Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity

The Ancient Philosophy, in its original Orphico-Pythagorean and Platonic form, is not simply a way of life in accordance with the divine or human intellect (nous), but also the way of alchemical transformation and mystical illumination achieved through initiatic “death” and subsequent restoration at the level of divine light. As a means of spiritual reintegration and unification, ancient philosophy is inseparable from the hieratic rites. The theurgic “animation” of statues appears to be among the main keys for understanding how various royal and priestly practices, related to the daily ritual service and encounter with the divine presence in the temples, developed into the Neoplatonic mysticism of late antiquity.

Politics & Social Sciences

Uzdavinys, Algis

Philosophy

Angelico Press/Sophia Perennis

Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth challenges our understanding of philosophy - indeed it challenges many centuries of assumptions which have reduced othodox philosophy to a shadow of its original.Uzdavinys returns to the very roots of philosophy in Ancient Egypt, and shows why the Greeks revered that land of pyramids and priest-kings as the source of divine wisdom. Bringing his understanding of many great traditions of philosophy - Indian, Islamic, Greek, and others - he presents the case for considering philosophy as a human participation in a theophany, or divine drama. Casting aside the unnatural limitations of modern philosophy, as well as the grave misunderstandings of Egyptologists, radical and exciting possibilities emerge for the serious philosopher. These possibilities will certainly change our view of the universe in general, but most particularly our view of ourselves. The Rebirth of the title is one that implies an expansion of consciousness both upwards towards the divine he

Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism by Algis Uzdavinys (2008-12-07)

The Prometheus Trust

Drawing upon a wide range of ancient sources as well as contemporary scholarly research this ground-breaking book reveals the astonishing continuity and the historical transformation of spiritual patterns from the Assyrian and Babylonian to the Islamic civilization. It argues that in Sufism the main metaphysical content of ancient wisdom can be shown to have been preserved and reinterpreted in accordance with Quranic revelation, following the pattern of prevailing monotheistic Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mythologies. Such motifs include the Divine covenant and human kingship, Lordship and servant hood, holy war and the return to primordial integrity. Recurring myths and rituals of cosmogony and eschatology, of ontological irradiation and spiritual deconstruction, constitute a dialectical play which re-appear in the context of Sufism, that is, in the context of traditional Islamic piety and sacred rites.

Sufism and Ancient Wisdom

History

World

Archetype

In this groundbreaking work of comparative religion, Algis Uzdavinys takes us deeply into the "closed and blessed gardens of myth", showing us the capital importance of the many varieties of "ascent to heaven". From the Pyramid Texts down to Second Temple Judaism and apocalyptic Christian literature; and, in parallel, down the theurgic path of Platonic and Hermetic literature to the sanctum of the Islamic revelation in Mecca, we are vividly presented with the sacramental impact of anagoge: elevation to the domain of the supernal archetypes and heavenly principles. As with other books by the author, the face of antiquity is revealed anew, full of intriguing, challenging and enraptured insights.

Ascent to Heaven in Islamic and Jewish Mysticism

Religion & Spirituality

Islam

Matheson Trust

A book on the religious, mystic origins and substance of philosophy. This is a critical survey of ancient and modern sources and of scholarly works dealing with Orpheus and everything related to this major figure of ancient Greek myth, religion and philosophy. Here poetic madness meets religious initiation and Platonic philosophy. This book contains fascinating insights into the usually downplaid relations between Egyptian initiation, Greek mysteries and Plato's philosophy and followers, right into Hellenistic Neoplatonic and Hermetic developments.

Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism

Ancient Civilizations