>>2851179
"Neoplatonism is part of this revival, though it seldom takes this name today. But this forgotten philosophy is one of the keys to breaking the lock which our two limited dogmas have on us, so that we can become a more creative and enlightened people. Whenever such things as sacred geometry, an organic cosmos, the tree of life, holography, or the soul centers within our bodies are discussed, we are witnessing a revival of Neoplatonism. It is an umbrella term for a family of ideas that includes not only the mystical side of ancient Greek philosophers from Pythagoras and Plato to Plotinus, and their offspring, but also the Hermetic philosophies and their descendants, which include occult arts as well as the mystical traditions among all the Western religions, and they all nourished and fertilized each other, especially in Alexandria during late Hellenistic times. One of these arts even has for its central symbol the marriage of two warring forces in the soul and the cosmos, which would seem to be exactly what we need today. This is Alchemy, which I will focus on below. But first I will describe briefly the philosophy of Plotinus, the third century philosopher who gave Neo-platonism the form in which it came down to us through the ages."