What is “demiurgy” and how do you do “demiurgical” acts?
Demiurgy is a type of “devotional act.” A devotional act is any activity outside of direct prayer with a religious purpose and significance. What makes “demiurgy” unique as a type of devotionalism is that it is principally concerned with the act of creation. Like theurgy, to mimic the gods and pursue likeness, one must participate in creativity as a lesser version of God’s creation. Producing, crafting, constructing, and creating are all acts that mimic the “Demiurge” or “Creator Deity.” In Egyptian theology, all gods are the “Creator Deity,” so no matter which gods you worship, part of that worship should be creating things after their fashion.
The main point of demiurgy is to create in the style of the deities’ domains to whom you are most devoted. To use a specific example, take deities who are scribal, or are masters of wisdom, philosophy, or the arts & sciences—Thoth, Seshat, Neith, Sia, and Isis, are prominent examples of these sorts of deities. In various ways, their heavenly activity involves the creation and maintenance of knowledge and the concepts of learning and exercising skills in all disciplines. A demiurgical act to mimic the creative aspects of these deities would most straightforwardly involve the practitioner writing their own texts. These deities are often depicted in myth as writers themselves, so the production of writing can be said to be within their domain. Adjacent activities, like re-binding old or soft-covered books to preserve them better or beautifying covers and the front edges of books to increase their tactility and wonderment, are also appropriate. Acts of charity, such as volunteering to read to children at a library or tutoring others in arts & sciences, are also demiurgical acts. As long as you are putting creative energies into the domain of knowledge and wisdom, you are “mimicking” the deity.
Consider this principle of creativity-as-it-applies-to-domain, and you will see demiurgical opportunities in almost anything. A critical thing to remember is that seeing these activities through a religious lens should affect how you do them. When you work demiurgically, you do so with devotion in mind, engage with creativity morally and ethically, and do so in the earnest pursuit of excellence and likeness to God. Here are some examples of different sorts of demiurgical acts, common types of creative activities that most people can engage with and interpret in a religious capacity.
What counts as demiurgy?
How can I engage in demiurgy?
Begin “ritualizing” your activities by reflecting on the types of activities, hobbies, arts, sciences, or other disciplines you are either interested in pursuing or engage in already. What do you want to be good at? What are you good at now?
Select as many of these activities as you want to “ritualize.” Get the appropriate supplies and make other preparations to engage in these activities meaningfully.
Attain a basic level of competence. The goal is to get to some level of autonomy, independence, and creativity in whatever activity you’re working on.
Establish a consistent schedule. Practice your choice of activity. Do so with ethics and morality in mind—accept “self-unity” as a core principle by which you proceed toward excellence.
Establish practical goals for yourself. How do you become meaningfully better and more knowledgeable in this activity? What instructional or helpful reading materials can you obtain, and how will you use that knowledge to inform your craft? Can you find a teacher or tutor?
Produce and share. Create finished products to share, critique, collect, and represent real progress. Create the parameters for yourself of what “completion” of one work entails.
Be mindful of God throughout the process. Contemplate how the divine operates in your activity. Find connections between your chosen activity and the sacred. What symbolic or unifying connections can you make between your activities and the gods and their discerned characteristics?
Devote contemplation and prayer towards the gods who bring you higher. As you gain more insight into your activity, so will you gain more insight into the gods whom those activities mimic. Mimic the eternal actions of the gods in prayer.
Transfer your experience in prayer to your activity. Begin to transform your activity into a type of prayer. When you experience feelings of excellence and unity, embrace them. If you don’t experience those things, learn to see them in your activity and choose to open your heart to your potential for excellence.
Let the gods work through you in your activity. Trust your creative intuition.
