Introduction
Sethian Gnosis, is the process of using
personal ''Contemplation,'' with the ''voice of reason,'' or ''Word,'' to enter
the ''Kingdom of Heaven.'' It is a structured mental process few scholars could
describe at this point in studying the Sethian texts. I should mention that a
source of pure Jesus' Wisdom, is contained in the ''Gospel of Thomas.'' This is
the obvious purpose of this text, to provide ''Jesus Wisdom.''
Although
Sethian Gnosticism is occult, or at least not prima facie, it is bound to logic.
It is the tracing of wisdom from the Pleroma, into the Kenoma, into man's own
psyche. Then man, awakens the splinther, and makes this Pleromic contact, or he
dies, forever.
The Sethian idea of Craftsman of the Demiurge, transfers
into the person's own being, and he becomes this ''Wisdom.'' There is no
learning of the process of Gnosis without the learning of its underlying
structure, the Sethian Monadology. It represents the natural order of Sophia.
Sethian Monadology: The system of the monad, worked through the
tetraktys of the decad, which serves as an underlying philosophy in Sethian
Gnosticism. It is developed from the creation myths. The system is like, and
based upon that of Pythagoreans, and resembles the principles of the ancient
Chinese philosophy of the Tai Chi., which is based upon the ogdoad (8), rather
than the decad (10). The system is based upon working variations of numerical
values. Turner states, ''....vigorous arithmological speculation on the first
ten numbers, but especially the first four numbers, comprising the Pythagorean
tetraktys (the sum of the first four numbers). This was carried on by such
Pythagoreanizing Platonists as Theon of Smyrna and Nicomachus of Gerasa, who in
turn depend in part on similar arithmological and mathematical theories produced
by such early first century Platonist figures as Dercyllides, Adrastos of
Aphrodisias (a Peripatetic commentator on Plato's Timaeus) and Thrasyllos, a
court philosopher under the Emperor Tiberius. The harmonic ratios produced by
these first four numbers and the geometric entities of point, line, surface, and
solid had been applied to the structure and the creation of the world soul long
before by Plato and his successors in the Old Academy, especially Speusippus and
Xenocrates. (See Turner, See also ''The History of Chinese Philosophy, Vol.
2.,'' by Fung Yu-Lan, Princeton, 1953, See also ''The Valentinian
Exposition.'')
The following is not an academic report, it is written to
explain the Gnostic contemplation or vision, and how to use it. I wrote it as
though I were explaining it to a friend....
Contemplation
The act
of contemplation in ancient times was far more for the Sethian Gnostic than a
mere type of, or fleeting thought. It was more like a special structure given to
thought and meditation. Today we might regard the term 'meditation,' or
self-hypnosis more to the application the ancients gave to the concept of
contemplation. It is thought with the aid
of a supplemental superstructure
called a Monadology.
The Gnostic contemplation is often allegorically
linked with the idea of wearing the soul like a garment. This idea was noted in
the works of Cebes, the ancient Philosopher, but may actually be older. It is
certainly an adaptation of Sethian Gnostics, and often is mentioned in regard to
the study of the monad. The Sethians regarded Jesus as the monad, and wore his
wisdom like a cloak of pure spirit.
The idea is that you wear your new
found philosophy as if it were your skin, or at least part of your very being.
The wisdom of the Soul of the Pleroma, is bonded with the human soul, in
knowledge of this shared wisdom, of the concept of the ''Word,'' or Holy Spirit.
This awareness starts with a change in the mind....
Metenoia:
This is the "change of mind" or perspective that happens to the initiate in the
process of Gnosis. It is turning the mind to the perception of the divine.
("Hara'' by Durkheim, Inner Traditions, 2004, p. 131)
Monadic
Power
Visualize looking into a room full of people you don't know.
This group inside the room is a pool or field, composed of units, and an entity
by itself. Its structure can be seen in terms of the mathematical concepts of
mode, medium, and mean, and this is not unlike the power seen in a field,
structure or form, concerning the power of the monad. Consider that the power of
this group, is in the form of ''Word.''
The study of the monad in
ancient culture was used to form the underlying philosophical structure of
thought, to be included as a superstructure in the concept of human
perception. An idea, a group of ideas or behaviors can be seen within this
philosophical framework. It is like using a structured imagination as an aid to
creative thought that gives one a solid foundation for the very act of
perception. It is a basis for seeing the truth in a thing, or concept.
The vision of the field or pool, is one that includes the perception of
the hypothetical form, of the monad's force or power. It is inclusive. It
permeates the Pleroma, the Kenoma, and the Psyche of man. It permeates the
'group in the room' as individuals and a whole unit.
The pool of units,
or members of a group, are the field, and although unseen, the monadic force is
greater than a perimeter around this group, the monadic force permeates every
aspect of it, connecting all the members. When viewing the group, you learn to
view the monadic force in terms of the numeric values, as well as looking at the
group as a whole, and the group as individuals. Not only does the power of the
monad permeate the physical structure of the group, it permeates their thought
process as a group, and as individuals. The underlying structure of logic,
truth, and their opposites can be seen in this paradigm. The Monad, and
the Contemplation
We can perceive 'nothing.' We can say there are no
units in our hypothetical room or box, and show it, or we can perceive our minds
as empty, with no thoughts, an empty field. But, nothing, by the very act of
being perceived is something.
Most Gnostic thought is based upon the
aspect of creation. The creation of thought in the human mind is allegorically
like the start of the cosmology, where there was nothing. Then there was
something, and this something in regard to Gnosis, is wisdom. This wisdom, when
aligned with the power of the monad, permeates everything or the 'All' the
Pleroma. This includes man and the individual psyche, the kenoma, or environment
of both earth, men, and what moderns would call the collective conscious, and
unconscious, the Logos. Logos is mostly defined with its synonym 'word.' Logos
the Tao, are also synonymous.
The monad grows or germinates into the
dyad. In most cases this process is allegorical with Yin and Yang, or in
Sethian terms maleness or femaleness. The Chinese Tai Chi, proclaims, the male
as positive or dominant, and the Sethians (Pythagoreans) proclaim it is the
female, or Sophia, meaning wisdom, which is the dominant. Simply, it probably
only matters that this difference represents a polarity, and connotes the power
which links the following forms, from the void or nothing, to the monad, to
dyad, to triad, etc.
Because the sequence of the monad comes from the
birth of wisdom to man, the sequencing from monad (1) to decad (10), complies
with the natural order of corporeal matter, and incorporeal thought. This is
what makes the concept so compatible with the act of meditation, not only is
there a correlation to matter, but to spirit, or thought.
This is how
the Gnostics learned to apply the skills of the Craftsman of the Demiurge, to
the Craftsman of men who use this knowledge in the doing of real skills,
'crafts.' The Chinese also learned to do this with the underlying philosophy of
the Tai Chi, as it applies to all classic Oriental thought, and crafts like
painting. The flow of the monad, can be almost allegorically aligned with the
Tai Chi, and they both have historical roots to Pythagoreans, who learned and
adapted the Chinese philosophy. Often in Chinese literature ''Chi'' not only
means energy, it means 'wisdom.' The Kenomic Man, and the
Triad
Man comes from the Pleroma, into the Kenoma. This makes man part of
heaven and earth, which is a premise in both the Tai Chi, and the Sethian
Monadology. Man is in the Pleroma, trapped in the aspect of matter or the
Kenoma....
Pleroma: The word means "fullness," and the 'All.' It refers
to ''all existence beyond matter Refers to the world of the Aeons, the heavens
or spiritual universe, which represents being out of the state of matter.
According to the "Gospel of Truth" "....all the emanations from the Father are
Pleromas." see Tractates 3, 2, Codeces, I, and XII, Nag Hammadi Lib. Pleroma can
have other connotations according to the Gnostic school of thought, some
differences in Sethian and Valentinian (other) schools can be noted. Pleroma, is
different than Logos. (See Logos, See Gaffney, p. 246.)
Kenoma: The
earthly or hylic state of the being. In the Gnostic schema(s) the kenoma is the
imperfect and the antithesis of pleroma (plhrwma), where all are in a state of
privation and unreality. (See Iren. Haer. I.4.I (M.7.480A); ib 1.4.2 (484A);
Clem.exc.Thdot.31 (p117.11; M.9.676A); Thdt.haer.I.7 (4.298).
Man as part
of the Pleroma, and Kenoma, make him virtually part of heaven and earth, and the
energies that run through them. This is called the ''San Ti,'' in the concept
of the Tai Chi. It represents the challenge for the Gnostic to bond with the
forces of the Pleroma, through the conflicts of the Kenoma. The human psyche,
bonds with the Psyche, of the cosmos, (Logos) This is done through the
realization of the natural order, of both the cosmos, and environment which
follows the path of the monad. It is like the analogy of growth from a seed to a
tree.
From Triad to Tetrad, The Tertraktys
The Sacred Tetrad (4)
is a composition of perceptions which is linked to both the forms preceding it
and following it. Pythogoreans used the tetraktys of the decad to show how the
monad permeates the units to this point in a systematic way. The icon used was a
triangle made of ten dots.
*
* *
* * *
* * *
*
The bottom four dots, represent something like the ''mode'' of the
units. The top is the monad, the next the dyad, the third is the triad, and the
fourth, is the tetrad. The statistical term, 'mode ' is the value, or set of
like units that appear most frequently in a set. In this case they work like a
synergy with all the other corresponding units.
The tenth dot in the
triangle above serves as a junction in the polarity of the first ten units,
where the monad sends out the positive charge through the units, and the tenth
unit serves to connect the next set of units the pentad, and links all the
previous units in a complete circuit. In effect this is the juncture where
positive, meets negative, sort of.
According to Valentinus, the Sacred
Tetrad is Word, Man, Life, and Truth. This means that this network, connects
the Word, as the monad, with Word/Man, as the dyad, with Word/Man/ Life, as the
triad and ''Word, Man, Life and Truth as the tetrad, in a series where these
components grow from Word, to Man, to Life, and Truth into one form, then
another. The terms and the idea are not unrelated to other tetrads used in
different Sethian works. The Pentad
The transition from the Tetrad
to the Pentad, adds ''knowledge'' to the set. Knowledge remains the last unit in
the sets following the Pentad, to the Hexad, Hebdoad, etc. Knowledge serves the
purpose of the conduit between units. At the level of the Pentad, the terms
''Word, Man, Life, Truth, and Knowledge,'' become a mantra. But the Pentad is
only the part of the vision where, the form is five units. It is not mutually
exclusive from the other forms, and their numerical values. The whole form is
like a mantra, in the vision.
Another famous pentad are said to be the
five ''skandas'' or units of the soul. They are ''Form, Perception,
Consciousness, Action, and Knowledge.'' Another is the set of ''Spirit, Mind,
Soul, Body, and Vision.'' All these sets would have tremendous meditative value
connecting to the Pleroma, and the Soul. Tricks of the Hexad (6)
A
Hexad can be two triads, three dyad, a dyad, and a tetrad. A decad can be two,
pentads, an ogdoad, two tetrads. These pairs can be diametrically opposed, like
male and female, good, and evil, and Yin, and Yang.
As a matter of fact
if there is a Sacred Tetrad, there is an evil twin tetrad, and no matter whether
a small form or large form, there is an opposite. This is another unseen factor
in the building of a Monadology, there is a mirror quality that must be realized
in the vision. The mirror images of duality are always present in the act of
perception.
Other forms like with odd numbers also merge. This is part of
the vision, and the breathing, or vibration, in its growth. It is a full
realization of structure and form of what is both prima facie, and what is
hidden, the occult.
One way to apply the hexad is with counting with
your fingers. in base six. You count the number of units in the pool, by
counting the five on one hand, and the sixth, on the other. Each set of six is
recorded on the opposite hand so, 6, 12, 18, 24,.. so the hands and fingers
reach a total of 35. Then you run out of fingers.
Another application of
the hexad is the game of Chess. This is because there are six 'types' or units
in the game. Pawns. Castles, Knights, Bishops, Queen, and King. A lot of
analogies can be made to this idea surrounding the elements of the game, and how
man interacts in the Kenoma.
The Hebdoad (7)
Seven or the hebdoad,
represents a very complex network. One which is almost beyond the level of human
perception, at least at the level of the average person. There would be a form
with twenty eight units in the structure. There is an example of a hebdoad, an
evil one.
The ''Gospel of Mary,'' reveals the hebdoad in the form of the
''Seven Powers of Wrath.'' Gospel of Mary Ch. 8, 18-19) ''When the soul had
overcome the third power, it went upwards and saw the fourth power, which took
seven forms. The first form is darkness, the second desire, the third ignorance,
the fourth is the excitement of death, the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh,
the sixth is the foolish wisdom of flesh, the seventh is the wrathful wisdom.
These are the seven powers of wrath.''
Wrathful Wisdom serves as the same
unit in this form, as Knowledge does in the Pentad, or last unit of the Tetrad.
The last unit of the set creates the opposite polarity or monadic current
through the units, uniting them as "one." A Hebdoad has twenty eight units, an
Ogdoad, has eight more, making thirty six, the ennead, 45, and the decad, has
fifty five, but these numerical values are abstract to the vision.
The
Seven Powers of Wrath can be 'reflected,' into the opposites where a good
hebdoad, or good lower forms are formulated from the polar opposites. I will let
the reader contemplate these changes.
The Ogdoad (8)
The Ogdoad,
is a level where many of the influencing sets above and below effect the
structure and its form. This is a level where the Tetrads can form, from several
lower forms. It is at this level Gnostics could prove the application of the
Monad, can be shown in real world Crafts. This is also the level on which the
Tai Chi is based, and through it we can learn to apply these skills. The
following comes from a study showing Isshin Ryu Karate, can be aligned perfectly
with the aspects of the Tai Chi.
Let us start with a monad, that is a
real world physical fight with two humans. The monad, or fight, can take one of
two forms, grappling, or boxing skills. Boxing, and Grappling are the dyad.
Boxing, Grappling, and Counters, become the triad. Boxing, Grappling, Kicking,
and Counters become the tetrad.
At this point we have the tetraktys, of
Boxing, Kicking, Grappling, and Counters, are within the basic premise for a
reasonable man, to perceive as essential points in the monad, or fight. These
points are governed by natural law, and natural human behavior. There is a level
of these skills in practice and knowledge children can be seen to exhibit. This
is what gives the term 'fight' the power to be a monad.
What if one of
the opponents, is better trained, say with the knowledge of the superstructure
of the Tai Chi, like in karate. This would be an accumulation of knowledge that
could be used to show the utility of the Monadic structure as a human library.
Called a 'Treasure Storehouse,'' in Sethian lore.
The better trained
fighter grows in skill of his craft by adding and including the skills to the
higher forms. The tetrad of Boxing, Kicking, Grappling, and Counters can extend
to the Ogdoad of Boxing, Kicking, Grappling, Throwing, Strangles, Joint or
Balance Control, Groundwork, and Counters. The seed of the monad, the fight, is
seen in the framework of the Ogdoad, and in doing so, an entire genus, and
species of fighting is logged into the mind of the trained fighter. He operates
with the aid of the Monadic force (Chi) to organize them in his mind, so that
this analogue can be used as a map and part of the vision in the application of
his skills. He learns this method to preserve these skills and protect them as
his tools. He defeats the opponent almost immediately.
The trained
fighter organizes all his skills in the practice of his craft in the manner of
the formation from the monad, and can virtually retain every technique he has
learned in his lifetime in this matrix. Then, he can apply it in the material
world. It serves as a library, or storehouse of knowledge in the mind. He can
use any part of it, instantly.
If a fighter can do this, so can a
Linguist, or an Artist. The underlying power of the Monad, in the form and
structure of one craft, teaches you how to apply it to others. This is the value
of learning the underlying structure of the monad, in all things.
Beyond
the Eighth
The Ennead (9), could be thought of as three triads. It could
be a pentad, and a tetrad, etc. Three Ogdoads could be thought of as a triad.
Clement of Alexandria explains the Decaloge...
..."And the Decalogue,
viewed as an image of heaven, embraces sun and moon, stars, clouds, light, wind,
water, air, darkness, fire. This is the physical Decalogue of the heaven. And
the representation of the earth contains men, cattle, reptiles, wild beasts; and
of the inhabitants of the water, fishes and whales; and again, of the winged
tribes, those that are carnivorous, and those that rise mild food; and of plants
likewise, both fruit-bearing and barren. This is the physical Decalogue of the
earth. And there is a ten in man himself: the five senses, and the power of
speech, and that of reproduction; and the eighth is the spiritual principle
communicated at his creation; and the ninth the ruling faculty of the soul; and
tenth, there is the distinctive characteristic of the Holy Spirit, which comes
to him through faith.'' (''Stromata'')
In Sethian Monadology, Jesus is
the Monad......This is the focus of the Gnostic Contemplation, because in this
case Wisdom or the Word, is that of the 'Savior,' or Holy Spirit, Soul.... The
Gnostic vision is to unlock the Splinther in one's own self to bond with the
Soul.
Spinther: The "spark" or "splinter" of internal divine light, that
is awakened with Gnosis. The spinther is considered a divine spark which is cast
into the souls of men, by the light cast off by the Perfect man, in some
scenarios this is Seth, Adamas, (Adam), or Jesus. (See Pneumatic. See Gaffney,
p. 246.)
