Archon(s)

Archons in Gnosticism & religions closely related to it are the builders of the physical universe. Among the Archontics, Ophites, Sethians, & in the writings of the Nag Hammadi library, the Archons are rulers, each related to 1 of 7 planets. They prevent souls from leaving the material realm.

The political connotation of their name reflects rejection of the governmental system as flawed without a chance of true salvation.

In Manichaeism, the Archons are the rulers of a realm within the “Kingdom of Darkness,” who together make up the Prince of Darkness. In Hypostasis of the Archons, the physical appearance of Archons is described as androgynous, with their faces being those of beasts.

The Gnostic concept of the universe is the role played in almost all Gnostic systems by the 7 world-creating archons, known as the Hebdomad. These 7 are, in most systems, semi-hostile powers & are reckoned as the last & lowest emanations for the Godhead. Below them, & frequently considered as proceeding from them, comes the world of the devilish powers. There are certain exceptions. Basilides taught the existence of a “great archon” called Abraxas, who presided over 365 archons.

Evidently, from works like the Apocryphon of John, the Ophite Diagrams, On the Origin of the World, & Pistis Sophia, Archons play an important role in Gnostic cosmology.

As rulers over the material world, they’re called archontes (“rulers” or “principalities”). As with Classical astrology, which thought of a sphere of fixed stars above the spheres of the 7 planets, beyond the spheres of the evil archons (Hebdomad), there were the supercelestial regions, which a soul must reach by gnosis (knowledge) to escape the dominion of the Archons. This place is thought of as the abode of Sophia (Wisdom) & Barbelo, also called Ogdodad.

The Ophites accepted the existence of these 7 archons:

• Yaldabaoth, a.k.a. Sakias, who emerged later, the Archon of fornication, & Samael
  • Saturn
  • 2nd, 6th, 7th, & 8th Heaven. Cast into Tartarus.
  • Feminine name: Pronoia (Forethought) Sambathas, “week.”
  • Prophets: Moses, Joshua, Amos, Habakkuk
  • From Hebrew yalda bahut, “Child of Chaos.” The outermost who created the 6 others, & therefore the chief ruler & Demiurge par excellence. Called “the Lion-faced,” leontoeides.
• Yao
  • Jupiter
  • 1st Heaven
  • Feminine name: Lordship
  • Prophets: Samuel, Nathan, Jonah, Micah
  • Perhaps for Yahweh, but possibly also from the magic cry iao in the Mystery cults.
• Sabbaoth
  • Mars
  • 6th & 7th Heaven. Above 7th Heaven. World of poverty – Sabaoth together with his son, Christ.
  • Feminine name: Deity
  • Prophets: Elijah, Joel, Zechariah
  • Pistis Sophia supported Sabbaoth in his rebellion against his dad, so she established the kingdom for Sabbaoth over everyone that he might live above the 12 gods of chaos, receiving great authority against all the forces of chaos. Hence, his name is derived from Sabbath, which corresponds to the 7th Heaven of rest that he rules, indicating either rest from his struggle or that the 1 will not rest on his dad’s creation, but change it. The Hebrew Bible term Tzevaot, “Armies,” was thought to be a proper name, hence Jupiter Sabbas or Sabazios.
• Adonaios
  • The Sun
  • Feminine name: Kingship
  • Prophets: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel
  • From the Hebrew term for “the Lord,” used of God; Adonis of the Syrians, representing the Winter seen in the cosmic tragedy of Tammuz.
• Astaphaios
  • Venus
  • 6th Heaven, which is Sophia, a name of the female aspect of the lowest Heaven. 8th Heaven – possibly Ogdoad or Pleroma together with Christ. 4th Heaven. 9th Heaven – Abortion.
  • Feminine name: Sophia
  • Prophets: Esdras, Zephaniah
• Elaios, sometimes Ailoein, or Adonaeus
  • 5th or 6th Heaven
  • Mercury
  • Feminine name: Jealousy
  • Prophets: Tobias, Haggai
  • From Elohim, God (El)
• Horaios
  • The Moon
  • Feminine name: Wealth
  • Prophets: Michaiah, Nahum
  • From Jaroah or “light” or Horus
• Seth
  • 3rd Heaven
• David
  • 4th Heaven

In the Nag Hammadi text, On the Origin of the World, the 7 powers of the Heavens of Chaos are:

• Yaldabaoth, representing forthought (Sambathas)
• Yao, representing mastery
• Sabbaoth, representing divinity
• Adonaios, representing kingship
• Oraios, representing wealth
• Astaphaios, equated with Sophia

The last book of the Pistis Sophia contains the myth of the capture of the rebellious archons, whose leaders here appear as 5 in number:

• Paraplex
• Hekate (the Greek goddess)
• Ariouth (females)
• Typhon (the monster from Greek mythos)
• Iachtanabas

In the Apocryphon of John, the demiurge Yaldabaoth, who’s also known by the names Sakla & Samael, creates the “12 authorities,” who are:

• Athoth (the reaper)
• Harmas (the jealous eye)
• Kalila-Oumbri
• Yabel
• Adonaios (Sabbaoth)
• Cain (the Sun)
• Abel
• Abrisene
• Yobel
• Armoupieel
• Melcheir-Adonein
• Belias (ruler over the depths of the underworld)

The 12 authorities then create the “7 Powers,” who are described as representing the 7 days of the week:

• Athoth, representing goodness, with the face of a sheep (Beep, beep, I’m a sheep. Sorry, we’ll show ourselves out!)
• Eloaios, representing forethought, with the face of a donkey
• Astaphaios, representing divinity, with the face of a hyena
• Yao, representing Lordship, with the face of a snake with 7 heads (This reminds us of the hydra.)
• Sabbaoth, representing jealousy, with the face of an ape
• Sabbataios, representing understanding, with the face of a flaming fire

In the system of the Gnostics mentioned by Epiphanius, we find, as the 7 Archons:

• Iao
• Saklas (the chief demon of Manichaeism)
• Seth
• David
• Eloiein, probably connected with Enlil of Nippur, Babylonia
• Yaldabaoth (or #6 Yaldabaoth, #7 Sabbaoth)

In the Hellenized form of Gnosticism, either all or some of these names are replaced by personified vices. Authadia/Authades, or Audacity, is the obvious description of Yaldabaoth, the presumptuous Demiurge, who is lion-faced as the Archon Authadia.

Of the Archons Kakia, Zelo, Phthonos, Errinys, and Epithymia, the last represents Venus. The number 7 is obtained by placing a proarchon, or chief archon, at the head.

That these names are only a disguise for the Sancta Hebdomas is clear, for Sophia (wisdom), the mom of them, retains the name of Ogdoad, Octonatio. The Ogdoad is a purported supercelestial region beyond the 7 Heavens.

Occasionally, as among the Naassenes, 1 meets with the archon Esaldaios, which is evidently the El Shaddai (a name for God in Judaism) of the Bible. He is described as the archon “number 4” (harithmo tetartos).

In Mandaean cosmology, Pthil-Uthra, although not a deity, can be considered the primary archon since he’s viewed as the creator of the material world. Among the Mandaeans, there’s a different conception of the 7. This may predate later use by other Gnostic movements.

In Mandaeism, the 7, together with their mom, Namrus (Ruha) & their dad (Ur), are planets that belong entirely to the World of Darkness. They, & their family, are looked upon as captives of the angel Manda-d’hayye (‘Knowledge of Life’), who pardons them, sets them on chariots of light, & appoints them as rulers of the world.

The Manicheans adopted the Gnostic usage, & their archons are invariably evil beings, who make up the Prince of Darkness. (We soooo wanted to make an Ozzy Osbourne reference, but we won’t) It’s related to how the helper of Adam Kadmon, the spirit of life, captured the evil archons, & fastened them to the firmament. According to another account, they flayed them, & formed the firmament from their skin, & this conception is closely related to the other. Though in this tradition, the number (7) of the archons is lost.

The Bundahishn tells us that in the primeval strife of the devil against the light-world, 7 hostile powers were captured & set as constellations in the heavens, where they’re guarded by good star-powers & prevented from doing harm. 5 of the evil powers are the planets. While here, the sun & moon are, of course, not reckoned among the evil powers, for the obvious reason that in the Persian official religion they invariably appear as good divinities.

In On the Origin of the World, the Archons impregnate the Biblical Eve, an idea probably deriving from the “Sons of God” in Genesis 6:1-4, or the Book of Enoch.

In accordance with the depictions of fallen angels in the Enochian writings, the archons incite passions in humans. Further, they both teach idolatry, sacrifices & bloodshed to enslave the Gnosis & trapping them in ignorance.

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Le Petit Palais vient d'ouvrir son accrochage street art "We are [still] here".

On retrouve beaucoup d'artistes que la mairie a déjà mis en avant à la précédente itération (invader, seth, d*face, obey ...)

Mais bon, ça discute avec l'oeuvre installée en ce moment sur la facade de l'Assemblée Nationale

#paris #streetart #petitPalais #invader #seth

Sethianism

The Sethians were 1 of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd & 3rd centuries AD. Along with Valentinianism & Basilidianism.

It was speculated to have originated in the 2nd century AD as a fusion of 2 distinct Hellenistic Judaic philosophies & was influenced by Christianity & Middle Platonism.

The Sethians (In Latin: Sethoitae) are 1st mentioned (alongside the Ophites) in the 2nd century by our boy, Irenaeus (who wasn’t Gnosticism’s friend) & in Pseudo-Tertullian texts. All later accounts appear to be largely lifted from Irenaeus. Hippolytus repeats info from Irenaeus.

According to Epiphanius of Salamis (circa 375), Sethians were found, in his time, only in Egypt & Palestine. But 50 years earlier, they had been found as far as Greater Armenia. Greater Armenia (a.k.a. the Armenian Empire) was an Armenian kingdom (in the ancient Near East) that existed from 331 BC to 428 AD, 758 years.

Philaster’s (4th century AD) Catalogue of Heresies puts the Ophites, Cainites, & Sethians as pre-Christian Jewish sects. However, since Sethians identified Seth with Christ (in the Second Logos of the Great Seth), Philaster’s belief that the Sethians had pre-Christian origins hasn’t found acceptance in later scholarship.

Sethianism claims that gnosis 1st descended upon Seth (3rd son of Adam & Eve), whose knowledge the Sethians regard as their origin.

Norea (who’s either Noah’s wife or Adam & Eve’s daughter) plays a role. As seen in Mandaeism & Manicheanism.

The Sethian cosmogonic myth (or their origin of the universe/cosmos) gives a prologue to Genesis & the rest of the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Hebrew/Christian Bible). This presents a radical re-interpretation of the Orthodox Jewish conception of creation & the divine relation to reality. Their cosmogony is most famously in the Apocryphon of John, which describes an Unknown God.

From the “Unknown God” emanate aeons. This is a series of paired female & male beings. The 1st of these is Barbelo, who is a co-actor in the following emanations.

The aeons that result are representative of the various attributes of God, which are indiscernible when they aren’t abstracted from their origin. God & the aeons comprise the sum total of the spiritual universe, known as the Pleroma. Pleroma generally refers to the totality of divine powers.

In some versions of the myth, the aeon Sophia (knowledge) imitates God’s actions, performing an emanation of her own without the prior approval of the other aeons in the Pleroma. This results in a crisis within the Pleroma, leading to the appearance of Yaldabaoth.

This figure is commonly known as the demiurge (the “artisan” or “craftsman”) after the figure in Plato’s Timaeus. Sophia, at first, hides this being. But it escapes, stealing a portion of her divine power from her in the process.

Yaldabaoth uses this stolen power to create a material world imitating the divine Pleroma. To complete this task, he spawns a group of entities known collectively as Archons, the petty rulers & craftsmen of the physical world. Like him, they’re commonly depicted as zoomorphic, having animal heads.

At this stage, the events of the Sethian story start to cohere with the Genesis story everyone knows. The demiurge & his archontic associates fulfil the role of the Creator. In Genesis, the demiurge proclaims himself to be the only god, claiming that there weren’t any other gods better than him.

The demiurge unknowingly emanates a shadow ‘image’ of Adam, while unwittingly transferring the portion of power stolen from Sophia into the 1st physical human body. He then makes Eve from Adam’s rib in an attempt to isolate & regain the power that he’s lost.

By way of this, he tries to SA Eve, who then contains Sophia’s divine power. Several texts picture him as failing when Sophia’s spirit transplants itself into the Tree of Knowledge. The pair eat from the tree of the divine epignosis, guided by Christ appearing as an “eagle” above it to guide them to remember their true “nature above.”

Most surviving Sethian texts are preserved only in Coptic translation of the Greek original. Very little direct evidence of Gnostic teaching was available before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library.

We’ve posted a few of these texts. Check them out at your leisure:

• Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit
• Second Treatise of the Great Seth
• Pistis Sophia
• Gospel of Judas
• Manichaean Psalms of Heracleides

The Gospel of Judas is the most recently discovered Gnostic text. National Geographic (Yes, that National Geographic. You know, NatGeo, y’all!) published an English translation of it. Our founder has a VERY well-worn copy of this book. It’s well-worn because they’ve read it numerous times.

This text portrays Judas Iscariot as the “13th spirit/daemon,” who “exceeded” the evil sacrifices of the “man who clothed me (Jesus).”

Its reference to Barbelo & inclusion of material similar to the Apocryphon of John & other such texts connects the text to Barbeloite &/or Sethian Gnosticism.

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The Unfathered: A Short Story for a Long World

https://bolesblogs.com/2026/06/07/the-unfathered-a-short-story-for-a-long-world/

Paris May 2021 - Seth
Also likely part of the https://mastodon.online/@antoinecellerier/116526325939626086 series

#streetart #streetartparis #seth