by Wes Penre, May 28, 2020
I. The Creation of the Archons
After Sophia had appeared before Yaldabaoth in the cosmic waters as a likeness of herself, Yaldabaoth realized he was not alone. When he also saw the likeness of the Pleroma in his vision, he thought that this was something he needed to create. Because he had an aspect of Sophia’s Spirit in him and had been given the power to rule and create as the God in the physical/material universe, that’s exactly what he started doing, with the Pleroma in mind. However, this creation was an imperfect modeling because what he built from was just a reflection or likeness of what is actual.
And when that spirit appeared [Sophia], the ruler separated the watery substance to one region and the dry substance to another region. From matter he created a dwelling place for himself and called it heaven. And from matter the ruler created a footstool and called it earth.
On the Origin of the World
Then, Yaldabaoth created seven androgynous beings, followed by another five as emanations, or individual aspects, of himself. Altogether, these first soul emanations were thus twelve in numbers, corresponding with the twelve Aeons in the Pleroma. Yaldabaoth, who had placed himself both as the Monad and Sophia in the Kenoma (physical universe), was the thirteenth. In the likeness of the Aeons in the Pleroma, he gave them both feminine and masculine names. You can read more about these emanated beings in On the Origin of the World and in The Secret Book of John, but there are a few names we are going to emphasize because they will be recurring in our articles. These beings also have a direct correlation to beings mentioned in the Wes Penre Papers. These beings’ names in the Gnostic texts are, Athoth (also called The Reaper)[1], Sabaoth, Astaphaios, and Belias[2]. They are all masculine names. In On the Origin of the World, their female androgynous consorts are also listed, but they are only mentioned by their characters, except for one, Astaphaios, whose consort is called Sophia, interestingly enough. We’ll get to the significance of that later in this article.
The best reference I have found, describing the characteristics of the Archons is in The Secret Book of John (short version). Because, as we shall see later on, Yaldabaoth is the God of good and evil, and his Archons represent this whole spectrum.
He named those sevenfold Powers starting with the highest one:
Goodness paired with the first: Athoth
Providence paired with the second: Eloaios
Divinity paired with the third: Astaphaios
Lordship paired with the fourth: Yao
Kingdom paired with the fifth: Sabaoth
Zeal paired with the sixth: Adonin
Understanding paired with the seventh: Sabbataios
The Secret Book of John (short version)
None of Yaldabaoth’s emanations, which go under the terms “Archons,” The Authorities,” and the “Rulers” in the Gnostic texts, were born with Spirit. Sabaoth is the only one who later gained Spirit, which we shall see as we move on. Thus, they don’t know Spirit. Yaldabaoth created them with only a soul and withheld from them the Spirit aspect of himself, which came from Sophia. As mentioned, just like the Aeons in the Pleroma, each Archon was created with certain characteristics, within which they can operate to be Yaldabaoth’s helpers and overseers. For millennia, these Archons (Arch-Aeons of this construct) have tried to understand Spirit and gain Spirit, but for them, it’s an impossible task because they live in ignorance. In Sophia’s creation, Yaldabaoth is God, and he created them without Spirit because in the Pleroma, the Aeons can’t completely understand the Monad/Source, so the same thing had to apply in Yaldabaoth’s “Pleroma,” i.e. his Aeons/Archons can’t completely understand Yaldabaoth, their Father, because they lack Spirit.
Thus far, Yaldabaoth’s creation of these beings was approved of by Sophia because she had given him the power to create in her attempt to gain Wisdom through Yaldabaoth’s creation, which was also Sophia’s creation, now one removed. Perhaps, she would be able to experience God/the Monad through her “son,” Yaldabaoth/En.ki. This was early in her creation, and she would soon change her mind, as we shall see in the next article.
And they [Yaldabaoth’s twelve emanations] came into being as androgynous beings according to the immortal pattern that existed before them and in accord with the will of Pistis, so that the likeness of what existed from the first might rule until the end.
On the Origin of the World
II. Brief Description of Some of the Archons
Before we move on, let’s briefly discuss these semi-gods and compare them with other ancient texts and the Wes Penre Papers.
Athoth is self-explanatory—he is Hermes, Thoth, and Mercury the “Messenger” (which will be significant much later in our series). Thoth wrote or dictated The Emerald Tablets of Thoth among other texts to elevate mankind, so we could “ascend” within Yaldabaoth’s realm. Thoth’s teachings addressed the human soul—not the Spirit—because Thoth does not know Spirit. His is his Father’s “son.”
Belias corresponds very well with Marduk. It says in The Secret Book of John that “he [Belias] is the one who is over the depth of Hades.” Hades, in the Gnostic texts, means both Hell, as in the Underworld, and the Kenoma in general. In this case, Hades denotes Hell, as in the Underworld or the Abyss.
Astaphaios/Sophia corresponds, in the female aspect, with Venus[3] [4] [5], which would correlate with Isis, Inanna, Ishtar, and Aphrodite, etc. This is also a copy/mimic of the Pleroma, where Pistis Sophia, without her consort, Thelètos, “descends” as Zoë Sophia in the upper realms of the Kenoma. In Yaldabaoth’s Kingdom, he is Pistis Sophia, as an emanation of the Kenoma (a mimic of the Monad), operating without her consort and therefore, being ignorant. Just like Pistis Sophia descends and becomes Zoë Sophia in the Kenoma, Yaldabaoth descends and becomes Astaphaios Sophia/Isis in the Kenoma.
Sabaoth corresponds with Prince En.lil, Prince Ninurta, and Archangel Michael (Second in Command). The “Lord of Sabaoth” means the “Lord of Hosts[6].” It is a title of YeHoVaH’s (YHVH’s) military might. His strength is to fight and win battles. This Lord is the Commander of the “angelic soldiers,” as well as the armies of Israel (the “Lord of Hosts” is defined in 1 Samuel 17, verse 45 as “the God of the armies of Israel,” and as “Commander of the Lord’s Army” in Joshua 5.
The term “Lord of Hosts” is also used in the Bahá’í Faith as a title of God.[2] Bahá’u’lláh, claiming to be the Manifestation of God, wrote tablets to many of the kings and rulers of the world inviting them to recognize Him as the Promised One of all ages and faiths, some of which were compiled and published in English as The Summons of the Lord of Hosts.[7]
The phrase “manifestation of God” will be thoroughly explained in a later article and is now only used for future reference. Furthermore, he also bears the title “Michael.[8]” Those who have read the Wes Penre Papers (WPP) at wespenre.com will recognize all this. There I referred to Sabaoth as Prince Ninurta, Prince En.lil (meaning “prince of the airways/Heaven”), and Archangel Michael Second in Command. Michael First in Command is whom I called Khan En.lil in the previous levels of learning. We will address Khan En.lil later. I also portrayed Michael as being the Commander of the MIKH-MAKH forces, which is a military defense force, protecting Orion from intruders. In the Book of Revelation, the rebellious forces of Satan are defeated by the Heavenly Host, led by Michael the Archangel during the War in Heaven.[9]
The Bible gives several descriptions of angels in military terms, such as their encampment (Genesis 32:1-2), command structure (Psalms 91:11-12; Matt.13:41; Rev.7:2), and combat (Jdg.5:20; Job 19:12; Rev.12:7). The heavenly host participated in the War in Heaven.[10]
According to the Gnostics[11], Sabaoth started out as one of the Archons, inhabiting a soul but not a Spirit. However, after hearing the voice of Sophia’s Spirit in the waters, he realized that his father, Yaldabaoth, was not the highest God. The rest of the Archons still decided to continue glorifying Yaldabaoth’s elevated position, while Sabaoth did the opposite. He now despised his Father, Yaldabaoth, and started glorifying Sophia instead. Sophia noticed this and took Sabaoth under her wings. She gave him sparks of her Spirit and elevated him to the upper parts of the Kenoma, called the Seventh Heaven. There, she taught him everything about the Eighth Heaven, in which she resided, and gave him Light/Spirit (more about these Heavens below). Then, she put Sabaoth in charge over Yaldabaoth and all the Archons he’d created. He now became Michael, Second in Command of the MIKH-MAKH forces. It is quite possible that he once was the High Commander of the DAKH Warriors (the Sirians in the WPP), which are Yaldabaoth’s military force, but became “promoted” to his loftier position. The Eighth and Ninth Heavens, as we shall see, correspond directly with Orion in the WPP. From thereon, one could say that Zoë Sophia became Sabaoth’s Mother, as he had discarded his father, Yaldabaoth.
Now when Sabaoth, the son of Yaldabaoth, heard the voice of Pistis, he sang praises to her, and he condemned the father […] at the word of Pistis; and he praised her […]. Then Pistis Sophia stretched out her finger and poured upon him some light from her light, to be a condemnation of his father. Then when Sabaoth was illumined, he received great authority against all the forces of chaos. Since that day he has been called “Lord of the Forces”.
On the Origin of the World
Sabaoth will be a big part of the story from hereon, but to make things coherent, we need to first focus our attention on the Nine Heavens, which is the totality of Sophia’s Creation.
III. The Nine Heavens
In simple terms, when Pistis Sophia “cast away” her Creation, while still completely residing within the Pleroma, we can perhaps picture this as her Creation descending through dimensions and densities. The further down into the abyss her Creation descended, the more solid it became. This outward movement on Sophia’s part might explain what scientists call “the expanding universe” and the “Red Shift.”
When Sophia noticed what she had done, she separated the waters of the Pleroma from the cosmic waters of her emanation and thus created the first firmament. There was now a veil between the Pleroma and the Kenoma. Parts of Pistis Sophia got trapped in her own creation because everything that she created was a part of her Spirit. In order to move around within her creation, she created a soul/energy body, which her Spirit inhabited. This descended part of Sophia is called Zoë Sophia in the Gnostic texts. In the WPP, she is called the Queen of Orion.
In the previous section, we discussed how Yaldabaoth created twelve Archons as soul extensions of himself. The Universe consists of, from what I understand, 144 dimensions and a lot of subdimensions and densities, which are a direct mimic of the Pleroma, consisting of twelve realms, represented by the twelve Aeons. So, if each Aeon is one dimension/perspective being twelve in numbers times twelve dimensions, it equals 144. The same thing applies in the Kenoma. Yaldabaoth is in the possession of twelve dimension, and he created one Archon in charge of each dimension (in the Gnostic texts called Heavens)—”as above, so below,” as Thoth said in the Emerald Tablets of Thoth. There are seven heavens (dimensions) “above” and five heavens “below” (the Abyss or Tartarus). All this equals 144, as well. Between the seven and five heavens, Yaldabaoth created Earth.[12]
Since that day, the heaven has been consolidated along with its earth by means of Sophia [Isis], the daughter of Yaldabaoth.
On the Origin of the World
Also:
Yaldabaoth modeled his creation on the pattern of the original realms above him so that it might be just like the indestructible realms.
The Secret Book of John (short version)
Each archon was also put in place to rule over a certain celestial body—one for each of the seven Heavens. Some time afterwards, when the Archons were “cast out of Heaven” (Orion) and into the Abyss, they lost their domains, only to reestablish them at a later point.
Yaldabaoth placed himself on a throne in the Seventh Heaven, which is “God’s Heaven.” His celestial body was Saturn to start with (this was going to change later).
Iao[13] was put in charge of Jupiter.
Sabaoth became the ruler of Mars to begin with.
Astaphaios/Sophia became the goddess of Venus (thus, Lucifer is portrayed as feminine by some and as masculine by others, i.e. Sophia/Isis and Yaldabaoth/En.ki).
Adonaios reigned over the sun.
Elaios (which could be another name for Thoth) reigned over Mercury.
Horaios became the moon god (often referred to as Sin or Nannar in the Sumerian texts).
The following were the rulers of the Abyss: Abrisene, Yobel, Armupiel, Melcheir-adonein[14], and Belias; the latter described as he “who rules over the very depths of Hades”[15] (Marduk).
Zoë Sophia, on her end, “sealed her heaven until the consummation of the age[16].” In other words, she created her own realm/Heavens within the Pleroma, located in the “midst” between the Seven Heavens and the Pleroma. These are the Eighth and the Ninths Heavens, closest to the Pleroma. In the Wes Penre Papers, they are referred to as Orion or the Orion Empire, and they are described as being vast. Thus, the Seven Heavens and the five below are the 4% Universe discussed in the WPP, and the Eighth and Ninth Heavens, the 96%, is what I called Orion.
In the next paper, we are going to bring up why Sophia repented, the Spirit of Christ, the first humankind, whom I called the Namlu’u in the WPP, and the First Atlantis—Tiamaat.
[1] The Secret Book of John (the long version)
[2] Mentioned in The Secret Book of John but not in On the Origin of the World
[3] https://wiccan-academy-of-the-arts.fandom.com/wiki/Archons,
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archon_(Gnosticism)
[5] https://books.google.com/books?id=jonvG8JvwvsC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=Astaphaios&source=bl&ots=BSxwbZczRK&sig=ACfU3U30fL0P1oDLvNYbFJgFAIJuxN7wGw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBuNLJ-dTpAhUSM6wKHTXVBPAQ6AEwDHoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=Astaphaios&f=false
[6] https://www.google.com/search?q=sabbaoth&oq=sabbaoth&aqs=chrome..69i57.2579j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly_host
[8] Ibid.
[9] Rev. 12:7-9.
[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly_host
[11] On the Origin of the World
[12] This must be what the eight “densities” mentioned in the RA Material refers to. The RA collective resides in the sixth density, i.e. the Sixth Heaven, ascending within Yaldabaoth’s construct.
[13] This could be another name for Marduk, who also reigned as Belias in the Abyss. It would not be impossible that one god could rule in two realms.
[14] Probably where J.R.R. Tolkien got the name Melchor from—he who was the dark ruler of Middle-Earth in “The Silmarillion.”
[15] The Secret Book of John (short version).
[16] On the Origin of the World.
References and Resources:
The Secret Book of John (long version)
The Secret Book of John (short version)
On the Origin of Man
Wikipedia
The Book of Revelation
Various websites mentioned in the footnotes
