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Books by Christopher Plaisance

This is a book in the history of Western esotericism which seeks to clarify the meaning and histo... more This is a book in the history of Western esotericism which seeks to clarify the meaning and historical context of θεαγωγία within the Papyri Graecæ magicæ (PGM) — to inquire into its nature to uncover what it meant to those who utilized the term, and to chart the historical connections that exist between it and other related terms and concepts. To accomplish this, I explore the attitudes towards the practice of θεαγωγία by means of an exegesis of the most extensive, and earliest, discussions of the topic: PGM IV.930–1114. I clarify the relationship that exists between θεαγωγία and the closely related members of the same family of ‘magical’ operations: (1) the Greek curse tablets and binding spells (κατάδεσμοι), (2) the world of coercive erotic spellcraft (ἀγωγή), and (3) the evocation of the souls of the dead (ψυχαγωγία), and (4) the Demotic spells which call down the gods (pḥ-nṯr). The connection to θεαγωγία ties together what may at first appear to be disparate practices, while at the same time, my research into θεαγωγία demonstrates that its meaning and historical context can only be understood by inquiring into the nature of its connection to these historically related currents of ‘magic’ with which it runs parallel throughout the papyri.

Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals by Christopher Plaisance

This article explores the issues surrounding the critical analysis of first generation electronic... more This article explores the issues surrounding the critical analysis of first generation electronic objects within the context of the study of contemporary esoteric discourse. This is achieved through a detailed case study of Benjamin Rowe's work, A Short Course in Scrying, which is solely exemplified by digital witnesses. This article demonstrates that the critical analysis of these witnesses is only possible by adapting the general methods of textual scholarship to the specific techniques of digital forensics—particularly the analysis of computer metadata and web archives. The resulting method, here termed web philology, is applicable to the critical analysis by the scholar of religion of any primary source documents originating on the web as electronic objects.

This is an article on the history of religion and mathematics, which explores the origins and use... more This is an article on the history of religion and mathematics, which explores the origins and uses of geometric terminology in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century esoteric discourses, and inquires as to whether or not such adaptions are instances of the discursive strategy identified by Olav Hammer as terminological scientism. For the situation regarding spheric terminology, I argue that the context is not scientistic, being rather an example of the decontextualised modern appropriation of antique terminologies. In the case of planar terminology, I conclude that while its origin with Emanuel Swedenborg as an adaption of anatomical vocabulary does indeed fit Hammer’s definition of scientism, modern usage stripped the term of Swedenborg’s scientistic rationale — making the scientistic designation something of a vestigial atavism. In dealing with dimensional terminology, my conclusion is that from Johann Zöllner’s initial formulation to the broader Spiritualistic and Theosophical applications, it exemplifies terminological scientism through and through.

Correspondences 3, 2015

This is an article in the history of Western esoteric currents that re-examines and clarifies the... more This is an article in the history of Western esoteric currents that re-examines and clarifies the relationship between esoteric and psychological discourses within the works of Israel Regardie. One of the most common ways in which these two discourses have been found to be related to one another by scholars of the esoteric is through the process of “psychologization”—with Regardie often being put forth as a paragon of the process. This paper argues that a unitary conception of psychologization fails to adequately describe the specific discursive strategies utilized by Regardie. In order to accurately analyze his ideas, a manifold typology of complementary, terminological, reductive, and idealist modes of psychologization is proposed instead. Through this system of classification, Regardie’s ideas regarding the relationship between psychological and esoteric discourses are understood as a network of independent but non-exclusive processes, rather than as a single trend. It is found that all four modes of psychologization are present, both in relative isolation and in combination with one another, throughout his works. These results demonstrate that while it is accurate to speak of Regardie as having psychologized esoteric discourse, this can only be the case given an understanding of “psychologization” that is differentially nuanced in a way that, at least, accounts for the distinct discursive strategies this paper identifies.

This is an article in the history of magic that re-evaluates Alison Butler’s thesis regarding the... more This is an article in the history of magic that re-evaluates Alison Butler’s thesis regarding the novelty of the magical praxis of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It consists of a response to two claims made by Butler as to the morphological novelty of the order’s magic: 1) the utilization of active, as opposed to passive modalities of the vis imaginativa; and 2) the techniques of unmediated invocation. In both domains, not only do Butler’s works mischaracterize the practices of the Golden Dawn itself, but also wrongly identifies these categories as instances of innovation. In fact, there is a strong degree of formal similarity between the ritual mechanics of the order and those earlier antique, medieval, and Renaissance practitioners in the specific areas of visualization and invocation. These similarities strongly call into question the characterization of the Golden Dawn’s magic as fundamentally modern in form.

Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, 2013

This paper in the doxographic history of Western esotericism examines H.P. Blavatsky's use of the... more This paper in the doxographic history of Western esotericism examines H.P. Blavatsky's use of the terms “soul” and “spirit” in Isis Unveiled. “Soul” and “spirit” have been given great importance both in early Greek thought and throughout the subsequent history of Western philosophy, religion, and science, and uses of these terms are generally bound up with the attributions of one Greek school or another. As Isis Unveiled specifically frames itself as a “Hermetic” work, it would be reasonable to assume that Blavatsky’s early use of “soul,” “spirit,” and their cognates in other languages would comport to the usage of the Alexandrian Hermetists — who phrased the relationship between the two in terms of spirit being distinct from and inferior to soul, with spirit acting as an intermediary substance which bridges the gap in the emanative descent from the soul to body. However, Blavatsky’s use both of the English and Greek terms (as well as their Latin equivalents) curiously follow an inversion of this usage. As such, the principal purpose of this study is to examine her understanding of these terms, and of the sources to which she appeals in an attempt to uncover how and why this transvaluation occurred. This is accomplished by first examine Blavatsky’s usage, and then those of the historical precedents, charting the semantic shift from antiquity to that of Isis Unveiled.

Articles in Edited Volumes by Christopher Plaisance

Daimonic Imagination: Uncanny Intelligence, 2014

In the second chapter of De mysteriis, Iamblichus (AD c.245–325) quotes his interlocutor, Porphy... more In the second chapter of De mysteriis, Iamblichus (AD c.245–325) quotes his interlocutor, Porphyry (AD 234–c.305), as having asked: “what is the sign of the presence of a god, an angel, an archangel, a daemon, or of some archon or a soul”? With this query, Iamblichus launches into an exhaustive discourse detailing the epiphanies revealed by the aforementioned beings. When discussing the κρείττονα γενή (“superior classes”), Iamblichus had previously restricted his discourse to the four groups known to so many of the Platonists before him—θεοί (“gods”), δαίμονες (“daimones”), ἥρωες (“heroes”), and ψυχαὶ ἄχρατοι (“pure souls”). Yet, his response to Porphyry’s question includes αρχάγγελος (“archangels”), άγγελος (“angels”), and two varieties of ἄρκοντος (“archons”). Although angels were mentioned by Porphyry and several Middle Platonists, the inclusion of archons in Neoplatonic hierology is uniquely Iamblichean. What then is the nature of these archons? Thus far, studies of Iamblichus have neglected to deal with the issue of the archons in a thorough manner. The secondary literature that does mention them relegates them either to footnotes or a paragraph at most. This paper’s purpose is to remedy this gap in scholarship and to explore the origin of the idea and the resulting role of the archons in De mysteriis. In particular, I will argue that the conventional assignation of both archontic classes as being below the heroes in the hierarchy of the superior classes is incorrect, and that it can be demonstrated that the cosmic archons are not only ontologically prior to the daimones, but are also identical with the visible gods.

Alchemical Traditions, 2013

Throughout alchemical tracts from the fifteenth century onward, one of the more commonly employed... more Throughout alchemical tracts from the fifteenth century onward, one of the more commonly employed emblems was that of the tower. At times, these towers appear to be full-sized structures surrounded by, or containing, people; at others, they appear as miniature castles set within the alchemist’s laboratory. What is it that links these depictions of realistically proportioned towers with their diminutive counterparts? What is the origin of this image, and what did it symbolize? The purpose of this paper is to investigate the image of the tower as an alchemical icon — to inquire into its genesis and significance. To accomplish this, we begin with a brief overview of the history and doxography of the alchemical tradition, continue into a discussion on the importance of laboratory equipment within the context of alchemical work, focus our inquiry into the athanor furnace, and conclude with an analysis of the iconography of the tower within the context of the previous sections.

Occult Traditions, pp. 140–154, 2012

This is a paper in the history of Western esotericism whose purpose is to argue that the process ... more This is a paper in the history of Western esotericism whose purpose is to argue that the process of evolution from Medieval to Renaissance forms of angel magic—as specifically embodied in Liber Juratus Honorii and De occulta philosophia libri tres—is more accurately characterized as one of a developmental continuum than a discontinuous break made by the fifteenth century reintroduction of the Neoplatonic and Hermetic corpora. It proceeds by examining, first, what precisely angel magic is—how it can be placed with in an etic explanatory matrix, and what its relation to concurrently practiced forms of magic is. This is followed by an explication of both ritual magic in general and angel magic in particular as practiced during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. This is done by appealing both to the two aforementioned texts, as well as works from the various traditions from which they evolved. The paper then concludes with a cautiously suggestive analysis of the possible reasons as to why the great gap that seemingly exists between Medieval and Renaissance forms of angel magic is more apparent than real.

Occult Traditions, pp. 79–92, 2012

This is a paper in the history of philosophy. Its goal is to explore the thesis that Neoplatonis... more This is a paper in the history of philosophy. Its goal is to explore the thesis that Neoplatonism acted as the source for both the emanation cosmology and the rigidly hierarchical angelologies and demonologies that pervade late Medieval and early Renaissance works on theurgy and goëtia. As such, the paper begins by examining the Platonic roots of Neoplatonism, paying special attention to theory of Forms espoused in the Republic and that of the demiurge found in Critas and Timaeus. Following this, the paper delves into Neoplatonism proper, beginning with an analysis of Plotinus' four-tiered emanative cosmos, and then heading forward in time to Iamblichus' praxes that developed in response to Plotinus' metaphysics—particularly the practice of theurgy and the end goal of henōsis. The paper then makes a brief foray into the Judaic infusions that Neoplatonic metaphysics were met with in their transmission from the Mediterranean coasts to Western Europe; the primary form of influence in this case is one of nomenclature, with the hierarchical cosmos conceived by the Neoplatonists being given Hebrew names stemming from the Bible and the myths surrounding King Solomon. Following this, the paper looks at the theologies presented in Medieval occult philosophies as exemplified by two texts—The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage and The Lesser Key of Solomon—and correlates this with the previously examined Neoplatonic doxa and praxes.