Neoplatonism

McGuire, J. E. "Neoplatonism and active principles Newton and the Corpus Hermeticum." In Hermeticism and the scientific revolution, eds. R. S. Westman and J. E. McGuire, 94-142. Los Angeles Clark Memorial Library, 1977. 

Pagel, Walter. Paracelsus and the neoplatonic and Gnostic tradition. Ambix 8, no. 

Copenhaver, Brian P. "Iamblichus, Synesius and the "Chaldaean Oracles" in Marsilio Ficino s "De vita libri tres" Hermetic magic or neoplatonic magic " In... 

Kieley, Robert S. "The architect in the alembic Chemistry, neoplatonism, and religion in 17th century English generation theory." PhD thesis, Northwestern Univ., 1996. 

Valantasis, Richard. Spiritual guides of the third century a semiotic study of the guide-disciple relationship in Christianity, Neoplatonism, Hermetism, and Gnosticism. Minneapolis (MN) Fortress P, 1991. xi, 155p. ISBN 0-8006-7081-7... 

Rostvig, M.-S. "The hidden sense Milton and the Neoplatonic method of numerical composition." In The hidden sense and other essays, ed. M.-.S. Rostvig, 1-112. Oslo Universitetsforlaget, 1963. 

Erickson, Glenn W. Neoplatonic High Order in Antony and Cleopatra. Cauda Pavonis 11, no. 2 (Fall 1992) 1-11. 

Mystical Christianity This term describes various Christian ascetic traditions that sought a personal vision of God and made use of Neoplatonic ideas. Mystical Christianity has been part of the religion from its beginning in the first century. Notable Christian mystics are Ramon Hull (1236-1315), St. Francis of Assisi (1181 or 1182-1226), Meister Eckhart (c.1260-c.1328), and Teresa of Avila (1515-1582). 

Neoplatonism This group of Western mystical philosophies emerged in the first centuries after Christ and synthesized Platonic philosophy with Hermeticism and other mystical philosophies. It also revived interest in the Pythagorean school. The first Neoplationists were the Hellenistic philosopher Plotinus (204-70) and his teacher Ammonius Saccas (third century). 

Hermetic philosophy became a major influence on all Western magical practices and mystical traditions. Neoplatonism, alchemy, Gnosticism, Kabalah, Sufism, mystical Christianity, and occultism are included in this influence. There are seven basic concepts that make up this view. 

Hermetic and Neoplatonic tenets into their Islamic asceticism. Like all mystics, they strove for a personal experience of the divine, so it was natural that Jabir would be attracted to alchemy. Jabir developed a theory that became common to all subsequent alchemical texts. He said that all metals seemed to contain a balance of the four qualities that is, they are cold and dry externally, and hot and moist internally. This was due to the fact that they were formed in the earth by the union of a substance that he called sulphur or earthy smoke, and another, which he called mercury or moist vapor. Sulphur and mercury became a masculine and feminine polarity in alchemy. 

Neoplatonism A group of Western mystical philosophies that synthesize Plato with other mystical philosophies... 

In Forman s exposition of the Microcosmos he drew on books espousing Renaissance Neoplatonism and Paracelsianism, traditions that since Ficino s efforts in the late fifteenth century had fostered discursive texts on magic. In medieval Europe magical books passed from hand to hand, sometimes excerpted into recipe books and other collections, sometimes copied in full. Like books of secrets, magical books were cumulative endeavours, in part... 

Internal and external evidence are to the effect that the phase of chemical activity and interest which so long held the stage not only in Europe but in Arabia and Asia, spreading even to India and China, had its origin in the practices of the metal workers of Egypt and in the theories of matter and its possible changes as developed in the neoplatonic school of natural philosophy. 

In so far as the neoplatonic philosophy as applied to alchemy possessed a basis in ancient Greek philosophy, it was based mainly upon Plato s conceptions as formulated in his work entitled Timaeus. ... 

Harnack and Mitchell, Encycl. Britannica, (11th ed.), Neoplatonism. ... 

Confining our attention to those concepts more directly related to subsequent neoplatonic and alchemical views of physical phenomena, it is to be noted that he first formulated notions of the four elements, which, elaborated by his... 

These traditions are chiefly of interest as illustrating how the origin of alchemy is associated by tradition with Egyptian, Persian and Hebrew names, corroborating the evidence that the cult originated at the time when the traditions of these nations were blended with the Greek in the Alexandrian Neoplatonic schools. 

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