What Is Gnosticism? // 01
The coveted secrets of the mystery "religion"
Gnosticism, as we inherit it in America, is a branch of Orpho-Platonism.
Not Hermeticism. Not Christianity. And, certainly, not Judaism.
But Orpho-Platonism — a mystery river flowing from the songs of Orpheus, winding through the sacred mathematics of Pythagoras, shaped by Plato’s shadows on the cave wall. And, if you trace the line back far enough — back through the myths and memories of old — you’ll find Egypt and Babylon, where gods wore stars, and the secret code of symbolism was survival.
Yet, this is not the Gnosticism we typically first encounter.
Rather than a complete and ancient cosmology with its own roots, it arrives to us warped, diluted, and crossbred with Christianity. Stripped of its context and called a "heresy," to be dismissed a "parasite religion" by those who know nothing of it.
This confusion began in the early centuries of the Common Era.
Mystery cultists, steeped in Greek religion and philosophy, encountered the figure of Jesus — a desert prophet from the East who spoke in parables and captivated the masses. And, in him, they saw not a Jewish Messiah, but a familiar archetype: the descended messenger, the revealer, the bringer of knowledge.
So, those who would later become known as the "Gnostic Christians" took him into their varying traditions.
Yet, importantly, this was not a conversion, but an adoption. For them, Jesus became the next in a long lineage: from Orpheus, to Pythagoras, to Plato, and so on or otherwise. They honored him, interpreted him, and wove him into their sacred tapestry. And for a while, they even stood side by side with other early Christians — attending gatherings, sharing wine, speaking in hushed tones of spirit and cosmos.
Yet, they did not surrender their certitudes. Rather than kneel to the religious colonizers, they read the gospel with their own eyes and found different stories. Their Jesus, ubiquitously, did not come to fulfill the Torah. He came to awaken the sleeper: to remind the divine spark of its origin. And, this "Gnostic Jesus" was not Jewish in spirit, but Hellenic in all but form.
And, unsurprisingly, that was intolerable.
To those who sought to build a global orthodoxy, grounded in Judaism, this was blasphemy. These "Gnostic Christians" were not eccentric fellow believers, they were worldview competitors. And, these mystery cultists, in general, were not mere skeptics or non-believers, they were enemies. Likewise, after finally amassing enough power, the Church named them proud heretics and demon-worshippers, launching a campaign to purge them not just from the Church, but from life and culture itself.
And so, the Gnostics, whose spiritual lineage ran older than Rome, went into hiding. Their meeting places fell silent. Their texts were hidden in jars and buried in deserts. Their symbols became marks of shame. Their names were cursed in sermons.
But, their beliefs — their secret knowledge — never died.
For half of the last 2,000 years, the Christian mystery cultists publicly behaved and saw themselves as Christians — and that is indeed what they called themselves. “Gnostic” is a name given to them collectively and retroactively. Still, they entertained their mysteries in private. They preserved their belief systems through metaphor and code, prepared private gatherings, and carried out their rituals in secret. They wrote and circulated their own scriptures, extracted esoteric meaning from canonical texts, and gradually evolved into sects like the Bogomils and the Cathars — groups that would eventually be condemned and expelled from Christian orthodoxy.
Even, the regular Gnostics — not Christian, but still inheritors of the mystery traditions — would find themselves in a similar position. And, all, in the end, lost themselves.
Buried beneath compromise, crushed beneath persecution, or simply diluted by time.
Most notably, the information surrounding death either came to mimic that of Christianity and/or became platitudinal, losing its instructional value. But, that is simply what Christianity does — its function is to destroy the means and routes to Gnosis, forcing you to succumb, in one way or another, to the evil-bland power of the demiurgic drone.
It breaches. It invades. It colonizes. It burns.
All of this is why, despite modern claims, it is clear that Gnosticism and Christianity share no common cause and are, in fact, antithetical. This should be obvious from their logical ends. “Gnostic Christians,” then, are not a synthesis — but a confusion. Lost, or heretical, Gnostics at best.
But thus far, I’ve (necessarily) given you more of a history lesson on them than an explanation as to what Gnosticism really is.
Features of Gnosticism
Globally and as a phenomenon, Gnosticism is the metaphysical worldview positing a duality between Self-consciousness and material nature, with need for man to overcome the latter by means of personal knowledge of the Self and of the nature of reality (Gnosis). Further, it:
Posits a hostile world order.
Asserts a material reality that naturally restricts the meaningful will and ability of self-conscious man within its parameters (which are objective and knowable).
Affirms the free will and intellectual agency of self-conscious man as means by which he can pursue, gain, and apply Gnosis.
Calls for a personal journey toward individuation, as man cannot attain Gnosis collectively or by means of others, but only through his own efforts.
Gnosticism is an emergent worldview, appearing across time and space organically, rather than as a worldview constructed for socio-political purposes like religions. As such, it does not share the goal or function of religion as a means of socio-political management. Yet, still, it takes on the three forms that all worldviews do -- mythic, secular, and atheistic. Specifically (with examples), there is:
Mythic Gnosticism -- taking on a spiritual character, dealing with immaterial realms and entities
Classical/Theistic Gnosticism
Jungian Analysis
Secular Gnosticism -- taking on a political character, dealing mainly with material powers
Prometheanism
Reincarnation Truthers (ET)
American Conspiracy Culture (Alex Jones, David Icke, etc...)
Plot of The Matrix
Forms of Anarchism
Gnostic Atheism -- taking on a philosophical character, dealing with ethics and metaphysics
Objectivism
Simulation Theory (some)
e/acc
I, personally, view Gnosticism as a signal you pick up on. A well broadcast fact of reality that you become attune to (if you so have the capacity) after an alienating event: a realization, a condition, or a happening that snaps you out of a given drone and spurns the oh, so gnostic sense that something is deeply wrong with the world. Often, it's a noticing of hyleticism, a noticing of a natural injustice, or a just a longstanding experience of disconnect with the norms and trajectory of the world. But, after boarding the Gnostic-line of thought, a decent amount path-find their way to actual Gnosticism. And, while that Gnosticism may wear many different faces and metaphorical frameworks, it's always says the same thing.
This isn't exclusive to me. I'm the only one I've heard explicitly say this, but I've seen all serious Gnostics talk about this in a way that suggests what I am. Additionally, those "alienating events," as I've coined, are not spontaneous, they're usually a long time coming.That's why I've listed only 4 characteristics — of Gnosticism: because, contrary to what most scholars and enthusiasts would say, that's all you need to describe that thing. And, by being able to identify what are essentially Gnostic first principles, we are able to understand and talk about Gnosticism much more pointedly.
For one, it gives us a kind of tracking system where we can talk about Western Gnosticism, but also see Eastern Gnosticism and Gnosticism's appearance in tribal cultures around the world. We can see it branching off in America or taking on some new flavor in Brazil. And, we can also see it when it isn't appearing in an explicitly spiritual form, but as a literary theme or a cultural meme. So, fittingly, this understanding of Gnosticism is as broad as the phenomena itself since it is much more in line with how it actually manifests within the world.
Yet, you’ll also see that it is somehow much more precise than the long, droning lists that Stephan Hoeller and a few others have produced:
There is an original and transcendental spiritual unity from which emanated a vast manifestation of pluralities.
The manifest universe of matter and mind was created not by the original spiritual unity but by spiritual beings possessing inferior powers.
One of the objectives of these creators is the perpetual separation of humans from the unity (God).
The human being is a composite: the outer aspect is the handiwork of the inferior creators, while the inner aspect is a fallen spark of the ultimate of the divine unity.
The sparks of transcendental holiness slumber in their material and mental prison, their self-awareness stupefied by the forces of materiality and mind.
The slumbering sparks have not been abandoned by the ultimate unity; rather, a constant effort directed toward their awakening and liberation comes forth from this unity.
The awakening of the inmost divine essence in humans comes through salvific knowledge, called “gnosis.”
Gnosis is not brought about by belief of by the performance of virtuous deeds or by obedience to commandments; these at best serve to prepare one for liberating knowledge.
Among those aiding the slumbering sparks, a particular position of honor and importance belongs to a feminine emanation of the unity, Sophia (Wisdom). She was involved in the creation of the world and ever since has remained the guide of her orphaned human children.
From the earliest times of history, messengers of Light have been sent forth from the ultimate unity for the purpose of advancing gnosis in the souls of humans.
The greatest of these messengers in our historical and geographical matrix was the descended Logos of God manifest in Jesus Christ.
Jesus exercised a twofold ministry: he was a teach, imparting instruction concerning the way of gnosis; and he was a hierophant, imparting mysteries.
The mysteries imparted by Jesus (which are also known as sacraments) are mighty aids toward gnosis and have been entrusted by him to his apostles and their successors.
Through the spiritual practice of the mysteries (sacraments) and a relentless and uncompromising striving for gnosis, humans can steadily advance toward liberation from all confinement, material and otherwise. The ultimate objective of this process of liberation is the achievement of salvific knowledge and with it, freedom from embodied existence and return to ultimate unity.
— Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing by Stephan A. Hoeller
Lists like this, while not all wrong, do not form a comprehensive explanation of Gnosticism.
I will say that, while I disagree on the language, universality, “divine feminine,” and the implications of “oneness” — which mostly come from Christian contamination — the first 10 points comprise a very accurate characterization of Mythic Gnosticism. But the list, as a whole, is completely ignorant of Gnosticism’s non-spiritual manifestations and, again presupposes that Gnosticism is a denomination of Christianity.
Worse yet, they're the works of those who futilely take it upon themselves to "revive" and "spread" Gnostic Christianity, with these lists as blatant, and often plainly stated, attempts to define a canonical doctrine. The ultimate intent being to make "Gnosticism" structurally and massively participatory so that it can be marketable to the masses. But, those who desire this do so because they view Gnosticism as a religion and have adopted Christian/Abrahamic views as to the purpose of belief systems like these.
Yet, Gnosticism is neither beholden to nor compatible with those views.
Transmission Note:
This should not be interpreted as an attack on Stephan Hoeller. The aforementioned book is informative as a whole and I agree with a lot of it. However, I disagree with many of Hoeller's conclusions.
Funny enough, while revisting that chapter, I discovered that Hoeller, being well before my time, has a lot more context on where guys like David Lindsay (I think that's his name?) come from. Page 182. Practicing Gnosticism
One does not practice Gnosticism, mythic or not. But, Gnostics often practice rituals that they believe will induce Gnosis.
Because Gnosis must be attained personally and intellectually, these rituals historically involved psychedelics and circumambulatory* acts meant to remind the practitioner of his goal. Additionally, this pursuit meant that Classical Gnostics were (and continue to be) open to trying out practices from other belief systems if they're believed to have the potential to induce Gnosis. Many, however, also turn to plain ol' knowledge, choosing to immerse themselves in more interactive ways of knowing about the world such as science, math, and esoterica as a path to personal knowledge of reality.
*circumambulatory meaning acts repeated in order to center an ideal or concept, not literal walkingYet, while varied and individualistic, Gnostics did not always go about their spiritual journeys alone. While Gnosis is pursued personally, individual findings, experiences, and speculations were/are shared among each other for consideration and guidance in personal journeys. Individuals with similar findings and personally efficacious mediums of Gnosis would form groups and participate in rituals together. And, because Gnosticism is classically hostile or indifferent to the body, historical Gnostic groups tended to go one of two ways: ascetic or degenerate. The first involved fasting, abstinence, and denial of bodily pleasures. The second, I will leave to your imagination. But, thankfully the former won out in popularity and is how Gnostics are commonly portrayed.
Come to think of it, the whole attempt to shock oneself into Gnosis is kind of like trying to relive the alienating event that made one Gnostic in the first place. But, more intense. So, the point being made is that, when thinking of Gnostic groups or Gnostics gathered, one should avoid conceiving of them as one does a church. Rather than platforms where an orthodoxy is espoused and downloaded, Gnostic gatherings were/are information exchanges, more akin to get-togethers.
Gnosticism has an investigative and antinomian character, rather than faithful and obedient character.
Secrets
I've thus far laid out that Western Gnosticism comes from the Greek mystery cults (and by extension Egypt, and, in likelihood, Babylon). I've highlighted that those holding their beliefs went into hiding and were given the name "Gnostic" by their persecutors ("Gnosis" meaning "knowledge," "Gnostic" approximating "knower"). And, I've repeatedly used word like "private," "personal," "individual," "metaphor," "code," and "secret" to describe their activities.
All of these things, in a sort of snowball effect, have had Christians unwaveringly convinced that Gnosticism is about "keeping secrets." And, with a strange intensity, they've been all riled up about Gnostics having "secret knowledge" for thousands of years. In fact, if you ask a Christian (who has heard of Gnosticism) today, that's exactly what they'll tell you: "Gnostics were people who thought they had secret knowledge."
With a tone suggesting an absurd level of contempt for a supposedly dead heresy, to boot.
But, Gnosticism was poorly understood by its enemies and is not about "secret knowledge." Despite the fact that Christians love making themselves angry imagining such silly ideas that are more attributable to themselves, Gnostics are not and were not meeting up to go: "teehee, they don't know our seeecret!"
In fact, here are the mythic secrets of such great concern:
The mysteries of the mystery cults tended to be along these lines:
You have an immortal soul.
You belong to a spiritual reality (often phrased: "you are/can become a god").
You are trapped in a cycle of material death and rebirth.
You need to do XYZ to escape materiality.
The mystery cultists/Gnostics were secretive to preserve the purity of the above beliefs and techniques and to avoid persecution -- and ultimately inquisition -- at the hands of hostile powers.
Gnosis is personal, private, and "secret" because it is incommunicable. Personal knowledge can be talked about, but cannot be literally shared person to person and Gnosis comes differently to each person.
Gnosticism doesn't have an imperative for conversion or being a "big tent" because Gnosticism itself is incommunicable to the majority.
These things are not really "secrets" but, even if they were, they could be talked about freely (given the absence of persecution) due to bullet four.
Transmission Note:
I know because I've tried.
It isn't possible to invite those who are not Gnostic-minded into Gnostic thinking, because it just... doesn't work. The ideas don't go through. It is too far off from the dominant worldview to be comprehensible to normal folk and you just end up with offense on both sides. They have a surreal inability to accurately interpret what you are saying along with a seeming determination to misinterpret back into the dominant worldview and they seem to just be naturally hostile to Gnosticism of any kind.
You can posit an idea or share content that is unequivocally Gnostic and they will find a way to evade the Gnostic premise or conclusion it leads to. And, if they can't they're hostile. Imagine that no matter what....
Bonus "Secret": A common premise is that Gnosis is applied at death on a post-mortem spiritual journey, similar to that of the Ka of Egyptian mythology.Books
Many religions and even philosophies are centered around holy books as definitive canonical, instructional, and behavioral guides. They function as the source and reinforcement of a given worldview, which allows it to persist fundamentally undiluted for extended periods of time.
This is not so for Gnosticism -- mythic or not.
Instead, Gnosticism has no holy book and, in the section called "Features of Gnosticism," I've already laid out its presence and reception through alienating events. It requires no human regulation in order to continue to authentically exist.
Now is a good time to mention that there is a multiple discovery aspect of Gnosticism which is generally how I, at least, track alignment and continuity while identifying "the signal," as I call it, as the source in others.Yet, the ancient Mythic Gnostics were known to be prolific writers, as attested by the Nag Hammadi library. And, the penchant for writing seems to persist across time and mode, as Secular Gnostics and Gnostic Atheists (beknownst or not) have been absurdly influential in American media and culture by this means.
So, why do Gnostics write so much and how do they use books?
Gnostics tend to view books as spiritual journals, rather than instruction manuals, and literature at large as a means of preserving knowledge. Contributing to the Gnostic meme pool is a form of participation in the imperative, which is why Gnostics, unlike Christians and others, have little issue putting their pieces forward. Rather than the book study and faith characteristic of Abrahamic maintenance, Gnosticism, again, tends toward investigation and information sharing. And, it is for these reasons that Gnostics have been known to not only write their own texts, but to adopt and reinterpret the texts of other belief systems according to the Gnostic worldview.