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For the Love of the Gods: The History and Modern Practice of Theurgy
Follow the Footsteps of History and Discover the Path to the Gods
For the Love of the Gods tells the epic story of theurgy, from its roots in ancient Egypt to its modern day practice. The lives and passions of the early Pagan philosophers come alive in these pages, immersing you in the bustling cities and diverse cultures that spawned theurgy as we know it today. Theurgy is best understood when it is deeply experienced. The stories presented here re-create the experience of these ancient practices and show how they were passed down through generations of teachers and students of differing ethnicities, genders, and ages.
It's commonly believed that ancient Pagan theurgy traditions were erased from the earth and replaced by monotheistic religions—but this is a myth. The way to the gods was never lost. For the Love of the Gods shares step-by-step instructions for theurgic rituals, so that you can create relationships with the gods and love them as the ancients did. Discover how to offer devotionals, create living statues, invoke into yourself and others, and achieve personal communion so that you, too, may dwell in the happy presence of the divine.
For the Love of the Gods tells the epic story of theurgy, from its roots in ancient Egypt to its modern day practice. The lives and passions of the early Pagan philosophers come alive in these pages, immersing you in the bustling cities and diverse cultures that spawned theurgy as we know it today. Theurgy is best understood when it is deeply experienced. The stories presented here re-create the experience of these ancient practices and show how they were passed down through generations of teachers and students of differing ethnicities, genders, and ages.
It's commonly believed that ancient Pagan theurgy traditions were erased from the earth and replaced by monotheistic religions—but this is a myth. The way to the gods was never lost. For the Love of the Gods shares step-by-step instructions for theurgic rituals, so that you can create relationships with the gods and love them as the ancients did. Discover how to offer devotionals, create living statues, invoke into yourself and others, and achieve personal communion so that you, too, may dwell in the happy presence of the divine.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 8, 2016
17 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Brandy Williams
30 books15 followersBrandy Williams is a Wiccan high priestess and ceremonial magician who has been practicing and teaching magic for over twenty-five years. An internationally known author and lecturer on esoteric topics and women's studies, she is also an initiator within Ordo Templi Orientis, based out of Washington State.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 9, 2017
This is one of the most important books that I have had the pleasure of reading, and it's had a substantial impact on my spirituality.
Brandy Williams has given the Pagan community an invaluable gift that traces the modern forms of theurgy back to their roots in ancient Egypt and Hellenic Greece. It is both validating and inspiring to the modern practitioner.
The book is divided into two sections. The first is written as a series of short, biographical stories that explore the lives of famous theurgists while also imparting key concepts of theurgic theory and practice. This approach frames these concepts and practices within their historical context, which has done more to further my understanding of philosophical and theurgic works than reading the source material out of context ever could.
The second part of the text explores modern theurgy; both its study and practice. This section is deceptively short, the workbook chapter especially so. This work (and it is some serious work) will likely take me years to accomplish. It is one thing to read and contemplate the books outlined in the suggested course of study, and another entirely to fully understand those texts and successfully apply them to the practices that are outlined here.
Brandy Williams has given the Pagan community an invaluable gift that traces the modern forms of theurgy back to their roots in ancient Egypt and Hellenic Greece. It is both validating and inspiring to the modern practitioner.
The book is divided into two sections. The first is written as a series of short, biographical stories that explore the lives of famous theurgists while also imparting key concepts of theurgic theory and practice. This approach frames these concepts and practices within their historical context, which has done more to further my understanding of philosophical and theurgic works than reading the source material out of context ever could.
The second part of the text explores modern theurgy; both its study and practice. This section is deceptively short, the workbook chapter especially so. This work (and it is some serious work) will likely take me years to accomplish. It is one thing to read and contemplate the books outlined in the suggested course of study, and another entirely to fully understand those texts and successfully apply them to the practices that are outlined here.
May 26, 2017
Author Brandy Williams tells the story of theurgy through a series of biographical vignettes of historical fiction. These vignettes bring to life the stories of the Neoplatonists, and each are interspersed with her commentary.
Part Two of the text examines practical theurgic work. Williams also presents basic outlines for all of the rituals.
The appendices and bibliography are fantastic.
Part Two of the text examines practical theurgic work. Williams also presents basic outlines for all of the rituals.
The appendices and bibliography are fantastic.
January 7, 2017
It wasn't hard to figure out if I liked this book. I do, very much. What was hard was assigning a star rating, because it's going to be a book that many hate for the reasons I like it.
Williams has done a lot of research; it's obvious from the start that she also loves her subject. Yet to bring the principles she understands so well to life, she creates fictitious short stories in each section to exemplify the history she has researched and some of those principles. I personally like that a lot, but I like stories and I understand that these are not meant to be taken literally or as actual history themselves. People who don't like this kind of setup will be very frustrated with the book from start to almost 3/4 through, and they may not get that far.
What makes me happiest is the copious bibliography. Yes, the frame stories are fictitious, but Williams can back up the existence of the main characters. Further, she can back up their teachings in most cases. Quite a few of the resources she lists are online and available easily, and the rest are most likely available via interlibrary loan.
Pagans (and Christians!) looking to accent their magickal practices with help from deities and angels are most likely to find this book of value. I'm more of a spiritual pagan than a ritual practitioner, but I found the book to do what almost no previous book has: it made me want to do magick. That is worth a lot.
Williams has done a lot of research; it's obvious from the start that she also loves her subject. Yet to bring the principles she understands so well to life, she creates fictitious short stories in each section to exemplify the history she has researched and some of those principles. I personally like that a lot, but I like stories and I understand that these are not meant to be taken literally or as actual history themselves. People who don't like this kind of setup will be very frustrated with the book from start to almost 3/4 through, and they may not get that far.
What makes me happiest is the copious bibliography. Yes, the frame stories are fictitious, but Williams can back up the existence of the main characters. Further, she can back up their teachings in most cases. Quite a few of the resources she lists are online and available easily, and the rest are most likely available via interlibrary loan.
Pagans (and Christians!) looking to accent their magickal practices with help from deities and angels are most likely to find this book of value. I'm more of a spiritual pagan than a ritual practitioner, but I found the book to do what almost no previous book has: it made me want to do magick. That is worth a lot.
October 8, 2025
buonissimo punto di partenza per chi è interessato alla teurgia e all'henosis
September 18, 2016
I've always been kind of allergic to philosophy, despite passing two semesters of it in college with at least a B. Brandy Williams' new book on Plato's philosophy and its relationship to pagan religion and magical practice has cured my allergies and made me interested in learning more.
Williams' book is divided into two parts. The first is devoted to a review of the major figures in the lineage of Platonism and Neoplatonism. Each chapter weaves together short fictional portrayals of the philosophers with historical context, emphasizing that the philosophers were not marble figures mounted on pedestals, but living human beings seeking ways to live better, in closer relationship with the gods, during both tranquil and turbulent times.
Part two provides a basic ritual workbook for applying philosophy to devotion as the ancients did, with the goal of theurgy: Becoming more like the gods through relationship with them in ritual, study, and contemplation. Part two is, I think, slightly weaker than part one. While part one assumes little or no knowledge of Platonic philosophy, part two does assume a working knowledge of magical methods such as creating sacred space and entering trance space. Williams does not provide a how-to guide that holds the reader's hand for every challenge. Carrying out the rituals described must involve a fair amount of research and planning.
Throughout the book, Williams emphasizes strongly that while we tend to think of philosophy nowadays as the maunderings of old white guys in robes, it was, in reality, a tradition practiced by women as well as men, Jews and Muslims as well as Pagans and Christians, rooted in ancient Egyptian temple culture and spread across Europe, North Africa, and Asia. It also is a living tradition that has never completely died out, and as she reiterates, the study and practice of Platonic philosophy leads always back to the pagan gods. I highly recommend this book to pagan and other readers who want to step into this living stream.
Williams' book is divided into two parts. The first is devoted to a review of the major figures in the lineage of Platonism and Neoplatonism. Each chapter weaves together short fictional portrayals of the philosophers with historical context, emphasizing that the philosophers were not marble figures mounted on pedestals, but living human beings seeking ways to live better, in closer relationship with the gods, during both tranquil and turbulent times.
Part two provides a basic ritual workbook for applying philosophy to devotion as the ancients did, with the goal of theurgy: Becoming more like the gods through relationship with them in ritual, study, and contemplation. Part two is, I think, slightly weaker than part one. While part one assumes little or no knowledge of Platonic philosophy, part two does assume a working knowledge of magical methods such as creating sacred space and entering trance space. Williams does not provide a how-to guide that holds the reader's hand for every challenge. Carrying out the rituals described must involve a fair amount of research and planning.
Throughout the book, Williams emphasizes strongly that while we tend to think of philosophy nowadays as the maunderings of old white guys in robes, it was, in reality, a tradition practiced by women as well as men, Jews and Muslims as well as Pagans and Christians, rooted in ancient Egyptian temple culture and spread across Europe, North Africa, and Asia. It also is a living tradition that has never completely died out, and as she reiterates, the study and practice of Platonic philosophy leads always back to the pagan gods. I highly recommend this book to pagan and other readers who want to step into this living stream.
February 27, 2025
It's a 3.5, but it's staying on my bookshelf and was helpful so I rounded up.
First off, what I disliked: the history made me break out in hives sometimes. Some of it just gets things wrong (like referring to Assyrians as Persians.) But a lot of it is a very one sided, simplified and often simply wrong image based on the authors' ideas about history and society. Ideas I agree with, mind you, but that's no good reason for some of the simplification and errors. For instance, in the discussion on ancient Egypt, the author rightly calls out eurocentric scholarship which tries to deny its links to Africa... but then goes in the other direction by portraying Egypt as a pure African Black civilisation without any regards to its connections to West Asia, which are equally well-documented. Or the author claiming for a fact that ancient Greek mystics were influenced by hindu thought, which is not at all certain (albeit an interesting theory.)
In general, there's an ambivalent relationship with "scholars" in the book, simultaneously relying on them and calling them out for bias when the author doesn't like what they say (sometimes rightly so, but often whether it can actually be considered bias or just disagreement is. questionable.) It makes it annoying to get through at times.
That doesn't mean the historical information's all bad though, it still works decently overall. And the philosophical/spiritual side of things is much more interesting, though at times it suffers from having to compile a complex and multivocal tradition into one book. The discussion on, for example, cosmology could've used more detail.
In this regard I really, really liked the approach in the first half of the book, which consists of chapters that show a particular important historical figure and their environment through a combination of alternating snippets of fiction and non-fiction. It's an easy way to highlight the different moments, streams and aspects of the tradition discussed.
It also solves an issue that you often get with (neo)platonism. Namely: it's dry as shit. A tradition not only wrapped up in heavy layers of philosophical verbiage, but also often very negative about material reality, the human body and our lives (albeit less so than the gnostics.) It's hard to imagine how it could possibly be put into practice by anyone due to that. The use of historical fiction is a really delightful way of showing how these things worked in the context of an actual human life, and serves as a way to not make it so alien and hard to understand.
Overall, definitely has flaws, but worth a read if you want to check out what neoplatonism is about without like, y'know, immediately reading Iamblichus
First off, what I disliked: the history made me break out in hives sometimes. Some of it just gets things wrong (like referring to Assyrians as Persians.) But a lot of it is a very one sided, simplified and often simply wrong image based on the authors' ideas about history and society. Ideas I agree with, mind you, but that's no good reason for some of the simplification and errors. For instance, in the discussion on ancient Egypt, the author rightly calls out eurocentric scholarship which tries to deny its links to Africa... but then goes in the other direction by portraying Egypt as a pure African Black civilisation without any regards to its connections to West Asia, which are equally well-documented. Or the author claiming for a fact that ancient Greek mystics were influenced by hindu thought, which is not at all certain (albeit an interesting theory.)
In general, there's an ambivalent relationship with "scholars" in the book, simultaneously relying on them and calling them out for bias when the author doesn't like what they say (sometimes rightly so, but often whether it can actually be considered bias or just disagreement is. questionable.) It makes it annoying to get through at times.
That doesn't mean the historical information's all bad though, it still works decently overall. And the philosophical/spiritual side of things is much more interesting, though at times it suffers from having to compile a complex and multivocal tradition into one book. The discussion on, for example, cosmology could've used more detail.
In this regard I really, really liked the approach in the first half of the book, which consists of chapters that show a particular important historical figure and their environment through a combination of alternating snippets of fiction and non-fiction. It's an easy way to highlight the different moments, streams and aspects of the tradition discussed.
It also solves an issue that you often get with (neo)platonism. Namely: it's dry as shit. A tradition not only wrapped up in heavy layers of philosophical verbiage, but also often very negative about material reality, the human body and our lives (albeit less so than the gnostics.) It's hard to imagine how it could possibly be put into practice by anyone due to that. The use of historical fiction is a really delightful way of showing how these things worked in the context of an actual human life, and serves as a way to not make it so alien and hard to understand.
Overall, definitely has flaws, but worth a read if you want to check out what neoplatonism is about without like, y'know, immediately reading Iamblichus
February 3, 2021
I especially loved the first half of the book, where story and history mix in an exciting way that reminded me of the historical fiction of my childhood. It was an inspiring look into paganism and theurgy throughout history. The latter part, with more concrete instructions, was interesting but not fully for me. I loved how many (academic!) sources are cited, but the final chapters were surprisingly uncritical and often made me wonder 'who decided it should be a certain way? What was this based on?'
December 15, 2016
A mixture of fiction, research, and ritual this book was a fascinating journey into Theurgy. I love learning more about philosophy and religion of those from the past and how it is connected with out present world. I love that Williams has done her research and shared her sources. This book has given me insight into the ancient and medieval world. It was definitely worth reading.
January 30, 2019
If I could hive thos book 10 stars I would. Phenomenal. Should be on every pagans reading list. Seriously. Read this.
October 2, 2022
Loved it! This book has started me on a new path!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews