Theurgy

Enochian isn't really, there's theurgic aspects of Enochian magic, but fundamentally it's conjuration.

Theurgy is rather different.

Conjuration is such a distinct practice because you're calling spirits, daimones, angels, to appear and communicate with you.

But yeah, I don't know why he says theurgy instead of conjuration, because they're distinct.

He sought knowledge that could not be extracted from the natural world.

Theurgy, which translates to operation of the gods, was a study and practice of invoking supernatural deities, such as angels, to acquire lost knowledge or disclose ancient mysteries.

And again, let's not make the mistake of thinking that there was only one form of theurgy with one definition, just like there wasn't one form of Gnosticism and there wasn't one form of most things.

So whenever someone gives you a singular definition for something that existed in plurality, take it with the necessary salt.

Not to do certain things at certain times when certain energies were more dominant.

This is what we call theurgic.

Theurgic means a kind of a magical, but I don't mean it necessary in a mystical, in a superficial and superstitious sense necessary, although there is certainly a component to that.

But theurgy is the notion of a human being being able to manipulate the powers of the spiritual world and even the power within the godly world and certainly the power within the human world and the physical world.

playing around with times, understanding the energies of the times, and using those energies for particular purposes.

There are always two operators, two puppets full of facts, the puppet master and the puppet master, who either does or does not have wisdom, self-realization.

Anapanasti, Theurgy, I think those are translations.

Via negativa neti neti.

Those are for the purpose of wisdom, which is transcendence, which is self-proximity.

Yeah, one thing, not that I'm hung up on it, but I like to push, I like to kind of please devil's advocate when it comes to the term occultist, especially because of the idea of what most people are mistaken about what occult means, right? It means hidden or hidden forces, as Agrippa talks about.

Like, we are all within the understanding of the occulted world, right? And so there are hidden forces among us and so it's almost hard to not be, if you are practicing, let's say, Platonism, Neoplatonic, Theurgical, whatever your ceremonial ritual is, it's almost like you can't help but be an occultist because of you're doing the esoteric work instead of just the normal exoteric practices.

And so I wonder what you think about that, Eric, and why you wouldn't deem yourself an occultist in your own term definitionally.

Yeah.

Human reason has become too entangled in material existence to ascend solely through its own power.

Theurgic rites, sacred symbols, divine names, material objects, prayers, and ritual actions could become instruments through which the gods elevated the practitioner.

And ritual actions could become instruments through which the gods elevated the practitioner.

Theurgy did not mean commanding divine beings through personal will.

I mean, not just royal, that's the other one.

Theurge?

Something to do with it.

Spirits, maybe.