The name Gnostic comes from the Greek gnostikos, meaning “those who know.” It was originally applied to a sect that started in the eastern part of the Roman Empire in the first and second centuries c.e. The Gnostic doctrine was a mixture of Babylonian, Egyptian, Indian, Christian, and Judaic beliefs, with some astrology and magic thrown in. The “knowledge” came from inspiration and revelation, rather than from learning and experiencing.
Gnostic priests would make talismans and charms, and perform exorcisms. The Carpocratians—one of the Gnostic sects—tied in their rites and mysteries with those of the Egyptian goddess Isis. The Simonians (named after Simon Magus, a Jewish heterodox teacher and later a prominent Gnostic) saw much of their mysteries in the symbolism they found in the Book of Genesis (in the Bible). Simon Magus stated that the image of Sophia, the “first idea of God,” generated the world. The Ophites also adopted Egyptian rites and had a serpent present as the focus of their rituals.
The basic teachings were believed to come “from the heart,” rather than from scientific or even philosophical knowledge. Where other religions were god-centered, the Gnostics were self-centered. Many of the major Gnostic systems were inspired by personal experiences, with a focus on god as a suffering deity. They thought the world was created and ruled by evil powers. They rejected the god of the Jews to the status of demiurge and similarly rejected the Old Testament. Talismans were needed to protect and ward off the ever-present evil.
The Valentinians (a sect named after the most prominent leader of the Gnostic movement, the Roman Valentinus) said that “Gnostics know that they were originally spiritual beings who have come to live in souls and bodies; they once dwelt in the spiritual world above but have been made to fall into this world of sense and sin.”4
The symbols of Gnosticism were mainly taken from elsewhere and used to assist in the propagation of their beliefs. Many were taken from Semitic and other sources. The numerous astrological symbols seen on many of the Gnostic talismans came from Babylonia and Sumeria.
Chnoubis
Here is Chnoubis over a Bacchic altar, with words meaning “I, even I, am the Good Spirit.” Chnoubis is associated with the serpent seen on the staff of Aesculapius (see the chapter on Greek and Roman symbols), and is regarded as a god of healing and a renewer of life.
Abraxas
The god Abraxas, or Anguipede, has the head of a cockerel, a human body, and legs that are serpents. Abraxas is an All-God, or Pantheus.
Ouroboros
Ouroboros, the Gnostic name for the great World Serpent, is a serpent biting its own tail (and also the alchemical symbol for completion; see the chapter on Alchemy). It symbolizes the enclosure of the whole world. To the Gnostics it was also known as Nahash, and Nehushtan. The snake was an important symbol for the Gnostics, especially the Naassene sect, whose name comes from naas, “snake.”
World Triad
Found in Japan as mitsu tomoe and in Tibet as the Cosmic Mandala, the World Triad was adopted by the Gnostics as a symbol for the threefold nature of destiny. It can also be found as symbolizing eternity.
Harpokrates
Here, Harpokrates, the Child Horus, is seated on a lotus and is in the magical boat of IAΩ. One end of the boat terminates in the head of Horus, and the other end terminates in the head of Anubis in the form of an ass. There is a crescent moon and the morning star.
4. J. J. Hurtak, trans., Pristis Sophia (Pretoria: Academy of Future Sciences, 1999).