Photagogy, or attraction of light. The most complete ritual of photagogy that has come down to us from late antiquity, punctuated and supported by the use of barbaric names, is contained in the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris. Photagogy is a form of divination theorized by Iamblichus, who sees divine light illuminate the theurgist’s ethereal and shining vehicle when the gods are present in his soul or when they make it shine with a light that comes from them and precedes them. This latter case is the light of the sun or moon, or again, the opposite, darkness, or finally, objects appropriate for welcoming the gods, such as water, due to its diaphanous nature, or a wall covered with sacred inscriptions. The procedure is carried out by the light of a lantern, a case not discussed by Iamblichus, but abundantly attested in Greek and Demotic magical papyri.
So we are in the minefield of Iamblichus’ theurgy… What did you want to ask me specifically?
Aside from the circularity of the cosmic soul…
Which perhaps an alchemist would call a “field”.
… and the contemplation of a formless fire in the depths of the cosmos…
Very poetic and very little alchemical, though.
… the clothing of the highest priest, whose function was to act as interpreter and mediator of the divine word, included the presence of a small stone held close to his chest. In this regard, I would like to know if this stone could be analogous to the Philosophers’ Stone.
For an alchemist, the entire ritual of Iamblichus’ Fotagogy is a metaphor. As a metaphor is the small stone held close to the officiant’s chest. I’ll complete the description of the ritual metaphor for you: The operator wants to identify himself with the god Thoth and become a sort of alter ego. Then a barbaric sequence dedicated to the triple Horus is expected. This must be followed by the enunciation of the seven vowels, which reproduce the invocation of the holy name of the god in the symbolic way of the three cynocephali (dog-headed).
Where would the metaphor be?
For an alchemist, the entire ritual of Iamblichus’ Fotagogy is a metaphor. As a metaphor is the small stone held close to the officiant’s chest. I’ll complete the description of the ritual metaphor for you: The operator wants to identify himself with the god Thoth and become a sort of alter ego. Then a barbaric sequence dedicated to the triple Horus is expected. This must be followed by the enunciation of the seven vowels, which reproduce the invocation of the holy name of the god in the symbolic way of the three cynocephali (dog-headed). An alchemist will replace all theurgic nouns with alchemical laboratory nomenclature and tell you that this Fotagogical ritual is nothing more than the representation of the Last Cooking. The intriguing part, even for an alchemist, are the cynocephali (dog-headed. Which in fact have a great analogy with the three dog-like faces of the goddess Hecate, or whirling deity who stands in the middle. What an alchemist means by “alchemical light” is exactly this: the three dogs of Hecate. The goddess who unites everything, because there is no void between one body and another. It seems to me that the teeming of entities is also the essence of Iamblichus’s philosophy. For an alchemist, nothing really scary.
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