Plato in Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times. Selected Papers from the Seventeenth Annual Conference of the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies, Lydney : The Prometheus Trust in association with the ISNS, 2020, pp. 27-58., 2020
Incited by Porphyry’s astrological queries seeking to discover the personal daimon as a means of ... more Incited by Porphyry’s astrological queries seeking to discover the personal daimon as a means of transcending fate (τὰ εἱμαρμένα) through sacrifices (ἐκθύσαιτο) , Iamblichus undertakes throughout De Mysteriis IX the task of investigating the daimon’s origins and functions and of highlighting the importance of the theurgic rites pertaining to its invocation and cult. Despite the apparent dichotomy he establishes between the technical doctrines of natal astrology (γενεθλιαλογία) and the theurgic approach (DM IX.1), Iamblichus repeatedly insists on the astral origins of the daimon (DM IX.3, IX.6) and the rehabilitation of astrology as μαθηματικὴ ἐπιστήμη (DM IX.4). I shall argue that Iamblichus introduces a subtle distinction between astrology as an inductive form of divination on the one hand, and astrology in its theurgic dimension on the other. Moreover, by transposing Porphyry’s technical questions into a wider cosmological and metaphysical context, Iamblichus suggests that, through its theurgic discovery and invocation, the daimon has the potential to provide the necessary guidance in order to liberate humans from the bonds of fate. Taking his cue from Egyptian theology and the importance of the movement of the stars, Iamblichus evokes a Hermetic concept: ‘For as these writings tell us, the human being has two souls: one derives from the primary intelligence, partaking also of the power of the demiurge, while the other is contributed to us from the circuit of the heavenly bodies, and into this there slips the soul that sees god’. The doctrine of two souls (one rational arising ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου νοητοῦ and one irrational emanating ἐκ τῆς τῶν οὐρανίων περιφορᾶς and therefore subject to fate) could be viewed in parallel with the belief that the soul, along with its vehicle, acquires astral ‘garments’ (χιτῶνες) in the course of its descent through the planetary spheres. Τhis acquisition of a ‘lot’(μοῖρα) is personalised by Iamblichus as the personal daimon. Hence, I intend to explore how human fate and former lives are both interconnected with and tied to the emanation from the stars (ἀπὸ τῶν ἄστρων ἀπόρροια) and the personal daimon. In reference to the methods for the daimon’s discovery, a further examination of John Dillon’s suggestion (that Helios might be ‘the single common leader of the κοσμοκράτορες’ who sends the personal daimon to each individual in DM, IX.9, 284.2-6) will be attempted - also by comparison with the PGM XIII.
What is more, this paper will discuss the daimon’s contribution in the deciphering of the divine signs in the cosmos, a procedure which may be attained by means of attunement of the rational principle to a more elevated, supra-rational or cosmic, form of intelligence. Consequently, the human potential to act on the level of the personal daimon will be highlighted. I shall argue that the personal daimon represents a higher ontological principle, and it is through the appropriation of all the heavenly influences, personified on an intelligible level by the daimon, that the metamorphosis of the human identity into its daemonic double may be accomplished, triggering the process of divinization. The soul may hereafter receive the particular god, or star, which rules over its daimon, as its leader. From that perspective, the invoked personal daimon could be a substantial link with regard to theurgic activity itself, marking a turn in the ‘direction’ of ritual activity, passing from the horizontal level of sympatheia related to daimones to the vertical dimension of theia philia uniting humans to the gods.
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What is more, this paper will discuss the daimon’s contribution in the deciphering of the divine signs in the cosmos, a procedure which may be attained by means of attunement of the rational principle to a more elevated, supra-rational or cosmic, form of intelligence. Consequently, the human potential to act on the level of the personal daimon will be highlighted. I shall argue that the personal daimon represents a higher ontological principle, and it is through the appropriation of all the heavenly influences, personified on an intelligible level by the daimon, that the metamorphosis of the human identity into its daemonic double may be accomplished, triggering the process of divinization. The soul may hereafter receive the particular god, or star, which rules over its daimon, as its leader. From that perspective, the invoked personal daimon could be a substantial link with regard to theurgic activity itself, marking a turn in the ‘direction’ of ritual activity, passing from the horizontal level of sympatheia related to daimones to the vertical dimension of theia philia uniting humans to the gods.
What is more, this paper will discuss the daimon’s contribution in the deciphering of the divine signs in the cosmos, a procedure which may be attained by means of attunement of the rational principle to a more elevated, supra-rational or cosmic, form of intelligence. Consequently, the human potential to act on the level of the personal daimon will be highlighted. I shall argue that the personal daimon represents a higher ontological principle, and it is through the appropriation of all the heavenly influences, personified on an intelligible level by the daimon, that the metamorphosis of the human identity into its daemonic double may be accomplished, triggering the process of divinization. The soul may hereafter receive the particular god, or star, which rules over its daimon, as its leader. From that perspective, the invoked personal daimon could be a substantial link with regard to theurgic activity itself, marking a turn in the ‘direction’ of ritual activity, passing from the horizontal level of sympatheia related to daimones to the vertical dimension of theia philia uniting humans to the gods.