Book Discussion The Chaldean Oracles

[Asteriskos]

Book – PDF - Ruth Majercik - The Chaldean Oracles: Text, Translation and Commentary | Wizard Forums

The Chaldean Oracles have provided a source of inspiration for various works of Magic/k.
Not the least of these are snippets adapted and woven throughout the ritual corpus of the Golden Dawn / RR et AC.
It's easier to get excellent material on the PGM with all the incredible posts in book shares thanks to @HoldAll (Impressive Posts!), than it has been to get Good material on the Chaldean Oracles. Of course we can only get what the authors/editors provide on any subject.
Prior to downloading this edition all I had was the material that W.W. Westcott provided for the G.D, which was good, but nothing as comprehensive as this edition. There was an earlier edition published as a degree dissertation, but this one is revised.
For someone curious about the Oracles, or considering adapting material from them this is Gold. This edition has a Parallel Translation, Notes and Analysis!
Variously called The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster, and sometimes Julianus the Theurgist, this book is a Magical Treasure Chest, IMO!

 

[HoldAll]

Book – PDF - Ruth Majercik - The Chaldean Oracles: Text, Translation and Commentary | Wizard Forums

The Chaldean Oracles have provided a source of inspiration for various works of Magic/k.
Not the least of these are snippets adapted and woven throughout the ritual corpus of the Golden Dawn / RR et AC.
It's easier to get excellent material on the PGM with all the incredible posts in book shares thanks to @HoldAll (Impressive Posts!), than it has been to get Good material on the Chaldean Oracles. Of course we can only get what the authors/editors provide on any subject.
Prior to downloading this edition all I had was the material that W.W. Westcott provided for the G.D, which was good, but nothing as comprehensive as this edition. There was an earlier edition published as a degree dissertation, but this one is revised.
For someone curious about the Oracles, or considering adapting material from them this is Gold. This edition has a Parallel Translation, Notes and Analysis!
Variously called The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster, and sometimes Julianus the Theurgist, this book is a Magical Treasure Chest, IMO!

Thanks, glad to be of service! The book was part of my inquire into Neoplatonian theurgy, and since Iamblichus was so fond of the Oracles... I still don't know how they did it though, maybe it was a closed practice or something. Meanwhile, you might enjoy this (highly scholarly) book:

Book – PDF - Hans Lewy - Chaldaean Oracles and Theurgy: Mysticism, Magic and Platonism in the Later Roman Empire (scan)

From an amazon review: "Students of Neoplatonism are inevitably confronted with the Chaldean oracles, a mysterious text whose origin is not definitively established. Starting with Porphyry, all the major philosophers of late Antiquity - most notably Iamblichus and Proclus - made extensive use...

wizardforums.com

 

[Asteriskos]

Thanks, glad to be of service! The book was part of my inquire into Neoplatonian theurgy, and since Iamblichus was so fond of the Oracles... I still don't know how they did it though, maybe it was a closed practice or something. Meanwhile, you might enjoy this (highly scholarly) book:

Book – PDF - Hans Lewy - Chaldaean Oracles and Theurgy: Mysticism, Magic and Platonism in the Later Roman Empire (scan)

From an amazon review: "Students of Neoplatonism are inevitably confronted with the Chaldean oracles, a mysterious text whose origin is not definitively established. Starting with Porphyry, all the major philosophers of late Antiquity - most notably Iamblichus and Proclus - made extensive use...

wizardforums.com

Thanks for the tip and the link. Iamblichus is a bit of an enigmatic character that had the advantage of being "well to do" enough (for his day) to focus on Theurgy! I think now perhaps it's time to unravel some more of Iamblichus' tactics. I'd really like to get into this now, but it's going to be Later today, my wife's got my itinerary planned for me most of today, when I get back though I sure Will dig into that link!

Post automatically merged: Dec 12, 2024

Thanks, glad to be of service! The book was part of my inquire into Neoplatonian theurgy, and since Iamblichus was so fond of the Oracles... I still don't know how they did it though, maybe it was a closed practice or something. Meanwhile, you might enjoy this (highly scholarly) book:

Book – PDF - Hans Lewy - Chaldaean Oracles and Theurgy: Mysticism, Magic and Platonism in the Later Roman Empire (scan)

From an amazon review: "Students of Neoplatonism are inevitably confronted with the Chaldean oracles, a mysterious text whose origin is not definitively established. Starting with Porphyry, all the major philosophers of late Antiquity - most notably Iamblichus and Proclus - made extensive use...

wizardforums.com

@HoldAll,
WOW, This book in combination with Ruth Majercik's "Chaldean Oracles" is "More than Enough" to turn me into a "Thaumaturgist by Day and a Theurgist by Night!" These two are the kind of books that are necessary in order to do "serious" research. It makes my heart "glad" when pure theoretical research results in even a tiny Practical application of a Principle or Theorem or Scrap of Divine Poetry that kind of "fits or falls" into place somehow in the overall "scheme"! For me, there's a lot of possibility to weave material into my "personal corpus" which makes my "system" much more effective than something out of someone else's "box"! These are the kind of books that facilitate / allow that kind of "theory into practice and constant refinement", IMO! So... you have indeed been instrumental in providing "just what was needed at just the right time", for Lots of folks, I've seen their reactions. Thanks Again!

 

[stalkinghyena]

I've owned a hard copy of Majercik since 2015 and prize it highly. For a small book it was pricey and a couple of pages were misprinted, covered over by sticky back paper to correct the pages, lol. I actually use it as an oracle daily using a dice method for selection. This morning's was #54, attributed to Proclus: "O the back of the goddess boundless Nature is suspended."
Comparing this to other fragments such as the right and left flanks of Hecate, the description of her hair, and do on, suddenly reminded me of Shiur Komah, a form of Jewish mysticism that focused on "measuring" the body of God. I can't help wonder if the there were variant currents of contemplation of "divine anatomy" in the Mediterranean region - but this is mostly a musing, one of many arising from the use of this book.

Majercik's intro is worth a careful reading, I think as she brings into comparison other cosmosgonies with what can be gathered from the Oracles themselves, such as Gnostic, Hermetic and other Neoplatonic schools, although briefly. Also, Lewy is one of her sources, which she cites in comparison with Festugierre and other notable scholars of the "platonic underworld." There's a lot of study links to find in this work, many of which I am still pursuing slowly thanks to the sources of the fragments and those mentioned in the footnotes.

Also I have been reading Stephen A Farmer's study of Pico della Mirandola's 900 Theses and apparently the young Count had intended to introduce a "Chaldean" bombshell of sorts into his planned Roman debate - I imagine the Oracles are what were referred to, but i am still early on in this work.

 

[Asteriskos]

I've owned a hard copy of Majercik since 2015 and prize it highly. For a small book it was pricey and a couple of pages were misprinted, covered over by sticky back paper to correct the pages, lol. I actually use it as an oracle daily using a dice method for selection. This morning's was #54, attributed to Proclus: "O the back of the goddess boundless Nature is suspended."
Comparing this to other fragments such as the right and left flanks of Hecate, the description of her hair, and do on, suddenly reminded me of Shiur Komah, a form of Jewish mysticism that focused on "measuring" the body of God. I can't help wonder if the there were variant currents of contemplation of "divine anatomy" in the Mediterranean region - but this is mostly a musing, one of many arising from the use of this book.

Majercik's intro is worth a careful reading, I think as she brings into comparison other cosmosgonies with what can be gathered from the Oracles themselves, such as Gnostic, Hermetic and other Neoplatonic schools, although briefly. Also, Lewy is one of her sources, which she cites in comparison with Festugierre and other notable scholars of the "platonic underworld." There's a lot of study links to find in this work, many of which I am still pursuing slowly thanks to the sources of the fragments and those mentioned in the footnotes.

Also I have been reading Stephen A Farmer's study of Pico della Mirandola's 900 Theses and apparently the young Count had intended to introduce a "Chaldean" bombshell of sorts into his planned Roman debate - I imagine the Oracles are what were referred to, but i am still early on in this work.

Fantastic information, the daily Oracle is a hell of a cool idea! Why haven't I done that, Yet? Both of the Oracle books that got posted recently knocked me out, just Great! I've stretched my self thin time wise bouncing back and forth between neoplatonism, the PGM and everything related, and wanting to "adapt" some of the Oracles to my own corpus / system which I continually "craft" (add, prune, shake and stir).
I'm pretty satisfied with it most of the time! I try to have physical and digital copies of the "Good Stuff". The Betz PGM, and everything related, and now starting to look for these two in hardback as well. A "real magical book" in one's "sorcerous hand" is an awesome thing!

Thanks for posting all the ideas and info, fascinating stuff. I've enjoyed it!