Self-Knowledge, Illumination and Natural Magic: Some Notes on Pico della Mirandola's Esotericism and its Ancient Sources (original) (raw)
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Il poeta fiorentino Nicolò Martelli (1498-1555), in contatto con i più importanti letterati e artisti dell’epoca e noto per le sue rime amorose e burlesche, si dedicò anche alla tematica spirituale. Numerose fra le epistole antologizzate nel Primo libro delle lettere (1546), infatti, accennano a sonetti che facevano parte di un raccolta denominata Fervori spirituali e che l’autore usava inviare alla spicciolata ai suoi corrispondenti. Per quanto Martelli dovette lavorare per un buon numero di anni ai Fervori, dedicandoli ora a uno ora a un altro illustre mecenate, siamo a conoscenza solo di alcuni di questi testi grazie al manoscritto autografo 2862 della Biblioteca Riccardiana di Firenze, che trasmette una «Una parte delli Fervori Spirituali di Nicolò Martelli al Redemptore», con lettera di dedica a Marguerite d’Angoulême, regina di Navarra, datata 31 ottobre 1542. I trenta sonetti presenti nel codice, tuttora inediti, sono dominati da un petraschesco senso di pentimento: il «pensiero» del poeta si allontana troppo spesso da Dio, «Sommo bene», per dedicarsi alle «cose terrene». Ne conseguono accorate e insistite richieste di perdono a Dio Padre, o preghiere al Figlio, a Maria Vergine o a santa Lucia, accanto alle quali compaiono temi scottanti del dibattito religioso coevo, come il libero arbitrio e il ruolo salvifico della grazia divina. Dietro a tanto ‘fervore spirituale’, però, si nascondono anche intenti encomiastici e scopi personali: Martelli intendeva ingraziarsi la regina, ben nota per i suoi interessi religiosi e potenziale intermediaria per una sistemazione del poeta alla corte di Francia.
eSharp Journal, 2020
The relationship between religion and magic holds a precarious position in history. One common understanding is that religion petitions while magic coerces. This understanding has seen magic stand diametrically opposed to religion, a viewpoint which appears to develop in the early centuries of the Christian era. The Christian tradition has often regarded narratives of spiritual ascent, particularly accounts of the practice known as theurgy, as controversial, particularly due to concerns that they might clash with Christin doctrine. The term theurgy (Greek θεουργία or theourgia), which appears to have originated in the Chaldaean Oracles, is a compound word which literally translates as 'god work'. It was adopted in late antiquity to differentiate between the ritual acts and practice, in contrast to theology, which can be literally translated as 'god speech' or speech about god. The act of contemplation has been viewed as orthodox by Christian thinkers, while acts of theurgy have generally been rejected as magic. This paper explores how ideas of spiritual ascent and theurgy found in the narratives of the ancient philosophers and Jewish Kabbalists can contribute to a better understanding of the complexities of the relationship between religion and magic and blur the boundaries of magic as defined by Renaissance mages such as Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) and Giovanni della Mirandola (1463-1494). This paper explores the benefits the boundaries between religion and magic of setting a new definition for the practice of theurgy for our understanding by comparing this ancient practice with the ideas of Ficino and Pico.
A New Look at Spirituality Knowledge and Transformation in Early Modern Italy
The article examines the theme of spiritual transformation in three poets (Lazzarelli, Augurelli, Mantuanus) writing in the context of hermeticism, alchemy and monastic spirituality. Building on current scholarship on Western Esotericism and religious pluralism, the article argues that whether it occurs in hermetic, alchemical, or hagiographical contexts, spiritual transformation is characterized by recurring linguistic features and motifs consistent with Kocku von Stuckrad's definition of 'language of experiential knowledge'. In a dialogue with Michel Foucault and Pierre Hadot, moreover, the article suggests interpreting this phenomenon in light of an expanded notion of spirituality.
Occultism and Christianity in twentieth-century Italy: Tommaso Palamidessi’s Christian Magic
Occultism in a Global Perspective (eds. H. Bogdan and G. Djurdjevic), 2014
Tommaso Palamidessi (b. Pisa, 1915; d. Rome, 1983) is undoubtedly one of the most noteworthy figures of the twentieth-century Italian esoteric revival. In previous publications, I have sketched an outline of his life and work, giving a general survey of his doctrine. Here I would to like to focus, more specifically, on the ritual and magical dimension of his Christian esotericism. Particular attention will be given to the broader framework of early twentieth-century Italian esoteric currents. Tis will enable us to evaluate the importance of Palamidessi’s borrowings from the surrounding esoteric culture, as well as to assess the extent of his originality and inventivenes