The Chaldean Oracles are a set of spiritual and philosophical texts widely used by Neoplatonist philosophers from the 3rd to the 6th century CE. While the original texts have been lost, they have survived in the form of fragments consisting mainly of quotes and commentary by Neoplatonist writers. They were likely to have originally formed a single mystery-poem, which may have been in part compiled, in part in trance, by Julian the Chaldean, or more likely, his son, Julian the Theurgist in the 2nd century CE. Later Neoplatonists, such as Iamblichus and Proclus, rated them highly. The 4th-century emperor Julian (not to be confused with Julian the Chaldean or Julian the Theurgist) suggests in his Hymn to the Magna Mater that he was an initiate of the God of the Seven Rays, and was an adept of its teachings. When Christian Church Fathers or other Late Antiquity writers credit "the Chaldeans", they are probably referring to this tradition.
The Chaldean Oracles show an affinity with gnostic teachings of their time. They describe the transcendent First Paternal Intellect which includes the mediating World-Soul, a female Power (Hecate) similar to Sophia. Fiery emanations from the First Intellect produce the Second Intellect, the Demiurge, who comprehends the cosmos as well as himself, and creates Matter. Farthest from the Highest God (First Father / Intellect) is a dense shell of matter from which the enlightened soul must emerge, shedding its bodily garments. A combination of ascetic conduct and correct ritual are recommended to free the soul from the confines of matter, and to defend it against the demonic powers lurking in the realms between Gods and mortals.
