Repost - "Good Company"

Repost from my Super Duper Social Worker Blog, April 2013

What we know about the ancient Gnostics is that we don’t know much. We know that the people who modern people might call Gnostic never called themselves Gnostic. The word Gnostic might have even been used as a slang. (Kind of like how the people who modern people call Pagan never ever called themselves Pagan.)

Plotinus, who is considered by many modern people to be a premier writer of Gnostic source materials, often wrote about the Gnostics as those goofy radicals down the street. "It is NOT as the Gnostics say..." (Kind of like how modern Pagans often write about “those fluff bunnies”, even though two thousand years ago we might all be seen as fluff bunnies.)

In regards to the Gnostics, we don’t know more than we know. But what I’ve learned about the Gnostics is that they’ve always been misunderstood. We don’t know who they are now and no one knew who they were then. Which translates to me that anything can be Gnostic, nothing is Gnostic, nothing is not-Gnostic. (Which works out really great for me.)

We know that the Sethians in Egypt were considered to be the first Gnostics, about 200 years or so before Christianity. These people were a sect of radical Jews who were probably inspired by Mediterranean (Greek) mystery traditions. And these Mediterranean mystery traditions were probably inspired by the Ancient Egyptian mystery traditions, which were inspired by God Only Knows. But whoever the Gnostics were, they went on to inspire Christianity, the Kabbalah, Masons, The Golden Dawn, Wiccans, modern Pagans, comic book artists, rock songs, books, movies, and a continuing cycle of inspired texts and prophets (Dick, Hesse, Moore, Smashing Pumpkins, ELO, etc.)

What I love about the early Gnostics was that they just wrote stuff all the time, and some of it is crazy. I get the impression that if there is was aspect about their current Gnostic myth that they didn’t like, they just wrote their own. So this means as a modern person reading this stuff it seems confusing and contradictory, but contradiction only need to exist in religion if one is looking at religion from a literal point of view. But when looking at religion as something that is organic, changeable, and evolving, the Gnostic myths make perfect sense, especially from a Universalist point of view.  We’re all on a path towards God, we know that each path is different. We’re all just wandering around on a crooked path and at the center is God. 

So who were the Gnostics and what did they do? We don’t really know. But what I like to think is that two thousand years ago, Gnostics, Jews, Pagans, Christians, atheists, agnostics and whoever else got together in comfy backrooms every once in a while. I’d like to think that they were all friends. That they sat and breathed together, wrote stupid stories about talking snakes and laughing gods, chanted, raised energy, talked about God, shared wine and bread, laughed, told jokes, had ecstatic moments, and afterword, in the words of my Bishop, they sat around in joy and said “how cool was that?!”

The Pagan Experience - Knowledge, Wisdom and Gnosis

WK 1- Mar. 2 - Knowledge,Wisdom and Gnosis - What do these words mean to you? How do express these principles in your spiritual work? Is any one more important than the other? Why?

Sometimes I tell people that Wicca is my religion but my spirituality is Gnosticism.  The problem with this, however, was that very few people know what I mean when I say I am a Gnostic.  Sometimes I don’t know what I mean, either.  What I do know, however, is the feeling I get when I read the Gospel of Thomas or Thunder, Perfect Mind.  I know that Gnosticism did more than just help me to reconcile any anxiety I had about my torrid Christian past.  It opened up a whole new trajectory for my future, in this life and beyond.

Identifying as a Gnostic doesn’t mean I can’t practice Wicca or be a witch or I had to change anything about my life.  If anything, it gives me more options.  I can pretty much enter into any religious ritual or ceremony and feel perfectly at home because it’s like God speaks to me anywhere and everywhere I go.  We’re surrounded by myths and stories and archetypes, and Gnosticism gave me the lexicon with which to understand what God was saying through these tools.

Here’s what Gnosticism is not – despite what you may have read in a billion Neo-Pagan books, we don’t believe that we are aliens from another planet who got stuck on earth because of the evil Demiurge.  For some reason every time I read a Neo-Pagan book that mentions Gnosticism, they always have these ridiculous concepts of what Gnosticism is and it really pisses me off.  Saying that Gnostics believed they were aliens is such an oversimplification, and furthermore, that’s literalist thinking.  If the Gnostics do anything, it’s reject literalist thinking. 

When the ancient Gnostics wrote about being from “some other place”, they were talking about pieces of themselves, what we’d call Aggregate Structures in the Esoteric Mysticism system.  So these pieces are part of greater, more complete and permanent pieces of the Cosmos, and we are made up of these aggregate structures.  But aggregate structures aren’t of this world; they’re of something more than this world and beyond this world.  Alien just means outsider, because we’re not of this world.  This world is an illusion.  So we nurture and foster these permanent structures because they will help us to return to the True Source, which is not of this world or this existence. 

So as a Gnostic I’m not recreating some science fiction story where I’m looking for my mothership to take me home beyond the stars.  I just recognize those greater pieces of me that are part of the Cosmos, and I can use those pieces to help me forge a greater bond to Deity, which is beyond this time and space.  By engaging in Gnosis, in knowing, I recognize that piece of me, and I know how it relates back to the Source.  I can begin to see past the illusions of this reality, and I KNOW.  Gnosis is a place beyond logic or thought or feeling.  It just is.  It’s certainty with every fiber of your being because Gnosis is every fiber of your being.

Sophia, or Wisdom, plays a great role in Gnostic teachings.  In some Gnostic myths (since there are so many of them because the Gnostics loved to write and re-write and re-write myths) Sophia is a piece of the Monad, the oneness that is the Cosmos and all things and no things.  But she messed up a little and creates the Demi-urge, the little maker.  The Demiurge doesn’t know it’s connected to the Oneness (like many of us do not know we are connected to the Oneness) so he creates this world, but it’s a shitty world.  So Sophia feels bad and she tries to help the Demiurge’s creations, who would be Adam and Eve.  She helps them by putting a piece of herself in them, a powerful and permanent aggregate structure that is a piece of Wisdom.  This piece that is within us all is closer to the Oneness than Sophia’s own flawed creation, the Demiurge, who is the creator in some myths (such as the Christian creation story.) 

So what is Wisdom?  Wisdom is Sophia realizing she made a mistake and having the grace to try to fix it the best she can.  Wisdom is thoughtful compassion which guides action. 

And knowledge is just the fact that I read all of this stuff in lots of books over the years, that I can regurgitate it to you in a blog post.  Knowledge of these mysteries prepared me for them, but it took a long time for me to have the Wisdom to understand, and even longer for the Gnosis to settle itself permanently into my being.  I’m not just some flawed creation.  I am a being of light and Wisdom, connected to the Cosmos.  I am a Gnostic. 

If you’re interested in reading more, I’ve written a lot about Gnosis and the Gnostics over the years.  You can find more about these topics at the following links:

The Gnostics

Review – Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions by Richard Smoley and Jay Kinney 

The Bible

Christo-what?

Pagan Blog Project – week 25 – M#1 – Moldavite

http://www.healingcrystals.com/Moldavite_Crystals.html

Pagan Blog Project – week 25 – M#1 – Moldavite

Moldavite is the perfect stone for a Space Witch like me, and it’s become one of my all-time favorites. It is a magical blend of both heaven and of earth, and isn’t that what being a Space Witch is all about? A Space Witch is of the Earth but dreams of the cosmos, and moldavite encompasses that celestial dream and this earthly realm.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Meteorites

Ranging in colors from dark olive to bright green, moldavite is a special type of glass that resulted from the impact of a meteor in Eastern Europe, probably around 15-million years ago. The giant meteor was so hot that it melted the earth upon impact, shooting big globs of molten stuff in the air. When that stuff cooled, it created a lovely green glass that is a combination of space material and earthly substances. It’s a lot like obsidian, which is also glass created from the super-hot, molten crust of the earth. Moldavite, however, is what was created when the meteor melted the earth and melted into the earth, creating a lovely blend of both realms.  

https://www.etsy.com/shop/NaturalRockShop

The higher quality pieces of moldavite are known for their “fern-like” patterns. When I think of ferns I think of dinosaurs and a time before humans or mammals, a time unlike any of us will ever know.  Moldavite comes from this ancient time, but also holds within it a promise of the future, of outer space, and of our destiny as the human race as we hold Earth to be our home but look to the stars for possibilities.

I have read that one of the Roman Sibyls used a giant slab of moldavite in her rituals. She would perform her rites in a cave sacred to Hecate, and part of the ritual would include a processional presentation of the slab of moldavite. It is said that this meteorite glass represented the Goddess Cybele or Rhea, or a similar Earth Mother/Queen of Heaven. It is also said that the Holy Grail from Christian lore was carved from a piece of moldavite. A very late Gnostic sect, the Cathars, believed that the Holy Grail wasn’t a grail at all, but a mysterious stone from outer space.

http://www.healingcrystals.com/Moldavite_Crystals.html

Magically, moldavite is said to vibrate at an incredibly high frequency. This is said to aid those who want to be in contact with the heavenly realms, though I feel as if it connects one to more than just heaven, but earth as well. It is used in lucid dreaming, astral travel, to connected with one’s angel or spirit guides, and trance work.

Unfortunately I do not have many pieces of moldavite. When it comes to a stone or crystal I really, really want, I shop around forever until the “perfect” piece comes around, which is almost never! I do have a tiny pair of moldavite earrings I splurged on, though, and I wear them when I want a little extra energy and openness to my life - whether I am just running errands or engaging in a powerful ritual. And for special occasions I use some special moldavite incense (Moldavite Incense Sticks - With Real Moldavite Essence) or moldavite oil I have, but I tend to hoard these, saving them only for super special occasions.

http://www.healingcrystals.com/Moldavite_Crystals.html

Artificial oldavite can be made in a lab, so be careful when buying this stone online! Lab-created moldavite is pretty easy to spot – the pock marks are too uniform in placement and shape, the size way too large, and the color not quite right. It looks pretty fake, like plastic, and holds none of the magical properties of the genuine, ancient glass.  

Created over 15-million years ago from a unique meteor impact, moldavite is naturally a very rare glass. I’ve seen it increase in popularity over the years, with pieces being smaller and with more imperfections. Like many of Earth’s precious stones, once moldavite is gone, it’s gone for good.

I find moldavite to be the perfect combination of heaven and earth, the terrestrial and the celestial, the rare and the beautiful. This rare beauty is a perfect addition to any Space Witch treasure chest!

(Interested in buying some moldavite? Message me for a super special coupon code at Healing Crystals!) 

Review – Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions by Richard Smoley and Jay Kinney

 Review – Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions by Richard Smoley and Jay Kinney

I’ve been reading this book literally for years. It’s not very long or dense, but we picked it up for our Pagan Book Club back in the day. For some reason or another I was never able to finish it, until now. Aside from my 1-billion-year hiatus (I started it in July of 2011) from this book, I actually really adored it. Loved it, in fact. I’d recommend it to anyone!

Hidden Wisdom basically looks at many Western mystery traditions and offers a short survey of their history, basic beliefs, controversies, and mythology. The authors point out that in modern Western society, we often look to the East for our mysticism (India and China, mostly.) While they recognize that lots of great things have come from the East, they encourage Westerners to examine their own mystery traditions, too. There’s so much there to be proud of!

They also wanted to write a book to help people within the New Agey communities to understand the roots of the modern mystic movements. Smoley and Kinney did a great job of keeping their book on track with these goals, and because of this, I think it would be fabulous as a foundational or beginners book to those who are interested in Mysticism or the spiritual side of New Age thought or even Paganism. They really do a great job of laying out the basics, adding a lot of context and history that is otherwise missing from many New Age or Pagan resources.

http://www.jaykinney.com/

They introduce the book with a discussion about mysticism, mystic movements, and trends in mystic spirituality. Next they dive into some of the foundational roots of modern mysticism – Carl Jung, Gnosticism, Esoteric Christianity, Sufism, the Kabbalah, and Ceremonial Magic. They then move into Neo-Paganism and modern Shamanism. Things get really interesting when they start to introduce some of those mystic and New Age movements that were quiet influential, but perhaps not well-known. I personally loved reading about Hermeticism and Alchemy, G. I. Gardjieff, and Secret Societies.

All of these movements have been incredibly influential on modern mystic thought. I personally knew a bit about most (but not all!) of the chapters. Through spanning so many topics, there’s something in Hidden Wisdom for everyone. Those chapters that were familiar topics to me (Gnosticism, Jung, Neo-Paganism) offered a great review and refresher. When it came to the chapters on Ceremonial Magic, G. I. Gardjieff, and Hermeticism, I found every word and concept to be fascinating. These thoughts were totally new to me, and it was great to read about something that I’d never heard of before.

Smoley and Kinney did a great job of offering lots of information without bogging the book down. And while I’m sure they missed some key ideas here or there, I didn’t feel like anything vital was lacking. There’s just enough to get the general idea and to gain an appreciation of the topics being discussed. Furthermore, each section has quite an extensive list of sources and resources, which is quiet excellent for those who would like to learn more about a specific topic.

http://www.innerchristianity.com/

As a minister, I’d recommend this book for those who don’t understand where I personally come from spiritually. I have a heavily Gnostic foundation to my outlook on mystical matters, and this has been confusing for some people. Hidden Wisdom would be a great book to clear up some of the confusion, without overwhelming someone with Gnostic dogma (for any Gnostic who is reading this, it made me laugh to type out the words “Gnostic Dogma.”)

As a Neo-Pagan Priestess, I’d love to use this book with people who I am mentoring. While most of the mentoring I’ve done has been basic Pagan 101 stuff, this book would be a good one to explain the more mystic and spiritual aspects of where Neo-Pagans are coming from. Furthermore, it offers a very good history of the roots of modern Neo-Paganism. We’re not just modified Wicca. We have roots in all of these mystery traditions – in the philosophies of Jung, in the ideals of Gardjieff, in the dreams of the Alchemists. And yes, we even have very clear connections to Gnosticism and Mystic Christianity.

So, I pretty much loved this book. I’m a little embarrassed that it took me so long to read, but that’s my fault, and not the fault of Smoley or Kinney.

Pagan Blog Project - Week 13 - G#1 – Gnostics

a repost from PBP 2013

Pagan Blog Project - Week 13 - G#1 – Gnostics
 

What we know about the ancient Gnostics is that we don’t know much. We know that the people who modern people might call Gnostic never called themselves Gnostic. The word Gnostic might have even been used as a slang. (Kind of like how the people who modern people call Pagan never ever called themselves Pagan.)

Plotinus, who is considered by many modern people to be a premier writer of Gnostic source materials, often wrote about the Gnostics as those goofy radicals down the street. "It is NOT as the Gnostics say..." (Kind of like how modern Pagans often write about “those fluff bunnies”, even though two thousand years ago we might all be seen as fluff bunnies.)

In regards to the Gnostics, we don’t know more than we know. But what I’ve learned about the Gnostics is that they’ve always been misunderstood. We don’t know who they are now and no one knew who they were then. Which translates to me that anything can be Gnostic, nothing is Gnostic, nothing is not-Gnostic. (Which works out really great for me.)

We know that the Sethians in Egypt were considered to be the first Gnostics, about 200 years or so before Christianity. These people were a sect of radical Jews who were probably inspired by Mediterranean (Greek) mystery traditions. And these Mediterranean mystery traditions were probably inspired by the Ancient Egyptian mystery traditions, which were inspired by God Only Knows. But whoever the Gnostics were, they went on to inspire Christianity, the Kabbalah, Masons, The Golden Dawn, Wiccans, modern Pagans, comic book artists, rock songs, books, movies, and a continuing cycle of inspired texts and prophets (Dick, Hesse, Moore, Smashing Pumpkins, ELO, etc.)

What I love about the early Gnostics was that they just wrote stuff all the time, and some of it is crazy. I get the impression that if there is was aspect about their current Gnostic myth that they didn’t like, they just wrote their own. So this means as a modern person reading this stuff it seems confusing and contradictory, but contradiction only need to exist in religion if one is looking at religion from a literal point of view. But when looking at religion as something that is organic, changeable, and evolving, the Gnostic myths make perfect sense, especially from a Universalist point of view.  We’re all on a path towards God, we know that each path is different. We’re all just wandering around on a crooked path and at the center is God. 

So who were the Gnostics and what did they do? We don’t really know. But what I like to think is that two thousand years ago, Gnostics, Jews, Pagans, Christians, atheists, agnostics and whoever else got together in comfy backrooms every once in a while. I’d like to think that they were all friends. That they sat and breathed together, wrote stupid stories about talking snakes and laughing gods, chanted, raised energy, talked about God, shared wine and bread, laughed, told jokes, had ecstatic moments, and afterword, in the words of my Bishop, they sat around in joy and said “how cool was that?!”