Archons

“The Torment of Saint Anthony” by Michelangelo

In Gnosticism, the archons (from Greek arkhon, “ruler”[1]) were malevolent, sadistic beings who
controlled the earth, as well as many of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of humans. They assisted
their master, the demiurge, with the creation of the world, and continued to help him administer his
oppressive rule.

According to a Gnostic text called the Reality of the Archons, the archons “have bodies that are both
female and male, and faces that are the faces of beasts.”[2] Thus, they’re not truly male nor female,
nor human nor animal. The ancients found this kind of boundary-crossing to be deeply threatening,
and this description of the archons implied that they were forces of chaos, so “mixed up” as to be
“the farthest that a created being could be from God.”[3]

The Reality of the Archons presents the archons as bumbling, conceited oafs. They issue
sanctimonious commands that they themselves don’t understand,[4] huff and puff “like storm
winds” into the inanimate Adam’s face in a failed attempt to bring him to life,[5] think they’re raping
Eve when they’re really raping an empty image of her,[6] and have to call out to Adam and Eve to
find them after Adam and Eve have hidden from them.[7]

Despite their sometimes lacking in competence, the archons were extremely powerful beings whom
the Gnostics dreaded. The Reality of the Archons quotes Ephesians 6:12 (“Our contest is not against
flesh and blood; rather, the authorities of the world and the spiritual hosts of wickedness”) to make
the point that the archons were what stood between mankind and salvation.[8] It was they whom
Christ had been sent to earth to overcome.

In the ancient world, the self wasn’t seen as being as autonomous as we today think of it as being. It
was a playing field where various forces intermingled and battled, ultimately giving rise to our
thoughts and actions. For the Gnostics, the archons were among the most powerful and ubiquitous
of these forces. They were the ones who were ultimately responsible for all of the evil thoughts and
actions of mankind.[9]

But it gets worse: since the archons had created humans in the first place, they had created humans
to be extremely susceptible to their influence, and to be almost unable to resist it. Only the divine
spark from Heaven, which had slipped into creation despite the archons’ intentions, gave people any
kind of a chance of resisting the archons’ temptations. But only a few people – the Gnostics – were
even aware of that divine presence within themselves, and even for them it was a tremendous
ordeal to act in accordance with that presence rather than the wishes of the archons. Most people
were just the puppets of the archons. Thus, the normal, default state of humans was literal demonic
possession.[10]

It’s fitting that the Gnostics identified the archons with the entities that were worshiped as pagan
gods.[11] How could you fail to worship a god that already possesses and controls you?

The number of archons varies across the Gnostic texts, but there are commonly said to be seven
archons (whose identities and names vary as well). These seven corresponded to the seven planets
that had been identified in antiquity, whose movements were credited with producing astrological
fate. Astrological fate was the main means through which the archons controlled people’s lives.[12]

After giving a list of the seven archons, the Secret Book of John adds, “This is the sevenfold nature of
the week.”[13] The seven archons also corresponded to the seven days of the week, which could be
expected since the days of the week were already named after pagan gods and the planets to which
they corresponded.[14]

Through this string of connections, the archons also corresponded to the seven days of creation in
the book of Genesis. The Gnostics interpreted the plural “us” in Genesis 1:26 – “Let us make man in
our image” – as referring to the archons.[15] (In its original historical context, that “us” almost
certainly referred to the divine council in ancient polytheistic Near Eastern mythology, a concept
that Judaism hadn’t fully left behind when the text that’s now the first chapter of Genesis was
written.[16])

There’s one further correspondence to note here. In ancient thinking, each planet occupied one of
seven celestial “spheres” or layers of the sky. Each of the seven archons therefore ruled over his own
celestial sphere.[17] This provided the archons with a further way to inhibit people’s spiritual
progress.

For the Gnostics, when someone tried to gain salvation – which they called “gnosis” and
characterized as mystical insight rather than intellectual belief or moral action – his or her spirit
ascended up through the celestial spheres toward Heaven. The spirit of the Gnostic made this
journey both during the Gnostic’s life in moments of ecstatic enlightenment and after death to reach
its final resting place. But as the spirit ascended to each sphere, the archon who presided over that
sphere would detain the spirit and ask it a series of questions. If the spirit didn’t know how to
answer those questions properly – if its gnosis wasn’t yet fully realized – then the archon would be
able to prevent it from ascending any higher. It would be trapped by the archons and still subject to
their tyranny.[18]

But the mature Gnostic was able to overcome all of the archons and ascend all the way to Heaven,
which made him or her superior to the very creators and rulers of the world.

Precedents for Gnosticism’s Archons in Christianity

As bizarre and un-Christian as Gnosticism’s archons may seem, the concept probably came from the
Gnostics’ good-faith interpretation of the scriptures and mythical traditions they shared with other
Christians of the late first and early second centuries AD.

This process seems to be encapsulated in the first paragraph of the Reality of the Archons. That text
begins by quoting the Apostle Paul’s aforementioned statement in Ephesians 6:12: “Our contest is
not against flesh and blood; rather, the authorities of the world and the spiritual hosts of
wickedness.” The text then promises to inform the curious reader about the nature of these
“authorities,” after which begins a description of, and commentary on, the archons’ role in the
creation of the world.[19] The entire text is essentially an exegesis (interpretation) of Paul.

Much the same can be said for the idea of the existence of the archons in and of itself, which makes
it highly probable that the Gnostics received their inspiration for the idea from Paul.

In almost all of the books attributed to Paul that would later come to be included in the New
Testament (something that didn’t exist in any formal capacity when Gnosticism arose), the world is
said to be ruled by mysterious “powers” or “authorities.” The words used to denote these beings
differ from passage to passage. They can be “principalities” (archai), “dominions” or “authorities”
(exousiai), “powers” (dynameis), or “lordships” (kyriotetes).[20] Most of these passages specify that
these powers are evil, the enemies of Christ and Christians.[21]

In some cases, these passages could simply refer to human political authorities. But in other
passages, this is clearly not the case. Ephesians (3:10 and 6:12), for example, specifies that they
dwell in the sky.[22] And Colossians (2:8 and 2:20) refers to them as “elemental spirits of the
universe.”[23]
Paul never develops this doctrine directly or systematically. Instead, his letters (including the letters
written by others in his name) seem to just take it for granted that the world is ruled by evil spiritual
powers of some sort. Much the same can be said for some of the other texts that would later come
to be included in the New Testament. The Gospel of Matthew (4:8), the Gospel of Luke (4:6), the
Gospel of John (12:31, 14:30, and 16:11) and 1 John (5:19) all say that Satan or a similar being
(whom the Gnostics equated with the demiurge, the chief of the archons) is in control of the world.
The Gospel of John even specifically calls this being “the archon of this world.”[24]

The New Testament writers therefore presupposed that the world is ruled by villainous spiritual
beings of one sort or another. This has long been recognized by scholars of the New Testament, who
have usually attributed it to the fact that it was taken for granted back then that spiritual beings –
pagan gods – controlled the elements and often directed events on earth. Rather than deny the
existence of pagan gods altogether, the New Testament authors simply demoted them to demons.
[25] They also drew from the apocalyptic Judaism out of which Christianity arose, which posited
that, for obscure reasons, God had allowed Satan to gain control of the world at some point in the
past.

Jews of the period and early Christians also believed that good angels in the service of God presided
over the elements and various facets of life. These angels were pagan gods who, instead of being
demonized, had been de-paganized and placed in the service of God.[26] The leaders of this troop of
angels were commonly said to be seven in number, with countless lesser angels under their
command.[27] Each of these seven angels dwelt in his own celestial sphere. Even Irenaeus, a second-
century Christian bishop who wrote extensively and passionately against the Gnostics, believed in
this notion.[28] Since the Gnostics believed that the creator god of the Old Testament was really the
evil demiurge, it would have made perfect sense for them to demonize his seven commanding
angels and identify them with the malevolent rulers of the world described by Paul. After all, as
we’ve already seen, the Gnostics explicitly identified the archons with the pagan gods whom Paul
had in mind in at least some of the aforementioned passages.

As I argue in The Origins of Gnosticism, Gnosticism seems to have arisen from within Christianity
rather than from outside of it. If that’s correct, then the process by which the idea of the archons
came about is a particularly interesting instantiation of that wider process.

References:

[1] Meyer, Marvin, and Elaine Pagels. 2008. “Introduction.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited
by Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 11.
[2] Meyer, Marvin. 2008. “The Nature of the Rulers.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited by
Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 192.

[3] Lewis, Nicola Denzey. 2013. Introduction to “Gnosticism:” Ancient Voices, Christian Worlds.
Oxford University Press. p. 135.

[4] Meyer, Marvin. 2008. “The Nature of the Rulers.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited by
Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 192.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid. p. 193.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Lewis, Nicola Denzey. 2013. Introduction to “Gnosticism:” Ancient Voices, Christian Worlds.
Oxford University Press. p. 135.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Jonas, Hans. 2001. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of
Christianity. Beacon Press. p. 282.

[11] Brakke, David. 2010. The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity. Harvard
University Press. p. 70.

[12] Jonas, Hans. 2001. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of
Christianity. Beacon Press. p. 43.

[13] Turner, John D., and Marvin Meyer. 2008. “The Secret Book of John.” In The Nag Hammadi
Scriptures. Edited by Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 116.
[14] Pétrement, Simone. 1990. A Separate God: The Origins and Teachings of Gnosticism. Translated
by Carol Harrison. Harper San Francisco. p. 20-21.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Coogan, Michael D. 2006. The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the
Hebrew Scriptures. Oxford University Press. p. 9.

[17] Jonas, Hans. 2001. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of
Christianity. Beacon Press. p. 43.

[18] Funk, Wolf-Peter. 2008. “The First Revelation of James.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited
by Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 321-330.

[19] Meyer, Marvin. 2008. “The Nature of the Rulers.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited by
Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 191.

[20] Pétrement, Simone. 1990. A Separate God: The Origins and Teachings of Gnosticism. Translated
by Carol Harrison. Harper San Francisco. p. 52.

[21] Ibid. p. 52-54.

[22] Ibid. p. 53.

[23] Colossians 2, NRSV. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?

search=colossians+2&version=NRSV Accessed on 2-13-2020.

[24] Pétrement, Simone. 1990. A Separate God: The Origins and Teachings of Gnosticism. Translated
by Carol Harrison. Harper San Francisco. p. 53.
[25] Ibid. p. 54.

[26] Ibid. p. 55-56.

[27] Ibid. p. 64-65.

[28] Ibid. p. 70.

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ABOUT THIS SITE

Gnosticism Explained strives to provide a reliable, accessible, and engaging introduction to the type
of ancient Christianity known as Gnosticism, with scholarly sources cited throughout.
Gnostic Scriptures and Important Texts
The Hypostasis of the Archons
Category: Gnostic

Created: 30 April 2008

One of the texts discovered at Nag Hammadi, this treatise explains more
details about the story told in Genesis / Bereshit, in particular about the origin
and cause of suffering. As with any genuine scripture, understanding the
message of the text requires a solid understanding of the doctrine it comes
from - that is, one must first know Kabbalah and Alchemy, the two aspects of
the secret doctrine that were symbolized in Genesis as the two trees in the
Garden of Eden. Therefore, if the notes and explanations provided here are
not sufficient to illuminate the wisdom contained in this scripture, return to it
after studying and meditating on the two trees as explained in Gnosis. This
scripture is worth returning to again and again, for there is much of value to
extract here.

First, some terminology:

 Archon: (Greek) Literally, "prince" or "ruler." Esoterically,

primordial planetary spirits.

We have previously stated that the Golden Fleece, the Treasury of the Light,
is found within the profundities of oneself.

Unquestionably, the Archons of the Fate and the Rulers of the Aeons and
those of the Sphere turn to the matter of their refuse. They subdue it, devour
it, subjugate it, govern it, and do not let it go to become Souls in the world.

This means that they, the Rulers, maintain the elemental Essences in their
respective Kingdoms. Such elemental Essences are governed by the Archons.

However, while the elemental Essences develop, they pass from one Kingdom
to another, according to the Law.
Every elemental Essence can convert itself into a human Soul, at its time and
hour, and according to the Law.

[...]

The Archons of the Twelve Aeons, their Lords and their Authorities, their
Angels and their Archangels, are represented within ourselves by the distinct
autonomous and self-conscious parts of our own Being.

The powers of the Rulers of the Aeons, and those of the Fate and those of the
Sphere are found within our own Soul. - Samael Aun Weor, The Pistis Sophia
Unveiled

Therefore, this scripture concerns the forces that oppose the Essence
(consciousness) who aspires to develop the Treasury of the Light within
themselves. These Archons are simultaneously intelligences in the cosmos
without and the cosmos within. Yet as in all serious spiritual work, our
primary concern is those obstacles that are within us, for if we cannot
conquer them within, we can never conquer them without. The Archons or
Rulers we are concerned with are the parts of the Being that are trapped
within the cage of the impure, sinning mind. These are forces within us -
represented in world traditions as Pluto, Hades, Lucifer, Samael, and other
such esoteric symbols.

The Archons (Rulers) are the forces of the Absolute either in the lunar or
the solar matter.

The lunar matter is related to samsara controlled by the demiurge, the

angels related to the kingdoms of nature (protoplasmic bodies).

The solar matter is related with Sabaoth, which is beyond the mechanicity
of nature.

Our bodies are constructed of lunar matter, and the Archons rule within us
according to our nature. Only the Twice-born (who have the “wedding
garment of the soul”) have Solar bodies: the chariot of Ezekiel. Thus, we who
remain dressed with lunar bodies are subject to the wheel of samsara:
evolution and devolution.
 When the lunar protoplasmic matter evolves to the stage of the humanoid
body that we inhabit, the matter begins to devolve. Then, the Archons who
guide and manage that matter begin to awaken in the devolving way (“evil”).
They then blame and accuse the angels of the evolving current (solar). This is
how we can understand the various manifestations of the Archons.

The scripture is within the colored sections. White sections and comments
in brackets are from a modern Gnostic instructor.

The Hypostasis of the Archons

[or, The Substance of the Rulers]

About the reality of the authorities [Archons], the great apostle [Paul]
through the spirit of the father of truth, referred to the authorities of the
darkness [skotos: obscurity] and told us that "our fight is not against flesh
and blood but rather against the authorities of the universe and the spirits of
wickedness. I have sent this [to you] because you asked about the nature of
the authorities.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places." - Paul from Ephesians 6:12

Their leader [Esau] is [spiritually] blind…

“Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field.” [Gen. 25]. Esau is a
Kabbalistic symbol of the psychological and spiritual forces related to the
impure blood that flows in our veins, carrying the influence of our animal
past. In other words, Esau represents our animal instincts and desires –
especially lust - who is enthroned in the mind as “god.” [Learn more about
Esau here: The Sacrament of Priesthood]

…because of his power [in our bloodstream] and his ignorance [about
Daath: the secret knowledge of the Elohim] and his arrogance [within his
protoplasmic matter] he said, with his [sexual] power, "It is I who am God;
there is none apart from me.”
 But [Esau forgot that] of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the
garden, Elohim hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest
ye die. And the serpent [the tempting power of Esau that works through the
sexual organs, i.e. Scorpio] said unto the woman [sexual organ], Ye shall not
surely die: For Elohim doth know that in the day ye eat thereof [from the
sexual power], then your [spiritual] eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as
Elohim, knowing good and evil. - Genesis 3: 3-5

“When he said this [claiming to be God], he sinned [fornicated] against the

entirety [the Ain Soph Aur]. And this speech got up to Incorruptibility [Christ
in Daath]; then there was a voice [the Logos, which is Greek for “word”]
that came forth from incorruptibility, saying, "You are mistaken, Samael" –
which [in Scorpio] is, "god of the [spiritually] blind."

"In the beginning was the Word [the voice], and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things
were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
– John 1:1-3

The voice is the Word, the Logos, whic is three in one: the upper trinity
on the Tree of Life: Kether, Chokmah, and Binah. These three in one are the
Cosmic Universal Christ, the Inccorruptible.

In Scorpio, "Samael" is "Aun Weor" which means, "the sexual strength of

the Light", which - in any fornicator - is the inverted or fallen force of the
sexual power. [Learn more about the meaning of the name Samael here: The
Name Samael].
 His thoughts [influence by Esau, that
impure blood from the liver] became blind [to Eden; to holiness and purity].
And, having expelled his [semen or sexual] power - that is, the blasphemy he
had spoken [against the Holy Ghost] - he pursued it [the expelled semen,
which being corrupt now descends] down to chaos and the abyss, his mother,
at the instigation of Pistis Sophia. And she [the chaos, the abyss, his mother]
established each of his offspring in [Klipoth, in] conformity with its
[polluted] power - after the pattern of the Aeons [Sephiroth] that are above,
for by starting from the invisible world the visible world [Malkuth] was
invented [as above, so below].

Jesus as Christ stated: "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven
unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven
unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be
forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Either make
the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit
corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit." - Matthew 12:30-33

[From Daath] Incorruptibility looked down into the region of the waters [of
Yesod]. Her image [Tzalem of God] was reflected in the waters [of Yesod],
and the authorities of [Klipoth] the darkness fell [lustfully] in love with her.
But they could not grasp the image [Tzalem of God] that appeared to them in
the [sexual] waters [of Yesod], because of their weakness [as perverted
fornicators] - since beings that merely possess an [animal] soul cannot lay
hold of those that possess a spirit [of God or Ruach Elohim]- for they were
from below [from Klipoth], while the image [the Tzalem of God] was from
[Daath] above. This is why incorruptibility looked down [from Daath] into
the region [of Yesod]: so that, by the father's will [Thelema from above], she
[the sexual power] might bring all of [the particles of the consciousness of]
them into union with the light.

Creation: Adam and Eve

The rulers [the Elohim] made plans and said, "Come, let us create a human
[Adam] of [the spiritual components of] soil [seat, foundation, Yesod] from
the earth [or Humus (Latin for “earth,” root of “human”), or Adamah
(Hebrew for “ground,” root of Adam; earth is a symbol of the physical body;
in other words, we need a physical body in order to create Adam within]."
They [the Elohim] formed their creature as one [septuple in constitution,
having seven bodies, but integrated] wholly [being] of [the spiritual
components of] the earth [Malkuth, physical body].

Now the rulers [the Elohim or spiritual beings] have [androgynous] bodies
that are both male and female [divine soul and human soul] and faces of
[four] beasts.
About the seven bodies:

1. Chesed (Sanskrit: Atman) is the Heavenly Man spoken of by

Paul. He has two souls:
 2. Geburah (Sanskrit: Buddhi): feminine soul, related to
Neshamah, the spiritual soul; also known as Guinevere,
Valkyrie, or Helen

3. Tiphereth (Sanskrit: Manas): masculine soul, who descends

into matter as the Essence.

These three are the Monad.

Spirit, two Souls and four Beasts

Below the Monad are the four bodies, with “faces of beasts,” also described
in Ezekiel:
"Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures.
And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one
had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight
feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they
sparkled like the color of burnished brass.

"And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides;
and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to
another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight
forward.
 "As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the
face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left
side; they four also had the face of an eagle." - Ezekiel 1: 5-10

These are:

1. Netzach: mental body - eagle

2. Hod: emotional body - lion

3. Yesod: vital body - man

4. Malkuth: physical body - ox

In the Elohim (the Archons) these are Solar Bodies, also known as the
Chaioth ha Kadosh: the Holy Creatures. See Revelation 4:6-7.

[In sexual transmutation] They had taken some [spiritual components of the
Ruach Elohim of the] soil [seat, foundation, Yesod] from the earth [or
Humus, Adamah, Malkuth, physical body] and modeled their human after
their [Nephesh] body [of desires] and after the image [or Tzalem] of God
that had appeared to them in the [sexual] waters [of Yesod].

They [the Elohim or spiritual beings then] said, "Come, let us grasp the
[superior] image [or Neshamah] by means of the [androgynous] human that
we have modeled, so that it [Neshamah] may see its male counterpart [...],
and we may seize it with the form that we have modeled." They did not
understand [Neshamah] the force of God, because of their weakness.
Jesus said unto them [the terrestrial Archons], Are you masters of Israel,
and do not know these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that
we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If
I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I
tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he
that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man
be lifted up. - John 3:10-14

And [so, through the Venustic Initiations] he [Samael, the Lamb, the Logos
of Aries] breathed [Aleph] into his face; and the human came to have a
[Christ] soul [and remained] upon the ground many days. But they could not
make him arise because of their weakness. Like storm winds they persisted
[in blowing Aleph], that they might try to capture that [Neshamah] image,
which [through the Venustic Initiations] had appeared to them [in superior
octaves] in the waters [of Yesod]. And they did not know what its [Christic]
power was.

All these things came to pass by the will of the Father of the entirety [the Ain
Soph Aur].

Later, the [Son, the Christ] Spirit saw the soul-endowed man upon (Adamah)
the ground (mingled with the weakness of the terrestrial Archons). And the
[Son, the Christ] Spirit came forth from the Adamantine [indestructible]
Land [of Chokmah]; it descended [into Klipoth in order to liberate Pistis
Sophia from their weakness] and came to dwell within him, and that human
became a living soul. It called his name Adam, since he was found moving
upon the ground [adamah].

A voice [the Logos] came forth from incorruptibility for the assistance of
Adam; and the rulers gathered together all the animals [Nephesh, animas:
souls, consciousness] of the earth and all the birds [Ruach,
souls, consciousness] of heaven and brought them in [or joined them] to
Adam to see what Adam would call them, that he might give a name
[cognizance] to each of the birds [Ruach] and all the beasts [Nephesh].

They [all of the self-realized parts] took Adam [with cognizance] and put him
in the garden [or resurrected body], that he might cultivate it and keep watch
over it. And the rulers issued a command to him, saying, "From every tree in
the garden [the physical immortal body] shall you eat; yet from the tree of
knowledge of good and evil [sex] do not eat, nor touch it; for the day [that as
a behemoth or beast] you eat from it, with death you are going to die."

They [said] this, but they did not [objectively] understand what they said to
him; rather, by the father's [Kether’s] will, they said this in such a way that
he might [in fact] eat [and thus acquire more objective reasoning], and that
Adam might <not> regard them as would a man of an exclusively material
nature.
 Therefore] The rulers planned
together and said, "Come, let us cause a deep sleep to fall upon Adam." And
he slept. The deep sleep that they "caused to fall upon him, and he slept" is
ignorance [of the unknowable divine]. They 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 [Neshamah] the woman of spirit came to him and spoke with him,
saying, "Arise, Adam."

When he saw her [his Neshamah], he said, "It is you who have given me life;
you will be called [Chavah, Eve] 'mother of the living' [because Neshamah is
part of the Monad: or Chesed, Geburah and Tiphereth]. - For it is she
[Neshamah] who is my mother. It is she who is the physician, and the
woman, and she who (in Daath) has given birth [to the Son of Man]."

The Garden
This section concerns the physical body of those who have not left Eden.
Only those who have left Eden - through abusing the Tree of Knowledge: sex
- die, for due to such a crime Jehovah said “thou return unto the ground; for
out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.'
Those who remain in "the Garden" remain in an immortal physical body.

Adam and Eve are symbols with many levels of application; in this case,
dealing with the body, Adam represents the brain, and Eve represents the
sexual organs.

Then the authorities [of the kingdom of Edom] approached their Adam
[brain]. When they saw his female partner [creative sexual force] speaking
with him [feeding him with Wisdom], they became aroused and enamored of
her. They said to one another, "Come, let us ejaculate our semen in her," and
they chased her [through the bloodstream]. She [Neshamah] laughed at them
for their witlessness and their blindness. Then, in their clutches she became a
tree [Daath], and left [in Yesod] before them her shadowy reflection
[Nephesh: animal soul] resembling herself; and they defiled it foully
[through the orgasm]. They defiled [in Yesod] the seal [of chastity] of her
voice [Word/Logos in Daath], so that by the form they had modeled, together
with their [own lustful] image, they made themselves liable to condemnation.

Then [Geburah / Neshamah] the female spiritual principle came in form of

the serpent, the instructor. It taught them, saying, "What did he [the superior
or heavenly aspect of Samael; in Aries] say to you? Was it, 'From every tree
in the garden [the physical immortal body] shall you eat; yet - from the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil [sex] do not eat'?"

The woman of flesh [or sexual creative organ] said, "Not only did he say 'Do
not eat', but even 'Do not touch it; for the day you eat from it [as a Behemoth,
beast], with [the second] death you are going to die.'"

"Behold now behemoth... Lo now, his strength is in his loins..." - Job

40:15-16
 And the snake, the instructor, said, "With
[the second] death you shall not die; for it was out of jealousy that he said
this to you. Rather your [spiritual] eyes shall open and you shall come to be
like gods, recognizing evil and good." And the female instructing principle
[Geburah / Neshamah] was taken away from the snake [sexual power], and
she left it behind [Nephesh, which is] merely a thing of the earth.

And the carnal woman [or sexual creative organ] took from the tree and ate
[reached the orgasm of the beasts]; and she [absorbed and] gave [trillions of
satanic atoms collected from the authorities of the kingdom of Edom] to
[Adam, the brain] her husband as well as herself; thus [only] these beings
[terrestrial men] that possessed only an [animal] soul [Nephesh], ate. And
their imperfection became apparent in their lack of knowledge [from
Neshamah, the spiritual soul]; and they recognized that they were naked of
the spiritual element [Neshamah], and took fig leaves [symbol of the
feminine sexual principle] and bound them upon their loins [to show the
cause of their shame].

Then the [solar emanations from the] leader [or Nous Atom] of the Archons
came [through the bloodstream]; and he said, "Adam! Where are you?" - for
he did not understand what had happened [to the brain]. And Adam [the
brain] said, "I heard your voice [or Logos through the bloodstream] and was
afraid because I was naked [without Neshamah]; and I hid [in ignorance]."
The ruler [Nous Atom] said, "Why did you hide [in ignorance], unless it is
because you have [fornicated, that is, you have] eaten from the tree [sex]
from which alone I commanded you not to eat? And you have eaten [as a
Behemoth, as a beast]!"

Adam [the brain] said, "The woman [sexual organ] that you gave me [as a
feeder of your light], she gave to me [as a Behemoth] and I ate [absorbed
lustful animal atoms]." And the arrogant ruler [already polluted with satanic
atoms through the bloodstream] cursed the woman [sexual organ with its
poisoned blood].

The [instinctive force of the] woman [sexual organ] said, "It was the snake
[sexual power] that led me astray and I ate [as a Behemoth]." They [the
Christic Solar atoms of the bloodstream] turned to the snake [sexual power]
and cursed [Nephesh] its shadowy reflection, [...] powerless, not
comprehending that it was a form they themselves had modeled [through the
bloodstream]. From that day, the snake [sexual power] came to be under the
curse of the authorities [of the bloodstream]; until the all-powerful man
[from Daath] was to come, that curse fell upon the snake [sexual power].

They [through the bloodstream] turned to their Adam [the brain] and took
him and expelled him from the garden [or physical divine state] along with
his wife [creative sexual power]; for they have no blessing [in Eden, the
fourth dimension], since they [through the bloodstream] too are beneath the
curse. Moreover, they [through the bloodstream] 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 [in Daath].

The Children of Adam and Eve

Now afterwards, she [the creative sexual power] bore Cain [subjective
reasoning], their son; and Cain cultivated the [tridimensional] land.
Thereupon he [the brain] knew his wife [sexual organ]; again becoming
pregnant [through sexual transmutation], she bore Abel; and Abel was a
herdsman of sheep [solar atoms]. Now Cain [the subjective mind] brought in
from the crops of his [tridimensional] field, but Abel [through sexual
alchemy] brought in an offering [from] among his lambs [solar atoms]. God
[the Innermost, through the Nous atom] looked upon the votive offerings of
Abel; but he did not accept the votive offerings of Cain. And carnal Cain
pursued Abel, his brother.

And God [the Innermost] said to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?"

He answered saying, "Am I [the subjective reasoning], then, my brother's

keeper?"

God said to Cain, "Listen! [From the heart] The voice [Logos] of your
brother's blood is crying up to me!
You have sinned with your mouth [because those things which proceed out of
the mouth come forth from the (protoplasmic mind into the impure blood of
the liver and into the) heart; and (through the bloodstream) they defile the
man (Adam, the brain)-. For out of the (impure blood of the) heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies: These are the (impure) things (from the venom blood of the
liver) which defile a man (Adam, the brain) - Matthew 15: 18-20; thus]. It
[the effect, karma] will return to you [through your bloodstream's cycle;
therefore]: anyone who kills Cain [the subjective reasoning of the mind] will
(have to) let loose seven vengeances (seven fires), and you will exist groaning
and trembling upon the [tridimensional] earth (with a lot of karma)."

"Seven holy centers exist within the heart. Each one of our seven serpents
is intimately related with a chamber of the heart. Our disciples must have a
system of purification and sanctification. The heart is the abode of our
Innermost (Sephirah Chesed)" – The Mysteries of Fire by Samael Aun Weor

"It is necessary to unite the mind and the heart by means of fire. The heart
and the head must march in perfect equilibrium. The heart and the head must
march equilibrated. The heart and the head must march in perfect harmony.
This is possible only by uniting the heart and the head by means of fire.

"An avenue, a road and certain secret chambers exist from the
middlebrow to the heart. Here is where the fire must pass through...

"It is impossible for the heart and the mind to be equilibrated and in
harmony without the power of the fire.

"Spiritualists from all schools talk about the equilibrium between mind
and heart. Yet, it is impossible for the mind and the heart to be equilibrated
without the power of the fire.

"The head and the heart are united only by means of the Kundalini. The
fire connects the mind with the Divine Triad, which resides in the heart. The
mind gives us the bread of wisdom when it is connected with the heart by
means of the fire.

"The mental man resides in the head whereas the Heavenly Man resides in
the heart.
 "It is necessary to unite the mental man with the Heavenly Man by means
of the fire. The Kundalini unites mind and heart.

"Intellectuals are morally depraved beings because they move themselves

only under the direction of the Guardian of the Threshold of their Mental
Body. They do not hear the voice of the Heavenly Man who resides in the
heart. The mind must convert itself into an instrument of the heart.

"We must learn how to think with the heart. The mind must flow
delectably with the exquisite feeling of the heart. The mind must become
lovely and simple. The wisdom of the heart illuminates the mind. The
wisdom of the heart is placed in the chalice of the mind as the blood of
redemption.

"The mind of the Arhat is symbolized by the Holy Grail. The heart’s love
is the Summum of Wisdom. " – Igneous Rose by Samael Aun Weor

And Adam [the brain] knew [through sexual alchemy] his female counterpart
Eve [sexual organ], and she became [psychologically] pregnant, and bore
Seth [Hebrew: Shin-Tav: the seal of the fires of the heart] to Adam [the
brain]. And she said, "I have borne another man [mind or reasoning]
through God, in place of Abel."

Again Eve [sexual creative force] became pregnant, and she bore Norea
[Urania-Venus, the mother of the Son of Man]. And she said, "He [Binah,
Jehovah Elohim through Nous] has begotten on me a virgin as an assistance
for [eight = infinite] many generations of mankind." She is [five] the virgin
whom the forces did not defile.

The Flood
Then mankind began to multiply and improve [in knowledge]. The rulers [of
Klipoth] took counsel with one another and said, "Come, let us cause a
deluge [impure sexual waters: pornography, etc] with our hands and
obliterate all flesh, from human to beast [intellectual animal]." But when the
ruler of the [solar] forces came to know of their decision, he
[through Gnosis] said to Noah [Nous Atom], "Make yourself an ark
[Arcanum: secret] from some wood [of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil] that does not rot [from lust] and hide in it - you and your children [your
solar bodies] and the beasts [Nephesh] and the birds [Ruach] of heaven from
small to large - and set it upon Mount Sir."

Then Norea [Urania-Venus, the mother of the Son of Man] came to him,
wanting to board the ark [to rise as light through the great Arcanum]. And
when he would not let her, she blew upon the ark and caused it to be
consumed by fire [the seven serpents of fire, also known as the Major
Mysteries]. Again he made the ark, for a second time [this time: the seven
serpent of light].

The rulers [of Klipoth] went to meet her [at Yesod], intending to lead her
astray. Their supreme chief [in the coccyx] said to her, "Your mother Eve
[sexual organ] came to us." But Norea [Urania-Venus, the mother of the Son
of Man] turned to them and said to them, "It is you who are the rulers of the
darkness [of Klipoth]; you are accursed. And you did not know my mother
[Neshamah]; instead it was your female counterpart [Nephesh] that you
knew. For I am not your descendant; rather it is from [Daath] the world
above that I am come."

Eleleth Teaches Norea

The <great> angel [Samael] came down from the heavens [of Aries] and
said to her, "Why are you crying up to God? Why do you act so boldly
towards the Holy Spirit?"

Norea said, "Who are you?" The rulers of unrighteousness had withdrawn
from her.

He said, "It is I who am Eleleth [self-begotten God], sagacity, the great

angel who stands in the presence of the Holy Spirit. I have been sent to speak
with you and save you from the grasp of the lawless. And I shall teach you
about your root."

[Norea apparently now speaking] Now as for that angel, I cannot speak of
his power: his appearance is like fine gold and his raiment is like snow. No,
truly, my mouth cannot bear to speak of his power and the appearance of his
face! Eleleth [self begotten God], the great angel, spoke to me. "It is I," he
said, "who am understanding [Hebrew: Binah]. I am one of the four light-
givers, who stand in the presence of the great invisible spirit. Do you think
these rulers have any power over you? None of them can prevail against the
root of truth; for on its account he appeared in the final ages; and these
authorities will be restrained. And these authorities cannot defile you and
that generation; for your abode is in incorruptibility, where the virgin spirit
dwells, who is superior to the authorities of chaos and to their universe."

But I said, "Sir, teach me about the faculty of these [Klipothic] authorities -
how did they come into being, and by what kind of genesis, and of what
material, and who created them and their force?"
And the great angel Eleleth [self-begotten God], understanding, spoke to me:

"Within limitless realms dwells incorruptibility [the Ain Soph Aur]. Sophia
[Wisdom], who is called Pistis [Objective Intellectuality], wanted to create
something, alone without her consort; and her product was a celestial thing.
A veil exists between the world above [the Absolute] and the realms that are
below [the Sephiroth]; and [in Klipoth] shadow came into being beneath the
veil; and that shadow became [polluted] matter; and that shadow was
projected apart [into the abyss]. And what she had created became a product
in the [protoplasmic] matter, like an aborted fetus. And it assumed a plastic
form molded out of shadow, and became an arrogant beast resembling a lion
[or bestial fiery lustful ego]. It was androgynous, as I have already said,
because it was from matter that it derived.

Opening his eyes, he [Esau, the poisonous blood] saw [in Yesod] a vast
quantity of matter without limit; and he became arrogant, saying, "It is I who
[through sex] am God, and there is none other apart from me". When he said
this [claiming to be God], he sinned [fornicated] against the entirety [the Ain
Soph Aur]. And a voice [the Logos, which is Greek for "word"] came forth
from above the realm of absolute power, saying, "You are mistaken, Samael"
- which [in Scorpio] is, "god of the [spiritually] blind [made blind
by lust and pride]."

And he said, "If any other thing exists before me [Esau, the poisonous
blood], let it become visible to me!" And immediately Sophia [through the
Nous atom] stretched forth her finger [through the bloodstream] and
introduced [solar] light into matter; and she [the solar light] pursued it
down to the region of [the liver, the] chaos [from Klipoth]. And she returned
up to her light [in the heart]; once again darkness [from the liver and
through the bloodstream] [...] [corrupted the] matter.

This ruler [in the bloodstream], by being androgynous, made himself a vast
realm, an extent without limit. And he contemplated creating offspring for
himself, and created for himself seven [capital sins as] offspring,
androgynous just like their parent. And he said to his offspring, "It is I [lust]
who am god of the entirety."

And Zoe [Life], the daughter of Pistis Sophia, cried out and said to him, "You
are mistaken, Sakla!" - for which the alternative name is Yaldabaoth [demon
of lust]. She breathed into his face [the Aleph of God], and her breath
became a fiery [solar] angel for her; and that angel bound Yaldabaoth [all
of the ego] and cast him down into [Klipoth] Tartaros below the abyss.

Now when his offspring Sabaoth [host of darkness] saw the force of that
[solar] angel, he repented and condemned his father and his mother,
[protoplasmic] matter. He loathed her, but he [meditated on his weakness,
that is] he sang songs of praise up to Sophia and her daughter Zoe. And
Sophia and Zoe [through annihilation of the ego] caught him up and gave
him charge of the seventh heaven [Chesed], below the veil between above
and below [which is Daath]. And he is called 'God of the forces, Sabaoth',
since he is up above the forces of chaos [he is a Buddha], for Sophia
[wisdom] established him [as Chasmalim or enlightened one].

Now when these [events] had come to pass, he made himself a huge four-
faced chariot of cherubim [Chaioth Ha Kadosh], and infinitely many angels
to act as ministers, and also harps and lyres. And Sophia [Wisdom,
Chokmah] took her daughter Zoe [Christic life] and had her sit upon his
right to teach him about the things that exist in the eighth [heaven] [the
heaven of Binah, the creator]; and the angel of wrath [Geburah: Samael]
she placed upon his left. Since that day, his right has been called 'life'; and
the left has come to represent the unrighteousness of the realm of absolute
power above. It was before your time that they came into being.
Now when Yaldabaoth [the rulers of Klipoth] saw him [Sabaoth] in this
great splendor [as Buddha or Chasmalim] and at this height, he envied him;
and the envy became an androgynous product, and this was the origin of
envy [Simonianism]. And envy engendered death; and death engendered his
offspring and gave each of them charge of its heaven [the Mental Plane];
and all the heavens of chaos [Klipoth] became full of their multitudes. But it
was by the will [solar creative force] of the father of the entirety [the Ain
Soph Aur] that they all came into being - after the pattern of all the things
above - so that the sum of chaos might be attained.

"There, I have taught you about the pattern of the rulers [of Klipoth]; and the
matter in which it was expressed; and their parent; and their universe."

But I said, "Sir, am I also from their [protoplasmic] matter?"

"You, together with your offspring, are from the primeval father [the Ain
Soph]; from above, out of the imperishable light [the Ain Soph Aur], their
souls are come. Thus the [Klipothic] authorities cannot approach them,
because of the spirit of truth present within them; and all who have become
acquainted with this way exist deathless in the midst of dying mankind [the
fornicating mankind]. Still, that sown element will not become known now.
Instead, after three [solar] generations [physical, vital, astral] it will come to
be known, and it has freed them from the bondage of the [Klipothic]
authorities' error."

Then I said, "Sir, how much longer?"

He said to me, "Until the moment when the true man [the Son of Man],
within a modeled form, reveals the existence of the spirit of truth [Christ],
which the father [the Ain Soph Aur] has sent.

Then he will teach them about everything, and he will anoint them with the
unction of life eternal, given him from the undominated generation [of the
Absolute].

Then they will be freed of blind thought, and they will trample underfoot
death, which is of the authorities [of Klipoth], and they will ascend into the
limitless light [the Ain Soph Aur] where this sown element belongs.
Then the [Klipothic] authorities will relinquish their ages, and their angels
will weep over their destruction, and their demons will lament their [second]
death.

Then all the children of the light [of the Ain Soph Aur] will be truly
acquainted with the truth and their root, and the father of the entirety and the
Holy Spirit. They will all say with a single voice, 'The father's truth [Kether]
is just, and the son [Christ / Chokmah] presides over the entirety," and from
everyone unto the ages of ages, "Holy - holy - holy [Lord of Sabaoth]!
Amen!'"