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- ACHAMOTH
- In Valentinian Gnosticism, there is an Upper and Lower Sophia (Wisdom). See SOPHIA.
- The Lower Sophia is called Achamoth.
- According to The First Apocalypse of James, Achamoth’s mother is Sophia: “Sophia (...) is the mother of Achamoth.” (First Apocalypse of James)
- All beings in the Upper Aeons are androgynous angels (i.e. both male and female - see ANDROGYNE), except Achamoth, who is female from a female: “Achamoth (...) is female from a female.” (First Apocalypse of James)
- In the Valentinian system described by Ptolemy, Sophia suffered because she attempted to know the entirety of the Father. Thus, she stretched herself outward, until she finally met with ‘the Limit’ (horos) since the Father cannot be known in his entirety. Through this ‘passion’, Sophia accidentally produced ‘Desire’, which fell outside the limit. Although Sophia was restored to the upper Pleroma, ‘Desire’ became Achamoth, the Sophia fallen to the Lower Aeons.
- That Achamoth came forth from Sophia: “When the Desire of the Sophia above, also called Achamoth, had been banished from the Pleroma above, by necessity she was cast with her passion in places of Shadow and the Void.” (Ptolemy from Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses)
- That Achamoth is ‘female from female’: “Since Sophia had undertaken an impossible and unattainable task, she brought forth (...Achamoth...) a thing such as (only) a female by herself can bear.” (Ptolemy from Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses)
- According to The First Apocalypse of James, Achamoth (Sophia) produced Yaltabaoth and the Archons without intercourse from the father: “the Pre-existent One did not have intercourse with her (Achamoth), when she produced them (the Archons).” (First Apocalypse of James)
- Achamoth (Sophia) did not have the consent of her consort, Christ, when she created Yaltabaoth: “She (Achamoth) produced you without a male, since she was alone (and) in ignorance as to what lives through her mother because she thought that she alone existed.” (First Apocalypse of James)
- By creating alone, Achamoth (Sophia) produced a faulted being, Yaltabaoth, who was responsible for the material world, the Archons, and Adam and Eve. See SOPHIA.
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- ADAM AND EVE
- Although Gnostic texts provide different versions, the general outline of Adam and Eve, their creation and fall, is as follows:
1. ADAM AND EVE - AS THE ANTHROPOS. See ANTHROPOS.
- In the Upper Aeons, the One created the Anthropos in its own image, as an androgynous angel (i.e. male and female). This was the First Adam, which was spirit-endowed (pneumatic Anthropos).
- Seeing this image in the Upper Aeons, Yaltabaoth and his Archons created the Second Adam, which was soul-endowed (psychic Anthropos). Like the First Adam, the Second Adam was androgynous.
- After Yaltabaoth accidentally breathed his own spirit (pneuma) into Adam, he and his Archons tried to retrieve it. They created the Third Adam, which was flesh-endowed (hylic Anthropos).
- Although the Third Adam was also androgynous, Yaltabaoth divided it into male and female. This was the creation of Adam and Eve.
- For all of the above, see ANTHROPOS.
- For the division of the Anthropos into Adam and Eve, then their temptation and fall, see the following.
2. ADAM AND EVE - THEIR DIVISION
- In the Apocalypse of Adam, Adam explains to his son Seth that Adam and Eve ‘resembled the angels’ (i.e. that they were an androgynous angel) but then Yaltabaoth ‘divided them in wrath’, making them male and female: “Listen to my words, my son Seth. When God had created me out of the earth, along with Eve, your mother, (...) we resembled the great eternal angels, for we were higher than the god who had created us and the powers with him, whom we did not know. Then God, the ruler of the aeons and the powers (i.e. Yaltabaoth), divided us in wrath.” (Apocalypse of Adam)
- As androgynous, Adam and Eve were immortal. They became mortal when they separated: “When Eve was still with Adam, death did not exist. When she was separated from him, death came into being.” (Gospel of Philip 68:22)
- Yaltabaoth separated Eve from Adam to retrieve Sophia’s spirit (or power) which he had acquired for himself, but then lost when he accidentally breathed it into Adam. Yaltabaoth saw Sophia’s spirit (also named Epinoia) as a feminine image within Adam. Thus, the Archon created Eve to try to retrieve it. But he failed and Sophia’s spirit remained in Eve.
- In the Apocryphon of John, Sophia’s spirit is called Epinoia: “Then the Epinoia of the light hid herself in him (Adam). And the chief archon wanted to bring her out of his rib (...) And he (Yaltabaoth) made another creature, in the form of a woman, according to the likeness of the Epinoia which had appeared to him.” (Apocryphon of John). See EPINOIA.
- Yaltabaoth failed: “But the Epinoia of the light cannot be grasped. Although darkness pursued her, it did not catch her.” (Apocryphon of John)
- Through Sophia’s spirit (or Epinoia), Eve awakened Adam: “And he (Adam) saw the woman beside him. And in that moment the luminous Epinoia appeared, and she lifted the veil which lay over his mind. And he became sober from the drunkenness of darkness.” (Apocryphon of John)
- In Hypostasis of the Archons, Eve was also created out of Adam. But Adam then returned to his second state (as the Second Adam, which was soul-endowed) while Eve became the spirit-endowed being. Due to the spirit in her, Eve awakened Adam: “They (the Archons) opened his side like a living woman. And they built up his side with some flesh in place of her, and Adam came to be endowed only with soul. And the spirit-endowed woman came to him and spoke with him, saying, ‘Arise, Adam.’” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- The spirit-endowed Eve reminded Adam of their original state: that they were once united as an androgynous angel: “She lifted the veil which lay over his mind. And he became sober from the drunkenness of darkness. And he recognized his counter-image.” i.e. he knew her to be his syzygy or consort. (Apocryphon of John)
- In Hypostasis of the Archons, Eve also does this by revealing herself to Adam as his female counterpart: “Then the authorities came up to their Adam. And when they saw his female counterpart speaking with him, they became agitated.” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- For Christ and Sophia’s restoration of the divided Adam and Eve (and their descendents) into their androgynous angel, see CONSENT and CONSORT.
3. ADAM AND EVE - THE TEMPTATION
- Yaltabaoth then placed Adam and Eve before the two trees in paradise. He exhorted them to eat from the Tree of Life, since “The root of this (tree) is bitter and its branches are death, its shadow is hate and deception is in its leaves.” (Apocryphon of John)
- But, Yaltabaoth forbid them to eat from the Tree of Knowledge.
- In the Apocryphon of John, the Tree of Knowledge has Sophia’s spirit (Epinoia) in its fruit. And so, Christ descends in the form of an eagle and bids them to eat from it: “Sophia (is) she who came down in innocence in order to rectify her deficiency. (...) And through her they (Adam and Eve) have tasted the perfect knowledge. I (Christ) appeared in the form of an eagle on the tree of knowledge, which is the Epinoia from the foreknowledge of the pure light, that I might teach them and awaken them out of the depth of sleep. For they were both in a fallen state, and they recognized their nakedness.” (Apocryphon of John)
- Naked in this context means ‘naked of imperfection’: “And when they (the Archons) recognized that he (Adam) was luminous, and that he could think better than they, and that he was free from wickedness (or ‘naked of imperfection’ - Bentley translation), they took him and threw him into the lowest region of all matter.” (Apocryphon of John) See GARMENT.
- In Hypostasis of the Archons, Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge, but they are taught to do so by the snake, who is positively identified as ‘the instructor’: “Then the female spiritual principle came in the snake, the instructor; and it taught them (to eat of the tree...). And the carnal woman took from the tree and ate; and she gave to her husband as well as herself; and these beings that possessed only a soul, ate. And their imperfection became apparent in their lack of knowledge; and they recognized that they were naked...” (Hypostastis of the Archons)
- Naked in this context means ‘naked of the spiritual element’: “they recognized that they were naked of the spiritual element.” See GARMENT.
4. ADAM AND EVE - THE FALL
- Because Adam and Eve recognized the cause of their imperfection, they withdrew from Yaltabaoth. In turn, he cursed them: “And when Yaltabaoth noticed that they withdrew from him, he cursed his earth. (...) And he cast them out of paradise and he clothed them in gloomy darkness.” (Apocryphon of John)
- Their fall was to forget their true origins: “He (Yaltabaoth) made them drink water of forgetfulness, from the chief archon, in order that they might not know from where they came.” (Apocryphon of John)
- In Hypostastis of the Archons, they fell into ‘distraction’: “They (the Archons) turned to their Adam and took him and expelled him from the garden along with his wife; for they have no blessing, since they too are beneath the curse. Moreover, they threw mankind into great distraction and into a life of toil, so that their mankind might be occupied by worldly affairs, and might not have the opportunity of being devoted to the holy spirit.” (Hypostastis of the Archons)
- Last of all, Adam and Eve were bound by Fate (the Heimarmene): “And bitter fate was begotten through them, which is the last of the changeable bonds. (...) For from that fate came forth every sin and injustice and blasphemy, and the chain of forgetfulness and ignorance (...). And thus the whole creation was made blind, in order that they may not know God, who is above all of them. And because of the chain of forgetfulness, their sins were hidden. For they are bound with measures and times and moments, since it (fate) is lord over everything.” (Apocryphon of John) See FATE.
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- ADAMAS
- See ANTHROPOS.
- Also called Geradamas and Pigera-Adamas.
- A word-play on the name Adam and the Greek word for steel, adamas.
- Hence, as ‘Adamas’, Adam becomes ‘the man of steel’.
- Hence also the adjective ‘adamantine’ (solid, incorruptible) given to those descended from the Adamas (i.e. the heavenly Anthropos).
- Adamas as Man of light, and adamantine: “...a crown upon their heads with twelve adamantine stones in it, which were from Adamas, the Man of Light” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)
- In the Gospel of the Egyptians, the ‘incorruptible’ Adamas (i.e. the heavenly Anthropos) engenders an ‘incorruptible’ race through the Four Lights, Seth and the Son: “The incorruptible man Adamas asked for them a son out of himself, in order that he (the son) may become father of the immovable, incorruptible race, so that, ... the dead aeon may raise itself (and) dissolve. And thus there came forth from above the power of the great light, the Manifestation. She gave birth to the four great lights: Harmozel, Oroiael, Davithe, Eleleth, and the great incorruptible Seth, the son of the incorruptible man Adamas.” (Gospels of the Egyptians)
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- AEONS (UPPER AND LOWER)
1. AEONS IN GENERAL:
- The Aeons are a series of hypostases (extensions of being) that emanated outward from a common source. They may be imagined as concentric spheres with a common centre.
- The Upper Aeons emanated outward from the One which lies at the centre as their source (also ‘root’). The Lower Aeons imitate the Upper Aeons, and have the demiurge Yaltabaoth as their source (‘the Archigenetor’).
- The Upper Aeons are extensions of the One’s unity, but without spacial or temporal measure (i.e. boundless and eternal). The Lower Aeons are multiple, and have temporal and spacial measures.
- The Upper Aeons are spiritual, invisible, immobile and are filled with light. They are described as ‘the Silence’ or a ‘watery light’ and contain archetypal images or reflections of the One. The Lower Aeons are material, visible, mutable and filled with darkness. They are described as ‘fiery’ and contain shadows, copies or images.
- Between the Upper and Lower Aeons is the Limit, Middle, boundary, veil or curtain.
2. AEONS - THE UPPER AEONS
- See also PLEROMA, IMAGE, REST, WATER
- As aeons, also called ‘hypostases’, ‘emanations’, ‘extensions’, ‘spaces’.
- As the Upper Aeons, also called the Pleroma, Perfection, Fullness, All.
- The Upper Aeons were created when the One reflected upon itself.
- The Upper Aeons are invisible, eternal, imperishable, spiritual, light.
- They contain many angelic beings, such as the Father, Mother, Christ, Sophia, Four Lights, Twelve states of Mind, as well as the angels and the Elect.
- Called ‘Watery light and life’, ‘water-light’, ‘light-water’, ‘Luminous Waters’, ‘Living Waters’, ‘the Silence’, ‘the silent Silence’, ‘the living Silence’, ‘the Treasure-House’, ‘the Store-House’, ‘the Dwelling-Place’, ‘crown’, ‘the kingless realm’.
3. THE UPPER AEONS IN GENERAL
- The aeons are a stretching or expansion of the One: “This one, however, stretched himself out and it was that which he stretched out which gave a foundation and a space and a dwelling place for the universe, a name of his being” (Tripartite Tractate)
- Aeons are emanations of the Father: “All the spaces are his (the Father’s) emanations.” (Gospel of Truth)
- As emanations, the aeons have no spacial or temporal measure: “since the emanations are limitless and immeasurable” (Tripartite Tractate)
- Aeons are an extension of the Father, without separation: “The emanation of the Totalities, which exist from the one who exists, did not occur according to a separation from one another, as something cast off from the one who begets them. Rather, their begetting is like a process of extension, as the Father extends himself to those whom he loves, so that those who have come forth from him might become him as well.” (Tripartite Tractate)
- This expansion of the One (monad) to the many (the all) continued from tens of thousands to countless myriads: “Among the things that were created the monad is first, the dyad follows it, and the triad, up to the tenths. Now the tenths rule the hundredths; the hundredths rule the thousandths; the thousands rule the ten thousands. This is the pattern among the immortals.” (Eugnostos the Blessed) “They (the immortals) provided for themselves hosts of angels, myriads without number for retinue.” (Eugnostos the Blessed)
4. THE CREATION OF THE UPPER AEONS
- The creation of the Upper Aeons can be described through two different schema: one is visual (the aeons as a watery light) and one is auditive (the aeons as the silence).
- At the origin of both schema is Aristotle’s notion of Noesis Noeseos Noesis, which is usually translated as ‘Thought Thinking itself’, but means literally ‘Thinking (Noesis) a Thought (Noeseos) of itself Thinking’ (Noesis).
- In the beginning, the One thought upon itself. The result of that mental reflection was a two-fold extension of itself as the Father, who is the mind or thinking (Nous or Noesis) and as the Mother, who is the thought (Ennoia or Noeseos). These two then produced the Son (also Nous or Noesis), who completed the One’s reflection upon itself. Through the Son, the thinking (Noesis) had a thought (Noeseos) of itself thinking (Noesis). In this regard, the Gnostic texts say that the Son is the ‘image’ or ‘name’ of the Father, because the Father sees and names himself through the Son.
- This philosophical schema underlies the creation of the aeons in the Apocryphon of John. It is a visual schema, where the aeons are a watery light.
- By reflecting upon itself, the One created the first hypostases or extensions of itself. These appeared around the One as its ‘images’ or ‘reflections’ in the mirror of the watery light (the Greek word eikon means both image and reflection). Thus, the aeons were created as a watery light that ‘mirrors’ the One to itself: “For it is he (the One) who looks at himself in his light which surrounds him, namely the spring of the water of life. And it is he who gives to all the aeons and in every way, (and) who gazes upon his image which he sees in the spring of the Spirit. It is he who puts his desire in his water-light which is in the spring of the pure light-water which surrounds him. And his thought (i.e. thinking - Nous) performed a deed and she (i.e. thought - Ennoia) came forth, namely she who had appeared before him (as an image) in the shine of his light. (...She) came forth from his mind (Nous). (...) This is the first thought, his image.” (Apocryphon of John) In the same manner, the Father and Mother then bring forth the Son.
- The philosophical schema also underlies the creation of the aeons in the Gospel of the Egyptians and Trimorphic Protennoia. It is an auditive schema, where the aeons are the silence.
- By reflecting upon itself, the One created the first hypostases or extensions of itself. These appeared around the One as its ‘names’ in the silence: “All the spaces are his (the Father’s) emanations. They have known that they came forth from him, like children who are from a grown man. They knew that they had not yet received form, nor yet received a name, each one of which the Father begets. (...) But the Father is perfect, knowing every space within him. If he wishes, he manifests whomever he wishes, by giving him form and giving him a name, and he gives a name to him, and brings it about that those come into existence.” (Gospel of Truth)
- The One itself is called ‘the Father whose name cannot be uttered’ (Gospel of the Egyptians). Hence, he is ‘the unproclaimable Father’ or ‘the silent Silence’. (Gospel of the Egyptians) His aeons that surround him are also called ‘the silence’ (Gospel of the Egyptians).
- In his silent aeons, he utters the names through which he names himself, such as the Father, Mother and Son. The Son in particular, as ‘the Word’ bears the unspeakable name of the Father: - “Now the name of the Father is the Son. It is he who first gave a name to the one who came forth from him, who was himself, and he begot him as a son. He gave him his name, which belonged to him; (...) For indeed, the Father's name is not spoken, but (rather,) it is apparent through a Son.” (Gospel of Truth) “(This is) the Son who is perfect in every respect - that is, the Word who originated through that Voice; who proceeded from the height; who has within him the Name.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
5. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE UPPER AEONS
- As water: “...the waters which are above.” (Melchizedek), “...the waters which are above matter.” (Apocryphon of John)
- As Living Water: “...the Aeons in the Living Water.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
- As a watery light and life: “For it is he who looks at himself in his light which surrounds him, namely the spring of the water of life. And it is he who gives to all the aeons and in every way, (and) who gazes upon his image which he sees in the spring of the Spirit. It is he who puts his desire in his water-light which is in the spring of the pure light-water which surrounds him.” (Apocryphon of John)
- As the Silence: “I dwell within the Silence that surrounds every one of them.” (Trimorphic Protennoia) (Spoken by Protennoia. In this text, she descends three times, as the Voice (Father), the Sound (Mother) and the Word (Son). In this context, the Silence is the Aeons ‘that surrounds every one of them’).
- As the silent Silence and Pleroma: “...the Father of the silent, living silence, the Father and their whole pleroma.” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
- As the Treasure-House or Store-House: “While her enemies (the Archons) look at her (the soul) in shame, she runs upward into her treasure-house - the one in which her mind is - and into her storehouse which is secure, since nothing among the things that have come into being has seized her, nor has she received a stranger into her house.” (Authoritative Teaching)
- As the Dwelling-Place: “But these - the ones who are ignorant - do not seek after God. Nor do they inquire about their dwelling-place, which exists in rest, but they go about in bestiality.” (Authoritative Teaching)
- The Father’s crown is the aeons that surround him, filled with light: “This is the Father of the All. This is he upon whose head the aeons are a crown, casting forth rays.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex) See CROWN.
- As the kingless realm: “those who - in contrast - have not become perfect (...) will never enter the kingless realm.” (Origin of the World)
- The Upper Aeons are the realm of spirits, while the Lower Aeons are the realm of souls (and bodies): “they (the Archons) could not lay hold of that image, which had appeared to them in the waters, because of their weakness - since beings that merely possess a soul cannot lay hold of those that possess a spirit” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- The world will be restored to the Upper Aeons: “And he raised up all the purity of the matter, and made it a world and an aeon and a city which is called imperishability and Jerusalem. And it is also called ‘the new earth’. And it is also called ‘self-complete’. And it is also called ‘unruled’.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)
6. AEONS - BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER AEONS
- See also MIDDLE
- The outermost extension of the Upper Aeons is called ‘the limit’ and ‘the exalted boundary’: “...so that the limit which the Father had set might be established.” “...as for the one who is set up in this way and who is within the exalted boundary.” (Tripartite Tractate)
- After Sophia begot Yaltabaoth, the Limit (Horos) of the Upper Aeons was established: “And by this Horos (Limit) they declare that Sophia was purified and established (...) She herself certainly remained within the Pleroma; but her inborn idea (Yaltabaoth), with its passion, was separated from her by Horos (the Limit), fenced off and expelled from that circle.” (Irenaeus 1.2.4)
- Between the Upper and Lower Aeons is a curtain or veil. See VEIL.
- The curtain between the Upper and Lower Aeons: “the Father of the Universe, that his unimaginable goodness might be revealed, he created that curtain between the immortals and those that came afterward” (Sophia of Jesus Christ)
- The veil between the Upper and Lower Aeons, which caused a shadow to be cast from the light. This shadow became a form in the Lower Aeons, particularly Yaltabaoth: “A veil exists between the world above and the realms that are below; and shadow came into being beneath the veil; and that shadow became matter; and that shadow was projected apart.” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
7. AEONS - THE LOWER AEONS
- see also DEFICIENCY, ARCHONS, FATE, HELL
- Also called the Deficiency, Imperfection, Fate (Hiemarmene), Darkness, Abyss
- They contain many beings, such as Yaltaboath, the seven heavenly Archons, the five Archons of the abyss, the authorities, powers, demons as well as the psychic and material race (not to mention the pneumatic race trapped in darkness).
- They are visible, perishable, material, dark, shadowy, and of ‘luminous fire’.
- As opposed to ‘the Fullness’ of the Upper Aeons (or Pleroma), the Lower Aeons are ‘a Deficiency’: “So the pleroma, which has no deficiency, but (which) fills up the deficiency, is what he provided from himself for filling up what he lacks.” (Gospel of Truth)
- As Deficiency: “(After the resurrection,) the light flows down upon the darkness, swallowing it up; and the Pleroma fills up the deficiency.” (Treatise on Resurrection)
- The Lower Aeons have temporal measure: “For they (men) are bound with measures and times and moments, since it (fate) is lord over everything.” (Apocryphon of John 28:30)
8. THE CREATION OF THE LOWER AEONS
- Through the power which Yaltaboath took from his mother Sophia, he created the Lower Aeons. This power is called a luminous fire: “This is the first archon (Yaltabaoth) who took a great power from his mother. And he removed himself from her and moved away from the places in which he was born. He became strong and created for himself other aeons with a flame of luminous fire which (still) exists now.” (Apocryphon of John)
- Yaltabaoth modeled the Lower Aeons according to the image of the Upper Aeons: “And having created [...] everything, he (Yaltabaoth) organized (everything) according to the model of the first aeons (...through) the power in him, which he had taken from his mother, (and thus) produced in him the likeness of the cosmos.” (Apocryphon of John)
9. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE LOWER AEONS
- As darkness and a tail-eating dragon - “The outer darkness is a great dragon, whose tail is in his mouth, outside the whole world and surrounding the whole world.” (Pistis Sophia Ch. 126)
- As a corpse: "Whoever has come to know the world has found a corpse.” (Gospel of Thomas 56)
- As darkness and abyss: “And he revealed himself to those who dwell in darkness, and he showed himself to those who dwell in the abyss.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
5. AEONS - SUMMARY OF OPPOSITES:
- In general, the Upper and Lower Aeons manifest these opposites:
- upper / lower,
- imperishable / perishable,
- immortal / mortal
- boundless, eternal / space and time
- light / dark
- fullness / deficiency
- exists / (non-exists)
- archetypes / shadows
- watery light / luminous fire
- spiritual / psychic and material
- spiritual race pre-exists within / psychic and hylic race exist within
- spirits exist within / souls and bodies exist within
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- ALIEN - See STRANGER.
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- THE ALL
- The totality of beings in the Upper Aeons.
- The All include, in particular, the Elect.
- Since beings in the Lower Aeons will eventually return to non-existence, the All is the totality of what, ultimately, may be said to exist.
- The One is ‘Father of the All’: “...the seed which flowed forth from the Father of the All.” (Melchizedek), “This is the crown which the Father of the All gave to the indivisible one (...) and they shine and fill the All with imperishable and inextinguishable light. ” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)
- The All are contained within the Father -“He is an incomprehensible one, but it is he who comprehends All. He receives them to himself. And nothing exists outside of him. But All exist within him. And he is boundary to them all, as he encloses them all, and they are all within him. It is he who is Father of the aeons, existing before them all. There is no place outside of him.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)
- “It is through me alone (Protennoia) that the All stands firm. I am the Womb that gives shape to the All by giving birth to the Light that shines in splendor.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
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- ANDROGYNE
- Also called androgynous angel, bi-sexual or ‘both male and female’.
- See also CONSORT, MALE AND FEMALE.
- A being that is singular, but possesses both male and female genders or names.
1. ANDROGYNY IN THE UPPER AEONS.
- Like the One, all beings in the Upper Aeons are androgynous angels (i.e. - both male and female).
- The One or ‘Parent’ is androgynous, as both Mother and Father. Protennoia: “I am androgynous. I am Mother (and) I am Father, since I copulate with myself. I copulated with myself and with those who love me, and it is through me alone that the All stands firm. I am the Womb that gives shape to the All by giving birth to the Light that shines in splendor.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
- Hence, the One is also called ‘the Mother-Father’: “This was an only-begotten child of the Mother-Father which had come forth.” (Apocryphon of John 6:15)
- Or, the One is called ‘the Parent’: “And the parent consented...” (Gospel of the Egyptians 52:3 - Bentley translation)
- The One is syzygetic, while being male and female. Protennoia: “I am 'He who is syzygetic' (...) I am called 'She who is syzygetic'.” (Trimorphic Protennoia) Syzygy means ‘consort’. See CONSORT.
- The One is a monad (i.e. one) that also becomes a dyad (i.e. two) or a pair (i.e. consorts): “...the Ineffable One who dwells in the Monad. He dwells alone in silence, and silence is tranquility since, after all, he was a Monad and no one was before him. He dwells in the Dyad and in the Pair, and his Pair is Silence. And he possessed the All dwelling within him.” (Valentinian Exposition.) (‘his pair’ should be read here as ‘consort’).
- The androgynous One also manifests itself through Sophia and Jesus, as well as the seeds (i.e. the Elect) and their angelic consorts in the Upper Aeons: “But the syzygy is the complete one, and Sophia and Jesus and the angels and the seeds are images of the Pleroma.” (Valentinan Exposition)
- The angels in the Pleroma are created androgynous, after the androgynous Parent: “After Jesus brought forth further, he brought forth for the All those of the Pleroma and of the syzygy, that is, the angels.” (Valentinian Exposition)
- All the angels in the Upper Aeons are androgynous, consisting of male and female pairs or consorts. For example, each of the Four Lights has a consort: “And the Father nodded approval (i.e. consented); the whole pleroma of the lights was well pleased. Their consorts came forth for the completion of the ogdoad (i.e. eight-fold) of the divine Autogenes: the (consort) Grace of the first light Harmozel, the (consort) Perception of the second light Oroiael, the (consort) Understanding of the third light Davithe, the (consort) Prudence of the fourth light Eleleth.” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
- The Anthropos was made male and female: “And he made his necessities (genitals) in the type of those that go forth and those that come in” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)
- Though androgynous, each syzygy has a male and female name: “In the beginning, he (the One) decided to have his likeness become a great power. Immediately, the principle (or beginning) of that Light appeared as Immortal Androgynous Man. His male name is ‘Begotten, Perfect Mind’. And his female name is ‘All-wise Begettress Sophia’. It is also said that she resembles her brother and her consort.” (Eugnostos the Blessed)
- The soul in the Upper Aeons was ‘virgin and androgynous’: “As long as she was alone with the father, she was virgin and in form androgynous.” (Exegesis on the Soul)
- Yaltabaoth, his Archons, powers and demons are all androgynous.
2. ANDROGYNY IN THE LOWER AEONS
- Like their creator Yaltabaoth, the Archons are androgynous: “This ruler (Yaltabaoth), by being androgynous (...) created for himself seven offspring, androgynous just like their parent.” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- As androgynous, each Archon has a male and female name: “Seven (Archons) appeared in chaos, androgynous. They have their masculine names and their feminine names. (For) Sambathas, his feminine name is Pronoia. (...For) Yao, his feminine name is Lordship, (for) Sabaoth: his feminine name is Deity, (for) Adonaios, his feminine name is Kingship, (for) Elaios: his feminine name is Jealousy, (for) Oraios: his feminine name is Wealth, and (for) Astaphaios, his feminine name is Sophia (Wisdom). These are the seven forces of the seven heavens of chaos. And they were born androgynous, consistent with the immortal pattern that existed before them.” (Origin of the World)
- Demons are also androgynous, and have male and female names. While Death begets by ‘mingling with his own nature’, the demons beget by ‘intercourse with one another’ (i.e. their male and female sides), producing more androgynous demons: “Then Death, being androgynous, mingled with his (own) nature and begot seven androgynous offspring. These are the names of the male ones: Jealousy, Wrath, Tears, Sighing, Suffering, Lamentation, Bitter Weeping. And these are the names of the female ones: Wrath, Pain, Lust, Sighing, Curse, Bitterness, Quarrelsomeness. They had intercourse with one another, and each one begot seven, so that they amount to forty-nine androgynous demons.” (Origin of the World)
- Though first androgynous, a human being becomes male or female: “When Sophia let fall a droplet of light, it flowed onto the water, and immediately a human being appeared, being androgynous. That droplet she molded first as a female body.” (Origin of the World)
- Although human beings become male or female, they maintain a relationship with the consort, pair or counterpart with which they once formed an androgynous angel: “ When Eve saw her male counterpart prostrate, she had pity upon him.” (Origin of the World)
- For the manner in which androgynous angels in the Upper and Lower Aeons multiply, see CONSORT.
- For the manner in which human beings multiply, see MALE AND FEMALE.
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- ANGELS
- All angels are beings in the Upper Aeons.
- Each angelic being is a hypostasis, extension, image or reflection of the One. See AEONS.
- These are arranged into certain angelic orders or hierarchies, though all are ultimately one and unified. See ANGELIC ORDERS.
- Angels are androgynous. See ANDROGYNE.
- Angels, though they are androgynous, multiply through consent with their consorts. See CONSORT.
- Many important angels are named in the Gnostic texts.
- Foremost among these are the Four Lights: Armozel, Oriel, Daveithai and Eleleth: “For from the light, which is the Christ... the four lights (appeared) from the divine Autogenes... the light-aeon Armozel, which is the first angel.... And the second light (is) Oriel... And the third light is Daveithai,... And the fourth light Eleleth... These are the four lights which attend the divine Autogenes” (Apocryphon of John) See also FOUR LIGHTS.
- Also of great importance are the triads of angels who enrobe, baptize, enthrone, glorify and snatch away the initiate in the rite of the Five Seals: “And I delivered him to those who give robes - Yammon, Elasso, Amenai - and (...) to the baptizers - Micheus, Michar, Mnesinous - and (...) to those who enthrone - Bariel, Nouthan, Sabenai - and (...) to those who glorify - Ariom, Elien, Phariel - and (...) to those who snatch away - Kamaliel, [...]anen, Samblo (...) And he received the Five seals.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
- In Valentinian Gnosticism, certain human beings (the seeds or Elect) have promised themselves to angels, and will re-unite with them in the Upper Aeons: “When the whole seed is perfected (...) the Savior and Sophia [will] form a pair (syzygy). These then are said to be bridegroom and bride, and the bridal chamber is the entire Pleroma. The spiritual beings will divest themselves of their souls and become intelligent spirits, and, without being hindered or seen, they will enter into the Pleroma, and will be bestowed as brides on the angels around the Savior.” (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 1.7.1. See also Valentinian Exposition 39:29)
- Angels are also called ‘receivers’: “they who are worthy of (the) invocation, the renunciations of the five seals in the spring-baptism, these will know their receivers as they are instructed about them, and they will know them (or: be known) by them. These will by no means taste death.” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
- Angels are also called ‘Assembly of the Holy One’ and ‘shadowless lights’: “The whole multitude of those angels are called Assembly of the Holy Ones, the Shadowless Lights.” (Eugnostos the Blessed)
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- ANGELIC ORDERS
- Angels are arranged into so many hypostases, aeons, orders or hierarchies around the One, although all are ultimately one with their source.
- In the Gospel of the Egyptians, there are at least five orders of angels: thrones, powers, glories, authorities and angels. E.g. - “...and the thrones which are in them, and the powers which surround them, glories, authorities, and the powers” (Gospel of the Egyptians) “She (Providence) passed through all the aeons which I mentioned before. And she established thrones of glory, and myriads of angels without number who surrounded them, powers and incorruptible glories, who sing and give glory, all giving praise with a single voice, with one accord, with one never-silent voice, (...) to the Father, and the Mother, and the Son.” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
- In the Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex, there are at least five types of angels, though the order is uncertain: powers, glories, angels, archangels, ministers. “These are the powers which were given to the forefather who was placed in the aeon of the mother. And there were given to him myriads upon myriads of glories, and angels and archangels and ministers, so that those that are of matter should serve him.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)
- Angels may also be arranged in a hierarchy from the One to ‘the countless myriads’: “Among the things that were created the monad is first, the dyad follows it, and the triad, up to the tenths. Now the tenths rule the hundredths; the hundredths rule the thousandths; the thousands rule the ten thousands. This is the pattern among the immortals.” (Eugnostos)
- In order to emphasize unity at every level, the numerical order of angels is composed of the monad (one-fold), dyad (two-fold), triad (three-fold) etc, as follows:
1. monad - onefold
2. dyad - twofold
3. triad - threefold
4. tetrad - fourfold
5. pentad - fivefold
6. hexad - sixfold
7. heptad or hebdomad - sevenfold
8. ogdoad - eightfold
9. ennead - ninefold
10. decad - tenfold
12. dodecad - twelvefold
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- ANIMALS
- Also called ‘beasts’.
- In general, all beings belonging to the Lower Aeons are animals.
- The Archons have the form of animals. See ARCHONS.
- The Hylic race of humans are also called animals. See THREE TYPES OF HUMANS.
- The Archons and their powers have the form of animals: “But their powers, which are the angels, are in the form of beasts and animals.” (Marsanes)
- Yaltabaoth has a lion’s face, and each of the Archons’ powers has an animal face, which is ‘the body belonging to the name’: “And the archons created seven powers for themselves, and the powers created for themselves six angels for each one until they became 365 angels. And these are the bodies belonging with the names: the first is Athoth, a he has a sheep's face (etc)”(Apocryphon of John)
- Because the Archons, as the makers of this world, are beasts, the world is also beastly: “For the world is from beasts and it is a beast” (Interpretation of Knowledge)
- Human beings belonging to the Hylic race are called animals or beasts: “There are many animals in the world which are in a human form.” (Gospel of Philip)
- Those descendents of Adam belonging to the Hylic race are animals: “Adam ate from the tree which bore animals. He became an animal and he brought forth animals.” (Gospel of Philip)
- The Hylic race worship the Archons, and hence, animals: “For this reason the children of Adam worship animals.” (Gospel of Philip)
- The Hylic race are beastial: “Having left knowledge behind, she (the soul) fell into bestiality. For a senseless person exists in bestiality, not knowing what is proper to say and what it is proper not to say.” (Authoritative Teaching)
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- ANOINT
- See CHRISM, FIVE SEALS.
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- ANTHROPOS
- Also called Man, First Man, Perfect Man, Adamas, Pigeradamas, Adam and Eve
- Although Gnostic texts provide different versions of the creation and fall of the Anthropos, the general outline is as follows:
1. CREATION OF THE ANTHROPOS
- In the Upper Aeons, the One created the Anthropos in its own image, as an androgynous angel (i.e. male and female). This was the First Adam, which was spirit-endowed (pneumatic Anthropos).
- Seeing this image in the Upper Aeons, Yaltabaoth and his Archons created the Second Adam, which was soul-endowed (psychic Anthropos). Like the First Adam, the Second Adam was androgynous.
- After Yaltabaoth accidentally breathed his own spirit (pneuma) into Adam, he and his Archons tried to retrieve it. They created the Third Adam, which was flesh-endowed (hylic Anthropos).
- The three Adams became the prototypes for the three different types of humans: the spirit-endowed (pneumatics), the soul-endowed (psychics), and the flesh-endowed (hylics). See THREE TYPES OF HUMANS.
- Although the Third Adam was also androgynous, Yaltabaoth divided it into male and female. This was the creation of Adam and Eve.
- For the division of the Anthropos into Adam and Eve, then their temptation and fall, see ADAM AND EVE.
2. THE SPIRITUAL, PSYCHIC AND HYLIC ANTHROPOS.
- In Origin of the World, three Adams appear, which correspond to the three types of humans - spiritual, psychic and hylic: “Now the first Adam, (Adam) of Light, is spirit-endowed and appeared on the first day. The second Adam is soul-endowed and appeared on the sixth day (...). The third Adam is a creature of the earth (choikos), that is, the man of the law, and he appeared on the eighth day.” (Origin of the World 117:28)
- In the Apocryphon of John, the One created Man (the Anthropos) by speaking and naming him: “And a voice came forth from the exalted aeon-heaven: ‘The Man exists and the son of Man.’” (Apocryphon of John) This is the creation of ‘the first Adam’, which is spirit-endowed (pneumatic Anthropos).
- Yaltabaoth and his Archons saw the glowing image of the Anthropos in the Upper Aeons and tried to copy it: “When all the authorities and the chief archon looked (...) they saw the form of the image in the water (of the Upper Aeons). And he (Yaltabaoth) said to the authorities which attend him, ‘Come, let us create a man according to the image of God and according to our likeness, that his image may become a light for us.’ (...) He created a being according to the likeness of the first, perfect Man.” (Apocryphon of John)
- In Hypostasis of the Archons, the Anthropos is named ‘Incorruptibility’ (a feminine word): “As incorruptibility looked down into the region of the waters, her image appeared in the waters.” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- The Anthropos which Yaltabaoth and his Archons created was the Second Adam, which is soul-endowed (psychic Anthropos): “And the powers began: the first one (...) created a bone-soul; and the second one (...) created a sinew-soul; the third one (...) created a flesh-soul; and the fourth one (...) created a marrow-soul; the fifth one (...) created a blood-soul; the sixth one (...) created a skin-soul; the seventh one (...) created a hair-soul.” (Apocryphon of John)
- Although Yaltabaoth created the Second Adam, which is soul-endowed, it was still lacking in spirit. At the behest of Sophia, Christ and the Four Lights tricked Yaltabaoth into blowing his own spirit (which had come from his mother Sophia) into Adam: “And they (Christ and the Four Lights) said to Yaltabaoth, ‘Blow into his face something of your spirit and his body will arise.’ And he blew into his face the spirit which is the power of his mother (...) The body moved and gained strength, and it was luminous.” (Apocryphon of John 19:22)
- In Hypostasis of the Archons, Yaltabaoth blew a soul into Adam, and then the Spirit (i.e. the One) sent Adam his spirit (pneuma): “And he (Yaltabaoth) breathed into his face; and the man came to have a soul (and remained) upon the ground (...) Afterwards, the Spirit saw the soul-endowed man upon the ground. And the spirit (...) descended and came to dwell within him, and that man became a living soul. It called his name Adam,” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- To retrieve his spirit, Yaltabaoth and his Archons created the Third Adam, which is material and hylic: “They (the demons) all worked on it until, limb for limb, the natural and the material body was completed by them.” (Apocryphon of John)
- The third Adam was made of the earth: “The rulers laid plans and said, ‘Come, let us create a man that will be soil from the earth.’ They modeled their creature as one wholly of the earth.” Hypostasis of the Archons 87:24
- Specifically, the third Adam is a compound of earth, air, water and fire, making him mortal: “And they took counsel with the whole array of archons and angels. They took fire and earth and water and mixed them together with the four fiery winds. And they wrought them together and caused a great disturbance. And they brought him (Adam) into the shadow of death (...) and he became a mortal man.” (Apocryphon of John 20:33)
- For the division of the Anthropos into Adam and Eve, then their temptation and fall, see ADAM AND EVE.
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- APOCALYPSE
- An ‘apocalypse’ is a ‘revealed teaching’, in contrast to an ‘apocryphon’ which is a ‘hidden teaching’.
- For ‘apocalypse’ in the sense of ‘the end of time’, see RESOLUTION.
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- APOCRYPHON
- An ‘apocryphon’ is a ‘hidden teaching’, in contrast to an ‘apocalypse’ which is a ‘revealed teaching’.
- Several of the Nag Hammadi texts are apocryphonic, such as the Apocryphon of John and the Apocryphon of James.
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- ARCHONS
- The rulers of the Lower Aeons
- Also called rulers, governors, authorities, guards, gate keepers, robbers, toll collectors, detainers, judges, pitiless ones, adulterers, man-eaters, corpse-eaters, fishermen
1. ARCHONS - IN GENERAL
- Yaltabaoth is the Chief Archon and created all the others. See YALTABAOTH.
- According to the Apocryphon of John, there are twelve Archons and their aeons, comprising the Lower Aeons
- Seven heavenly Archons are associated with the seven planetary heavens.
- Five Archons ‘of the Abyss’ are associated with the five sublunary realms created by earth, water, air and fire intermixed in the ether.
2. ARCHONS - THEIR CREATION BY YALTABAOTH
- Yaltabaoth has the power to create Archons and their aeons because of the spirit (pneuma) in him which he had acquired from his mother Sophia. He created the Archons from luminous fire: “This is the first archon who took a great power from his mother. And he removed himself from her and moved away from the places in which he was born. He became strong and created for himself other aeons with a flame of luminous fire which (still) exists now. And he joined with his arrogance which is in him and begot authorities for himself.” (Apocyphon of John)
- Being androgynous, Yaltabaoth generated androgynous Archons like himself: “This ruler (Yaltabaoth), by being androgynous, made himself a vast realm, an extent without limit. And he contemplated creating offspring for himself, and created for himself seven offspring, androgynous just like their parent.” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- As androgynous (see ANDROGYNE), Yaltabaoth had both male and female genders. He generated his offspring through the consent of the male and female consorts within himself (see CONSORTS). Thus, the androgynous Yaltabaoth generated the Archons with the aid of a consort.
- This consort may have been ‘his arrogance which is in him’. He ‘joins’ with her to beget the authorities: “And he joined with his arrogance which is in him and begot authorities for himself.” (Apocyphon of John)
- This consort may have been his ‘blasphemous thought’, ‘the abyss’ or Pistis Sophia’, depending on the identification for the pronoun ‘she’: “He (Yaltabaoth) pursued it (his blasphemous thought) down to chaos and the abyss, his mother, at the instigation of Pistis Sophia. And she established each of his offspring in conformity with its power - after the pattern of the realms that are above, for by starting from the invisible world the visible world was invented.” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- Yaltabaoth also created the androgynous Archons by the power of naming (see NAMES): “The ruler (Yaltabaoth) had a thought - consistent with his nature - and by means of verbal expression he created an androgyne. He opened his mouth and cooed to him. When his eyes had been opened, he looked at his father, and he said to him, "Eee!" Then his father called him Eee-a-o ('Yao').” And so on for 'Eloai' and 'Astaphaios'. (Origin of the World)
3. ARCHONS - THEIR HIERARCHY IN THE LOWER AEONS:
- Yaltabaoth placed seven Archons in the heavens and five over the Abyss: “And he (Yaltabaoth) placed seven kings - each corresponding to the firmaments of heaven - over the seven heavens, and five over the depth of the abyss, that they may reign. And he shared his fire with them.” (Apocyphon of John)
- The seven heavenly Archons were named Athoth, Harmas, Kalila-Oumbri, Yabel, Adonaiou (or Sabaoth) Cain and Abel: “The name of the first one is Athoth, whom the generations call the reaper. The second one is Harmas, who is the eye of envy. The third one is Kalila-Oumbri. The fourth one is Yabel. The fifth one is Adonaiou, who is called Sabaoth. The sixth one is Cain, whom the generations of men call the sun. The seventh is Abel.” (Apocyphon of John)
- The five Archons of the abyss were named Abrisene, Yobel, Armoupieel, Melceir-Adonein and Belias: “The eighth is Abrisene. The ninth is Yobel. The tenth is Armoupieel. The eleventh is Melceir-Adonein. The twelfth is Belias, it is he who is over the depth of Hades.” (Apocyphon of John)
- Each Archon may be associated with a planet (no Gnostic text makes this association explicit). And each Archon, according to the Apocryphon of John, has an adjunct or 'power' with the face of a beast. Thus, the seven planets, Archons, powers and beasts would be as follows:
- Saturn - Athoth - Athoth - sheep
- Jupiter -Harmas - Eloaiou - donkey
- Mars -Kalila-Oumbri - Astaphaios - hyena
- Sun -Yabel - Yao - seven-headed serpent
- Venus -Adonaiou - Sabaoth - dragon
- Mercury -Cain - Adonin - monkey
- Moon -Abel - Sabbede -fire-face
- Beneath the moon, five more Archons rule over five more spheres. These are the five 'sublunar' aeons composed of ether, fire, air, water and earth. From highest to lowest, the Archons and aeons are as follows:
- Abrisene - ether
- Yobel - fire
- Armnoupieel - air
- Melceir-Adonein - water
- Belias - earth
- A hierarchy of Archons, powers, and angels (i.e. demons) emerges, with 360 or 365 angels in all: “And the archons created seven powers for themselves, and the powers created for themselves six angels for each one until they became (360 or) 365 angels.” (Apocyphon of John)
- As 360 or 365, the Archons’ demons establish their rule over man in space (the 360 degrees on the horizon) and in time (365 days a year). Each of the 365 demons also rules over a part of man’s body and soul: “This is the number of the angels: together they are 365. They all worked on it (the body) until, limb for limb, the natural and the material body was completed by them.” (Apocyphon of John)
- As the planets in the heavens, the Archons rule over man by determining his astrological Fate (Heimarmene): “He (Yaltabaoth) made a plan with his authorities (i.e. Archons), which are his powers, and they committed together adultery with Sophia, and bitter fate was begotten through them, which is the last of the changeable bonds. (...) For they (humans) are bound with measures and times and moments, since it (Fate) is lord over everything.” (Apocyphon of John)
4. ARCHONS - AS ANDROGYNOUS. See ANDROGYNE
- Like their creator Yaltabaoth, the Archons are androgynous: “This ruler (Yaltabaoth), by being androgynous (...) created for himself seven offspring, androgynous just like their parent.” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- As androgynous, each Archon has a male and female name: “Seven (Archons) appeared in chaos, androgynous. They have their masculine names and their feminine names. (For) Sambathas, his feminine name is Pronoia. (...For) Yao, his feminine name is Lordship, (for) Sabaoth: his feminine name is Deity, (for) Adonaios, his feminine name is Kingship, (for) Elaios: his feminine name is Jealousy, (for) Oraios: his feminine name is Wealth, and (for) Astaphaios, his feminine name is Sophia (Wisdom). These are the seven forces of the seven heavens of chaos. And they were born androgynous, consistent with the immortal pattern that existed before them.” (Origin of the World)
- In the Apocryphon of John, each power also unites with an authority: “And he (Yaltabaoth) united the seven powers in his thought with the authorities which were with him.” (Apocyphon of John)
5. ARCHONS - AS PLANETARY GATE-KEEPERS
- As the planetary gate-keepers, the Archons prevent souls from rising to the Upper Aeons after death (or in a visionary ascent). Certain souls (sinners, psychics, hylics) consorted with demons while they were in the body, and so they fell under the Archons’ power. They are turned around and cast down into another body or are punished. Other souls (virtuous, pneumatics, Elect) may pass freely if they have acquired certain sayings, signs, seals etc. or if they refused to consort with demons while they were in the body. See RESURRECTION.
6. ARCHONS - THEIR DESTRUCTION
- There are a limited number of ages - sometimes three (three descents of a saviour figure like Pronoia or Protennoia), sometimes four (one age for each of the the Four Lights. See FOUR LIGHTS).
- At the end will come the consummation: “(This...) has been apparent from creation down to the consummation of the age.” (Origin of the World)
- The time of the Archons is limited: “Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you, for all of them the stars bring matters to completion. When Saklas (the blind god) completes the span of time assigned for him...’” (Gospel of Judas 54)
- The end of the Archons’ rule will be heralded by signs in the cosmos: “Then, when the great Authorities knew that the time of fulfillment had appeared - just as in the pangs of the parturient it (the time) has drawn near, so also had the destruction approached - all together the elements trembled, and the foundations of the underworld and the ceilings of Chaos shook, and a great fire shone within their midst, and the rocks and the earth were shaken like a reed shaken by the wind.” (Trimorphic Prontennoia 43:4)
- More cosmic signs: “Then the sun will become dark, and the moon will cause its light to cease. The stars of the sky will cancel their circuits.” (On the Origin of the World 126:10)
- The Lower Aeons will collapse, and the ‘luminous fire’ which created the Archons will also destroy them: “And their heavens will fall one upon the next and their forces will be consumed by fire. Their eternal realms, too, will be overturned.” (On the Origin of the World)
- Finally Sophia will cause their destruction. The Archons will destroy each other, or Yaltabaoth will destroy them and then himself: “And a great clap of thunder will come out of a great force that is above all the forces of chaos, where the firmament of the woman (Sophia) is situated. Having created the first product, she (Sophia) will put away the wise fire of intelligence and clothe herself with witless wrath. Then she will pursue the gods of chaos, whom she created along with the prime parent (Yaltabaoth). She will cast them down into the abyss. They will be obliterated because of their wickedness. For they will come to be like volcanoes and consume one another until they perish at the hand of the prime parent (Yaldabaoth). When he has destroyed them, he will turn against himself and destroy himself until he ceases to exist.” (On the Origin of the World 126:13)
7. ARCHONS - ALTERNATE NAMES
- The Archons as toll collectors: “...three of them will seize you - they who sit (there) as toll collectors...” (Jesus to James, First Apocalypse of James) “The toll-collector who dwells in the fourth heaven replied, saying...” (Apocalypse of Paul)
- As judges: James prays as he dies: “Do not give me into the hand of a judge who is severe with sin!” (First Apocalypse of James)
- As governors and administrators: “The governors and the administrators possess garments granted only for a time, which do not last.” (Dialogue of the Saviour)
- As robbers: “This is the tomb of the newly-formed body with which the robbers had clothed the man, the bond of forgetfulness; and he became a mortal man.” (Apocalypse of John)
- As pitiless ones: “I have broken the gates of the pitiless ones” (Sophia of Jesus Christ); “the secure gates of those pitiless ones I broke” (Trimorphic Protonoia)
- as adulterers: “she (the soul) had given herself to wanton, unfaithful adulterers” (Exegesis on the Soul)
- As man-eaters and fishermen: “For man-eaters will seize us and swallow us, rejoicing like a fisherman casting a hook into the water.” (Authoritative Teaching)
- In the sense of man-eaters, the Archons are also corpse-eaters. They eat the dead (the non-Elect) while the angels of the Upper Aeons, as truth, eat the living (the Elect) as they ascend: “This world is a corpse-eater. All the things eaten in it themselves die also. Truth is a life-eater. Therefore no one nourished by truth will die...” (Gospel of Philip)
- Archons have souls, but no spirit: “they (the Archons) could not lay hold of that image, which had appeared to them in the waters, because of their weakness - since beings that merely possess a soul cannot lay hold of those that possess a spirit” (Hypostasis of the Archons)
- Since they have no fullness, they are deficient. Though they exist at present, they will return to their state of non-existence: “their end will be like their beginning: from that which did not exist (they are) to return once again to that which will not be.” (Tripartite Tractate)
- They are likenesses, copies, imitations, shadows, phantasms and distorted reflections of the Upper Aeons: “(The Archons) are their (the Pleromas') likenesses, copies, shadows, and phantasms, lacking reason and the light (...). In the manner of a reflection are they beautiful. For the face of the copy normally takes its beauty from that of which it is a copy.” (Tripartite Tractate)
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- (TO GO) ASTRAY
- Those who ‘go astray’ are caught in the traps and distractions of the Archons, and have not yet recognized the ‘gnosis’.
- If they later recognize the gnosis, they may still be saved (as Penitants)
- “...many go astray on the way.” (Gospel of Philip)
- “those on whom the counterfeit spirit descends are drawn by him and they go astray.” (Apocryphon of John)
- As the penitants: “And I said, ‘Lord, where will the souls of these go when they have come out of their flesh? (...) Those who have not known to whom they belong, where will their souls be?’ And he said to me, ‘In those, the despicable spirit has gained strength when they went astray. (...) After it comes out of (the body), it is handed over to the authorities (...), and they bind it with chains and cast it into prison, and consort with it until it is liberated from the forgetfulness and acquires knowledge. And if thus it becomes perfect, it is saved (...) It is not again cast into another flesh." (Apocryphon of John)
- Those who go astray do not know the difference between perishable and imperishable: “Now a difference existed among the imperishable aeons. Let us, then, consider (it) this way: Everything that came from the perishable will perish, since it came from the perishable. Whatever came from imperishableness will not perish but will become imperishable, since it came from imperishableness. So, many men went astray because they had not known this difference; that is, they died.” (Eugnostos the Blessed)
- The flesh of ‘non-understanding’ leads us astray. Jesus: “I do not speak of the flesh in which you dwell, but the flesh of non-understanding which exists in ignorance, which leads astray many from the of my Father.” (First Book of Jeu)
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- AUTOGENES
- The ‘self-begotten’. See BEGET.
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- BAPTISM
- A ritual sprinkling, pouring or immersion in water, used to initiate a catechumen. See FIVE SEALS, BRIDAL CHAMBER, GARMENT, IMAGE, NAME, WATER.
1. BAPTISM - IN GENERAL
- In certain Gnostic texts, the baptism is performed once, three times, five times or more
- The baptism may be a symbolic as opposed to a ritual immersion, and constitute part of a vision.
- Baptism is one of the Five Seals.
- For a fuller comprehension of baptism, this rite should be viewed in the context of the Five Seals. See FIVE SEALS.
2. THE BAPTISM FIRST TOOK PLACE IN THE UPPER AEONS, DURING THE CREATION
- According to the Apocryphon of John, the Upper Aeons are a watery light which surround the One (invisible Spirit or Father) like a mirror, reflecting images of itself to itself. The first image of itself to appear in the watery mirror was the Mother, Barbelo (i.e. Wisdom). She brought forth the next image, the Son, Autogenes (i.e. Christ). The One then ‘anointed’ Christ (the rite of chrism) and ‘poured upon’ him (the rite of baptism). In response, Christ ‘glorified’ the Spirit and Barbelo i.e. he reflected their light back to them: “And the invisible, virginal Spirit (i.e. the One) rejoiced over the light which came forth, that which was brought forth first by the first power of his forethought, which is Barbelo. And he anointed it (chrism) with his kindness (chrestos) until it became perfect (...) And it attended him as he poured upon it (baptism). And immediately when it had received from the Spirit, it glorified the holy Spirit and the perfect forethought, for whose sake it had come forth.” (Apocryphon of John)
- This baptism of Christ in the Upper Aeons is the archetype or ‘pre-existent’ baptism which all rites of baptism will imitate.
- In this sense it is ‘the baptism higher than the heavens’: “And by forethought he established the holy and the baptism that is higher than the heavens.” (Gospel of the Egyptians 65:23 - Layton translation)
3. BAPTISM AS AN IMMERSION OR POURING OF THE WATERY LIGHT OF THE UPPER AEONS, TO ESTABLISH ONE’S IMAGE
- The Upper Aeons are described as a watery light (also, the living water, the waters above, etc. See AEONS).
- Following the archetype of Christ’s heavenly baptism, the Gnostic rite of baptism is understood as an immersion into the watery light of the Upper Aeons: “For the waters which are above [...] that receive baptism” (Melchizedek)
- Or, it is a ‘pouring forth’ of the baptismal waters from the Upper Aeons: “It (the Word) is a hidden Light, bearing a fruit of life, pouring forth a living water from the invisible, unpolluted, immeasurable spring” (Trimorphic Protennoia) “the holy Spirit poured over her from their whole pleroma.” (Apocryphon of John)
- Through baptism in the watery light of the Upper Aeons, one receives ‘an image’, which makes one ‘like the angels’: “Then I knew that the power in me was set over the darkness because it contained the whole light. I was baptized there, and I received the image of the glories there (the Upper Aeons). I became like one of them (the angels).” (Zostrianos)
- Baptism is also understood as a ‘seal’: (The author is contending against Christian baptism): “There are some, who upon entering the faith, receive a baptism on the ground that they have it as a hope of salvation, which they call the ‘seal’, not knowing that the fathers of the world are manifest (in) that place. But he himself knows that he is sealed.” (Testimony of Truth)
- Baptism is a seal (like a signet impressed in wax) in the sense that the catechumen’s image is impressed or ‘sealed’ in the watery light of the Upper Aeons. He then becomes one of the images in the watery mirror that reflect the One to itself.
- Hence, the catechumen is ‘sealed in the light of the water’ (i.e. the watery light of the Upper Aeons). Pronoia speaking of a soul: “And I raised him up, and sealed him in the light of the water with five seals, in order that death might not have power over him from this time on.” (Apocalypse of John 31:22)
- Through baptism, the catechumen’s image appears in the watery light, as a mirror-image or reflection of the One: “None can see himself either in water or in a mirror without light. Nor again can you see in light without mirror or water. For this reason, it is fitting to baptize in the two, in the light and the water.” (Gospel of Philip 69:8)
4. BAPTISM AS A CALLING OR NAMING, TO ESTABLISH ONE’S NAME
- Just as one’s baptismal image becomes a mirror-image in which the One may see itself, one’s baptismal name becomes a name by which the One calls itself. See NAMES.
- At baptism, the catechumen receives a baptismal name. This becomes a ‘living holy name’ that is inscribed ‘in the waters’ (i.e. the watery light of the Upper Aeons): “And according to the perfect laws, I shall pronounce my name as I receive baptism now and forever, as a name among the living and holy names, and now in the waters. Amen.” (Melchizedek 16:11)
- The name is also inscribed ‘in the light’ (i.e. watery light of the Upper Aeons): “...in order that he may inscribe your name in our great light.” (Concept of Our Great Power)
- Through baptism, one’s name is ‘written in glory’ (i.e. inscribed the light of the Upper Aeons) and ‘sealed’: “I (Zostrianos) was baptized in the [name of] the divine Autogenes by those powers which are upon living waters, Michar and Micheus. I was purified by the great Barpharanges. Then they revealed themselves to me and wrote me in glory. I was sealed by those who are on these powers, Michar, Micheus, Seldao, Elenos and Zogenethlos.” (Zostrianos)
- The One (i.e. the Father) utters the catechumen’s name. It is a name which the One uses to ‘know itself’ and name itself. It knew this name in the beginning, and will call it again at the end: “Those whose name he (the Father) knew in advance were called at the end, so that one who has knowledge is the one whose name the Father has uttered.” (Gospel of Truth 21:27)
- If one has an image and a name, one may rise up to the Upper Aeons: “When he came, he caused me to be raised up from ignorance, and from the fructification of death to life. For I have a name: I am Melchizedek, the Priest of God Most High; I know that it is I who am truly the image of the true High-Priest of God Most High.” (Melchizedek)
- Thus, the Elect are those whose names are inscribed in the Upper Aeons, and written in the Book of the Living: “...those who are to receive teaching are the living, who are inscribed in the book of the living.” (Gospel of Truth) See BOOK OF THE LIVING.
5. BAPTISM AS PUTTING ON A GARMENT OF LIGHT
- Many Gnostic texts refer to a garment of light. See GARMENT.
- The rite in which one ‘puts on’ the garment of light is performed in close association with the baptismal rite: “Moreover, as for this Light, when you enter it (...) you will accept robes from those who give robes, and the baptizers will baptize you, and you will become (...) the way you first were when you were Light.” (Trimorphic Protennoia 45:13)
- First there is the divestiture of one garment and then the investiture of another: “The living water is a body (i.e. garment). It is necessary that we put on the living man (i.e. garment of light). Therefore, when he is about to go down into the water, he unclothes himself, in order that he may put on the living man (garment of light).” (Gospel of Philip)
- One strips off the garments of the Lower Aeons (darkness, abyss, corporeal and psychic existence) and puts on the garments of the Upper Aeons (light, knowledge, thought, Fatherhood). Protennoia (as the Saviour): “I gave to him from the Water of Life, which strips him of the chaos that is in the uttermost darkness that exists inside the entire abyss, that is, the thought of the corporeal and the psychic. All these I put on. And I stripped him of it, and I put upon him a shining Light, that is, the knowledge of the Thought of the Fatherhood.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
- According to the fragment On the Baptism B, baptism is “(a movement...) from the blindness of the world into the sight of God, from the carnal into the spiritual, from the physical into the angelic, from the created into the Pleroma, from the world into the Aeon, from the servitudes into sonship, from entanglements into one another” (On Baptism B)
- Once one ‘puts on’ the garment of light, one should act in such a way as to never remove it: “The baptism which we previously mentioned is called ‘garment of those who do not strip themselves of it’, for those who will put it on and those who have received redemption wear it...” (Tripartite Tractate)
- Among other things, baptism is a rite in which one ‘wears’ light, and thus becomes light: “(Baptism) is called ‘silence’ because of the quiet and the tranquility. It is also called ‘bridal chamber’ because of the agreement and the indivisible state of those who know they have known him. It is also called ‘the light which does not set and is without flame’ since it does not give light, but those who have worn it are made into light. They are the ones whom he wore. (Baptism) is also called ‘the eternal life’ which is immortality” (Tripartite Tractate 128:30)
6. BAPTISM - THE RENUNCIATION AND INVOCATION
- The rite of baptism was probably preceeded by a renunciation of the Archons and an invocation of the angels.
- In the spring-baptism, the catechumen will first be instructed about ‘those who will receive him’ (i.e. the Archons in the Lower Aeons; the angels in the Upper Aeons) through the renunciation and invocation: “They who are worthy of (the) invocation and the renunciations of the five seals in the spring-baptism, will know their receivers as they are instructed about them, and they will know them (or: be known) by them, and they will by no means taste death.” (Gospel of the Egyptians 66:2)
- Again, souls will be saved through baptism (involving secret symbols) and through a renunciation of ‘the god of the thirteen aeons’ (Archons) and a convocation of ‘the saints’ (angels): “...to save (their souls) through (...) the baptism, (...) through invisible, secret symbols, (...) through the renouncing of the world and the god of the thirteen aeons, and (through) the convocations of the saints” (Gospel of Egyptians)
- The ‘renunciation’ may have been a recitation of the Archons’ names, followed by their execration. But, it may also have been a long instruction concerning the secret names and symbols necessary for by-passing the archontic gate-keepers during the soul’s post-mortem ascent. See RESURRECTION.
- The ‘invocation’ is a confession of faith in the existence of the angels and beings in the Upper Aeons: “As for the baptism which exists in the fullest sense, into which the Totalities will descend and in which they will be, there is no other baptism apart from this one alone, which is the redemption into God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, when confession is made through faith in those names... namely that they exist. From this they have their salvation, those who have believed that they exist.... And when they have borne witness to them, it is also with a firm hope that they attained them, so that the return to them might become the perfection of those who have believed in them and (so that) the Father might be one with them, the Father... who gave (them) their union with him in knowledge.” (Tripartite Tractate 127:25)
- During ‘the baptism of fire’, Jesus invokes the imperishable names in the Treasury of Light (i.e. Upper Aeons): “Jesus turned to the four corners of the world with his disciples and invoked this prayer, speaking thus: ‘Hear me my Father, father of all Fatherhoods, infinite Light, make my disciples worthy to receive the baptism of fire, and release them from their sins and purify them of their transgressions (...) Yea, hear me my Father as I invoke your imperishable names that are in the Treasury of Light: Azarakaza A ... Amanthkratitath Yo Yo Yo Amen Amen (etc.)” (First Book of Jeu 110)
- Another form for the invocation is given in Melchizedek: “Holy are you, Holy are you, Holy are you, O Father of the All, who truly exist, for ever and ever, Amen. Holy are you, Holy are you, Holy are you, Mother of the aeons, Barbelo, for ever and ever, Amen. (etc.)” This formula is repeated with different names. (Melchizedek 16:16)
7. BAPTISM AS A VISIONARY ASCENT
- During his visionary ascent through the Upper Aeons, Zostrianos is baptized in the watery light of each of the aeons: “I left the airy-earth and passed by the copies of the aeons, after washing there seven times in living water, once for each of the aeons. I did not cease until I saw all the waters. I ascended to the Exile which really exists. I was baptized and [...] world. I ascended to the Repentance which really exists and was baptized there four times.” (Zostrianos) For Visionary Ascent, see RESURRECTION.
8. BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS
- One function of the baptismal rite is to wash and cleanse: “So when the womb of the soul, by the will of the father, turns itself inward, it is baptized and is immediately cleansed of the external pollution which was pressed upon it, just as garments, when dirty, are put into the water and turned about until their dirt is removed and they become clean. And so the cleansing of the soul is to regain the newness of her former nature and to turn herself back again. That is her baptism.” (Exegesis on the Soul)
- Such a purification may also be for the forgiveness of sins: “Hear me as I sing praises to thee, O Light of Lights. (...) Save me, O Light, in thy great mystery and forgive my transgression in thy forgiveness. And give me the baptism and forgive my sins and purify me from my transgression.” (Pistis Sophia Ch. 57)
- This may be one of several baptisms. In the fragmentary text ‘On Baptism A, “...the first baptism is the forgiveness of sins.” (On Baptism A 41:10)
9. BAPTISM - NUMBER AND TYPES
- In On the Origin of the World, there are three ages of the world (parousias), three types of humans and, corresponding to these, three baptisms of different types: “So, too, there are three baptisms - the first is the spiritual, the second is by fire, the third is by water.” (Origin of the World)
- In the Gospel of Philip, baptism is associated with water while the chrism is associated with fire. See CHRISM, FIRE
- Nevertheless, John the Baptist says: “I baptize with water, but he (Christ) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Hence, there is also a ‘baptism of fire’.
- In The Book of Jeu, there a Gnostic ‘baptism of fire’ is mentioned: “Jesus turned to the four corners of the world with his disciples and invoked this prayer, speaking thus: ‘Hear me my Father, father of all Fatherhoods, infinite Light, make my disciples worthy to receive the baptism of fire.’” (Book of Jeu 110)
- During his visionary ascent through the Upper Aeons, Zostrianos is baptized in the watery light seven times for each of the aeons: “I left the airy-earth and passed by the copies of the aeons, after washing there seven times in living water, once for each of the aeons. I did not cease until I saw all the waters.” (Zostrianos)
10. BAPTISM - MISCELLANEOUS
- Three angels preside over the baptism: “Then a voice came to them, saying "Micheu and Michar and Mnesinous, who are over the holy baptism and the living water” (Apocalypse of Adam 84:4)
- There is also an imperfect baptism (perhaps conducted by John the Baptist ‘upon the river’ Jordan): “For at that time the demon will also appear upon the river to baptize with an imperfect baptism, and to trouble the world with a bondage of water.” (Paraphrase of Shem)
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- BARBELO
- Also called Barbelon
1. BARBELO IN GENERAL
- An important figure from the Sethian Gnostic texts
- She is the second, feminine principle in the Gnostic Trinity of the Father, Mother and Son. See TRINITY.
- She appears under numerous names: the Mother, Thought (Ennoia), Forethought (Pronoia), First Thought (Protennoia), Aeon-giver etc.
2. BARBELO AS THE FIRST AEON
- In the beginning, when the One reflected upon itself, an image of itself appeared in the watery light of the aeons. The aeons surround the One like so many mirrors, reflecting images of itself back to itself. In this way, the aeons preserve the One’s unity while also extending it outward.
- Barbelo is the first image that appeared in the aeonic mirror.
- Barbelo as ‘first-appearer’: “And thou (Barbelo) dost become a great male noetic First-Appearer.” (Three Steles of Seth) For Barbelo as male, see below.
- Barbelo as the first aeon and the first to see the One: “Great is the first aeon, male virginal Barbelo, the first glory of the invisible Father, she who is called ‘perfect’. Thou (Barbelo) hast seen first the One who truly pre-exists (...). And from him and through him thou hast pre-existed eternally, (...) light from light.” (Three Steles of Seth) For Barbelo as male and virginal, see below.
3. BARBELO AS THOUGHT
- When the One (invisible Spirit) first thought upon itself, it became two. The second to appear, as its image or reflection, was called his Thought (Ennoia), Forethought (Pronoia) or First Thought (Protonoia). Barbelo is then identified with all three Thought figures (which are feminine): “And his Thought (i.e. Thinking - Nous) performed a deed and she (Thought - Ennoia) came forth, namely she who had appeared before him in the shine of his light. This is the first power which was before all of them (and) which came forth from his Mind (Nous). She is the Forethought (Pronoia) of the All - her light shines like his light - the perfect power which is the image of the invisible, virginal Spirit (i.e. the One) who is perfect. The first power, the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation, she glorified the virginal Spirit (i.e. the One) and it was she who praised him, because thanks to him she had come forth. This is the First Thought (Protonoia), his image; she became the womb of everything.” (Apocryphon of John)
- In Trimorphic Protennoia, Barbelo is again identified with Thought (Ennoia) and First Thought (Protennoia), as the image or reflection of the One (invisible Spirit). Protennoia: “He perpetuated the Father of all Aeons, who am I, the Thought of the Father, Protennoia, that is, Barbelo, the perfect Glory, and the immeasurable Invisible One who is hidden. I am the Image of the Invisible Spirit, and it is through me that the All took shape.” (Trimorphic Protennoia) See ENNOIA
3. BARBELO AS MOTHER
- When the One became two, it became the Father and Mother (these are the masculine and feminine names of one androgynous being. See ANDROGYNE). As three, it became the trinity of Father, Mother and Son: “Three powers came forth from him (the One); they are the Father, the Mother, (and) the Son (...) The second ogdoad-power, the Mother, the virginal Barbelon.” (Gospel of the Egyptians) See TRINITY.
4. BARBELO AS MOTHER OF THE AEONS, OR AEON-GIVER
- Barbelo “became the womb of everything” (Apocryphon of John above) and “it is through (her) that the All took shape.” (Trimorphic Protennoia above) because she generated the Upper Aeons.
- As begetter of the Upper Aeons, Barbelo is called ‘Mother of the aeons’: “O Mother of the aeons, Barbelo” (Melchizedek)
- As begetter of the Upper Aeons, Barbelo is also called ‘the aeon-giver’ who makes the One numerous while preserving its unity: “We bless thee (Barbelo), producer of perfection, aeon-giver (...) thou hast become numerable (although) thou didst continue being one.” (Three Steles of Seth)
- Although she makes the One numerous, she preserves its unity. She is a unity that comes from a unity. Seth: “Thou (Barbelo) a great monad from a pure monad.” (Three Steles of Seth)
4. BARBELO AS POWER
- Barbelo is a power that comes from a power. Seth: “from one indivisible, triple power, thou (Barbelo) a triple power” (Three Steles of Seth) For triple, see below.
- Barbelo’s unique power is to beget and give form: “Thou (Barbelo) hast empowered in begetting, and (provided) forms in that which exists to others. [...] Thou hast empowered these.” (Three Steles of Seth)
- Barbelo’s power extends to all the aeons: “For their sake thou (Barbelo) hast empowered the eternal ones in being; thou hast empowered divinity in living; thou hast empowered knowledge in goodness; in blessedness thou hast empowered the shadows (i.e. images) which pour from the one. Thou hast empowered this (one) in knowledge; thou hast empowered another one in creation.” (Three Steles of Seth)
5. BARBELO AS CONSORT
- When the One became two, it became the Father and Mother. Father and Mother are the masculine and feminine names of one androgynous being (See ANDROGYNE). As androgynous, the One begets when its two consorts or names (the Father and Mother) consent to unite and create a third (the Son): “Three powers came forth from him (the One); they are the Father, the Mother, and the Son (...) The second ogdoad-power, the Mother, the virginal Barbelon (...) who presides over the heaven (...) she came forth; she agreed (consented) with the Father.” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
- Barbelo engenders the Upper Aeons by asking her consort for his consent. The One (called here the invisible Spirit) consents with his consort Barbelo and she begets a new aeon, which is a new extension of the One’s unity. See CONSORT.
- In this way, Barbelo multiplies the aeonic mirrors surrounding the One, beginning with Foreknowledge, Indestructibility, Eternal Life and Truth: “She (Barbelo) requested from the invisible, virginal Spirit (i.e. the One) to give her foreknowledge. And the Spirit consented. And when he had consented, the foreknowledge came forth, and it stood by the forethought; it originates from the thought of the invisible, virginal Spirit. It glorified him and his perfect power, Barbelo, for it was for her sake that it had come into being.” This schema is repeated for Indestructibility, Eternal Life and Truth. (Apocryphon of John)
6. BARBELO AS THE MOTHER OF CHRIST
- Most importantly, Barbelo begets the Christ, who is called the Son, the light, the only-begotten one etc.: “And the invisible, virginal Spirit (i.e. the One) rejoiced over the Light which came forth, that which was brought forth first by the first power of his Forethought, which is Barbelo. And he anointed (chrism) it (Christ) with his kindness (chrestos) until it became perfect.” (Apocryphon of John)
- This scheme is repeated in the Trimorphic Protennoia, except Barbelo anoints Christ: “It is he alone who came to be, that is, the Christ. And, as for me (Barbelo), I anointed (chrism) him as the glory of the Invisible Spirit (i.e. the One), with kindness (chrestos). Now the Three, I established alone in eternal glory over the Aeons in the Living Water.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
7. BARBELO AS MALE AND VIRGIN
- ‘Male’ is an adjective that denotes a being from the Upper Aeons (while ‘female’ denotes a being from the Lower Aeons). See MALE AND FEMALE.
- Although Barbelo is the feminine principle in the Gnostic Trinity of Father, Mother and Son, she is called ‘male’ because she generated the Upper Aeons (while Sophia Achamoth, as ‘female’, generated the Lower Aeons).
- ‘Virgin’ is also an adjective that denotes a being from the Upper Aeons. See VIRGIN.
- ‘Virgin’ has the further connotation of ‘non-sexual generation’ (generating an offspring through the consent of two consorts). This is the manner in which Upper Aeonic beings multiply, in contrast to Lower Aeonic beings, which generate offspring through sexual intercourse. See CONSORT, MALE AND FEMALE.
- It is in this sense that Barbelo is a male virgin: “Then the great Seth gave praise to the great, uncallable, virginal Spirit, and the male virgin Barbelon” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
- Seth calls Barbelo ‘male’ and ‘virginal’. Seth: “Great is the first aeon, male virginal Barbelo, the first glory of the invisible Father, she who is called ‘perfect’” (Three Steles of the Great Seth)
- Sometimes, Barbelo is referred to simply as ‘the male virgin’: “And in this way, the three powers gave praise to the great, invisible, unnameable, virginal, uncallable Spirit (i.e. the One), and his male virgin.” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
- Since she is ‘male’, Barbelo is not only the ‘Mother of the Aeons’ (see above) but also the ‘Father of the Aeons’ - “And he stood in his own Light that surrounds him, that is, the Eye of the Light that gloriously shines on me. He (i.e. the One) perpetuated the Father of all Aeons, who am I, the Thought of the Father, Protennoia, that is, Barbelo...” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
8. BARBELO AS THREE AND THRICE
- ‘Thrice’ or ‘triple’ is an adjective commonly used in ancient Greek to emphasize the greatness or power of something, e.g. Hermes Trismegistos as the ‘thrice great Hermes’. See THRICE
- ‘Three times’ also manifests unity in multiplity, since the Gnostic Trinity of Father, Mother and Son are understood to be one.
- ‘Three-fold’ and ‘thrice’ in this passage emphasize Barbelo’s power to multiply while remaining unified: “Thou (Barbelo) didst continue being one (fem.); yet becoming numerable in division, thou art three-fold. Thou art truly thrice, thou one (fem.) of the one (masc.)” (Three Steles of Seth)
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- BEAST - see ANIMAL
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- BEGET
- Also called generate, give birth, engender, create.
- Hence: unbegotten, self-begotten, first-begotten, only-begotten.
1. TO BEGET IN GENERAL
- To beget is to produce an off-spring.
2. BEGETTING AMONG PNEUMATICS, PSYCHICS AND HYLICS
- Sexual intercourse differs among Pneumatics, Psychics and Hylics. When Hylics beget, they produce more bodies. When Psychics beget, they produce more souls. Meanwhile, when Pneumatics beget, they produce more spirits. See SEXUAL INTERCOURSE.
- Pneumatics beget spirits because they beget in a manner similar to beings in the Upper Aeons. That is to say, there is a consent between two consorts. They do this in the Bridal Chamber. See BRIDAL CHAMBER.
3. BEGETTING IN THE UPPER AND LOWER AEONS
- In the exact sense of the term, ‘begetting’ is the manner of reproduction in the Lower Aeons, while ‘conceiving and creating’ is the manner of reproduction in the Upper Aeons.
- In the Upper Aeons, angelic beings reproduce when two consorts consent to ‘create’ a third. See CONSORT.
- Meanwhile, in the Lower Aeons, a male and female sexually unite to ‘beget’ their off-spring. See SEXUAL INTERCOURSE.
- NOTE: In most Gnostic texts, this distinction is not upheld. So, in the Upper Aeons, there is ‘begetting’ as well as ‘creating’: “And thou (the One) hast created them (the Elect), for thou hast begotten Man in thy self-originate mind.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)
- In Eugnostos the Blessed, a hierarchal order appears: to create, to fashion, to form, to name, to beget: “And from what was created, what was fashioned appeared. And what was formed appeared from what was fashioned. What was named appeared from what was formed, while the difference among begotten things appeared from what was named, from beginning to end, by power of all the aeons.” (Eugnostos the Blessed)
- ‘Conception’ results from a kiss, while ‘begetting’ results (presumeably) from sexual intercourse: “All who are begotten in the world are begotten in a natural way... (But) it is by a kiss that the perfect conceive and give birth.” (Gospel of Philip) See KISS.
- It is possible to beget through the word, which is like a seed or sperm: “Like the word he begot them, subsisting spermatically (...) he sowed a thought like a spermatic seed.” (Tripartite Tractate)
- Conceived as opposed to begotten: “Were we also begotten from a virginal state or conceived by the word? Rather, we have been born again by the word. Let us therefore strengthen ourselves as virgins in the [...].” (Testimony of Truth)
4. UNBEGOTTEN, SELF-BEGOTTEN AND BEGOTTEN
- There are three types of beings in the Upper Aeons: ‘the unbegotten’, ‘the self-begotten’ and ‘the begotten’: “Jesus had not spoken to his disciples of the whole extent of the places of the great invisible one and [...] the emanations of the great invisible one - and their unbegotten ones and their self-begotten ones and their begotten ones...” (Pistis Sophia bk I)
5. THE ONE AS UNBEGOTTEN
- Usually, ‘Unbegotten’ refers to the One: “He is unbegotten, and there is no other who begot him, nor another who created him.” (Tripartite Tractate)
- “...the silence which belongs to the Unbegotten One among the aeons.” (Marsanes)
- “Then she praised the Universal One, saying (...) ‘Thou art He Who Is, the Aeon of Aeons, the Unbegotten, who art higher than the unbegotten (ones).’” (Allogenes)
- The unbegotten One is immortal, while the begotten perish: “For he (the One) is immortal and eternal, having no birth; for everyone who has birth will perish. He is unbegotten, having no beginning; for everyone who has a beginning has an end.” (Eugnostos the Blessed)
6. THE ONE AS SELF-BEGOTTEN
- The One can also be called ‘self-begotten’. Also called ‘self-originate’.
- The One as ‘unbegotten’ and ‘self-begotten’: “Great is the good Self-begotten who stood, the God who had already stood. (...) Thou art unbegotten. Thou hast appeared in order that thou mightest reveal the eternal ones. Thou art he who is. Therefore thou hast revealed those who really are.” (Three Steles of Seth)
- The One as self-begotten: “This great name of yours is upon me, O self-begotten Perfect one, who is not outside me.” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
- The expression ‘self-begotten’ (or ‘self-originate’) is often left in the ancient Greek form, as ‘Autogenes’.
- The One as self-begotten Autogenes: “...unproclaimable Father, the aeon of the aeons, Autogenes, self-begotten, self-producing...” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
7. THE SON AS AUTOGENES, SELF-BEGOTTEN, ONLY-BEGOTTEN, FIRST-BEGOTTEN
- Although the One is referred to above as ‘self-begotten’, usually the term Autogenes describes the Son (who is either the Word, the saviour Seth or the Christ). The Autogenes often appears in Sethian Gnostic texts.
- In the Apocryphon of John and the Gospel of the Egyptians, the Autogenes begets or is begotten together with the Four Lights.
- Christ the Son as Autogenes: “Because of the word, Christ the divine Autogenes created everything...” “...the twelve aeons which attend the son of the mighty one, the Autogenes, the Christ, through the will and the gift of the invisible Spirit.” (Apocryphon of John)
- The saviour Seth results from the combination of the Logos, Autogenes and Adamas: “Then the great Logos, the divine Autogenes, and the incorruptible man Adamas mingled with each other. (...) And thus there came forth (...) the great incorruptible Seth, the son of the incorruptible man Adamas.” (Gospel of the Egyptians)
- In the Three Steles of Seth, the saviour Seth blesses his father Adamas (Geradamas) for ‘begetting him without begetting him’: “I bless thee, Father Geradama(s), I, as thine own Son, Emmacha Seth, whom thou didst beget without begetting,” (Three Steles of Seth)
- “I (Christ) came from Self-begotten and First Infinite Light, that I might reveal everything to you.” (Sophia of Jesus Christ)
- Christ the Son is also called Only-begotten and First-begotten.
- The Son (Christ) is Only-begotten: “This (the Christ) was an only-begotten child of the Mother-Father which had come forth; it is the only offspring, the only-begotten one of the Father, the pure Light.” (Apocryphon of John)
- “And he (the Son) will fill all the aeons which belong to you with the grace of the only-begotten Son.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)
- The Son is First-begotten: “Place upon me your beloved, elect, and blessed greatness, the First-born, the First-begotten.” (Prayer of Paul)
- The Son (Christ) is ‘the God who was begotten’: “Now those Aeons (the Four Lights) were begotten by the God who was begotten - the Christ.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)
- The Son (Christ) is both begotten and unbegotten: “And even if he (Christ) has been begotten, he is (still) unbegotten.” (Silvanus)
- Melchizedek contends with those who say Christ was unbegotten: “Furthermore, they will say of him (Christ) that he is unbegotten, though he has been begotten, (...) that he is unfleshly, though he has come in the flesh, that he did not come to suffering, though he came to suffering, that he did not rise from the dead, though he arose from the dead.” (Melchizedek)
8. THE ELECT AS UNBEGOTTEN
- The author of Marsanes moves from a ‘begotten’ existence in the Lower Aeons to an ‘unbegotten existence’ in the Upper Aeons: “I was dwelling among the aeons which have been begotten. As I was permitted, I have come to be among those that were not begotten.” (Marsanes)
- The unbegotten are all who exist in the Upper Aeons, including the Elect: “They (Upper Aeonic beings) exist from the beginning in the entire place which is eternal, i.e. all those that have come into existence, (...) those who are unbegotten, and the divine aeons, together with the angels, and the souls which are without guile.” (Marsanes)
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- BITTER
- a negative adjective, relating to desire, bodily passion, Fate.
- opposite of SWEET and FRAGRANCE.
- “From desire (comes) anger, wrath, and bitterness, and bitter passion, and unsatedness.” (Apocryphon of John)
- “O bitterness of the fire that blazes in the bodies of men.” (Book of Thomas the Contender)
- “It (the Archon) has fettered them with its chains and bound all their limbs with the bitterness of the bondage of lust.” (Book of Thomas the Contender)
- Bitter Fate: “He (Yaltabaoth) made a plan with his authorities, which are his powers, and they committed together adultery with Sophia, and bitter fate was begotten through them, which is the last of the changeable bonds.” (Apocryphon of John)
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