Theophany
Theophany (Greek: θεοφάνεια, “appearance of God”) is the manifestation of the divine in perceivable form. In Henry Corbin’s framework, theophany occurs primarily in the mundus imaginalis — the intermediate realm where the divine appears in forms accessible to the heart’s imaginal perception. These forms are neither literal (material manifestations) nor purely symbolic (mere representations) but genuinely real presences in the imaginal world.
Theophany in Islamic Mysticism
In the Islamic mystical traditions Corbin studied (particularly Ibn ‘Arabī and the Ishrāqī school), theophany is the ongoing process by which the divine reveals itself in creation. The universe itself is a theophany — each being is a self-disclosure (tajallī) of divine names and attributes. But the fullest theophanies occur in the imaginal realm, where the soul encounters angels, prophets, and divine presences in visionary forms.
These encounters are not subjective fantasies but objective realities perceived through the imaginal body. The mystic’s vision of an angel is a theophany: a genuine appearance of divine reality in imaginal form.
Theophany and the Imaginal
Theophany is what makes the imaginal world sacred. It is not simply a realm of images but the domain where the divine becomes perceivable. Corbin’s insistence on the ontological reality of the mundus imaginalis is inseparable from his understanding of theophany: if the divine genuinely appears in imaginal forms, then those forms must be real.
Connections
- Henry Corbin — Central to his interpretation of Islamic mysticism.
- Mundus Imaginalis — The realm where theophany occurs.
- Imaginal Body — The body through which theophany is perceived.
- Mysticism — Theophany is central to mystical experience.