What is Theurgy? Ancient Pagan Salvation through Ritual, Philosophy and Unity with the Divine

Consider Supporting Esoterica! Patreon - www.patreon.com/esotericachannel Paypal Donation - www.paypal.me/esotericachannel Merch - www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/s…

The more I learn, the more I get confused due to endless information.

I was trained in kabbalistic practice in orthodox Jewish yeshivas, and I am struck by the similarities between what I was taught and practiced and Iamblachus's philosophy, except utilizing Torah as the sacred text. I did not fully appreciate the connection between the rabbinic kabbalistic tradition and neoplatonism until your channel, thank you. The only separation between much of the Jewish and surrounding traditions is what is scripture and the intellectual lineages, although the rabbis do not often credit Greek philosophers. I appreciate learning about it now to know what I don't want to be. Sublimation is for posers.

You are a boundless book of knowledge, and you as a person are such a kind soul. An amazing and humble teacher.

I bought the women’s cut black metal Esoterica shirt I gotta say It is pretty boss

Soooo... Plotinus: "It's all about getting back into the unknowable Oneness in the One at the center of the cosmic jam, maaaaaan." Porphery: "And everything outward about it is too many notes." Iamblicas: "Guys, the One keeps saying its gotta have more cowbell"

Appreciations for this pithy overview! Even though Iamblichus' cosmology differs significantly from that of the nondual Shaivism to which I am accustomed, I readily sympathize with (1) the heartfelt aspirations towards the Divine Source Consciousness, (2) reliance on divine grace, which we would call "śaktipāta", (3) conscious participation in the divine work, (4) the value of devotional-contemplative ritual, (5) the recognition of esoteric "correspondences", and (6) the prospect of unitive spiritual experience.

Phenomenal. This one actually helped me to categorize and understand a lot of my own personal history, changes between different perspectives and uncommon personal experiences. I think that means I am a fan of both Iamblichus and of Esoterica, without which my understanding of Iamblichus would still be pretty hazy

As a Hellenic pagan I've really wanted to learn more about theurgy, so thanks for this quality content!

I’ve been wanting a video like this about Iamblichus for a while and you definitely delivered!! I noticed a lot of parallels with certain schools of Vedanta, especially Vasistha Advaita. The Noetic Theurgy reminds me of jnana yoga and the ritual Theurgy reminds me of the teachings of Shankaracharya. The idea that the offerings become transformed into something more divine is also paralleled in the ideas of prasad in Hinduism. Awesome video!

This was definitely high level stuff, but I found it very accessible. I’m not very knowledgeable with the technical side of all this, but this makes perfect sense to me on a spiritual level. I’d argue there is a unique value in learning from content like this from a scholar on the internet. It’s the closest thing I’ll experience to the ancient lectures. And that experience it invaluable for understanding the heart of the philosophy. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Fantastic, I knew this would be a banger. I don't think Julian required quotes around The Apostate, he's pretty stoked about his turn away from Christianity towards what he'd frame as a Iamblichan Platonism with emphasis on the Hellenic qualities of it, being quite the Hellenophile. I think what was going on in Julian's mind was a fair bit more complicated, and garbled (no offense to the man), than the institution of a rival entity to Christianity as it had congealed by the 4th Century, there's an excellent work called "Julian's Gods: Religion and Philosophy in the Thought and Action of Julian the Apostate", the author really tries to get into the context Julian was writing and thinking in, and also humanizes what he was up to as well, as we are people and not truly detached intellectual agents. It's fairly technical and the author will quote scholarship done in French verbatim so it can be a bit tedious if you're not a Francophone and it definitely expects you to have a vague idea at bare minimum of Neoplatonic thought and the philosophical climate of Late Antiquity. He's an absolutely fascinating character and worth the attention of any scholar.

Triangle players must love you for acknowledging their great musical contribution. 🥹

I like the phrase "ontological registers."

🔥

This is wonderful. Thank you, sincerely, for the time you've invested into learning the material, learning to explain it well, and sharing it freely. I learned a tremendous amount from this lecture. Such fascinating history renews my hope for a continuity of existence in which I have more time to read books. This life isn't going to be sufficient to satisfy all my curiosities.

Takes notes This is terrifically useful for a book I'm writing (fantasy, as ever). Accessible, accurate, content concerning classic Hellenic religious practice is gold dust. Thanks for your help, Dr. Sledge!

I'm so glad you've a great sense of humour.

This is one of my favorite videos because it taught me so much about a subject I was ignorant of. I’m used to only theurgy being named dropped. The contranatural perception of Sorcery makes sense as well as not being flashy with over use of Theurgy. Fantastic again Doc Sledge. Again the further reading section is indispensable for us layman who are curious!

Thanks!