What if theurgy sounds appealing to you, but you don’t believe in Gods in the literal sense? Well, the original observations about the Gods were made on what we would consider an irrational but otherwise objective sense. They believed that the events they saw happening in the world, and the things that recur in reality, were manifestations of the will of the Gods even if they couldn’t actually see the specific Gods. So they made depictions to give them an idea of what kind of intelligence might govern these events or processes. Naturally anthropomorphizing them as it makes them easier to relate to.

Without taking this intelligent quality of reality to the personal level, personifying it, you can’t imitate it, and thus in the view of theurgy you can’t hope to come into alignment with it. It seems to me that this is still workable even if you don’t believe in that intelligence showing genuinely human traits. It is sort of like translating a foreign language. You really don’t stand much of a chance of understanding it without pantomiming its behaviour and relating its words to the words of your own language. Is it so strange to believe you could learn something by living a way of life that imitates the apparent will of the earth or sky? Or that it’s perhaps even a very good way if not the best way to figure out how to help its processes along?

This reminds me of people living closer to nature. Closer to nature is closer to God. Closer to art is closer to God. These are all theurgy. Artists are heavily theurgic. They were even back then. They sought to live close to the muses and the muses were universally female. The biggest inspiration in modern art was seen as a daemon, Eros. The intelligence or muse behind lust and passion.

Flying babies. Interestingly, those flying babies are based on the cherubim. Perhaps originally the most horrific order of angels under Yahweh’s command. They weren’t flying babies, but devouring monsters associated with the will of the earth. The Book of Revelation and the biblical plagues would be the work of the Cherubim. The moments of being struck down, or struck deaf and dumb, or being inspired by the light, were the work of the Seraphim, the shining ones, beings that appear as fire. More or less the holy spirit of many modern charismatic sects of Christianity.

So theurgy is as broad a study as magic, and if it’s of interest this can become a series of classes where I touch on the theurgy of different deities, even of different divine or spiritual forces.

Preference for the next deity then? It can be broad as cultures across the planet have humanized a great many things, if not everything. Another fertility deity perhaps? Those are always titillating, or perhaps time?

Perhaps extrapolating it to more modern times. Oh I see, modern theurgies. Like media or internet. Yes, that works also. The theurgy of wiki.

I read a book called American Gods. Where the Gods were created from human interaction like a god of media. It’s a good book and valid.

In the end, you would practice theurgy because it’s your avocation. The style that just comes more naturally to you. Whether the God created you or you create it, does that really matter?

If you say yes, then maybe magic suits you better, but understanding theurgy will still help. If you say no, then maybe it’s not as hard a path to follow as people these days think it is.

Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.

Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~