theurgy

American  

[thee-ur-jee] / ˈθi ɜr dʒi /

noun

plural

theurgies

1. a system of beneficent magic practiced by the Egyptian Platonists and others.

2. the working of a divine or supernatural agency in human affairs.

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theurgy British  

/ ˈθiːˌɜːdʒɪ /

noun

1. 1. the intervention of a divine or supernatural agency in the affairs of man

   2. the working of miracles by such intervention

2. beneficent magic as taught and performed by Egyptian Neoplatonists and others

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Other Word Forms

• theurgic
  adjective
• theurgical
  adjective
• theurgically
  adverb
• theurgist
  noun

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

Their system was characterized by three distinct features, the theory of the above-named Essence: the doctrine of the human soul; an emanation from the latter, hence of the same nature; and its theurgy.

From Five Years of Theosophy by Various

After this again, the Neo-Platonists joined theurgy with philosophy, which ultimately degenerated into magic and mere mysticism.

From Specimens of the Table Talk of Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Coleridge, Henry Nelson

If the thaumaturgus had effaced in Jesus the moralist and the religious reformer, there would have proceeded from him a school of theurgy, and not Christianity.

From The Life of Jesus by Renan, Ernest

Egyptian superstition, theurgy, magic, and charlatanism of every sort, tried to amalgamate with the imported Greek culture.

From The History of Roman Literature From the earliest period to the death of Marcus Aurelius by Cruttwell, Charles Thomas

Plotinus was still an independent philosopher, inheriting the traditions of Greek thought, though not the traditions of Greek life, building his system avowedly by a rational method, and altogether rejecting theurgy or religious magic.

From History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 1 of 2) by Lecky, William Edward Hartpole