side of nature,' the astral plane of Western esotericism broadly construed. Distinct from astral_light (a specific transmitting medium or fluid operating within this realm, not the realm itself), pleroma (the divine fullness at the summit of a cosmic hierarchy, not a parallel plane coextensive with ordinary life), and animism (particular indwelling spirits bound to specific natural objects, not the general unseen dimension itself).
The passage describes the realm of 'material and terrestrial dæmons' whose images are made visible to spectators, a non-physical dimension of beings ordinarily imperceptible.
Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's claim that ordinary human beings live in a state of waking sleep, reacting mechanically without unified will or consciousness, and that the spiritual path begins with recognising this condition.
Witches are described as using art to manipulate dæmons rather than relying on personal spiritual insight.
The grimoire-tradition practice of ceremonially commanding or binding a spirit through consecrated seals, circles, divine names, and prescribed instruments, compelling its appearance and obedience. Distinct from theurgy in the direction of the power relationship — theurgy is reverent engagement with the gods on the premise of the operator's own ascent, this is subordination of a lesser spirit to the operator's will — and from word_power_incantation and sacred_names, which name components (verbal force, name-power) this practice deploys rather than the ritual structure itself.
Goeteia is described as leading dæmons up from Hades or drawing them down from on high, causing their images to become visible — a practice of commanding spirits to appear.
The consecration of an inscribed physical object — seal, pentacle, amulet, character, or figure — so that it holds and channels magical power independent of any ongoing spoken formula, protecting, attracting, or acting on its bearer's behalf. Distinct from sacred_names (the power resides in the name itself, spoken or written, not in a dedicated physical vessel) and from spirit_conjuration (the object is not commanding or binding a spirit but is itself the locus of power).
The passage describes forming statues that procure health, making figures that become instruments of disease, and using wax and clay for fashioning parts — all consecrated physical objects channeling power.
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 defines magic as an art that investigates the nature of all sublunary things and produces effects through consecrated material symbols like wax and clay.
The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.
The passage explicitly describes drawing down powers 'by songs and incantations' and the Apuleius quote is entirely about magical incantation's causal power over rivers, sea, winds, sun, moon, and stars.