 Belittled as it is in the grand scheme of things, and unable to achieve any perpetual union with the intelligible world, the human soul is deemed connatural to “nothingness” (Reply to Porphyry III, 18 [SS-2013: 108.16–17]). It now needs external help from the gods—that is, grace—in order to perform any relevant action. Broken in its essence, it is, however, able to regain some ground through its activity. Co-action with the gods, “godlike action” (theourgia, i.e., theurgy), is the purpose of the Iamblichean soul, which it attains through religious acts such as prayer, offerings, sacrifice, etc., that is the very liturgy that Porphyry had attacked in the Letter to Anebo. Hence the necessary connection between two fields, psychology and the philosophy of religion, which was clearly set out by Shaw (1995). Ritual is given precedence over philosophical ascesis or discursive thinking, although Iamblichus would say that he is merely giving philosophy its due place rather than abolishing it: it is also true that he underlines the need for the religious practitioner to be virtuous, individual sanctity being a requisite to make the medium apt to receive the gods’ influx. But Iamblichus heavily stresses that the key to the whole process always lies in the gods: very interestingly, “human”, “artificial” or “natural” contributions are equally side-lined and relegated to the status of mere auxiliary causes (see, e.g., Reply to Porphyry III, 9 [SS-2013: 89.7–9]). He is also adamant about the human inability to extort any effect from the higher beings (i.e., via “magic”), since they are by nature impassible.