theurgy
Americannoun
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a system of beneficent magic practiced by the Egyptian Platonists and others.
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the working of a divine or supernatural agency in human affairs.
noun
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the intervention of a divine or supernatural agency in the affairs of man
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the working of miracles by such intervention
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beneficent magic as taught and performed by Egyptian Neoplatonists and others
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of theurgy
1560–70; < Late Latin theūrgia < Greek theourgeía magic. See the-, -urgy
Explanation
Theurgy is when gods intervene in the lives of people. If you believe that an actual miracle allowed your favorite football team to win an important game, you can call it an act of theurgy. One kind of theurgy is accepted and seen as true in many Christian churches — it's God getting directly involved in our affairs, through miracles or divine intervention. Other kinds of theurgy involve magic, as in casting spells and doing magical rituals. The word comes from the Greek theourgia, "sorcery," which in turn is rooted in theos, or "god."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ecstasy for the initiates, theurgy for the crowd.
From Lectures on the true, the beautiful and the good by Cousin, Victor
Groups of people endeavoured to combine Christianity with the old thought, with philosophy, theosophy, theurgy, and magic.
From The Jesus of History by Glover, T. R.
Neo-Platonism, which concerned itself to a large extent with demonology, leaned more and more towards theurgy, and was finally completely absorbed by it.
From The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism by Cumont, Franz
It is supposed that the Neo-platonists of the second and third Alexandrian Schools were the followers of Indian Yogis, more especially was their theurgy brought from India by Pythagoras, according to the tradition.
From From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan by Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna)
Like a voice of love from heaven came their teaching, and Julian gave himself heart and soul to the mysterious fascination of their lying theurgy.
From The Arian Controversy by Gwatkin, Henry Melvill
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
