Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LXVI — That The Passions Of The Mind Are Helped By A Celestial Season, And How Necessary The Constancy Of The Mind Is In Every Work · 1 of 1 · tr. Henry Morley; L. W. de Laurence ed.
Chapter LXVI, Section 1
CHAPTER LXVI. That The Passions Of The Mind Are Helped By A Celestial Season, And How Necessary The Constancy Of The Mind Is In Every Work . The passions of the mind are much helped, and are helpful, and become most powerful by virtue of the Heavens, as they agree with the Heaven, either by any natural agreement or by voluntary election. For, as saith Ptolemy, he which chooseth that which is the better seems to differ nothing from him who hath this by nature. It conduceth, therefore, very much for the receiving of the benefit of the Heavens, in any work, if we shall, by the Heaven, make ourselves suitable to it in our thoughts, affections, imaginations, deliberations, elections, contemplations, and the like. For such like passions do vehemently stir up our spirit to the likeness of the Heavens and expose us and ours straightway to the Superior Significators of such like passions; and, also, by reason of their dignity and nearness to the Superiors do much more partake of the Celestials than any other material things. For our mind can, through imagination or by reason of a kind of imitation, be so conformed to any Star as suddenly to be filled with the virtues of that Star, as if it were a proper receptacle of the influence thereof. Now, the contemplating mind, as it withdraws itself from all sense, imagination, nature, and deliberation, and calls itself back to things separated, unless it exposeth itself to Saturn, is not of present consideration or enquiry. For our mind Both effect divers things by faith (which is a firm adhesion, a fixed intention, and a vehement application of the worker, or receiver) to him that cooperates in any thing, and gives power to the work which we intend to do. So that there is made, as it were, in us, the image of the virtue to be received, and the thing to be done in us, or by us. We must, therefore, in every work and application of things, affect vehemently, imagine, hope, and believe strongly, for that will be a great help. And it is verified amongst physicians, that a strong belief, and an undoubted hope and love towards the physician and medicine, conduce much to health; yea, more, sometimes, than the medicine itself. For the same that the efficacy and virtue of the medicine works, the same doth the strong imagination of the physician work, being able to change the qualities in the body of the sick, especially when the patient placeth much confidence in the physician, by that means disposing himself for the receiving of the virtue of the physician and physic. Therefore, he that works in Magic must be of a constant belief, be credulous, and not at all doubtful of obtaining the effect. For, as a firm and strong belief doth work wonderful things, although it be in false works, so distrust and doubting doth dissipate and break the virtue of the mind of the worker, which is the medium between both extremes; whence it happens that he is frustrated of the desired influence of the superiors, which could not be joined and united to our labors without a firm and solid virtue of our mind.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
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 centrally argues that passions are helped by celestial agreement and that the mind can be conformed to stars through imitation, reflecting the doctrine of cosmic affinities.
All passages →Meditationpraxis
Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.
The passage describes withdrawing the mind from sense and calling it back to things separated as a disciplined practice.
All passages →Related passages · 8 parallels
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XVIII-b
“A certain thing of this kind also may take 71 place in the harmony and crasis of the universe: for the same things may be the salvation of the whole, through the perfection of the things inherent and the recipients; but may be noxious to th…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — 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. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 365 (part 1)
“Section 45 45.
From this discussion it becomes perfectly clear that the individual member of the All contributes to that All in the degree of its kind and condition; thus it acts and is acted upon.
In any particular animal each of the lim…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — 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. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter III
“Since, however, every part of the heavens, every sign of the zodiac, all the motion of the heavens, every period of time according to which the world is moved, and all things contained in the wholes of the universe, receive the powers which…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — 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. (derived)
hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 7
“This threefold power, of Attention, Meditation, Contemplation, is more interior than the means of growth previously described. Very naturally so; because the means of growth previously described were concerned with the extrication of the sp…”
Shared concept: Meditation — Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1h
“Hence comes the bare existence of all things, and hence their unions, 277 277 ἑνώσεις, διακρίσεις, ταὐτότητες, ἑτερότητες.
their differentiations, their identities, their differences, 278 278 Hence parts are united into wholes and wholes a…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — 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. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 39 (part 1)
“The Secret Doctrine by H.
P.
Blavatsky -- Vol.
1 [[Vol.
1, Page]] 529 MYSTERIOUS SUN FLUID.
VIII.
LIFE, FORCE, OR GRAVITY.
T HE imponderable fluids have had their day; "mechanical Forces" are less talked about; Science has put on a n…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — 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. (derived)
hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 3
“When the perceiving consciousness in this meditative is wholly given to illuminating the essential meaning of the object contemplated, and is freed from the sense of separateness and personality, this is contemplation (samadhi). Let us revi…”
Shared concept: Meditation — Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 12, Section 1b
“Which meaneth that just as things that have no substantial Being 490 490 i.
e.
The material things (cf.
Myst.
Theol.
I.).
This is the ordinary meaning of the phrase in D.
are transcended by things that have such Being, together with…”
Shared concept: Meditation — Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting. (derived)