In Plato's vision we are all in possession of a divine intelligence capable of understanding the abstract patterns that underlie reality. The gods are personifications of these abstract patterns.

One of the godfathers of the Renaissance, Cosimo De Medici, financed an academy dedicated to the study of Neo-Platonism.

Images of the Greek gods appeared in Renaissance art. These gods were considered to be great laws at work in life and the art of the Renaissance was shot through with symbolism from mythology, alchemy astrology, and other magical mystical systems.

The Magi of the Renaissance laid the foundation of modern magic. The new Renaissance world view was encouraging man to know himself. It challenged the authority of the Church, which claimed the only way to know God was through the Church.

In keeping with the popular art and culture of the Italian Renaissance the first Tarot cards appeared depicting images of the Greek Deities.

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