Gnostic's Bridal Chamber...

[Blank Rune]

I am currently reading through the Nag Hammadi Library. I have a special connection to much of the material found in those scriptures and am wondering if there are others who might have a connection as well.

How do you feel about the living resurrection?

Do you think you or anyone you know may have experienced any of the Gnostic sacraments (such as the bridal chamber sacrament)??

What do you think about the Gospel of Phillip? ...Gospel of Thomas? ...Apocryphon of John?

[LT]

I don't believe that there is such a thing, for the resurrection is the resurrection of you soul/spirit into a physical form such as a body, and the resurrection can only happen after you die and before your reborn again, proving that this cryptic message means to tell us that reincarnation is real, and does occur. & for it to occur you need to resurrect again/born again into another physical life. See?

I'm not sure myself what the Bridal chamber sacrament is,
but I do believe that all of us has resurrected, and that we will keep on resurrecting until we as a whole realize, and awaken to achieve Christ-Conscience and or super conscience... And once we do achieve it we become one again with that which we came from. The one, God! And that we are all originally apart of god in spirit, but physically we are not, for he gave us free will to learn and to evolve to enlighten and to achieve christ/super-consciencness, and on that day we as a whole achieve this, then we shall return to the one, God. And a 1000 years of peace will kick in before he sends us down to the physical realm to learn again.
I believe we are in the 4th stage of this, and the stories of Atlantis were but the 1000 years of peace we had when connected to the one, and the fall of Atlantis by water signifying life returned us to the physical realm. See?
And possibly the coming of the date 12, 21, 2012 is the day we realize as a whole, and become one with god again, making the physical seize to exist for another 1000 years of peace/Atlantis and then we shall fall once again into the 5th stage of things to achieve & enlighten our selves as a whole...

I believe in the Gospel of Phillip and that of Thomas, for the messages within them are cryptic messages making us think hat they truly mean, dig deeper into the Gnosis of the message, and then to work on it, or practice it until we achieve christ/superconscience, but the council of nicea took these books and destroyed most of them because they seeked an easier way to achieve such things. Which does not work, for it is like cheating, and lying to yourself, the Christ within... And only feeding the devil within creating what we are in now, the anti-Christ you may call it, but as a whole population with but a few finally awakening and realizing. a.k.a us... or the Gnostics...

For we are all Christ, we are all Satan. For these things are within us all given to us by free will. & we choose which path to follow, the path to enlightenment and Christ/super-conscience or the path to destruction as a whole through purely physical desires and material lusts. Bringing out the devil within us... But all is apart of a plan, for everything happens for a reason, and all is connected, and all is one. But what separates us is the physical, but what keeps us connected is our spirit. What makes us who we are is our individuality... To achieve Christ/super-conscience we must realize, and awaken. And give up such things as material possessions that only bring us the many forms of evil such as greed, lust and hatred. We must have passion, love, and care. And to realized that we are all connected as one through holy spirit, but yet separated by the physical to help us learn new things as a whole. It is like a yin yang, we need to be balanced between the physical world and the spiritual world, to realize we have a soul and are connected to one another through spirit, but yet separated through physical to teach us new things we could not experience as purely spirit. But as balance physical and spiritual beings. That is why we must not get to high in the clouds, but yet not to grounded at the same time, find a center point.

Hope this helped, I have much more to say!
Love & Light,
Liam

[angelfire]

I am currently reading through the Nag Hammadi Library. I have a special connection to much of the material found in those scriptures and am wondering if there are others who might have a connection as well.

How do you feel about the living resurrection?

Do you think you or anyone you know may have experienced any of the Gnostic sacraments (such as the bridal chamber sacrament)??

What do you think about the Gospel of Phillip? ...Gospel of Thomas? ...Apocryphon of John?

Hello Blank Rune and welcome to the forum. I have read the Gospel of Thomas (Parts of it anyway). I was not impressed, it did not resonate with me at all, each to his own. Please, if you will, share your special connection.


I wonder what you mean by the living resurrection, is there any other kind? In Christian
Mysticism the resurrection is a merging with the "In Breath and Out Breath of God".

If I recall correctly the Gnostic sacrament of the Bridal Chamber is about sex. The Bridal Chamber in which the marriage between Christ and his church takes place, is in the lotus in the crown chakra.


Best Wishes

[Haruth]

If I recall correctly the Gnostic sacrament of the Bridal Chamber is about sex.

Common misconception Angelfire. Largely due to various modern attempts to revive the 'true' gnostic tradition which have chosen to either deliberately misrepresent this sacrament, or perhaps through a misguided association with the much more ancient Hieros Gamos rituals.

This from Wiki

Bridal Chamber

The chief sacrament of the Valentinians seems to have been that of the bridal chamber (nymphon). The Gospel of Philip, a probable Valentinian text, reads:

There were three buildings specifically for sacrifice in Jerusalem. The one facing the west was called "The Holy". Another, facing south, was called "The Holy of the Holy". The third, facing east, was called "The Holy of the Holies", the place where only the high priest enters. Baptism is "the Holy" building. Redemption is the "Holy of the Holy". "The Holy of the Holies" is the bridal chamber. Baptism includes the resurrection and the redemption; the redemption (takes place) in the bridal chamber.

As Sophia was united with the Saviour, her bridegroom, so the faithful would experience a union with their angel in the Pleroma (cf. the "Higher Self" or "Holy Guardian Angel"). The ritual of this sacrament is briefly indicated: "A few of them prepare a bridal chamber and in it go through a form of consecration, employing certain fixed formulae, which are repeated over the person to be initiated, and stating that a spiritual marriage is to be performed after the pattern of the higher Syzygia."

Through a fortunate chance, a liturgical formula which was used at this sacrament appears to be preserved, though in a garbled form and in an entirely different connection, the author seeming to have been uncertain as to its original meaning. It runs:

I will confer my favor upon thee, for the father of all sees thine angel ever before his face ... we must now become as one; receive now this grace from me and through me; deck thyself as a bride who awaits her bridegroom, that thou mayest become as I am, and I as thou art. Let the seed of light descend into thy bridal chamber; receive the bridegroom and give place to him, and open thine arms to embrace him. Behold, grace has descended upon thee.

I feel that the spiritual nature of this marriage (indeed there is a 'celestial' element implied in the original text) is best understood

...within the context of an ascetic lifestyle where the body and its passions were renounced in favor of a higher spiritual lifestyle.

Prof. Gaye Strathern, “The Valentinian Bridal Chamber"

When misrepresented as referring to sex, two important elements of the text are conveniently ignored. Firstly, gnostic texts place great emphasis on the spiritual currency to be gained by retaining one's virginity (failing this, a life of celibacy appears to be the next best option to guarantee spiritual favour - as later retained in the concept of monastic orders). Secondly, the texts place great emphasis on the regaining of an androgynous state as an essential key to salvation - it is in this context that the bridal chamber finds it's highest expression.

Rather than a profane act, to enter the bridal chamber of the gnostics appears to refer to a mystical / spiritual union between the aspirant and the highest tenets of the Christic ideal. The split between masculine and feminine that was initiated when Eve was taken out of Adam, was to the gnostic mind something that had to be addressed - indeed it was regarded as one of the Christ's missions: to return humanity to its primal androgynous state that "death would be no more".

As the case of Hieros Gamos with the more ancient Gods, the marriage of Christ and Sophia (within self) appears to be the aim here. (Of course, this ideal is also retained rather crudely in the marriage of Christ and the Church - the Church, ironically a bastion of mysogyny, taking the role of Sophia in that sense, with all the associations that go with that idea...)

It can be supposed, then, that the "marriage” of the gnostic bridal chamber should perhaps be understood (for no text survives in its entirety which explains any detail of the sacrament) as a metaphor for spiritual activity: and with the chamber's explicit association with the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God on Earth, that sexual activity wasn't part of the rite...

I found this in depth definition of the options of meaning implied in the various texts useful:

1. THE BRIDAL CHAMBER IN GENERAL
- Since it is a mystery, the Bridal Chamber is compared to the Holy of Holies: “The Holy of the Holies is the bridal chamber.” (Gospel of Philip)
- The Bridal Chamber has not been revealed explicitly through the existing Gnostic texts, and remains a mystery. One can only make conjectures as to its nature.
- It is a rite mentioned in conjuction with other rites, particularly the baptism. See BAPTISM
- It is one of the rites that constitute the Five Seals. [baptism, chrism, eucharist, redemption and Bridal Chamber are supposed the basis of these five seals, as no single text describes the seals in detail]
- It is a rite where the bride and bridegroom come together as a unity. However, the bride and bridegroom may be interpreted variously.
- Depending on the interpretation of bride and bridegroom, the rite may be a vow of chastity, the acquisition of a garment of light, or a wedding rite following the example of Christ and Sophia.

2. THE BRIDAL CHAMBER AS A VOW OF SEXUAL ABSTINENCE
- In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says that it is the solitary ones (lit. ‘monastics’) who will enter the Bridal Chamber: “Many are standing at the door, but it is the solitary who will enter the bridal chamber.” (Gospel of Thomas 46:11)
- As a rite of sexual abstinence, the catechumen was married to a spiritual being in the Upper Aeons. His ‘wedding vow’ thus became a vow of fidelity (sexual abstinence) to this Upper Aeonic being.
- It is possible that this vow of chastity was not only taken by individuals, but by married couples.
- In either case, the rite was based on the union of male and female, bride and bridegroom, in the Bridal Chamber.
- But, the pairing of male and female, bridegroom and bride, could be interpreted variously. The examples we have are the union of the spirit and soul, or of the angel and image.

3. THE BRIDAL CHAMBER AS THE UNION OF SOUL AND SPIRIT
- Since the soul is feminine and the spirit is masculine, then each person may unite these two aspects of him/herself in the Bridal Chamber.
- Valentinian Gnosticism expands this myth to say that Christ is the masculine spirit from above which descends to Sophia, the feminine soul below, in order to redeem her and ascend together to the Upper Aeons, where they will unite in the Bridal Chamber. See below.
- The Exegesis of the Soul is a long allegory in which the same schema applies, except the soul is treated uniquely rather than compared to Sophia. The soul is said to be androgynous in the Upper Aeons, but becomes feminine when it descends into the Lower Aeons, acquiring a body. “As long as she (the soul) was alone with the father, she was virgin and in form androgynous. But when she fell down into a body and came to this life, then she fell into the hands of many robbers.” (Exegesis of the Soul)
- As feminine, the soul seeks to unite with a male. But, being in the body, the only form of union it can find is sexual union and the only male it can find are masculine demons. She consorts with these masculine demons, prostituting herself, until finally she repents. In response, the Father sends her the bridegroom, Christ. In preparation, she ‘cleanses’ herself through the rites of baptism and the Bridal Chamber.
- “From heaven the father sent her (the soul) her man, who is her brother, the firstborn. Then the bridegroom came down to the bride. She gave up her former prostitution and cleansed herself of the pollutions of the adulterers, and she was renewed so as to be a bride. She cleansed herself in the bridal chamber; she filled it with perfume; she sat in it waiting for the true bridegroom. No longer does she run about the market place, copulating with whomever she desires” (Exegesis of the Soul)
- The soul then unites with the bridegroom. The marriage of the bride and bridegroom (in the Bridal Chamber) is not carnal. Those who unite in the Bridal Chamber will ‘leave behind physical desire’ and ‘not have intercourse with one another’ (i.e. it is a vow of sexual chastity): “But then the bridegroom, according to the father's will, came down to her into the bridal chamber, which was prepared. And he decorated the bridal chamber. For since that marriage is not like the carnal marriage, those who are to have intercourse with one another will be satisfied with that intercourse. And as if it were a burden, they leave behind them the annoyance of physical desire and they turn their faces from each other. But this marriage [...].” (Exegesis of the Soul)
- The union of the bride and bridegroom (in the Bridal Chamber) restores the unity which Adam and Eve lost when they were divided: “But once they unite with one another, they become a single life. Wherefore the prophet said concerning the first man and the first woman, ‘They will become a single flesh.’ (Gn 2:24) For they (Adam and Eve) were originally joined one to another when they were with the father before the woman (Eve) led astray the man, who is her brother (Adam). This marriage has brought them back together again...” (Exegesis of the Soul)
- Through union (or intercourse) with Christ, the soul receives a seed or spirit: “Thus when the soul had adorned herself again in her beauty [...] enjoyed her beloved, and he also loved her. And when she had intercourse with him, she got from him the seed that is the life-giving spirit, so that by him she bears good children and rears them. For this is the great, perfect marvel of birth. And so this marriage is made perfect by the will of the father. Now it is fitting that the soul regenerates herself and become again as she formerly was.” (Exegesis of the Soul)
- To say that the soul “became again as she formerly was” recalls the first line that “she was virgin and in form androgynous.”
- Conclusion. In Exegesis of the Soul, the rite of the Bridal Chamber appears to be a vow of sexual abstinence. While in the body, the soul acts according to its feminine nature, seeking to unite with a male. But, since the only form of union is through desire (male demons) and in the body (sexual intercourse), she repents. Instead, she turns to her true male (Christ the Bridegroom) and unites with him spiritually (the Bridal Chamber).
- Through this rite, the catechumen is wed to Christ and, in the process, his soul receives the spirit. Since he/she promises to renounce physical desire and sexual intercourse, the marriage becomes a vow of sexual chastity. As a reward, the soul will be made complete, through the union of feminine soul and masculine spirit in the Upper Aeons.
- It is possible that the rite of the Bridal Chamber described in this text applies to married couples as well as individuals.
- Following the vow of sexual abstinence, each partner in the couple will “leave behind them the annoyance of physical desire.” (Exegesis of the Soul)
- It is further possible that the rite of the Bridal Chamber described here applies to married couples who do not abstain from sexual intercourse. Rather, it is a means for Pneumatics to multiply while still in the body. Through their souls’ union with the spirit of Christ (or the syzygy of Sophia-Christ), the woman will receive “the seed that is the life-giving spirit, so that by him she bears good children and rears them. For this is the great, perfect marvel of birth. And so this marriage is made perfect by the will of the father.” (Exegesis of the Soul)
- In the text Silvanus, the Bridal Chamber is a marriage of the soul with ‘the mind’ rather than ‘the spirit’. The soul scorns the body and its ‘drunkeness’ to embrace the mind’s light: “O soul, persistent one, be sober and shake off your drunkenness, which is the work of ignorance. If you persist and live in the body, you dwell in rusticity. When you entered into a bodily birth, you were begotten. Come into being inside the bridal chamber! Be illuminated in mind!” (Silvanus)

4. THE BRIDAL CHAMBER AS PUTTING ON A GARMENT OF LIGHT
- The rite of the Bridal Chamber is associated with light. In particular, the catechumen ‘puts on a garment of light’.
- The Gospel of Philip also mentions the soul and spirit in the context of the Bridal Chamber, adding that light is a necessary component in the Bridal Chamber ritual: “It is from water and fire that the soul and the spirit came into being. It is from water and fire and light that the son of the bridal chamber (came into being).” (Gospel of Philip) In this gospel, water is associated with Baptism and fire is associated with the Chrism. Hence, this passage suggests that the rites of baptism (water) and chrism (fire) were combined with the Bridal Chamber (light).
- The Bridal Chamber is identified with baptism. It brings about a state of unity. In it, one puts on a garment of light: “It (baptism) is also called ‘bridal chamber’ because of the agreement and the indivisible state of those who know they have known him. It is also called ‘the light which does not set and is without flame’ since it does not give light, but those who have worn it are made into light.” (Tripartite Tractate 128:33)
- The Bridal Chamber is a form of union that is without desire or the body. Rather, it belongs to the light (and is a union with the light): “No [one can] know when [the husband] and the wife have intercourse with one another, except the two of them. Indeed, marriage in the world is a mystery for those who have taken a wife. If there is a hidden quality to the marriage of defilement, how much more is the undefiled marriage a true mystery! It is not fleshly, but pure. It belongs not to desire, but to the will. It belongs not to the darkness or the night, but to the day and the light.” (Gospel of Philip 81:34)
- In the rite of the Bridal Chamber, one renounces the Archons and puts on a robe of light: “Judas said, "Behold! The governors (i.e. Archons) dwell above us, so it is they who will rule over us!" The Lord said, "It is you who will rule over them! But when you rid yourselves of jealousy, then you will clothe yourselves in light and enter the bridal chamber.” (Dialogue of the Saviour)
- The garment (of light) becomes a wedding garment in the Bridal Chamber. The mystery of the Bridal Chamber brings unity, but that mystery is not discussed: “...to the height. There I am, in the eternal realms that no one has seen or understood, where the wedding of the wedding robe is. It is the new wedding, not the old, and it does not perish, for the new bridal chamber is of the heavens, and it is perfect. As I have revealed, there are three ways, and this is an undefiled mystery in the spirit of the eternal realm that is not destroyed or divided or even discussed, for it is indivisible, universal, and permanent.” (Second Treatise of the Great Seth 57:10 - Meyer translation)
- If the Father is understood as ‘the light’ and the soul is understood as ‘the virgin who came down’, then the Bridal Chamber is the marriage (union) of the soul with the Father’s light. From that moment onward, the soul wears ‘the garment of light’, in remembrance of its marriage (union) with the light: “Indeed, one must utter a mystery. The Father of everything united with the virgin who came down, and a fire shone for him on that day. He appeared in the great bridal chamber. Therefore his body (i.e. light-body or garment of light) came into being on that very day. It left the bridal chamber as one who came into being from the bridegroom and the bride.” (Gospel of Philip)
- In conclusion, the Bridal Chamber is closely associated with the rite of the baptism. During this rite, the catechumen is baptised in the watery light of the Upper Aeons. He emerges from the baptismal water with his ‘garment of light’. This immersion in the watery light is interpreted, at the same time, as a union or marriage with the light. The catechumen is the feminine soul and the Father is the masculine light. These two are ‘united in the Bridal Chamber’, and from that time onward, the soul wears the ‘garment of light’ in remembrance of her union with the Father.

5. THE BRIDAL CHAMBER AS THE UNION OF ANGEL AND IMAGE
- The pairing of male and female, bridegroom and bride, may be interpreted as the marriage of the angel and image in the Upper Aeons.
- As such, the Bridal Chamber is, once again, a rite of sexual abstinence in which the catechumen is married to a spiritual being in the Upper Aeons. His ‘wedding vow’ becomes a vow of fidelity (sexual abstinence) to this Upper Aeonic being.
- In the Gospel of Philip, men are subject to temptation from female demons (succubi) while women are subject to temptation from male demons (incubi).
- To protect oneself against these demons, one receives ‘a male or female power’ in the Bridal Chamber: “...since they (the demons) detain him if he does not receive a male power or a female power, the bridegroom and the bride. One receives them from the mirrored bridal chamber.” (Gospel of Philip 65:8)
- As well, ‘a man and his wife’ may avoid the demons’ temptations if ‘the image and the angel are united with one another’: “When the wanton women see a male sitting alone, they leap down on him and play with him and defile him. So also the lecherous men, when they see a beautiful woman sitting alone, they persuade her and compel her, wishing to defile her. But if they see the man and his wife sitting beside one another, the female cannot come into the man, nor can the male come into the woman. So if the image and the angel are united with one another, neither can any venture to go into the man or the woman.” (Gospel of Philip 65:12)
- The angel here, like all angels in Gnosticism, would be androgynous. See ANDROGYNE.
- The man and his wife may each be a male and female ‘image’ of the one androgynous angel in the Upper Aeons.
- As such, the images of the man and his wife were united in their androgynous angel through the rite of the Bridal Chamber. Through the union of their images with the angel, they are protected against demons.
- Irenaeus mentions the union of spirits with angels in the Bridal Chamber at the time of the restitution: “When the whole seed is perfected, then (...) the spiritual beings will divest themselves of their souls and become intelligent spirits, and, without being hindered or seen, they will enter into the Pleroma, and will be bestowed as brides on the angels around the Savior.” (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 1.7.1)
- The Tomb inscription of Flavia Sophe records that she was baptized and anointed (past tense). As well, that she had entered the Bridal Chamber and deathlessly ascended to the Upper Aeons (past tense - hence, in a visionary ascent). As a result, she hopes after death to ‘gaze on the great angel’:
“You, who did yearn for the paternal light
Sister, spouse, my Sophe
Anointed in the baths of Christ with everlasting holy oil,
Hasten to gaze at the divine features of the aeons,
The great Angel of the great council
The true Son;
You entered the Bridal Chamber and deathless ascended
To the bosom of the Father.” (trans. by Kurt Rudolf, Gnosis, p. 212)

6. THE UNION OF CHRIST AND SOPHIA AS A MODEL FOR THE BRIDAL CHAMBER
- All the beings in the Upper Aeons were created as androgynous angels, which is to say, they are one being with male and female genders or names. As male and female, the two genders are also called ‘consorts’ (syzygies) and resemble each other. These two may consent to re-unite in order to produce another androgynous angel.
- Christ and Sophia are the male and female ‘names’ of one androgynous being. Sophia’s fault was that she created without her consort’s consent, resulting in the [illigitimate] child Yaltabaoth, who engendered the Lower Aeons. Subsequently, Sophia fell from the Upper Aeons.
- During the restitution at the end of time, Sophia’s fault will be corrected. Christ will descend and return with her to the Upper Aeons. And there, they will unite once more as one androgynous being. The two consorts will consent to re-unite.
- The initial division of Christ and Sophia manifest itself, eventually, in the division of Adam and Eve, and ultimately, in the division of all humans into male and female.
- The restitution will not only re-unite Christ and Sophia, but the human descendents of Adam and Eve that were separated into male and female. More specifically, the Pneumatics (or ‘spirits’) will be re-united in their androgynous angels.
- This restitution is called ‘a wedding’ and it will take place in the Pleroma (Upper Aeons), which is called ‘the Bridal Chamber’.
- The rite of the Bridal Chamber may imitate and ritually make present that anticipated event at the end of time. It would allow a man and a woman to unite, here and now, in recognition and anticipation of their ultimate union in one androgynous being during the restitution.
- Hence, it may be a wedding rite in which a man and woman make a vow, recognizing one another as the bride and the bridegroom, as Christ and Sophia, as two consorts that consent to re-unite in one androgynous being. They recognize that they are two ‘images’ of one androgynous ‘angel’.
- Irenaeus describes the entire schema of the restitution: the union of Christ and Sophia, as well as the spirits (Pneumatics) and their angels, in the Bridal Chamber of the Pleroma (Upper Aeons): “When the whole seed is perfected, then, they say, will the mother, (Sophia) Achamoth leave the place of the Middle, enter into the Pleroma, and receive her bridegroom, the Savior, who came into being from all (the aeons), with result that the Savior and Sophia, who is Achamoth, form a pair (syzygy) These then are said to be bridegroom and bride, but the bridal chamber is the entire Pleroma. The spiritual beings will divest themselves of their souls and become intelligent spirits, and, without being hindered or seen, they will enter into the Pleroma, and will be bestowed as brides on the angels around the Savior.” (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 1.7.1 cf. Excerpta ex Theodoto 63-65)
- The Valentinian Exposition, though a fragmented text, describes this same schema: “That she (Sophia) should suffer, was not the will of the Father, for she dwells in herself alone without her consort (Christ) (...) But the syzygy is the [complete one], and Sophia and Jesus and [the angels] and the seeds are [images of] the Pleroma. (...) Moreover when Sophia [receives] her consort and Jesus receives the Christ and the seeds and the angels, then [the] Pleroma will receive Sophia joyfully, and the All will come to be in unity and reconciliation.” (Valentinian Exposition)
- The Gospel of Philip describes the fall of Adam and Eve as the division of humans into male and female. Hence, Christ descends to repair that separation by uniting the male and female in the Bridal Chamber: “If the woman had not separated from the man, she should not die with the man. His separation became the beginning of death. Because of this, Christ came to repair the separation, which was from the beginning, and again unite the two, and to give life to those who died as a result of the separation, and unite them. But the woman is united to her husband in the bridal chamber. Indeed, those who have united in the bridal chamber will no longer be separated. Thus Eve separated from Adam because it was not in the bridal chamber that she united with him.” (Gospel of Philip 70:9)
- Those who know their consorts will not die. The Lord: “These do not die, [...] they are not destroyed, for they have known their consorts and him who would receive them.” (Dialogue of the Saviour 125:13)
- Again, Christ descends to repair the mistake that Sophia made when she separated from him: “I (the saviour) came from the places above by the will of the great Light, (I) who escaped from that bond; I have cut off the work of the robbers; I have awakened that drop that was sent from Sophia, that it might bear much fruit through me, and be perfected and not again be defective, but be joined through me, the Great Savior, that his glory might be revealed, so that Sophia might also be justified in regard to that defect, that her sons might not again become defective but might attain honor and glory and go up to their Father...” (Sophia of Jesus Chrrist 107:11)
- The restitution as a wedding and union: “This is a wedding of truth, (...) this is union, a feast of love (or ‘love feast’), and all are fulfilled in the One.” (Second Treatise of the Great Seth 67:5 Meyer trans.)
- That Christ and Sophia are consorts: “And his consort is the Great Sophia, who from the first was destined in him for union...” (Sophia of Jesus Christ 101:16) ‘His’ refers to ‘the immortal androgynous man’, which is a name for Christ.
- Christ: “But I alone am the friend of Sophia.” (Second Treatise of the Great Seth 70:4)

7. THE BRIDAL CHAMBER AS A RITE OF MARRIAGE FOLLOWING THE UNION OF CHRIST AND SOPHIA
- The Gospel of Philip states that the mystery of the Bridal Chamber is hidden to those who exist in the Lower Aeons. Nevertheless, they may still enter its mystery through a rite that is an image or imitation of the true Bridal Chamber in the Upper Aeons: “The mysteries of truth are revealed, though in type and image. The bridal chamber remains hidden. (...Still,) those (who are) above opened to us the things below, in order that we may go in to the secret of the truth. (...) We shall go in there by means of lowly types (...). They are lowly indeed when compared with the perfect glory. (...Still) the perfect things have opened to us, together with the hidden things of truth. The holies of the holies were revealed, and the bridal chamber invited us in.” (Gospel of Philip 84:20)
- This schema is re-iterated, but in somewhat obscure terms: “Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. (...) The bridal chamber and the image must enter through the image into the truth: this is the restoration.” (Gospel of Philip)
- Irenaeus describes a rite of the Bridal Chamber in which the initiates affirm that their spiritual marriage is an image or imitation of (their union in) the syzygies above: “For some of them prepare a nuptial couch, (i.e. bridal chamber) and perform a sort of mystic rite (pronouncing certain expressions) with those who are being initiated, and affirm that it is a spiritual marriage which is celebrated by them, after the likeness (i.e. image) of the conjunctions (i.e. syzygies) above. (... They say) ‘I do not divide the Spirit of Christ, neither the heart nor the supercelestial power which is merciful; may I enjoy Thy name, O Saviour of truth!’” (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 1.21.3)
- The mystery of unity in the Bridal Chamber is revealed only to those who have experienced its unity: “No one can know when the husband and the wife have intercourse with one another, except the two of them. Indeed, marriage in the world is a mystery for those who have taken a wife (...) Bridegrooms and brides belong to the bridal chamber. No one shall be able to see the bridegroom with the bride unless he become such a one.” (Gospel of Philip)

Laurence Caruana - Glossary of Gnostic Terms

Hope you find it useful too...

[angelfire]

Thanks Haruth. I agree with the beginning of the text, the bridal chamber is associated with "The Holy of Holies". To bring sex into it is to remain at the physical level.


peace

[Blank Rune]

Hello Blank Rune and welcome to the forum. I have read the Gospel of Thomas (Parts of it anyway). I was not impressed, it did not resonate with me at all, each to his own. Please, if you will, share your special connection.


I wonder what you mean by the living resurrection, is there any other kind? In Christian
Mysticism the resurrection is a merging with the "In Breath and Out Breath of God".

If I recall correctly the Gnostic sacrament of the Bridal Chamber is about sex. The Bridal Chamber in which the marriage between Christ and his church takes place, is in the lotus in the crown chakra.


Best Wishes

Living resurrection...some believe you must die (drop your carnal body...six under die) before you can experience/receive "resurrection". By saying "living resurrection" I mean while you are still living here on earth.

The "In breath and out breath of God" tid bit you offered made my eyes widen and I would like more on this (reference?).

I'll get back to you on my special connection...gotta go!!

[Blank Rune]

Thank you Haruth. I appreciate all the information I can get.

Have you studied this in the past?

Do you know anyone who has experienced any of these sacraments?



N. _________

[Haruth]

Hi Blank Rune.

Yes, I've spent some time lost in the Gnostic scriptures. My primary goal has always been to reconcile the accepted NT books, and their assertion of a remote God; who can only be approached through the intermediary of Christ and the Church; with the much more accessible God of the OT books: a God who lived among his chosen people.

My first foray into the 'lost' books was filled with a certain level of expectation of finding some clue as to the 'missing link' which bridged these two great traditions. I still don't think I have gotten over the shock of finding, not the link, but a completely new cosmogenesis model which bears no resemblance to the 7 day model accepted by both Jewish and Christian traditions.

The most interesting thing for me is the heightened sense, imparted in most of the Gnostic works, of a much more intimate, almost personal relationship, that the writers have with the Christ. Whether this is, as some have claimed, because the teachings of Jesus came from the Gnostic tradition, or whether the Gnostic tradition retained a more immediate connection with the original teachings, I haven't really been able to determine either way.

The esoteric aspects of the accepted Christian texts were probably what got me started on this 'infernal' path... so it probably comes as no surprise that the 'Hymn of the Pearl', from the Acts of Thomas, is one text I am particularly drawn to. And of course, the Corpus Hermeticum's 7th Tract, seems as appropriate today as it was when it was first written...

1. People, where are you rushing, so intoxicated and having so fully drunk the strong wine of reasoning unaccompanied by acquaintance [with God]. You cannot hold it: already you are about to throw it up. Stop, get sober! Look up with the eyes of the mind [heart] - and if you cannot all do so, at least those of you who can! For the imperfection that comes with unacquaintance [with God] is flooding the entire earth, corrupting the soul along with the body that encloses it and preventing it from putting in at the havens of safety [salvation].
2. So do not be swept away by the main current! Rather, you who can must avail yourselves of a countercurrent, take to the haven of safety [salvation] put in there, and look for a leader to show you the way to the doors of acquaintance [with God], where there is a bright light, pure from the darkness; where no one is intoxicated, but all are sober, fixing their eyes on that being who wills to be seen - but mentally [with the heart], for that being cannot be heard, or told of or seen by eyes, only by intellect and mind [heart].

The 'diatribe' continues, synchronistically given my last post, to demonstrate the low esteem in which the physical (and all it's (de)vices) are held...

But first you must tear off the tunic that you are wearing, the robe of unacquaintance, the foundation of imperfection, the bond of corruption, the dark enclosure, the living death, the perceptible corpse, the portable grave, the resident brigand, who acts in hatred through what he loves and with his instruments of hatred causes corruption. [entire last sentence composed of Platonist cliches for the body]
3. Such is the tunic, the enemy, that you have put on, which strangles you and pulls you down towards itself, lest by looking up and beholding the beauty of truth and the good that lies in it you should come to hate its imperfection, once you know about its plot that it has plotted against you in rendering insensible the sensory organs by stopping them up with a mass of matter and filling them with loathsome pleasure: to keep you from hearing what you ought to hear, to keep you from seeing what you ought to see.
Bentley Layton Translation

Can't really accuse them of hedonistic traits then...

Sorry - off on a tangent there...

As to your question regarding experience of the sacraments, I'm afraid I don't. The details of the sacraments are long lost, and I suspect that any who believe they have experienced the gnostic sacraments can only have been involved in some modern interpretation of what the sacraments could have been: in the same manner that modern Druids have established an acceptable interpretation of the ancient practices which satisfy them.

Does this make such modern practices less effective, or less valid? I feel that as long as the 'intention' is 'true' to the tradition, then they are capable of retaining great power for those involved in them. On the other hand, I remain suspicious of any group which; either deliberately, or through lack of proper consideration of the tradition which they hope to emulate; effectively 'pervert' that tradition in some way.

What works for you, personally, in a self empowering way, is all that counts, really...

[Blank Rune]

Hi Blank Rune.

As to your question regarding experience of the sacraments, I'm afraid I don't. The details of the sacraments are long lost, and I suspect that any who believe they have experienced the gnostic sacraments can only have been involved in some modern interpretation of what the sacraments could have been: in the same manner that modern Druids have established an acceptable interpretation of the ancient practices which satisfy them.

Haruth,

You seem to have a great deal of knowledge on this subject

How about another possiblity?

Someone experiences these sacraments without knowing what they experienced. After the fact, they begin to read about these sacraments and see the relationship...if you met such a person, do you think by what you've learned and working with that person you might be able to piece it together?

[Haruth]

How about another possiblity?

Someone experiences these sacraments without knowing what they experienced. After the fact, they begin to read about these sacraments and see the relationship...if you met such a person, do you think by what you've learned and working with that person you might be able to piece it together?

Hmm. Interesting question, which reminded me of a gentleman friend who passed many years ago, and certainly before I knew the gnostic system in any detail. In hindsight, he probably had fully embraced the Sacrament of the Bridal Chamber at a very young age without ever realising what it was, how it would affect his life, or in what way it could possibly benefit him in matters spiritual.

Strangely enough, he would probably not have considered himself particularly spiritually aligned, and yet there was something incredibly serene, peaceful, almost beatific about being in his presence. He really was the most gentle man I have ever met, youthful in a way that belied his years and not only at peace with himself and the way his life had unfolded, but also with all that went on around him and in the world at large.

I had no idea that he had embraced the Sacrament, other than that after his passing a mutual friend intimated that he had never "known" a woman in his life - nor a man for that matter! And it was only years later that the connection was made - and only now all these years later that you reminded me of him, for which I thank you.

I don't believe that he personally came to understand the path that he had chosen, as I doubt very much whether he was aware of the gnostic tradition at all, never mind to have come across the explanation of what that particular Sacrament might entail.

Could another person experience it without knowing what it was? Almost certainly. After the fact, to see the relationship? Possibly. Though I wonder if they would necessarily recognise it as such? Their reason to embrace the Sacrament may not necessarily align with the gnostic interpretations and dogmas on the subject, and it may be possible to miss the "coincidence" - particularly if the underlying "lifestyle" choice seemed to be circumstantial rather than a deliberate decision. (If that makes any sense...)

Could I piece it together by working with the person? I think in hindsight there are clues in "old John" and how he presented to the world. I can certainly name a few who I have met since who make bold claims regarding the role of the gnostic way within their lives, but present as rather too angry and militant to have actually experienced Sophia in the proper sense - and certainly not in any way that I now believe he did. Perhaps he was exceptional, and I certainly wouldn't necessarily have any landmarks to steer by with one who had taken the Sacrament later in life (having tasted the fruits first, so to speak).

But would certainly be interesting... Such individuals have much to teach, without necessarily realising so...