The term “pleroma” (Greek for “fullness”) refers to the totality of divine powers, realms, or emanations that constitute the higher, spiritual reality. It stands in stark contrast to the material world, which is often seen as deficient, and even evil in some Pseudo Gnostic traditions.
The emanation and pleromatic fall are central concepts in Gnostic cosmology, mentioned since ancient times throughout various texts and traditions. In the Gnostic conception, the Pleroma represents Divine Plenitude, Supreme Immanence, the spiritual realm of perfection and light.
Some texts where they are mentioned:
The Nag Hammadi Texts
They were discovered in 1945 and provide a rich source of Gnostic writings, including those detailing pleromatic cosmology.
Valentinianism
Valentinus and his followers developed a complex Gnostic system that included a detailed description of the Pleroma and the fall of Sophia.
The writings of the Valentinians, both the surviving fragments and the accounts of their detractors, provide valuable insights into pleromatic cosmology.
Writings of the Church Fathers
The early Church Fathers, such as Irenaeus of Lyons and Hippolytus of Rome, wrote extensively against Gnostic heresies. Their works, although critical, provide insight into Gnostic beliefs, including the pleromatic fall.
Other Apocryphal texts
The “Apocryphon of John”, the “Gospel of Truth” and of course the “ Pistis Sophia ” contain accounts of the emanation of the aeons from the Pleroma and the fall of Sophia, which leads to the creation of the phenomenal world.
These fundamental concepts of Gnosticism describe the origin of the material universe and the condition of human existence; to understand them, it is essential to explore the nature of the Pleroma, the divine realm from which everything emanates.
The Pleroma: The Divine Fullness
In Gnostic cosmology, the Pleroma is the realm of light and perfection, where the Supreme Divinity and its emanations, the aeons, exist. These aeons are spiritual regions that represent different aspects of divinity and form a complex, multidimensional network where the parts of Being meet. The Pleroma is a profound state of harmony, where everything is perfect and complete.
The Twelve Aeons, or Twelve Cosmic Regions, penetrate and interpenetrate each other without confusion
.Samael Aun Weor – Pistis Sophia Unveiled
The Emanation: The Origin of Existence
Emanation is the process by which the Supreme Divinity manifests in the Pleroma, giving rise to the aeons. Each aeon emanates from the previous one, in a progression or unfolding that extends from the Supreme Divinity to the confines of the Pleroma. This process of emanation does not imply a diminution of its divinity, but rather an expansion of its fullness.
When we study the Seven Rounds of nature, we discover that this creation descends from dimension to dimension until it becomes physical and tangible. The basic elementals of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth serve as the basis for the continuation of life into other lower vibrational levels, known as the infernal worlds or the nine Dantesque circles.
The Pleromatic Fall: The Origin of the Material World
The Pleromatic Fall is a cosmic event that disrupts the harmony of the Pleroma and gives rise to the material world. According to most Gnostic accounts, the Fall is caused by Sophia, who desires to know the nature of the Supreme Divinity beyond the permissible limits. This desire to know or be something other than what she already is leads Sophia to perform an action that disrupts the harmony of the Pleroma and gives rise to an imperfect emanation, the Demiurge.
The Demiurge is universal but is also found within each of us; in our inner nature we carry an architect demiurge who can originate and sustain a creation.
Absolute perfection is required to never detach oneself from the bosom of Aelohim. Any yearning, however insignificant, for separate existence, for being someone, is enough to detach oneself from Aelohim and fall into the Kingdom of the Creator Demiurge.
Samael Aun Weor – Pistis Sophia Unveiled
The Demiurge: The Universal Creator
The sexual creative force, existing in every particle of life and in every being, originates universes and multiverses conditioned by its innate nature. The physical body, with all its functions and organs, and the psychic and spiritual energy of each person also originate in the three primary forces of nature: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—this is the Demiurge. The raw material with which the Demiurge creates all, this is the semen.
The great Triple-Power God is the Creator Demiurge of the Universe: perfect multiple unity. The creative Logos is the Holy TRIAMAZIKAMNO. The Verb, the Great Word. The three spaces of the first mystery are the regions of the Creator Demiurge. The regions of the space of the Ineffable are the regions of “Aelohim,” the unknowable divinity.
Samael Aun Weor – Pistis Sophia Unveiled
The Demiurge is not an inferior being, ignorant of the Supreme Divinity. He is the one who creates the material world from primordial matter, chaos. The Demiurge has been considered the sole god, but he is actually an emanation of the aelohim , the Being of all Beings.
The material world, created by the Demiurge, the universal architect, is a realm of darkness, ignorance, and suffering, where human souls are trapped, victims of their own inability to revolutionize. The Demiurge is not to blame for the weakness of the essence; the Demiurge merely provides or shapes the material structure so that Sophia may reflect her own nature, be it one of supreme happiness and bliss or the deepest misfortune. Each of us shapes what we carry within…
The Human Condition: Souls Trapped in Matter
In the rigorous Gnostic view, human beings are particles of divine souls trapped in material bodies, sparks of divine light, coming from the Pleroma, that have fallen into the darkness of the material world.
The psychological diversity within each person is what conditions this essence to suffer, forcing it toward pain and slavery. The law of Karma applies to all levels of consciousness.
The goal of gnosis, spiritual knowledge, is to awaken the divine spark within us and free us from the prisons and limitations of the material world.
The Path Back to the Pleroma or RELIGARE
Gnosis is the intuitive and experiential knowledge of the Supreme Divinity accessible to every essence, and the divine origin of the soul. Through gnosis and the four pillars of knowledge, human souls can recognize their true nature and free themselves from the illusion of the material world. Gnosis is not obtained through faith or reason, but through the direct experience of divinity.
Reconnecting, reattaching or re-linking the spiritual principles of each creature to its primordial origin is possible only through the revolution of consciousness and its three duly defined factors:
The Three Factors of the Revolution of Consciousness are the following:
1st Birth: Create the solar bodies with the sexual dynamic, the Maithuna.
2nd Dying: Elimination of the multiple devil selves, the egos.
3rd Sacrifice for humanity: teaching others the path to liberation.
Philosophical and Religious Implications of the Pleromatic Fall
The pleromatic emanation and fall have profound philosophical and religious implications. They raise questions about the nature of reality, the origin of evil, the purpose of human existence, and the path to salvation. The Gnostic view offers an alternative to traditional worldviews on this matter, emphasizing the importance of direct knowledge and the search for spiritual truth, our true fatherhood…
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