When embarking on an undertaking of getting to know Platonism and its commentary tradition, and especially when one is determined to deeply engage in it as one’s primary spiritual path, it can seem like a lot. “Writing is a sea / its reeds are a shore,” as Thoth says in the Conversations in the House of Life scribal initiation text. It takes courage, conviction, and good sense to penetrate into those waters and learn how to swim in them.
Tag: polytheistic philosophy
Five Points About Polytheism
In 1931, librarian Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan proposed a set of five laws of library science that are still in use today. I was reflecting on these earlier today while thinking about the ethical difficulties of reader's advisory and collection development (when there is a conflict between the materials you wish people were asking for and … Continue reading Five Points About Polytheism
On the soul’s descent; or, a cosmic web of thoughts and ideas, barely arranged
Know thyself is the maxim that is given to us by the God at Delphi. Plato’s Alcibiades I and the commentary tradition surrounding it establish that the self is the soul, hereafter interchangeably described as the soul or the psūkhe (IPA: /psiˈçi/), which is using the body as an instrument. Plato’s Republic and the Platonic … Continue reading On the soul’s descent; or, a cosmic web of thoughts and ideas, barely arranged
Platonizing Alan Watts’ “Spectrum of Love”: A Listen-Through
Spotify introduced me to Hælos' Full Circle last year — first, via a song called "Alone," and then a transitional piece called "Intro/Spectrum." Perhaps I had heard the piece before and had just skipped it. I know that it started appearing on playlists in November 2021, when I noticed it for its poignant words — spoken, set to music, from some kind of lecture. This post analyzes that lecture through a mildly Platonizing framework.
Soul’s Inner Statues Live Beta
Since late November, I have been working on The Soul's Inner Statues in GitHub, a project that is meant to supersede many pages on this blog about developing a practice that celebrates many Gods. It is written for anyone getting started with a practice, and it combines practical advice with grounding in (to be honest, … Continue reading Soul’s Inner Statues Live Beta
A Beautiful Snippet from the LAWS
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
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
The Ineffable Power of Syllable and Sound
'Do not change the nomina barbara;'that is, the names handed down by the gods to each people have ineffable power in the initiation rites.Chaldean Oracles, Fragment 150, trans. Majercik, where it appears in context from Psellus Nisha Ramayya’s States of the Body Produced By Love is the best experimental poetry book I have read in a … Continue reading The Ineffable Power of Syllable and Sound
Some Quotations from Olympiodorus’ Commentary on Plato’s PHAEDO
In January, I read eight books, among them Olympiodorus' Commentary on Plato's Phaedo. It comes from notes taken during his lectures, so as with any lecture notes, mileage may vary based on the likely-Christian student's (or students') accuracy and attentiveness. Here are a few notes. (As a reminder, I have a commonplace book tag with … Continue reading Some Quotations from Olympiodorus’ Commentary on Plato’s PHAEDO
KALLISTI 