Theurgia, or The Egyptian Mysteries (includes Letter to Anebo)

What is the token (in the sacred rites) of the presence of a god, an angel, an archangel, a spirit, an archon, or a soul? It is common for gods, spirits, and all superior races to speak boastfully and to project an unreal image into view. Proclus says that in the "Perfective Rites," before the gods appear, intrusive figures of underworld spirits emerge to draw the candidate’s attention away from the "spotless Good" toward the gross and material. Thus, the race of the gods is made to seem no higher than that of the spirits.

It is acknowledged that ignorance and delusion regarding the gods is irreligiousness and impurity, and that superior knowledge of them is holy and helpful. The former is the darkness of ignorance regarding revered and beautiful things; the latter is the light of knowledge. Ignorance causes human beings to be beset by evil through recklessness, As George Sand said, "I do not see any sin in the world, but I see a great deal of ignorance." while knowledge is the source of all that is beneficial.

III

ORACLES AND DIVINATION

What occurs during divination? For example, when asleep, we often perceive through dreams things that are about to happen. We are not in an ecstatic, chaotic state, for the body lies at rest, yet we do not ourselves apprehend these things as clearly as when we are awake.