The Wisdom of Hypatia: Ancient Spiritual Practices for a More Meaningful Life (61 page)

better your soul will be prepared for the arrival of the divinity. To help achieve a trance state, you can use a point of
focus
, such as an oil lamp, a candle, an animated icon, or a character or other divine symbol.”

“How do you tell if the invocation is successful?” asks Cyrus.

“There are various signs that experienced theurgists can use to tell if the divinity is present. For example, you might observe the lamp focus to transform from the ordinary ‘mortal light’ to a numinous ‘strong immortal light’. Also, experienced theurgists can tell from the luminous apparitions what sort of spirit is present. According to Iamblichus, formless luminous apparitions are more reliable indicators of divine presence, since they are truer to a god’s form than are recognizable shapes. In confirmation, the
Chaldean Oracles
state:

290 the path of trust

But when you see the very holy shapeless fire,

which shines by leaps and bounds throughout the whole world’s depths,

attend the fire’s voice …323

“In any case, spirits are incorporeal and adopt a corporeal form only for our benefit, as explained in the
Oracles
,

… for you these bodies have been bound

upon the witnessed apparitions …324

“Once the spirit is present, you should engage in a dialog directed toward estab-

lishing an alliance. This might include vows on your part in thanks for the divine aid, and other agreements on symbols, signs, and tokens by which you and the spirit can

communicate.”

Hypatia takes a deep breath and concludes. “At the end of the ritual, bid the divini-ty to depart (if necessary) and thank them for their presence. Again, in theurgy we understand that a god cannot be ‘banished’. Rather, this dismissal begins the ‘detuning’

of your soul from the divine power and back to the material realm, thereby allowing

the divine projection to dissipate. Once you begin to return to normal consciousness, you can accelerate the process by turning away from the focal lamp and turning your

attention to everyday matters. Focusing on your body is a good strategy. You may

step off of the god’s characters, if they were used, and extinguish the incense and focal lamp. These and other characters and symbols of the god may be covered. Finally, you should remove your ceremonial robes and any symbols of the god you might be

wearing. This ends the rite. Note that the goal is not to sever all contact with divinity, but simply to conclude the rite.”

The following exercises give some practical suggestions for establishing alliances with spirits (complexes and archetypes). The practices are related to the technique of
active imagination
developed by Jung and used in analytical psychology.

the path of trust 291

Spiritual Alliance:
The theoretical basis for invoking a spirit and forming an alliance with it have been explained above. Once you understand how it works, you

can adapt the procedure to fit your own spiritual practice and taste; these are

general suggestions. It is easiest to communicate with a spirit if you have an

“animated” image of it, but that’s not required. A focus may be sufficient, but

when you are practiced, you can invoke a familiar spirit at any place and any

time. The simple procedure is to recall the spirit into the divine image in the

usual way. When you feel its presence, you can begin communicating for any

purpose. It is helpful to have a notebook (sometimes called a
spirit journal
) to record both sides of the conversation. You may be worried that you are making up the dialog, but unless you are consciously scripting it, there is no need

for concern; soon enough it will take surprising directions. All practitioners,

from ancient theurgists to modern analytical psychologists, assert that you

should be polite and respectful in dealing with spirits (personified complexes

and archetypes). You should be questioning, assertive, and firm, and maintain

a critical attitude. It is especially important that you stand your moral ground.

Keep in mind that archetypal deities have their own agendas, which serve hu-

mankind and nature as wholes, but we are moral agents living in a twenty-first

century society. Humility is important, since they may have more important

things to tell you than you have come to ask. If the spirit is aggrieved in some

way, then you should negotiate, without of course abandoning your core val-

ues. If the spirit has some power (creativity, courage, compassion, etc.) that

you desire, then you can negotiate the spirit’s aid. You can also arrange mutual

signs, words, or actions by which you can invoke the spirit or the spirit can get

your notice. (I have expressed these practices in theurgical terms, but from a

psychological perspective you are using symbols to activate and interact with

complexes and archetypes. Some of this sounds like hocus-pocus, but the ritu-

al of invocation may be as simple as sitting in a favorite chair and stating your

wish to speak to a particular subpersonality.)