The Gods are on our side — as also are the guardian spirits — and we in turn are the property of the Gods and guardian spirits. What is fatal for us is injustice, and arrogance allied to folly; our salvation is justice, and self-control allied to wisdom, and these are to be found dwelling … Continue reading A Beautiful Snippet from the LAWS
Tag: platonism
Offering Cosmos Flower incense to Aphrodite and Eros
This morning, I opened new incense blend called Cosmos Flower and lit it for Aphrodite and Eros. I didn't have a lot of time, so instead of reading Aphrodite's Orphic Hymn, I read one of the ones written by Proclus. But Goddess — for you are far-hearingno matter where you are, whether you embrace the … Continue reading Offering Cosmos Flower incense to Aphrodite and Eros
Seira, transformative experiences, and spiritual materialism
Several years ago, while reading Platonic works, I found myself wondering how I and another devotee of Apollon could have such divergent perspectives and how, both of us presumably having had some kind of experience at the root of that, such a divergence was possible. Later, and as a related question, I started encountering ambiguities … Continue reading Seira, transformative experiences, and spiritual materialism
Proclus, On the Timaeus of Plato, Book 5, 324.5-24
This very topic should be investigated from the very beginning, asking why it is that the soul comes down into bodies. It is because it wants to imitate the providential care of the Gods, and it enters into generation on this account, abandoning contemplation. For, given that divine perfection is of two kinds, the one … Continue reading Proclus, On the Timaeus of Plato, Book 5, 324.5-24
More Binds than Separates
we are not so different when they break you apart I will be here to collect each piece not to soothe your naked heart but to give closure to now-ashen limbs recollecting the time I sang for you and your tears fell like overripe grapes from their twisting, tangled vines I wrote these verses while … Continue reading More Binds than Separates
The Phaedo, piety, and public health
While reading some passages about the relationship of the lover of wisdom to the body in Damascius’ commentary on the Phaedo this week, a mesh of associations captured me like a net, and I started thinking about something I first encountered as a teenager — the idea that, if we fall ill, or if something … Continue reading The Phaedo, piety, and public health
Sallust, On the Gods and the World, Chapter 2
That a God is immutable, without Generation, eternal, incorporeal, and has no Subsistence in Place.And such are the requisites for an auditor of the gods. But the necessary discourses proceed as follows: the essences of the gods are neither generated; for eternal natures are without generation; and those beings are eternal who possess a first … Continue reading Sallust, On the Gods and the World, Chapter 2
Some Passages from Damascius’ Philosophical History
At the beginning of the month, I devoured the fragments of Damascius' Philosophical History, an out-of-print translation filled with interesting anecdotes about people in the polytheistic intellectual scene of Late Antiquity. The translator, Polymnia Athanassiadi, identifies many continuities between the world of Damascius and Mediterranean cultures today even while emphasizing the extreme cultural loss and … Continue reading Some Passages from Damascius’ Philosophical History
Prayers to All of the Gods
I have made some updates to the prayers to all of the Gods that I published on my blog earlier this year, including the downloadable PDFs, mobi, and ePub files available on Gumroad. Here are the links, with the estimated time they take to use in ritual. Note that the time does not include any … Continue reading Prayers to All of the Gods
KALLISTI 