Can Theurgy Save the World? Some Thoughts on the ‘Divinisation’ of Matter in the Philosophy of Iamblichus

Abstract

The occasion for this paper has been the reading over a projected new edition of Proclus’ treatise On the Hieratic Art, which is a commendation of theurgy. The premise behind theurgy, as I take it, is that the physical world has in fact been sown by the gods with a great variety of symbola, or ‘clues’, which, if put together correctly and respectfully, can draw down the power of gods or daemons, and achieve many practical advantages.  What I wish to argue here is that an increased respect for the way the world is put together should prove the basis for a properly ‘ecological’ approach to our environment, and that would equate to a modern version of theurgy. I argue that the ‘theurgic’ attitude to Matter, largely adopted by Iamblichus, is in stark contrast to that adopted by Platonism in general, and indeed by the Christian tradition following on from it, into the ‘scientific’ mind-set of the modern world.