St Mary Magdalene, page 18
Music, Song, and Dance
Encountering the Holy Bride can be very simple and direct. All you need to do is hold her in your mind, cleave to her in your heart, delight in music, song, and dance, and you will come to know her. You will experience her within and all around you, for she will be your joy and your joy will be hers.
The Circle
Gather with some women. Share your stories and stories of the Bride with one another, and the spirit of St. Mary Magdalene will be present with you. Indeed! Gather together for creative expression, with stories, poetry, song, and dance for one another, and the spirit of the Bride will be among you. Whenever a circle or gathering is consecrated to our Lady of Gnosis, she is present in that place. If there are men willing to enter into the circle with women in celebration of the Holy Bride, so much the better-for then the truth of Bride and Groom will be manifest.
The Feast of the Holy Bride
In the Sophian Tradition, May 1st is the Feast of the Holy Bride. Gathering and celebrating a feast, telling her stories, offering creative expressions, celebrating life, light, love, and liberty through music, song and dance, you can create a ceremony honoring the Anointed Bride on her holy day. You can do this alone or with spiritual friends.
(These practices are seeds which, when creatively cultivated and nurtured, will lead to experiences and gnosis of the Anointed Bride. There is no "right" way, only the way that works for you. Truly, her meditations and worship are a creative affair.)
A Closing Word and Prayer
With the dawn of male-dominated orthodoxy and fundamentalism, which occurred some 300 to 400 years into the Christian movement, and the complete rejection that followed of the Holy Bride, St. Mary of Magdal, the deeper mystical and magical elements of Christianity were rejected. I dare say the true spirit and soul of the Christ revelation was lost to the majority of Christians.
Today, we can only wonder what the face of Christianity and our Western societies and cultures would look like had the Holy Bride been well received and the Sacred Feminine remained a central part of Christianity. Of course, we cannot go back in time and undo the injustice and harm that has been done, but we can actively seek to reclaim the Sacred Feminine and restore the Holy Bride to her rightful place alongside the Bridegroom, seeking a more holistic and integral Christianity. Indeed! Given the extreme imbalance between the masculine and feminine in our present human condition and world and the evolutionary crisis we are facing, the need to reclaim the Sacred Feminine and to restore the Holy Bride to her rightful place is clear. When we seek to reclaim the Sacred Feminine in our spiritual quest and to actively invoke the Holy Bride, we do so not only for ourselves, but for the sake of humanity and the world. According to the Sophian vision of the Christ revelation, it is the coequality and mystical union of the masculine and feminine that is the spiritual hope for the future of humanity and Planet Earth.
In closing, let us pray:
Heavenly Father, Earthly Mother, may the Holy Bride be received and may the dawn of the Age of the Mother Spirit come; may the fullness of the Truth and Light shine among us, the image of the Bridegroom and Holy Bride in the bridal chamber! Amen.
GLOSSARY
Adam Ha-Rishon: Literally, the "first adam"; the supernal or Divine human being; the androgynous archetype of humanity, including the potential of both male and female. See also Second Adam.
Adam Kadmon: Literally, the primordial Adam" or "primordial human being"; the first universe or world of emanation in the Kabbalah; the transcendent nature of the human soul inseparable from God and Godhead; the primordial root of the archetype of humanity (root of Adam Ha-Rishon). It is said that the Soul of the Messiah is the Soul of Adam Kad- mon. (This principle is considered a supreme mystery in the Sophian teachings, one which is unthinkable and unspeakable but which may be glimpsed in peak states of higher consciousness.)
Adonai: Literally, "Lord"; a name of God; a divine name corresponding to Malkut or the Kingdom, which is the outermost Sefirot on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life; a name used in place of the Great Name, Yahweh; a name applied to an enlightened or Christed individual.
Aeon: Literally, "age," for example, the Age of Aquarius; the spiritual energy-intelligence of a thought-form or ideal in the spiritual world that influences trends of thought and events in the material world; an emanated aspect of Divine reality that influences the evolution of creatures and creation; a spiritual entity of great power and influence that may be divine, admixed, or dark. In Gnosticism, aeons are frequently spoken of as pairs, male and female, which serve to activate and balance one another. Typically, in Gnostic cosmology, there are both upper and lower aeons, the former being associated with the True Light and the latter with the demiurge. The lower aeons are generally considered distorted forms of the upper aeons due to the influence of cosmic ignorance. (This term represents a subtle and complex subject in Gnosticism, the teachings of which can radically differ from one Gnostic school to another.)
Aeon of the Holy Spirit: A Gnostic term for the Age of the Second Coming; a constant continuum of Divine inspiration to which the soul of Light has access.
Aeon of Truth: An emanation of Divine reality in which All-Truth is inwardly known; a state of True Gnosis; the awareness of supernal or Messianic consciousness; also considered an aspect of Mother Sophia.
Aeons of Light: Upper Divine aeons; aeons corresponding to the Light-emanations of the Supernal World; pure emanation of Divine reality; aeons transcendent of the dominion of the demiurge and archons.
Alien God: A common term in Gnosticism for the True Light or True God, or God beyond the demiurge. From the Gnostic perspective, until a soul awakens to its true nature-Light-God is unknown and therefore God is, in effect, an "alien" presence. The term implies that what is often worshipped as "God" in religion is not God, but the demiurge. It also implies that creation is largely the product of the demiurge-a restricted manifestation of Divine Being. See demiurge.
Anointed: Messiah or Christ; the Truth of the inmost part of the soul of Light in us; the Light-presence that is within everyone and everything; the Indweller of Light; a title typically applied to Lord Yeshua or to Lady Mary, but which may be applied to any Christed or enlightened person.
Apostle: A Light-bearer or Christ-bearer; a Christed or enlightened individual who teaches and initiates others; an elder or tau in Sophian Gnosticism; an initiate who embodies something of the Supernal Light.
Arayot: Teachings on a sensual and sexual mysticism in the Kabbalah; teachings in the Western Mystery Tradition akin to tantra in Eastern Schools; teachings related to the mystery of hieros gamos or the sacred marriage.
Archons: Literally, "rulers"; great spiritual or cosmic forces under the dominion of the demiurge that are either admixed or dark and hostile; the spiritual or cosmic forces that dominate unenlightened society and the world; spiritual or cosmic forces of ignorance.
Babylon: A symbolic term for unenlightened society, a term for the material world devoid of the awareness of the spiritual world; a term for life dominated by the ego or the psychological condition of the egocentric state. (The same is true of "Egypt" in the symbolic and mystical language of Sophian Gnosticism.)
Baptism: A rite of initiation in Gnostic Christianity, which, although it may be performed as an outward ceremony, is understood as a completely inward experience of the Light and Spirit; an experience of a spiritual or mystical death and rebirth; an event of self-transformation or spiritual awakening; a rite of passage in Gnostic Christianity.
Beloved: A term used for both Lord Yeshua and Lady Mary in the Sophian Tradition.
Bet El: Literally, "house of God"; primarily, among Gnostics, this term indicates a person who embodies something of the Divine presence and power-hence, one who is a living temple.
Body of Light: The subtle body transformed by the influx of Supernal Light; Solar Body; Body of the Resurrection; a subtle body of enlightened or Christed consciousness; the mystical body of the Risen Savior.
Book of Enoch: Actually, the Book of Enoch is composed of three holy books that are not included in the canonized Bible, though they are mentioned by the Apostle Jude in his epistle that appears in the Bible; these sacred texts are often studied by Sophians. Also, a symbolic term among initiates for a "book of secret knowledge" that is not written but is transmitted as an oral tradition.
Book of Ratziel: A legendary book of Magical Kabbalah said to be in the custody of Ratziel, the archangel of Wisdom; a secret body of teachings in Sophian Gnosticism.
Bridal Chamber: The experience of a conscious unification with the Christos in God or with the Light-presence in the Light-continuum; the state of enlightenment or True Gnosis; the inmost mystery of hieros gamos or the sacred marriage; inmost secret teachings of the Arayot.
Bride: The most common term for St. Mary Magdalene in the Sophian Tradition, specifically the Holy Bride. A term for Malkut or the Kingdom on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, specifically when Malkut is joined to Tiferet or Beauty, the Christ center on the Tree of Life. (See Gnosis of the Cosmic Christ: A Gnostic Christian Kabbalab, Llewellyn, 2005.)
Bridegroom: A common term for Lord Yeshua; a term for Tiferet or Beauty on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.
Bright Sophia: See Sophia Stellarum.
Brother Azrael: The angel of death; a term connoting intimacy or familiarity with death; gnosis of the illusory quality of death; an archangel said to be associated with the rite of baptism-hence mystical death.
Chrism: Literally, "anointing"; a rite of initiation in Gnostic Christianity; the reception of an influx of Supernal Light; an experience of Divine Illumination.
Christos: Literally, the Anointed"; the Light-presence or Christ-presence; the presence of awareness; the union of Logos and Sophia; the image of the bridal chamber.
Clear Light: The true nature of the Light; the bornless nature of consciousness; the primordial ground of consciousness; the inmost essence of the Supernal Light-hence Transparent Light, which is Keter or the Crown on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. The same principle is also represented by the name "Melchizedek" in Sophian teachings.
Crazy Wisdom: A term for the way of teaching in the Sophian Tradition; Transcendental Wisdom; a state of Divine intoxication or Divine inspiration; also called "Divine Folly."
Crone: Grandmother, Old Woman, or Wise Woman; an aspect of the Divine Feminine that deals with transcendental wisdom and secret knowledge; the view of an illuminated initiate.
Crone of Ancient Wisdom: One of the seven aspects of the Holy Bride, St. Mary Magdalene.
Dark Sophia: See Sophia Nigrans; see also Lilith, Naamah, and Iggaret.
Daughter Sophia: The immanent aspect of Sophia in creation; the emanation of Mother Sophia in the lower worlds; Sophia in the realm of becoming; a title of St. Mary Magdalene as the Holy Bride; the aspect of Sophia that is redeemed/awakened by the incarnation of the Logos.
Demiurge (or Demiurgos): Literally, "false god," "false creator," or "lesser god." This is the principle of cosmic ignorance from which admixture and darkness enter into creation. The demiurge is often called the "dragon," the "unmaker," the "lord of forgetfulness" and "lord of cosmic illusion"-all of which give insight into Gnostic thought on the demiurge. Essentially, he is the chief of the archons, the shadow of which is called Satan in the Sophian Tradition. (Different trends of thought and names occur for the demiurge in the various Gnostic Traditions.)
Devekut: Literally, "cleaving" or "attachment"; a state of rapturous union; energized enthusiasm; mystical attainment.
Divine Kingdom: Synonymous with Light-kingdom; a state of Divine illumination; the awareness of Sacred Unity; the experience of life when Spirit-connected; a higher state of consciousness.
Dragon: A term denoting the Life-power when manifest under the dominion of the demiurge or cosmic ignorance; the dark side of the Force; raw energy of the cosmos; a force that flows through all things. Essentially, the "dragon" is the Spirit of Yahweh devoid of the awareness of Sacred Unity.
Earthly Mother: God in creation or the Divine presence and power in creation; one of the feminine aspects of Divine Being; the Matrix of the Divine Life on earth.
Elder: A Gnostic adept and teacher; principle teachers and guardians of Gnostic circles in the Sophian Tradition; a Gnostic apostle. (Elders and tau are not clergy in the Sophian Tradition, but are spiritual teachers and guides, akin to what one might find in Eastern Enlightenment Traditions.) See also Tau.
Elect: One who has received the Gnostic and Light-transmission; one chosen from among the faithful; the sons and daughters of Light, one who is guided from within; true mystics; one who has acquired gnosis; an initiate of the Interior Church.
El Elyon: Literally, "God most high"; Keter or the Crown on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life; the Alien God; the True Light; the transcendent aspect of God; the First Commandment according to the Gnostic Gospel, entitled Pistis Sophia.
Elohim: Literally, one become many" or one and many"; may also be translated as God/Goddess, as well as "gods and goddesses." It is a common name of God in the Bible and specifically represents God the Mother. Because the Divine Mother gives birth to all things in creation, including the demiurge, Elohim may also represent the demiurge, though typically it connotes the Divine Matrix within and behind creation. (The meaning of Elohim is very fluid in the Sophian Tradition and represents a complex Gnostic teaching on the nature of the Divine in creation.)
Entirety: Literally, the All"; a Gnostic term for creation; sometimes this term may include the Pleroma, though often it does not.
Eternal Shabbat: The state of supernal or Messianic consciousness; the Divine Kingdom; the completion and fruition of creation; the world-to-come; the Supernal Abode.
Eve: Literally, the "mother of life"; the bright side of the feminine psyche; the "submissive woman"; the wise woman who initiates. The latter definition is most common to Gnosticism, as the Serpent in the Garden of Eden is often considered a personification of Sophia, from whom Eve receives the gift of the fiery-intelligence, which she then imparts to Adam. (Eve is a complex figure in Gnosticism, but is generally interpreted in a positive light in Sophian Gnosticism.)
Faith: An intuitive sense of an experience not yet had, which tends to invoke the experience; a sense of the mystery; an inner knowing of truth which remains as yet unconfirmed. In Gnosticism, it is not "blind belief" nor a mental or vital sentiment, but rather represents the power of an intuitive part of us, specifically of the soul.
Faithful: A term for religious individuals in whom the mystical inclination has not yet fully manifest; a term for a person of the outer and unspiritual church; a term for one who believes but has not yet attained gnosis; an intermediate stage in the development and evolution of the soul-being.
Fiery-Intelligence: The gift of the Holy Spirit that transforms the bestial human into the divine human; that which separates the beasts and humankind; that which makes a person spiritual or elect in the great work.
First Apostle: A title of St. Mary Magdalene who is the Apostle of the apostles in Sophian Gnosticism; the Holy Spirit power in the apostolic succession of Gnostic Tradition.
First Circle: The sacred circle of Lord Yeshua and Lady Mary. In honor of the Sacred Feminine, rather than the term "church," Sophians usually use the term "circle" to designate a Gnostic community.
Gabriel: Literally, "strength of God"; the divine herald; archangel corresponding to Yesod or the Foundation on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life; one of the seven archangels of the Christos according to the tradition. Gabriel is associated with dreams, visions, and prophecy; also with the element of water and the moon.
Gehenna: The name of the garbage dump west of ancient Jerusalem; the Hebrew term for hell realms.
Gnosis: Literally, "knowledge" or "secret knowledge"; knowledge or insight acquired through direct spiritual or mystical experience; also a state of Divine illumination. See also True Gnosis.
Gnosis of Melchizedek: This is synonymous with the gnosis of the Risen Savior; a state of supernal or Messianic-consciousness; the state of enlightenment and liberation; also a body of inmost secret teachings in the Sophian Tradition. This is the inmost secret level of the Gnostic and Light-transmission.
Gnostic: A person who has acquired gnosis or who is a practitioner of Gnosticism. (The term may include both Christian and Pagan practitioners of Gnosticism.)
Gnostic Transmission: A transmission of secret knowledge through which gnosis might be made manifest; initiation into a Gnostic Tradition; a transmission of spiritual knowledge directly from the Holy Spirit.
Gnosticism: A path of mystical knowledge; an initiatory tradition; a way of secret knowledge; a path to self-realization or enlightenment; a path founded upon the Gnostic experience and a Gnostic Tradition-one that shares the principle Gnostic ideas, such as teachings on the demiurge and archons, and so forth.
Golgotha: Literally, Mount of Skulls; place of the crucifixion. However, in Gnostic Christianity this is also a symbolic term for the Crown Star or Center of Energy on top of the head of the subtle body (Crown "Chakra").
Gospel of Truth: This phrase does not indicate a written gospel, but rather the direct experience of the Truth and Light of the Gospelhence the Gospel as understood through direct spiritual or mystical experience.
