In this podcast, the host explores divine light and the senses in Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's work. They discuss Agrippa's theory of light, the geocentric worldview, and the importance of finding valuable ideas despite outdated concepts. The podcast also delves into inner senses in occult philosophy, their role in perception, and their connection to the divine light in magical practice. Additionally, the host explores the training of memory and its connection to the renaissance art of memory.
Agrippa's understanding of divine light and its descent through celestial bodies influenced his magical practices.
The inner senses, such as imagination and memory, are crucial tools for processing and managing images in magical practice.
Deep dives
Agrippa's Fascination with Natural Philosophy
Agrippa's predilection for natural philosophy was sparked at the age of 13 when he stumbled upon a volume on the works of Cornelius Agrippa. The theory and fascinating facts presented in the book ignited Agrippa's enthusiasm for science, leading him to communicate his discovery to his father. However, his father dismissed Agrippa's interest, not realizing the potential advancements in modern science. This lack of guidance would eventually shape Agrippa's misguided path towards ruin.
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Worldview
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's 'Three Books of Occult Philosophy' was written from a geocentric worldview, where the Earth was believed to be at the center of the cosmos. Agrippa's understanding of celestial bodies and their influences was heavily influenced by the Ptolemaic system. He explains how divine light descends through the celestial lights of the planets, with each planet absorbing and emitting specific colors. This filtered divine light enters the human soul and resides in the imagination, ultimately allowing us to perceive visible light.
The Inner Senses in Occult Philosophy
Agrippa's 'Three Books of Occult Philosophy' explores the inner senses and their role in magical practice. The inner senses, including the common sense, imaginative power, fantasy, and memory, play a crucial role in processing and managing images created by our outer senses. These inner senses are seen as active senses, and their involvement in the ingesting and manipulation of images is a powerful tool for the modern practitioner. The relationship between fantasy and memory is particularly notable, as memory acts as a sense that retains and distinguishes images, while fantasy processes and judges the reason and nature of these images.
Finally, here is part four of our deep dive into Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy! If you feel lost and would like to catch up with the first two episodes, you can find them on the page for this series.
In this episode, we will be taking a look at some pretty big topics: divine light and the senses. These form a pretty important core for the vision of magic outlined in this book, and I did as best I could trying to cover these topics and make sense of them. However, they are tricky, so I encourage feedback and questions if you feel like the topic hasn't been covered in enough depth.
To understand how Agrippa believed that the senses work, we have to begin by examining his ideas on light. For this, we take a trip through the Ptolemaic worldview, explore the imagination, and look at some really bizarre and outdated scientific concepts. But all is not lost! Come with me on a strange trip—no need to bring your own flashlight!
If you want to get a jump start on these topics, I would advise reading book one, chapters 49, 60, and 61.
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Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com