As I began my journey into the world of Gnosticism, it quickly became apparent that there was sooooo much I didn’t know or understand.  I realized that there were some EXTREMELY learned people in Gnostic communities and I, almost immediately, was intimidated and went into ‘lurk mode’.

I decided that until I felt I had learned enough to participate in the community and in conversations I would simply sit back, watch and learn.  As time went on, it became clear that the more I learned, the more I realized I still needed to learn.  I found myself getting lost in the historical aspects of gnostic texts, their relation to ancient society, their influences on the people and on contemporary religion. (I am an anthropology/archaeology student so I suppose you can’t blame me for wanting to learn about these aspects)  With Gnosticism, though, even a lifetime’s worth of study would still leave one with speculation, hypotheses and unanswered questions.
After months of study, I realized the meaning of the texts — their true essence, had eluded me.  Don’t get me wrong.  I got the basics; understanding what gnosis is, the Wisdom that is Sophia, the Pleroma, The Spark of the Divine, the Demiurge, but, I was so busy with the scholarship aspect of it, I completed neglected the spiritual side of it all….the REAL reason I had decided to start on this path in the first place.

Once I realized this, I dissected my situation a little more and came to the conclusion that I had felt that if I didn’t understand Gnosticism the way all those other learned and highly respected Gnostics did, I couldn’t be a ‘Good Gnostic’….I even questioned if I was, indeed, a Gnostic at all.
Needless to say I’ve gotten past the above.  I do feel that I am not alone here, and I post this so that others can learn from my mistakes and save themselves some time and frustration.

Beyond that, I hope to contribute some practical ways of relating to the Gnostic texts here to a:  keep myself in check, and b:  share with others some realistic and practical ways of nurturing and expressing gnosis.

Remember, it’s not how much you ‘know’, it’s what you ‘Gnosis’.

I’ve recently developed a fondness for the archangels.  I don’t know if it was because of seeing “Archangel” in the new Xmen movie…but, the timing coincides nicely. *wink*

At any rate, I found a list of the archangels and their attributes along with their associated Kabbalistic Sephirah that I thought might be nice to add to my blog:

1. Keyter - Voice of God - Metatron (Brother/Twin Flame of of Sandalphon)
2. Chokmah - Wisdom and teaching - Raziel
3. Binah - Compassion and Knowing - Tzaphquiel (zuff quiel)
4. Chessed - Mercy and Order - Tzadquiel (zud quiel)
5. Geburah - Strength and Courage - Kamael
6. Tipharet - Healing and Hormony - Raphael
7. Netzach - Caregiver - Haniel
8. Hod - Speaker of truth - Michael
9. Yesod- Bestower of blessing - Gabriel
10 Malkuth - Humility - Sandalphon (Brother/Twin Flame of of Metatron)

Take note that all but two of the archangels have names that end in ‘el’.  ‘El” in Hebrew means ‘of God’.  Metatron and Sandalphon are the exception to the rule.  There is one distinct difference between Metatron, Sandalphon and the rest of the archangels…..Metatron and Sandalphon were both, once human; Metatron being Enoch from the Sefer Hekhalot, and Sandalphon being the prophet Elijah.

If the archangels peak your interest, there is tons of info online you can mine.  I’ll add anything more about them I find intriguing as I continue my perpetual spiritual journey.