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Select Works of Plotinus · 310 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 296 (part 2)

The universe spreads as broad as the presence of soul; the bound of its expansion is the point at which, in its downward egression from the Supreme, it still has soul to bind it in one: it is a shadow as broad as the Reason-Principle proceeding from soul; and that Reason-Principle is of scope to generate a kosmic bulk as vast as lay in the purposes of the Idea [the Divine forming power] which it conveys.
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Themes
Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

Differences in souls are said to be induced by the bodies with which they have to do, implying material limitation.

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Divine Sparkscosmology

Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.

Souls are described as springing from a higher, self-same soul, implying a fragmentary origin from a divine source.

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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.

[auto] It describes souls springing from a self-same soul which is next to the Divine Mind, indicating a hierarchical flow.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

[auto] It mentions souls becoming 'Uniate in the achieved fact,' indicating a state of union with the divine.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The statement that 'the one soul is also multiple' presents a paradoxical truth typical of mystical teaching.

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Soul Migrationcosmology

The transmigration of the soul across lives.

[auto] The passage explicitly references 'previous lives' and states that a soul's life-choice corresponds with its former lives.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The passage asserts that all souls spring from the same source and that the one soul is also multiple.

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Related passages · 7 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1a
“131 CHAPTER V Concerning ” Existence “ and also concerning ” Exemplars .” I. Now must we proceed to the Name of “Being” which is truly applied by the Divine Science to Him that truly Is. But this much we must say, that it is not the purpo…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1i
“364 The ultimate Godhead is reached only by the Negative Path, and known only by Unknowing. The Affirmative Path of philosophical knowledge leads only to the differentiated manifestations of the Godhead: e.g. the Trinity, in Its creative…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 3 (part 7)
“Herbert Spencer has of late so far modified his Agnosticism, as to assert that the nature of the "First Cause,"* which the Occultist more logically derives from the "Causeless Cause," the "Eternal," and the "Unknowable," may be essentially…”
Shared concept: Unity Of Being — The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim. (derived)
renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|INTRODUCTION-i
“The life of man is more than an experience or trial; it is an effort, a struggle to reproduce and represent upon earth some of that goodness, beauty, and truth which are diffused over the universe and constitute its harmony. Long, slow, an…”
Shared concept: Soul Migration — The transmigration of the soul across lives. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Which Have Influenced Modern Masonic Symbolism-g
“In the present world, said they, Good and Evil are so exactly balanced that man has the utmost freedom and is able to choose or reject either. The Welsh Triads tell us there are three objects of metempsychosis: to collect into the soul the…”
Shared concept: Soul Migration — The transmigration of the soul across lives. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus)|Page 34
“THE MOON. THE MOON. 18. צ 18th Hebrew letter (Tzaddi). ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE EIGHTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT. The hieroglyphic idea connected with the Tzaddi is the same as that of the Teth (9th card); but it chiefly signifies a term…”
Shared concept: Divine Sparks — Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 12 (part 12)
“255:1 However gratifying it may be for the curious seeker in history to know whether or when such an event has actually occurred in the history of the Jewish nation, such a historical belief would be of little benefit to him if he could not…”
Shared concept: Body As Obstacle — The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return. (derived)