Editing Theurgy (section)

== Definitions ==
*[[Proclus]] ({{circa|480}}): theurgy is "a power higher than all human wisdom embracing the blessings of [[divination]], the purifying powers of [[Religious initiation rites|initiation]] and in a word all the operations of divine possession."<ref>[[Proclus]], ''On the theology of Plato'', 1.26.63. [[E. R. Dodds]], ''The Greeks and the Irrational'', University of California Press, 1959).</ref>
*[[Keith Thomas (historian)|Keith Thomas]]: "Spiritual magic or theurgy was based on the idea that one could reach God in an ascent up the scale of creation made possible by a rigorous course of prayer, fasting and devotional preparation."<ref>[[Keith Thomas (historian)|Keith Thomas]], ''Religion and the Decline of Magic'' (1971), Penguin, 1973, 320-321.</ref>
*[[Pierre A. Riffard]]: "Theurgy is a type of magic. It consists of a set of magical practices performed to evoke beneficent spirits in order to see them or know them or in order to influence them, for instance by forcing them to  animate a statue, to inhabit a human being (such as a medium), or to disclose mysteries."<ref name="Riffard"/>