Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

Discussion on literature other than by the Star of Azazel.
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Smaragd
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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Caput III.
What is Hierarchy? and what the use of Hierarchy?

Section I.

Now, it is time to try and define the Hierarchies. Dionysius goes about it by defining what is above it, how it functions and what purpose does it serve.

The Hierarchy is a metaphysical construction which bases on Oneness, and the hierarchical units working as if organs of God. A sort of totality of the Divine, lurking behind the meaning of the Hierarchy, is described being ”free of any dissimilarity”. It is as if the totality of the Divine bears all the worlds including the problem of evil, yet at the same time it is beyond the impurities as the initiations given through the Hierarchy is described as ”the undeviating moulding of those who are being initiated harmoniously to itself”. The immanent and transcendent divinities, as two different sides of the same being, could be seen one through the gradient of the Hierarchy.
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote:Hierarchy is, in my judgment, a sacred order and science and operation, assimilated, as far as attainable, to the likeness of God
A sacred order, I believe can be validly interpreted here in two ways different ways:
1. It is the order of nature, the laws and rulers of different areas of nature.
2. It is the One occult order – the Central Lodge – beyond all formal magical orders, the latter being able to harness the demands and powers of the initiations given from the invisible occult order. A book title comes to mind: ’The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order’. (If you seek this out, I recommend checking the page count. The original edition doesn’t have the important reprint of the Rosicrucian manifestos and the commentary, and was only added later to the book).

I used the article ’the’ instead of ’a’ because I believe there is either a mistranslation here or, the author observes individual units in the Hierarchy and how they operate according the same hierarchical idea, although the units have very specific purposes. I believe we as human beings are meant to ascend through all of them and thus we need to try to prepare ourselves to receive blessing, teaching and Knowledge from the totality of the Hierarchy.

Science could be interpreted to mean how Knowledge, more specificly: gnosis, is gained as one ascends through the Hierarchy. We can trace it through the subtle understanding of meanings which we come to understand against the rock of the mundane world, finding the supermundane within its depths. In Finland we have a traditional synonym for occultism, perhaps from the 19th-20th century nomenclature which can be translated freely as ”secret science” (salatiede). This word is a good alternative to emphasise the meaning for ’Science’ used in this text, differing from the definition used by today’s scientific academy.
Through the Science we come to understand also the operation of God, of the laws of nature, the mystery play it folds out from its different layers.
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote:and imparts its own proper light to each according to their fitness
This is an important part of understanding initiations. For temperaments emphasising mysticism, amidst its positive sides of sinking in to the depths of the experience and gaining gnosis from there or finding energetic unity with certain entities, there is a negative side to it also that could be seen as a trap where the initiations can not be actualized thorougly as the actualizations of the initiatory powers are not pierced through to the level of concious actions. The wondrous membrane of mysticism over the gray world of the mundane is enchanting and if it is not used consciously as a medium for inner meanings to be transferred to concrete reality to help make conscious responsible choices – ethical strive – it will entrap the mystic itself to this mediumistic state. As we know, over emphasising some part(s) of our human constitution will reflect the imbalance in the very being of the individual, impairing it incapable of proceeding on the Path until this imbalance is reconciled with and balance is restored. Thus we receive initiations only to the degree we make them realty in our every-day actions. Astral phenomena, feelings etc. are not real initiations. At best they may guide us towards rehearsing certain energetic modes of being and guide us towards them, but such hints can only be reached through balanced and careful interpretations of visions and situations on which these modes are well applied. I’m talking here about both the White and the Red astral, the former pertaining to the energetic modes and the latter to visions etc. in need of interpretation.

***

Unfortunately I have fallen a bit behind on the schedule. I will try to go through Section II during this week also, but if I can't make the deadline we'll have to shift the schedule a bit.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Smaragd
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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Caput III.
Section II.
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote:The purpose, then, of Hierarchy is the assimilation and union, as far as attainable, with God, having Him Leader of all religious science and operation, by looking unflinchingly to His most Divine comeliness, and copying, as far as possible, and by perfecting its own followers as Divine images
The purpose of Hierarchy is thus clarified. The first paragraph as a whole tries to overcome the possible abuse of this concept by beings who try to become a part of higher positions in the Hierarchy. The Hierarchy does not work, the truly occult initiations can not be reached if the Hierarchy is used for something else than purely the deifying initiations. False assimilations of the Hierarchy will not reach to it, as blasphemy can not reach the truly divine, and serves only to purify what is already impure.
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote:spreading this radiance ungrudgingly to those after it, in accordance with the supremely Divine regulations.
The planetary chains and rounds as presented by Theosophists and their Eastern Masters, could be seen presenting the Divine Hierarchy quite close to these expressions, just seen from a different perspective. Although the cosmic planetary chains could be seen as emanations (at least down to the fourth round) rather than ascending remanations they are ultimately one and the same: when the previous emanations have been gone through properly, the Central Lodge of Occult Masters in our solar system will give the next impulse on each of the spheres which leaves the current (human?) workers to the position of answering the challenges.

Forwarding the initiations ”ungrudgingly” is a vast topic. First it can be interpreted meaning the need to understand the nature of secrecy in occultism, which does not withhold information nor initiations arbitrarily. Secondly it could be seen as a reminder of not falling in to despair as despair might be coming visible all the more we draw nearer to the position of the Masters, who are but few and within their heavy state, they know all the hardship of the world.

Thirdly, there is an example on Secret Doctrine of Lilithian Moons of Mars, which could be seen as an example of grudging vampirism of the Mother, who keeps her dead forms alive rather than gives the powers to her Son as it should be. I will open my interpretations of this further in the Secret Doctrine Reading Circle today or tomorrow if my time allows.
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote:what is more Divine than all, in becoming a fellow-worker with God, as the Oracles say, and in shewing the Divine energy in himself manifested as far as possible.
I do find hope in a portion of modern education which allows people to see these kinds of ”Apostolic missions” in non-dogmatic fashion of providing helpful systems and seeking and sharing universal truths rather than dogmatic vomiting over nations. A gross simplification of the process could be seen as:
1. Mortification.
2. Vivification of the precious jewels revealed under the sea of dross.
3. Ascension higher through the Hierarchies by this re-establised base by giving out for others coming after you.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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Caput III.
Section III.
Celestial Hierarchy wrote:those who are being illuminated should be filled with the Divine Light

those who are being initiated should be separated from the imperfect, and become recipients of that perfecting science of the sacred things contemplated.
The initiatiations always require preparations and these pre-requirements must be concretized in order to be able to receive the actual initiation in full which is referred to as ”overflowing”. For this reason the (inner) teaching is only given to those who prepare for it. As we see in outer life, there is no point in offering pearls to the swine. But there should be no disrespect or bent elitism in such an expression when used in this context, for it only means that the time has not come for someone to receive a particular initiation and they are always working on some initiation although it seems to be not uncommon at all that people advance very little during one life time. The meaning of the separation of the imperfect from the perfect is that only those who Try and work to pass the initiations forth to others, will eventually make themselves pure and unclog the pathways of corresponding power within themselves and open the full potential of these initiations.
Celestial Hierarchy wrote:Further, that those who purify should impart, from their own abundance of purity, their own proper holiness; that those who illuminate, as being more luminous intelligences, whose function it is to- receive and to impart light, and who are joyfully filled with holy gladness, that these should overflow […] Thus each rank of the Hierarchical Order is led, in its own degree, to the Divine co-operation, by performing […] those things which are naturally and supernaturally in the Godhead, and accomplished by It superessentially, and manifested hierarchically, for the attainable imitation of the God-loving Minds.
The metaphysical position of the Hierarchies is quite close, or rather formative, of the human experience of the manifested world, which means that which is essentially already at the reach of the inner Master, or the Godhead as the text refers to its correspondence, we still need to strive for it through imitation which the Hierarchy is based on.

The way this section describes how each of the recipients of a unit in the Hierarchy will eventually overflow of the light (read: gnosis) speaks of the nature how it is also received. It is not mere information or data and thus it can not be given as such, but it must be reached within one’s essence and should we also say in substance? It is embodied and lived through. Such is the way we receive it within our inner life and by our inner guide. And as we approach the full initiation of a certain unit in the Hierarchy, that area within us start overflow. This means that we have come to to active phase where we know where and how the initiation is given forward and thus we may pass it on and receive ourselves the full extent of it.

For this sections comparative notions, I will point to the supposedly Buddhist teachings given through Blavatsky’s Theosophy in Secret Doctrine and in Sinnet’s Esoteric Buddhism. There the Hierarchies are spoken of, according to my interpretation, as ”rounds”. Maybe the rounds and the Hierarchies are not completely identical concepts, but as a whole I believe they represent the same thing. When it comes to occultism, the perspective where we look at things might actually alter quite a bit of the things we are observing and talking about, but I think my interpretation is still quite accurate. It might have been the latter book where the rounds are actually described through a metaphor of vessels being filled one after another. There are seven vessels (the number of division is mostly a given emphasis of a specific occult system) in each of the smaller and larger rounds (solar system, planetary, human, human individual etc.) and all of the vessels are filled one by one. When one of them is filled, the filled vessel overflows and pours the powers to the next. This is quite similar to the metaphor of overflowing light in Celestial Hierarchy.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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CAPUT IV.
What is meant by the appellation "Angels?"
Section I.

This section does not get very far in to the subject of the chapter, instead it slowly plants the subject of Angels in to the previously gone through concepts and particularly the Godhead, the Cause of all things – a superessential Deity from which all beings share from, and around which all beings are gathered around and from the Providence of which all is said to bubble forth. In short, the basic idea of archetypal essence behind all formal existence is laid out to give context to what are Angels, or as I suspect, those beings which I have previously called as ”Units” of the Hierarchy during this study of the Divine Hierarchies. Visually I’m imagining these Units as the ”knots” or crossing points in the matrix, while the matrix itself embodies the Hierarchy. In a fishing net form we may even recognize a traditional hierarchical symbol of a triangle forming if we seek a limited pattern from the infinitely repeating pattern. This is very descriptive of how traditional symbolical structures relate to the Mother’s matrix which is infinite and circular itself, housing the limits, structures and Order of the masculine principle.

A question may be rised whether the ”Cause of all things” is the same thing here as Causeless Cause mentioned by Blavatsky, which is the absolute, or whether it is the First Cause, which is a part of the numeration series,† and thus having a connotation towards the Logos – a (usually seen as masculine) representative of the absolute. The term Godhead seems to point towards the direction of Logos, for head* as a body part is already a limited aspect of existence, although it could be seen metaphysically having all the ideas within it in a seed from, while the rest of the body of the Divine Hermaphrodite could be seen representing the absolute God(dess) (through otherness) for the perspective of Logos.

Thus the beings of life are seen gathered around the superessence of the Head in the last sentence of this section, a classical symbol of center point and its circumference (Shiva-Shakti):
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote:It is evident, then, that all those Beings are around It, which have participated in It, in many forms.

† Kabbalistical schools have divided their metaphysics in to ten (3+7) sephirot which are sometimes called ’Numerations’, through which a more complete image of the hidden, and the creation, can be formed a hypothetical/instrumental understanding of. In addition to the Kabbalists, Agrippa’s second book goes through the numbers, as it seems, quite purely from the symbolical meaning of the numbers themselves without hanging too much on any one symbolical structure, although gathering information from many sources and traditions. Getting aquinted with Agrippas presentation may similarly help one to gain perspective to the whole of creation as the Kabbalistical Tree of Life may do, or as the Theosophical planetary chains and principles, or the SoA Hieroglyphic Key may as well. All these perspectives give somewhat different perspectives on the division of things and one may find them completing each others, although it is probably good to also sink deep with a lesser number of these systems in one’s occult practice in order to find enough depth that it catches on with actual life and occult practice.

* We can also see the masculine nature present in the described goodness of the superessence in the already mentioned ”Providence”, which holds meanings of guidance and structure, guardianship and foresight. While the feminine aspects are not totally devoid from the meanings of this word, we can still see the Judeo-Christian emphasis of the symbol carrying a meaning of the male seed in this text.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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Caput IV.
Section II.
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote: The holy orders, then, of the Heavenly Beings share in the supremely Divine participation, in a higher degree than things which merely exist, or which lead an irrational life, or which are rational like ourselves.
The Angelic as higher than irrational life means it is so well ordered within the Living Being of the Hierarchy, that there should be no possibility for unconsciousness or lacking meaning, direction nor purpose the scarcity all of which have their roots in chaos and disorder. Angels are neither rational for in their suprarational nature they are the orders that guide rationality, by which we as human beings can attempt to give order to even lower spheres. But as we know, our human rationale often makes things even more disorderly when lacking clear direction from the higher principles.

Divine imitation, moulding one’s intellect to a holism which leaves no separated part, no shadow unchecked, closes the possibility of justifying any degree of separatism, and is thus given as a descriptive, if not definitive, quality or operation method of angels. This is an active role of the angelic beings, which has been proclaimed in this text before. Pekka Ervast, emphasising the active role of the human stage of being, has perhaps hinted there to be a bit less active role to the higher ascending spheres of angels that are sometimes said to be almost like direct consequence of the good deeds done when these same beings or powers were going through the human stage. But these two points of views do not have to contradict each others if we understand that the active role of an angel is much more subtle and happening in a bit different area of existence, perhaps as a seed and a support which the human endeavour comes in to contact with and suddenly manages to find spiritual treasures below the surface reality. For example, think of finding your occult path and being lifted up to a world of wonder and previously unseen or unrecognized potential. There's a secret guidance recignizable which could be seen as the active plane of Angels.
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote:elevating themselves with the intensity of the Divine unswerving love, and receiving the primal illuminations without earthly stain
Emphasis mine. The pejorative connotation given to ’earthly’ can be seen appropriate by understanding earth element’s significance (in both good an bad) as the instrument or the state of substance within the area of the unconscious. The human being is defined by the crossroads it enhabits: it delves in both the lofty worlds of spirit and ideals as well as the chaotic world lacking intelligence, understanding and consciousness. In fact it IS the bridge between the two. Thus the earthly, the coarse material body of ours can be seen as the one representing to us the unconsciousness, and as an instrument having the effect on us by which we forget our past lives and to a certain degree the spirit too when we are reincarnated to this body. Drinking from Lethe, one of the five rivers (or a fountain) of the Greek underworld, makes you forget and thus become ”dead”. Perhaps we can interpret this underworld river as a subaspect of matter. Therefor to the degree understanding and the Divine Imitation is achieved, we have reordered and refined our substance accordingly until the highly anticipated immortal body has been created. According to Pseudo-Dionysius, Angels are thus defined by having reached such great order (i.e. Hierarchy) within their being, that they are not unconscious, not having qualities of the forgetfulness of the dead. From this point of view humanity is, in part, a necromantic quest in it’s reach for the substance base of Chaos.
Virgil wrote:The souls that throng the flood
Are those to whom, by fate, are other bodies ow'd:
In Lethe's lake they long oblivion taste,
Of future life secure, forgetful of the past.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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Smaragd wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 1:32 amPekka Ervast, emphasising the active role of the human stage of being, has perhaps hinted there to be a bit less active role to the higher ascending spheres of angels that are sometimes said to be almost like direct consequence of the good deeds done when these same beings or powers were going through the human stage. But these two points of views do not have to contradict each others if we understand that the active role of an angel is much more subtle and happening in a bit different area of existence

Also, we once again come to that mysterious (and a bit dangerous) philosophy of the possible lack of free will in a way we usually think it. Are human beings truly free to choose, or are we actually as bound to the strict balance of necessity as other beings, from herbs to angels? I believe that the whole concept of "choice" and "will" will be changed drastically eventually, and what we have previously thought of as freedom will be shown to be the worst kind of slavery, and I mean this quite literally.

* * *

Today's Zohar gave such beautiful and thought-provoking ideas about the essential nature of angels – both good and evil – that I wanted to share it under this discussion:

Pinchas A, Chapter 30 wrote:And [at night, when the gates of Gehennom open] the gates of the heart, which are the eyes, are blocked off so they should not view the evil spirits, that are Lilit. And thus they do not control the lights of the heart, which are angels, that spread throughout all the limbs as the branches of a tree in every direction. At that time all the lights are shut off in the heart, and they gather to it as doves into their dovecotes, as Noah and his wife and all the species who entered with him into the ark.
Faust: "Lo contempla. / Ei muove in tortuosa spire / e s'avvicina lento alla nostra volta. / Oh! se non erro, / orme di foco imprime al suol!"
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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Nefastos wrote: Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:03 am I believe that the whole concept of "choice" and "will" will be changed drastically eventually, and what we have previously thought of as freedom will be shown to be the worst kind of slavery, and I mean this quite literally.
I agree. For example, it is a common misconception that the uncontrolled exhibition of animal impulses within us is the ultimate expression of freedom. On the contrary, the foolishness of turning the blind eye to the consequences will bind us to the repercussions that will (eventually) reveal us the laws of nature we turned our eye away from. The first mistake here is often the confusion between natural and man-made laws (social conventions, legislation etc.), and allowing ignorance of natural law on the grounds of disrespecting man-made laws. This is especially something we ought to take notice as Satanists or as individuals who possesses some degree of fascination towards Satan or antinomian credo. When we come across a bear in the wild, it is not a demand coming from man-made cultural distortions that we need and must keep our animalistic reactions in check in order to face such otherness with dignity and harmless consequences.


What beauty in those passages of Zohar! As we have arrived to poetic visions on the matter, I’ll allow myself to a revery found from the following idea in order to loosely bridge them to the themes of the supreme and sublime poetry in Zohar:
Smaragd wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 1:32 am angels that are sometimes said to be almost like direct consequence of the good deeds done when these same beings or powers were going through the human stage.
Paper Plane

children folding paper planes
running on the hill, under the Tree
nimble feet trod and plod
the once young near the weighty top

an elder watches from afar
as the hand and the wings are whispered apart
the Joyous Flight, a dance over the winds
cold runs the breath as the night begins
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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Caput IV.
Section III.


The sentences in Divine Hierarchy are quite long and the language of the translation is a bit old or conforming quite a bit to the language of the source text so interpretations are quite challenging. The central idea in this week’s section seems to be how revelation and divine inspiration works in the Hierarchy. Although many have claimed direct immediacy of God as it is in the manifestations of the Divine, this can not be so.

Philosophically this will never be the case because the hidden absolute, as it is, can not be split in to experiences, impressions and so on. We can be present at experiences and impressions of the holy, but these are never the absolute as it is. It is always some limited impression although the experience would speak of unspeakable oneness.

Practically this means that we can and need to be aware of the transmitting/mediating entities of the Hierarchy in order to be able to receive, value and practically appreciate the experience and follow the inspiration, if we want to serve our calling well. For example, if we look at the Hierarchies through the division of the Hieroglyphic Key, we may become aware of our lackings in listening and working our kama rupa, or applying our rational mind, and if we don’t pay attention to these short comings we will not get further in the initiations relating to the corresponding areas of the short comings. Thus thus the possibility for receiving or practical appliance of divine inspiration will remain obscure. But as occultists we can sharpen our instruments and their relation to each others in order to be more aware of how these mediating instruments affect the Theophany we are the witnessess of, and thus build our ability to receive and serve the absolute with greater impact.

We are well aware of the warning examples of delusional people following ”divine inspiration”. We just need to acknowledge that we are all delusional to the degree we leave our short comings, which we all have, unattended. What matters is that we can always strive for greater understanding and clarity.
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote:within each Hierarchy, there are first, and middle, and last ranks and powers, and that the more divine are instructors and conductors of the less, to the Divine access, and illumination, and participation.
The second point, in clear connection to the first, in this week’s section is that it is actually the lower portions of Hierarchies that tend to matter to us more and reveal divine meaning. I interpret this being because the higher Hierarchies tend to blow far over our heads and our abilities do limit our participation in the Divine manifestations. Thus we need to focus first on the areas we can possibly reach in our strive at the moment, and by focusing on the four lesser (four, as they are often called in Theosophical as well as SoA literature,) initiations first, the higher one’s will eventually and necessarily follow.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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Caput IV.
Section IV.


This week’s portion of the text, ending the answer to the question of what are meant by ”Angels”, has two main points, both of them overlapping widely with each others.

1st: Angels are higher than man in the sense that the emanations flow through them, as the Hierarchies, towards the condition of Man. Thus Man could be perhaps seen possessing the whole of the Hierarchy within, yet waiting for the drops of dew to hit the bottom for the emanation to reach the full human condition making Man as submissive to the Angels from one perspective and rising above from another. Interesting Shiva-Shakti type of intercourse happening there, a sort of co-dependency.

2nd: Angels are thus like organs, limbs or members of the microcosm and all that can be done according to any ideal is done through them.

I found the following to be very sharp view to the matter, revealing intriguing details:
Pseudo-Dionysius wrote:even Jesus Himself, the superessential Cause of the super-heavenly Beings, when He had come to our condition, without change, did not overstep the good order which becomes mankind, which Himself arranged and took, but readily subjected Himself to the dispositions of the Father and God, through Angels
Let’s look at Christ as the ideal Man – the Divine Man – who is the microcosm and within whose superessential being the whole Hierarchy resides. Jesus is then this superessential being descended in to our condition, and everything he does with Christ at the helm of action is perfect wielding of the Angelic powers. ”Did not overstep the good order” means that within this ideal carried by Jesus one does not get blinded by the condition of man, one does not place some portion of existence over another, one does not place absolute value on one-eyed perspectives, but uses all the different conditions and perspectives as instruments of the One whole. This is also the idea behind Hermeticism where the Hermetic golden chain breaks if one link is broken by the overemphasis of another, and this is the idea behind the Hermetic Seal which is made by the perfect balance of principles, creating such nuance and true mystery that to penetrate it completely is almost impossible and the culmination of all creation, and thus corresponds to the biblical Narrow Gate. This is also the Mercurial circumambulation where we circle some topic or mystery in order to receive different points of views and thus avoid one-eyed perspectives and allow One holistic image to form our understanding.

Every action, by definition, is a compromise from the perfect equilibrium of principles in the ideal world of superessential Christ, but in theory there can be a perfect action in relation to the state of imbalance the form of action is offered and intended for.

***

We might be taking the next week off and continue on Caput V. come the 2nd of January, unless I get anxious during the holidays and feel a compulsive need to work when I am not supposed to.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Re: Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

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CAPUT V.
For what reason all the Heavenly Beings are called, in common, Angels.

This chapter asks a question which I guess many have thought as inconsistencies between less specific and more detailed delvings in to the invisible world, and as there are additionally many individuals doing such expeditions together with cultural overlap, the terminology will obviously vary. Thus it seems just an unfortunate mixing that the Celestial Hierarchies are in general called Angels, while there are at the same time a specific rank there called ’Angels’.

Pseudo-Dionysius doesn’t entirely resolve the problem in this chapter, acknowledging it by stating how those lower in the hierarchy does not posses the vastness of power as those above them. Still, some kind of a reason is given according to which Angels conduct the divine powers from above them to the being dwelling in the lower worlds. We can think of Angels as messenger, and in such a role they could be possibly seen as presenting for the Divine Hierarchies as a whole, although unable to present that power as a in its entirety as it is. Likewise, our dreams can not present things just as they are but rather we need to make interpretations to distill the hidden deeper layers in to our view and understanding by active participation.

According to the end of the chapter, next we are going to look closer in to the different Celestial ranks. This sounds like a good place to again take the comparative tool in to a more central use. Because there has been not much participation from others in this reading group, I will decide on the fly whether we will take multiple weeks on the short area of Caput VI, in order to have time to delve in to other sources and make comparisons, or if it seems more sensible to make those comparisons as the chapters run on. It is likely we will take at least two or three weeks to investigate Caput VI. If anybody wants to comment on previous chapters please write the chapter on top of your message and have a go. I might be dividing this topic in to its chapters so we can discuss specific chapters in the future as we want without feeling unease of getting this one topic all mixed up with different discussions.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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