Friday, August 15, 2008

The Assumption of the Holy Sophia

francis a wiley photo from flickr
Today is the feast of the assumption of the Holy and Blessed Sophia. This day is a celebration of the turning about of Sophia from her captors and unfaithful lovers after crying out in despair.

There are various versions of this story. A version that is striking in its imagery and sense of cosmic drama and heroism is from the book Pistis Sophia.

It starts here (G.R.S. Mead translation) with the Christ being Sophia's counterpart and bridegroom being sent by the First Father to rescue Sophia.

"It came to pass, therefore, that the power which had come out of the Height, that is I, in that my Father sent me to save Pistis Sophia out of the chaos, [that] I, therefore, and also the power which did go from me, and the soul which I had received from Sabaōth, the Good,--they drew towards one another and become a single light-stream, which shone very exceedingly. I called down Gabriēl and Michaēl out of the æons, at the command of my Father, the First Mystery which looketh within, and I gave unto them the light-stream and let them go down into the chaos to help Pistis Sophia and to take the light-powers, which the emanations of Self-willed had taken from her, from them and give them to Pistis Sophia.
Later

"It came to pass then, when the light-stream had ingathered into Pistis Sophia all her light-powers, which it had taken from the emanations of Self-willed, that she became shining throughout; and the light-powers also in Pistis Sophia, which the emanations of Self-willed had not taken, became joyful again and filled themselves with light. And the lights which were poured into Pistis Sophia, quickened the body of her matter, in which no light was present, and which was on the point of perishing or perished. And they raised up all her powers which were on the point of being dissolved. And they took unto themselves a light-power and became again as they were before, and they increased again in their sense of the Light. And all the light-powers of Sophia knew themselves mutually through my light-stream and were saved through the light of that stream. And my light-stream, when. it had taken away the lights from the emanations of Self-willed, which they had taken away from Pistis Sophia, poured them into Pistis Sophia, and turned itself about and went up out of the chaos."

The imagery with its "light powers" and cosmic archangels calls to remembrance a universal drama that is in some way a map or mirror of our own journey here and back out of each of our own personal edge-points on the rim of chaos.

This day then is a celebration also of our own turning about when we've come as low as we can and we begin the slow and halting ascent back to our true home in the Pleroma. It marks the point where our individuation begins.

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