The Trail of Gnosis: A Lucid Exploration of Gnostic Traditions

What Others Are Saying About

The Trail of Gnosis

I am gobbling it up. There are really no words of appreciation that would honor the depth of your journey! –S.G."

After a few days of exploring the contents of The Trail of Gnosis, I am profoundly impressed. There is information made available that I have not found elsewhere. Your book is opening new and exciting channels for me. Thank you for your important contribution to a virtually forgotten tradition." --L.J

In her work on the Cathars of southern France, Ms. Mann has recovered a vital spiritual practice that is as important to our knowledge of ourselves as to our understanding of another culture. --E.R.

The Trail of Gnosis

A Lucid Exploration of Gnostic Traditions

Judith Mann

Published by Pacific Rim Press at Smashwords

Copyright 2002 Judith Mann

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Introduction

The Trail of Gnosis is the culmination of more than twenty-five years of research. It is my sincere hope that it provides inspiration for your own explorations of gnosis.

I have trekked across far-flung parts of this earth to identify and record the many diverse links that compose the great chain of Gnosticism. It seems important not to confine gnosticism to a particular locale, historical period or belief system, but to acknowledge that it encompasses all that we call ‘human’ connection to the Divine and to apply these experiences meaningfully to our times.

The term ‘gnosis’ is the Greek root of ‘to know’. It is knowledge by direct perception, personal intuitive or inspirational experience. As such, it imposes no dogma or obedience to an authority outside of ourselves, only to the Divine within each of us. Earlier Gnostics, such as the Mandaeans, Cathars, Bogomil and Manichaeans, believed that each approach to the Divine is individual. From traces of their teachings, we can learn to take responsibility for identifying our specific reality, pursuing spiritual experiences by whatever means we deem appropriate. Within these parameters, we can also develop a climate of respect for each manifestation of the spirit as having something to offer, no matter how diverse.

How was I ‘called’ to this task? Well, in 1976, I accompanied my eleven-year-old actor-son to Europe for his six-month acting stint in Robert Wilson’s and Phillip Glass’ Einstein On The Beach. A knowledgeable friend suggested that while in France and Yugoslavia, I devote what time I could to researching the Cathars and Bogomil, whom I had not known of before then. On looking back, it seems that unseen forces had conspired to place me there so as to begin a life work.

Though the south of France, once Oc, land of the Cathars, was our first and longest stop, serendipity set in a month later in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Synchronistic events are signals to me that a connection exists with some guiding intelligence and the events themselves. The events began to proliferate at an incredible speed.

Because I do not read Cyrillic and did not speak Serbo-Croatian, my son and I were often lost on the streets of Belgrade. One day, in such a circumstance we passed a sign in English that read ‘American Library’. Seizing the opportunity to correct our course, we raced up a steep flight of stairs and out of breath, were greeted by a gracious Yugoslavian librarian who spoke fluent English. After she explained how to return to our hotel, I brought up the subject of the Bogomil. "What a coincidence! My brother-in-law, an archeologist and an expert on the Bogomil is returning from Paris just this night. Please come to my house at 9 p.m. this evening and meet him". Of course!

So meet Dr. Bogdanovic, I did. He suggested that on my return to Paris, I purchase recent copies of Archeologia, which contained his articles about the gnostic Bogomil.

Armed with these magazines, I made my way one afternoon to a quiet vegetarian restaurant in the Marais quarter of Paris. While waiting for my lunch to arrive, I opened one of the magazines and saw this woodcut. Then, I looked up at the wall in front of me and saw —the same image! I asked the waiter who had created the woodcut on the wall. He replied matter-of-factly that he was in the kitchen, but could come out to talk with me.

No, Christian A. was not the artist, but he had hung a reproduction of the same medieval woodcut illustrating the philosophy of the Grecian, Thales, as had appeared in Archeologia. He turned out to be a Rosicrucian, a group claiming spiritual descent from the Cathars, and extraordinarily open. Christian’s immediate response was to invite me to his nearby apartment, where he gave me several Rosicrucian books, a map covering many important Cathar sites in the Ariege and introductions to people who would guide me further. Years later Christian accompanied me to Armenia, which helped me to access information on Manichaean connections to the Bogomil and Cathars.

This initial series of ‘happenings’ have been signs enough to propel and sustain me through the years, though other synchronistic events have unfolded along the way. And thanks to the special people who have helped to create The Trail of Gnosis. I am truly grateful.

Judith Mann

September 2002

p.s. Though the city of Beziers was central to Cathar history, and though I have researched the subject thoroughly, there is a deep obstacle to my writing about the demise of Beziers at this time. In simplified terms, recently it came to light that I hold the consciousness of a Dominican friar at the time of the Inquisition. This individual saw the errors of his beliefs about ‘heretics’ after the Beziers tragedy, but was powerless to speak his truth or impact the situation in a meaningful way. Honoring this connection, my task now is to research, verify and reveal as much as possible of what I feel to be true about gnostic history.

July 2012

Table of Contents

Introduction

1

Mani; His Origins & Doctrines

The Origins of Dualism

The Organization of Manichaeism

The Three Seals of Righteousness

The Silk Road & Manichaeism

Manichaeism in China

The Western Dissemination of Manichaeism

2

The Paulicians

The Key of Truth

The Tenets of The Key of Truth

3

The Mandaeans

Mandaean Cosmology & Customs

4

The Massalians

5

The Bogomil

The Bosnian Church

Apocryphal Literature

Bogomil Cosmology

Bogomil Rituals

Bogomil Doctrines

Manichaean Elements in Bogomilism

Bogomil Stele

6

The Entry of Dualism into Western Europe

7

The Johannites

8

The Kabbalists

The Ein-Sof

The Sefirot

Otz Chim, the Tree of Life

Da’ath

The Tsimsum

The Qelippot

Ecstatic Kabbalah

9

Cathar Symbols

The Dove

The Solar Cross

The Solar Cross of Montsegur

The Celtic Cross

The Knights Templar Rose-Cross

The Tau

The Pentagon & The Pentagram

The Pentagon & The Five Elements

The Fleur-de-Lys

The Six-Petaled Rose

The Energetic Hand

The Stag Hunt

10

The Consolamentum, Meliormentum & The Endura

11

The Lyon Codex

12

The Council of St. Felix

13

The Inquisition & The Cathars

14

Principals of the Albigensian Crusades

The Siege of Montsegur

15

The Caves of Sabarthez

Bethlehem

Ussat

Lombrives

Ornolac

Spougla de Bouan

16

Carcassonne

Cordes

Minerve

Montsegur, Zodiac of

Morenci

Puivert

Queribus

Sainte Juliane

Toulouse

17

The Agotes/Cagots

18

The Knights Templar

19

Journey of The Grail

Montreal-de-Sos

San Juan de La Pena

20

The Vera Cruz of the Knights Templar

Bibliography

About The Author

Other Books by The Author

Chapter 1

Mani: His Origins & Doctrines

During Medieval times, Catholic writers tended to use the term, Manichaean to describe any dualistic heresy, whether or not derived from the teachings of Mani. Today's scholars consider Manichaeism to be a separate religion, not a heresy in the strict sense of the word.

Its founder, Mani, was born into an educated Persian family on April 14, 216 a.d., in what is now Iraq, but then the Persian-dominated province of Babylonia. Living near the crossroads of Ctesiphon, Mani was exposed to diverse traditions: Gnostic Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Greek philosophy, Chaldean astrology and other doctrines emanating from Central Asia.

An exceptionally gifted child, it is said that Mani experienced his first vision at age twelve, that of an angelic being, who came to him from The King of the Paradise of Light. The being, named al-Tawm, the Divine Twin, seemed to be his mirror image. He was told that later, he would leave the Elkesaite community he was born into and given the basic tenets of a future religion.

A Coptic Manichaean codex acquired by the University of Cologne in 1970, claims that the Baptist sect Mani grew up in was founded by Elchasai, an early second century Judeo-Christian leader from Palestine. Elchasai preached that fire sacrifices led to error and should be avoided, but that water was good and acceptable to God. Influenced by gnosticism and living by the law of Judaism, the sect, had little contact with the mainstream Christianity of that era, which was dominated by Greek-speaking churches of the Roman Empire.

At the age of twenty-four, Mani was expelled from the Baptist sect because he refused to work in the fields. He feared damaging light particles that he believed to be present in plants, and also because he was opposed to the strictly ruled ablutions, baptisms and diet of the Elkesaites. In addition, he had committed the unforgivable crime of reading the works of the Hellenic enemy, the Apostle Paul. Mani identified with Paul and believed his mission to be a spiritual war to recover the light imprisoned in the dark world.

It was also at this time that al-Tawm reappeared to tell him "The time is now come for thee to manifest thyself publicly and to proclaim thy doctrine aloud." The mysteries, hidden until then from the world, appeared in the Manichaean text Kephalaia as the mystery of Destruction, mystery of the Great War stirred up by Darkness, the merging of Light and Darkness and the Creation of the World. These were to become the basis of a new gnostic system of Light and Dark as two contrary, coeternal principles and the Three Times of original separation: fusion, cosmic struggle, and ultimately, future separation. Accordingly, he preached his religion for the first time at the coronation of the Sassanian ruler, Shapur I, in Ctesiphon on March 24, 247 a.d.

Forced to leave Persian Babylonia immediately after this event, this ‘Messenger of Light’ traveled for many years in Turkestan, Northern India, Eastern Iran and Western China, absorbing Buddhist tenets and preaching his gospel. His appraisal of the cosmos became an amalgam of gnostic Christianity, Buddhist teachings and Zoroastrianism, then the principal religion of Persia. Mani was indebted to Marcion’s teachings of two gods – the good Father of Jesus Christ and the Demiurge of the material world. He seems to have drawn particularly on the teachings of Marcion’s theological adversary, Bardaisan of Edessa (c.154-222) in his view of a primordial confrontation between two realms possessing symmetrical sets of elements with antithetical qualities. Mani also followed Bardaisan in depicting Darkness as an invading, contaminating force, not merely the absence of Light. In the developing contest, the Light suffers defeat and the Darkness takes possession of some portions of Light, intermingling with them and creating the heavens, our earth and the first humans, man and woman. Darkness, then, is seen as all that is material. To save the portions of Light from their union with Darkness, a fresh contest is waged by emanations or sparks from the God of Light. The Manichaean myth also seeks to answer basic questions of human existence, especially how souls, which are of divine origin, came to be incarcerated in bodies which are evil. Humans must learn to separate themselves from their bodies and the world, returning to their true spirituality. Richard Seddon, author of Mani, His Life and Work stated, "It is significant that he is still known in Islam not as a religious leader but as an artist. He is said to have withdrawn for a year to a cave, emerging with a scroll of extraordinary beautiful images. He loved music, ascribing to it a divine origin; he composed hymns and songs, encouraged singing, and is said to have created a new style of string music. Yet his most lasting art was that of a writer."

Mani was known to have said, "Let he who hears these truths in words also see them in an image, and let he who is unable to learn them from words, learn them from pictures." Mani was aware that the major religions he had encountered in his travels were delineated geographically and culturally. His new religion however, would transcend all cultural and national boundaries with startling originality.

Missionizing against Error was the driving force behind the religion from its inception. Mani and his Manichaean Elect entered into a lifetime of travel and evangelism, earthly agents of the 'Divine Call’; permitted to possess only enough food for one day and a single garment for one year.

At the summons of King Shapur I, Mani returned to Persian and dedicated a theological work to him. Shapur became a strong supporter. In 242 a.d., he gave Mani and his disciples, permission to organize missionary centers and preach throughout the Persian Empire, as well as to join Shapur’s campaigns against the Romans.

Apart from extending into Eastern Iran, Bactria, Armenia and Georgia, the Religion of Light spread westward to Egypt and Syria, penetrating the Roman Empire itself, where its presence was lasting and feared.

At the same time, Zoroastrian reaction to Mani’s success was steadily growing. Prodded by the Zoroastrian priesthood, the next Persian ruler, Bahram I had Mani arrested in 273 a.d. After a lifetime of preaching and organizing missionary activities, Mani could not persuade Bahram that divine revelation was granted to himself, but not to the King of Kings, the Ruler of the World. A four-day debate with Magi priests ended with Mani’s torture and imprisonment in heavy chains for twenty-six days. Mani was then