1.For there exists a certain Intelligible which you must perceive by the flower of mind. For if you should incline your mind toward it and perceive it as perceiving a specific thing, you would not perceive it. For it is the power of strength, visible all around, flashing with intellectual divisions. Therefore, you must not perceive that Intelligible violently but with the flame of mind completely extended which measures all things, except that Intelligible. You must not perceive it intently, but keeping the pure eye of your soul turned away, you should extend an empty mind toward the Intelligible in order to comprehend it, since it exists outside of (your ) mind. (Damascius, Dubitationes et Solutiones de Primis Principiis in Platonis Parmenidem I, 154, 14-26).
4. For power is with him, but intellect is from him. (Source, Proclus In Alc. 37)
8. Beside this one sits a Dyad. ... For it has a double function: it both possesses the intelligibles in its mind and brings sense-perception to the worlds..(Proclus, In Crat. 51).
32. [Now the third intelligible triad is self-generated, about which even the oracles say that] it is a worker, (that) it is the dispenser of life-giving fire, (that) it fills up the life-giving womb of Hecate, (and) pours on the Connectors a force of fruitful and very powerful fire. (Proclus, In Tim..I, 420)
33. [Thus the skill which exists in the Demiurge both remains within him and is himself, according to which he is called] skilled worker [by the Oracles and] Craftsman of the fiery cosmos. (Proclus, In Tim.I, 12)
37...Those which are borne around the frightful wombs like a swarm of bees—flashing here and there in various directions—are the intelligible Thoughts from the Paternal source, which pluck in abundance the flower of fire from the acme of sleepless Time...(Proclus, In Parm. 800)
38. For after he thought his works, the self-generated Paternal Intellect sowed the bond of love, heavy with fire, into all things.(Proclus, In Parm, 895)
39. ...With this Love, the elements of the world remain on course. (Proclus, In Tim.. II, 54)
40. By the bond of wondrous Love, which leapt first from Intellect, clothing his bonded fire with the fire (of Intellect) in order to mingle the Source Craters while offering the flower of his fire. (Damascius, II, 200).
44. The Father mixed the spark of soul with two harmonious qualities, Intellect and divine Will, to which he added a third, pure Love, as the guide and holy bond of all things. (Lydus, De Mens. I, 11; 3, 12-16 W + Schol. Paris. gr. 1853, f. 312r0)
46. “Faith, Truth, and Love,” [that praiseworthy triad]. (Proclus, In Tim. I, 212)
48. For all things are governed in these three (virtues). (Proclus, In Alc. 23)
51. Around the hollow of her right flank, a great stream of the primordially-generated Soul gushes forth in abundance, totally ensouling light, fire, ether, worlds. (Proclus, In rem. p., II, 201)
61. And the Oracles everywhere place the moon after the sun and the air after the moon. (Proclus, In Tim. III, 61 + 234)
64. ...The lunar course and the starry procession...(Proclus, In Tim. III)
85. [The first (teletarch) guides the] wing of fire, [the middle, the ether; and the third, matter.] (Proclus, Th. Pl. IV, 39)
86. [And the] ruler of souls [who stands on the Ethereal worlds is a Teletarch. (Proclus, In Tim. II, 58.)
102. Do not gaze at Nature; her name is Destiny. (Proclus, Th. Pl. 317.)
106. O man, cunning creation of an impudent nature. (Psellus)
108. For the Paternal Intellect has sown symbols throughout the cosmos... (Proclus, In Crat. 20)
109. But the Paernal Intellect does not receive the will of (the soul) until (the soul) emerges from forgetfulness and speaks a word, remembering the pure, paternal token.
116. For the divine is not accessible to mortals who think corporeally, but to all those who, naked, hasten upward toward the heights. (Proclus, In Crat. 88)
120. [(We must...) take care of the purification of our luminous body, which the Oracles also call] delicate vehicle of the soul. (Hierocles, In aurem. carm., 112)
124. Those who, inhaling, drive out the soul, are free. (Psellus)
130. [Therefore (the souls), by perceiving the works of the Father,] flee the shameful wing of alotted fate, [as the oracle says] and rest in God, drawing in the flowering flames which come down from the Father. From these flames, as they are descending, the soul plucks the soul-nourished flower of fiery fruits. (Proclus, In Tim. III, 266)
135. For you must not gaze upon them until your body has been initiated. Being terrestrial, these ill-tempered dogs are shameless. (Proclus, In Alc. 17-18.)
141. It is the loosing of the god when the sluggish mortal inclines toward their place. (Proclus, In Parm. 1094.)
142. Bodies have been attached to our self-revealed apparitions for your sakes.(Proclus, In rem. p., II, 242)
146: after this invocation, (it says) you will either see a fire, similar to a child, extended by bounds over the billows of air, or you will see a formless fire, from which a voice is sent forth, or you will see a sumptuous light, rushing like a spiral around the field. But you may even see a horse, more dazzling than light, or even a child mounted on the nimble back of a horse, (a child) of fire or covered with gold or, again, a naked (child), or even (a child) shooting a bow and standing on the back (of the horse). (Proclus, In rem. p. I, 111)
147. If you speak to me often, you will perceive everything in lion-form. For neither does the curved mass of heaven appear then, nor do the stars shine. The light of the moon is hidden, and the earth is not firmly secured, but everything is seen by flashes of lightning. (Psellus)
149. When you perceive a demon approaching, offer the mnizouris stone while making an invocation.(Psellus)
153. For the theurgists do not fall into the herd which is subject to Destiny. (Lydus, De mens., II, 16)
171. [The father guides us, opening paths of fire] so that we do not flow into a wretched stream from forgetfulness. ( e Proclo, Exc. chald. I, p. 193)
185. [The truer sun measures the All together with Time, truly being] Time of time. (Proclus, In Tim. III, 36)
186. [The river of forgetfulness (signifies) all the flowing of material things and] our rushing vessel. (Proclus In rem p. II, 95).
194. [But if I should touch upon the ineffable, mystical doctrine by which the Chaldean spoke in a divine frenzy concerning the] seven-rayed [god--that god through which he causes souls to ascend--I would be saying unknowable things.Yes, certainly unknowable to the herd, but well-known to the blessed theurigists.] (Proclus)
195. [But (the theurgists) have praised Time itself as a god, and one (Time god) (they praise) as] Linked to the Zones [...the other as Independent of the Zones.] (Proclus, In Tim. III, 45)
199. [The theurgists...praise this god (sc., Chronos) as older, younger,] unrolled, in a circle [and eternal.] (Proclus, In Tim. III, 20)
201. [Particular souls become mundane through their] vehicles. (Proclus, In Tim. I, 5).
206. Operate with the magic wheel of Hecate. (Psellus)
From the ORPHIC HYMNS (http://www.theoi.com/Text/OrphicHymns1.html):
To HEKATE (end of I. TO THE MUSAE)
And to my holy sacrifice invite, the pow'r who reigns in deepest hell and night;
I call Einodian Hecate, lovely dame, of earthly, wat'ry, and celestial frame,
Sepulchral, in a saffron veil array'd, leas'd with dark ghosts that wander thro' the shade;
Persian, unconquerable huntress hail! The world's key-bearer never doom'd to fail
On the rough rock to wander thee delights, leader and nurse be present to our rites
Propitious grant our just desires success, accept our homage, and the incense bless
[5] V. TO PROTOGONUS (FIRST-BORN)
The Fumigation from Myrrh.
O Mighty first-begotten [Protogonos], hear my pray'r, two-fold, egg-born, and wand'ring thro' the air,
Bull-roarer, glorying in thy golden wings, from whom the race of Gods and mortals springs.
Ericapæus [Erikapaios], celebrated pow'r, ineffable, occult, all shining flow'r.
From eyes obscure thou wip'st the gloom of night, all-spreading splendour, pure and holy light
Hence Phanes call'd, the glory of the sky, on waving pinions thro' the world you fly.
Priapus, dark-ey'd splendour, thee I sing, genial, all-prudent, ever-blessed king,
With joyful aspect on our rights divine and holy sacrifice propitious shine.
[76] LXXVI. To MNEMOSYNE, or the GODDESS of MEMORY
The Fumigation from Frankincense.
The consort I invoke of Jove [Zeus] divine, source of the holy, sweetly-speaking Nine;
Free from th' oblivion of the fallen mind, by whom the soul with intellect is join'd:
Reason's increase, and thought to thee belong, all-powerful, pleasant, vigilant, and strong:
'Tis thine, to waken from lethargic rest all thoughts deposited within the breast;
And nought neglecting, vigorous to excite the mental eye from dark oblivion's night.
Come, blessed power, thy mystic's mem'ry wake to holy rites, and Lethe's fetters break.
From Pseudo-Dionysius, "Celestial Hierarchy" (http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/areopagite_13_heavenly_hierarchy.htm)
Ch. 2, Sect. 5: We shall find the Mystic Theologians enfolding these things not only around the illustrations of the Heavenly Orders, but also, sometimes, around the supremely Divine Revelations Themselves. At one time, indeed, they extol It under exalted imagery as Sun of Righteousness, as Morning Star rising divinely in the mind, and as Light illuming without veil and for contemplation; and at other times, through things in our midst, as Fire shedding its innocuous light; as Water, furnishing a fulness of life, and, to speak symbolically, flowing into a belly, and bubbling forth rivers flowing irresistibly; and at other times, from things most remote, as sweet-smelling ointment, as Head Corner-stone. But they also clothe It in forms of wild beasts, and attach to It identity with a Lion, and Panther, and say that it shall be a Leopard, and a rushing Bear. But, I will also add, that which seems to be more dishonourable than all, and the most incongruous, viz. that distinguished theologians have shewn it to us as representing Itself under the form of a worm. Thus do all the godly-wise, and interpreters of the secret inspiration, separate the holy of holies from the uninitiated and the unholy, to keep them undefined, and prefer the dissimilar description of holy things, so that Divine things should neither be easily reached by the profane, nor those who diligently contemplate the Divine imagery rest in the types as though they were true; and so Divine things should be honoured by the true negations, and by comparisons with the lowest things, which are diverse from their proper resemblance.
Ch. 15, sect. 2: But we must keep our discourse within bounds, and must search, in our first explanation of the types, for what reason the Word of God prefers the sacred description of fire, in preference to almost every other. You will find it, then, representing not only wheels of fire, but also living creatures of fire, and men, flashing, as it were, like lightning, and placing around the Heavenly Beings themselves heaps of coals of fire, and rivers of flame flowing with irresistible force;
sect. 4: the sacerdotal robe denotes their conducting to Divine and mystical visions, and the consecration of their whole life.
sect 5: The rods signify the kingly and directing faculty, making all things straight. The spears and the battle-axes denote the dividing of things unlike, and the sharp and energetic and drastic operation of the discriminating powers.
sect 7: We must consider that the shape of a Lion signifies the leading, and robust, and indomitable, and the assimilation, as far as possible, to the unutterable Godhead, by the concealment of the intellectual footprints, and by the mystically modest covering of the path, leading to It, during Divine illumination.
sect. 8: The representation of the Eagle denotes the kingly, and soaring, and swift in flight, and quickness in search of the nourishment which makes strong, and wanness, and agility, and cleverness; and the unimpeded, straight, and unflinching gaze towards the bounteous and brilliant splendour of the Divine rays of the sun, with the robust extension of the visual powers.
That of Horses represents obedience and docility, and of those who are white, brilliancy, and as especially congenial to the Divine Light; but of those who are dark blue, the Hidden; and of those red, the fiery and vigorous; and of the piebald, the uniting of the extremes by the power passing through them, and joining the first to the second, and the second to the first, reciprocally and considerately.
...
But we must examine the fact that rivers are spoken of, and Wheels and Chariots attached to the Heavenly Beings. The rivers of fire signify the supremely Divine streams furnishing to them an ungrudging and incessant flow, and nourishing the productive powers of life; the chariots, the conjoined communion of those of the same rank; the wheels being winged, and advancing without turning and without deviation, the power of their advancing energy within a straight and direct path, towards the same unflinching and straight swoop of their every intellectual track, supermundanely straight and direct way. Also it is possible to explain, after another mystical meaning, the sacred description of the intellectual wheels; for the name Gel, Gel, is given to them, as the theologian says. This shews, according to the Hebrew tongue, revolutions and revelations. For the Empyrean and Godlike wheels have revolutions, indeed, by their perpetual movement around the Good Itself; but revelations, by the manifestation of things hidden, and by the elevation of things at our feet, and by the descending procession of the sublime illuminations to things below.
From "Ecclesiastical Hierarchy"
Caput II, 2, sect. II-V:
He, who has felt a religious longing to participate in these truly supermundane gifts, comes to some one of the initiated, and persuades him to act as his conductor to the Hierarch. He then professes wholly to follow the teaching that shall be given to him, and prays him to undertake the superintendence of his introduction, and of all his after life. Now he, though religiously longing for his salvation, when he measures human infirmity against the loftiness of the undertaking, is suddenly seized with a shivering and sense of incapacity, nevertheless, at last, he agrees, with a good grace, to do what is requested, and takes and leads him to the chief Hierarch.
Section III.He, then, when with joy he has received, as the sheep upon his shoulders, the two men, and has first worshipped, glorifies with a mental thanksgiving and bodily prostration the One beneficent Source, from Which, those who are being called, are called, and those who are being saved, are saved.
Section IV.Then collecting a full religious assembly into the sacred place, for co-operation, and common rejoicing over the man's salvation, and for thanksgiving for the Divine Goodness, he first chants a certain hymn, found in the Oracles, accompanied by the whole body of the Church; and after this, when he has kissed the holy table, he advances to the man before him, and demands of him, what has brought him here?
Section V.When the man, out of love to God, has confessed, according to the instruction of his sponsor, his ungodliness, his ignorance of the really beautiful, his insufficiency for the life in God, and prays, through his holy mediation, to attain to God and Divine things, he (the Hierarch) testifies to him, that his approach ought to be entire, as to God Who is All Perfect, and without blemish; and when he has expounded to him fully the godly course of life, and has demanded of him, if he would thus live,----after his promise he places his right hand upon his head, and when he has sealed him, commands the priests to register the man and his sponsor.
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