Holy Sophia, Mighty Mother of us All,
Bringer of Blessed Abundance
Queen of Heaven,
Of Holy Wisdom,
Oh Fallen One ~ Soul of the World
Grant me the Grace and the Dignity to walk
In the Path of the Light, Head held high
Bestow upon me the Gift of Gnosis
Of Inner Knowing.
So that I may find my way Home.
Sr.Elena
We are pleased to announce Miguel( Abraxas) , host of Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio show as a new member on the board. Please check out his site .
“Still the first and only ever weekly radio show on Gnosticism, Ancient Religion and the Occult. An approachable, comprehensive, and affable discussion about the impact of the world’s favorite yet least known Heretics, The Gnostics, and their Brethren in the Esoterica”
These past few weeks have been busy at Spiral Inward’s Cafe. Our site was down for a frighteningly long time, just about the same time that we received many new members. I am sad to say that The Palm Tree Garden Forum has closed down, and although we are thrilled to have so many new people at the Cafe with us, we are sad to see it go. The Palm Tree Garden housed a wealth of information. Best wishes to everyone involved with the PTG who made it the fantastic board that it was.
I also want to share the link to the site of a fantastic artisan, Sonojoy. (well, that’s how we know him on the board anyhow 
) This is his personal jewelry site, and this is his Etsy shop.
He does some of the most fantastic work I’ve seen.If you are a member of our Forum, you may have already seen some of this beautiful creations.
Anyhow, that’s just a bit of a site update.
Love to you all,
Sr.Elena
In an age that offers us so much, there sure is a lot of dissatisfaction. I’m not old comparitively speaking, but I do remember the dial phone, and the novelty of the microwave and the first VCR’s. Wired remotes for tv’s with switches rather than buttons…I remember cordless phones that cost hundreds of dollars with foot long antennae. Cartoons only on in the mornings, Mon-Saturday, and then on Sundays we were stuck watching old Robin Hood and Spiderman.
So much has progressed.
Yet it seems that it has only fed our hunger for more.
I was reading in Stephen Hoeller’s Gnosticism today about our addiction for knowlege. The Information Age.
It got me to thinking about something else that I had been contemplating for some time.
(more…)
Jesus said, “If those who lead you say to you, ‘See, the kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.”
This was one of the first passages I came across when I first began reading the Nag Hammadi and it was the first to really get me thinking about things, or should I say RE-thinking the things I thought I knew.
Half the harm that is done in this world
Is due to people who want to feel important
They don’t mean to do harm
But the harm does not interest them.
Or they do not see it, or they justify it
Because they are absorbed in the endless struggle
To think well of themselves.
T. S. Eliot
I’m sitting here, in the summer heat, enjoying a beer while the little ones nap. Pure bliss.
Anyhow, that’s neither here nor there.
I was talking to my hubby, Akashik yesterday, about spiritual growth.
He has been interested lately in Kriya Yoga, in addition to his ongoing interest in Shamanism.
I was saying how his perception of life, his outlook , brings him to his understanding. And likewise for me.
He likes a solitary, non-structured, but esoteric/shamanic style, and I am a sucker for ritual. I love it.
Then we go on to talk about our spiritual journeys since we left the ‘big city’. We are both second degree Gardnerians, with a small coven. He and I in roles of Priest/Priestess. But it has been much neglected lately.
In many ways, we both found that we feel like we have gone as far as possible along that path, and both of us now have branched out elsewhere, while still keeping core teachings intact. Since our big move, we have both withdrawn a lot from society and have begun a new journey, much more solitary than before.
One thing I noticed… whenever I have a spiritual ‘enlightenment’, it is followed shortly after (I’m talking next day) crashing. I will have ideas, direction, and a sudden knowledge that where I am headed is the right place , and then, I am suddenly battered with issues. Shadows.
Almost like… as soon as my Divine Spark begins to shine, the shadows exposed stir and thwart, or TRY to thwart me, in my efforts. Depression, addiction, anger etc… they all seem to flare.
This happened the first time most notably when I read A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle. It was the first time I realized the universal nature of the Divine. It was the first time I looked at the need to classify myself as a strict Pagan/Witch. I had a period of time when I realized fully that who I was was NOT what I thought. That what I thought I was, that who I thought I am, was purely ego. Alot more to it, but that’s not the point.
I felt enlightened. I felt that I was seeing another version of the world, of existence, through a veil. Every once in a while that veil would flicker, and when it would, I felt these words of wisdom pouring out of me, not just verbally, to all who knew me (sorry guys, I know I was irritating during that period) but into everything I did. Then….
Blam. Depression. Anger. Sadness… memories, issues… you name it. Everything came at me at the same time and assaulted me. It felt like I had stirred up some part of me that did NOT want to give up it’s seat.
Now, almost two years later, I feel the same.
I find myself climbing onto a new level of this path. I feel happy, and I feel secure. Although I feel alone, I feel found. I have a sense of all being ok.
Then, once again, those shadows have been brought to light.
As my Divine Flame has brightened, those hidden things have become disturbed.
When we live in darkness, there are no shadows. Everything is dark.
When we live in the blinding light of the Divine, there are no shadows. Everything is lightened. Shadows can not exist.
But when we are in that transitional state from Dark to Light… boy oh boy… there are a lot of shadows to be found.
So, I’m trying to make my light brighter, to banish those shadows, even though it is so tempting to just slink back into the darkness.
In Light & Love
since I’ve updated the blog. I guess the biggest reason is that I feel like I have nothing intelligent to say.
So many people know so much more than I do. For the most part, I enjoy just going to the forums, reading other people’s thoughts and opinions and then doing some background reading on where the ideas/opinions came from.
Lately there has been quite a bit of discussion as to what Gnosticism actually is. Perhaps we should come up with some sort of consensus for the board and post it. This could be a good thing, or a bad thing.
When I started along this path, not really knowing what it was, I had many questions. And I felt stupid asking them, because they seemed so simple. So instead, I just read forums, and sites and tried to gather what I could from it all. I realize now that it is a very personal journey. But I hope people can come to our forums and get a bit of an idea. Maybe a certain path will appeal to one , more than another. That is fine. The whole point is in getting information out there, and creating an environment where people don’t feel stupid in asking.
I came here from a pagan perspective, and in many ways it was lonely.
No deity to call my name, no exoteric individual to hold my hand…. it is all coming from within. From within me. If I hear my name being called, it is my own divine self, helping to guide me home.
And this brings up other issues. My Canadian Pagan message board. Do I still consider myself pagan? Not in the sense of one who follows god/desses. I still honour nature as a natural , non man-made experience. A connection to the Divine within that is not altered by ego. But it is not Paganism… so what is it exactly? I try to find the words to explain to those whom I brought with me into my Pagan sphere. But I do not really know the words.
All I know is what I feel in my heart.
My love for the Divine. My need to realize the Christos/Jesus. And my need to listen to the Hagia Sophia.
O creative Breath,
ebbing and flowing through all forms,
Free us from all constrictions,
so that the current of thy life
may move in us without hindrance.
Empower us with thy creativity,
and clothe us with royal dignity,
So that, fully at one with the vortex of thy desire,
sacred actions pour forth from us
with each breath we release.
Renew in us this day
our lifebreath, vigour, and passion,
And untie the tangled threads of destiny which bind us,
as we release others from the entanglement of past mistakes.
Do not let us lose ourselves in distraction,
but by the way of the breath,
lead us into mindfulness.
For from thy depths pour forth
the Way, the Life, and the Splendour,
from age to age, it is so. Ameyn.
As rendered by Mark Hathaway (www.visioncraft.org) based on the work of
Neil Douglas-Klotz (www.abwoon.com – Prayers of the Cosmos, Harper & Row,
1990). May be reproduced in whole or in part if this citation is included.
I am stepping out on a limb here, but I’m hoping that this works.
I am new to the realm of Gnosticism. Not because I have suddenly changed my beliefs from a more occult/pagan way, but because I only recently learned that there was actually a name for the way I had thought for such a long time. I had always thought I was just a weird Witch whom happened to follow a magical path but whom also believed that there was a truth out there, in those early days of Christianity, that had been overlooked.
I will add more to this later, but basically, I am a Gnostic Witch (if you really want a label), and I am hoping that through this site, I can connect with others on a Gnostic path to discuss, share, learn…
I have browsed around some sites and there are LOTS of very learned people with a vast knowledge of writings and events and significant , historical things. This is great. I love reading about it all, but it can be overwhelming, and creating a somewhat more laid back , supportive online community is more the angle that the Spiral Inward Forums is leaning toward.
The site is being built, literally, as I type this. The forum will get a facelift and other things are bound to change here and there, but the web url will stay the same.