#thenaive

Lol I don't mind talking about my racial experiences as a general rule but it's super suspect that someone would ask that in the midst of the conversation that we are having, as if that somehow invalidates what I'm saying. Plus, literally all of that information is available on the "Meet The Mods" page at all times.

lololol 18,437

Theurgy?

I don't find it more or less valid than any of the other systems that I have studied. In so far as theurgy is practiced to attain oneness with a particular godhead, it shares a structural similarity with similar practices in Indian philosophy. For example, Tantra has a similar objective in mind with its practices: the purpose in the Tantric rituals is to channel one's inner energies to enable a union with Shiva made manifest in a variety of forms.

Philosophically, Theurgy is interesting as a system of western mysticism. While the academic study of Therugy is relegated to some what of a fringe field, there are many who glean benefits from cross-cultural comparisons with Jewish Kabbalah, Indian Tantra, and some Buddhist practices. More extended comparisons have been made with Daoist practices, though these are often few and far between.

Now, someone like Plotinus' approach to Theurgy is interesting. Rather than engage in ritual, Plotinus encouraged contemplation and meditation, which was not unlike the methods encouraged by some Eastern traditions. For Plotinus, the activity of meditation enabled humans to reconnect to the one through the realization that all creation was simply greater or lesser emanations of the One which stood beyond being and non being. To this end, Theurgy, for Plotinus, was the method where by humanity could attain union with the One.

Other systems of Theurgy have similar modes of attaining unions with the godhead, which is the part that I find most interesting from a philosophical standpoint, most of which argue that the godhead itself is beyond being and non-being. To this end, the practice of Theurgy can be read as an attempt to surpass the contradictions and dualities of our existence through uniting with the godhead and thereby attaining ultimate reality.