The Demiurgos
and Evil
The Demuirgos in Gnosticism
Gnostic mythologies and cosmologies relating the origin of creation are many and diverse, and typically speaking, they are quite complex and esoteric in nature. Gnostics are not so much seeking to communicate their mysteries to the average man or woman on the street. Rather, they are speaking to the elect, to those who have the spark of the fiery intelligence in them, who hear a “call” to the mystical journey of enlightenment and liberation. The mythology and cosmology of a Gnostic school and the metaphysical teachings they communicate are for initiates and are meant to support a process of initiation. Oral teachings accompany whatever might be written, and adepts and masters of Gnostic traditions are able to transmit something of their spiritual experience to others, or are able to facilitate a shared experience, and thus to communicate something that is beyond words. Apart from the oral teachings of a lineage and the shared experience of initiation, it can prove very difficult to fully understand the symbolic language of a Gnostic tradition.
This becomes quite obvious in a study of the Nag Hammadi library and much of the modern scholarship seeking to interpret the actual meaning of the Gnostic texts that are in it. Much that is written on Gnosticism today is from the perspective of the outsider, yet these texts were intended for insiders. Thus, the reader of Gnostic texts swiftly finds him or herself struggling to understand exactly what the texts are saying and meaning, and the modern scholar struggles to interpret meanings apart from the spiritual or mystical experience of those who wrote the texts. In a large part it is a guessing game of speculation and theory, especially since most of the ancient Gnostic traditions no longer have living adepts and masters and therefore no longer exist as living lineages. Apart from a living lineage of initiates, it is very difficult to say exactly what the mythologies, cosmologies, and metaphysical teachings of a Gnostic tradition actually mean, for it is all founded upon gnosis, which is to say a current of direct spiritual or mystical experience. Although this gnosis is individual, as any initiate of a living tradition can tell you, it is also something shared collectively among the initiates of a given tradition and serves as a common ground between them.
Again and again, in any exploration of Gnosticism, one must remember that the Gnostic is not asking us to believe in a creed and doctrine, akin to the way of institutionalized religions with which we are familiar, but rather is inviting us into a shared experience of the mystical journey. The Gnostic is speaking from his or her own experience, and a given Gnostic tradition is relating the shared experience of a lineage of Gnostic initiates. If what the Gnostics are attempting to communicate sounds outlandish or strange at times, most likely we simply lack the experience they are relating through their mystical and symbolic language. In the end, we are not supposed to take their word for it. We are meant to enter into the experience ourselves, to look and see, and listen and hear, in the Spirit—hence, to seek the affirmation of Gnostic teachings in our own experience.
Common to all authentic Gnostic schools are teachings on the demiurgos and archons. However, exactly what the demiurgos and archons are in the symbolic and mystical language of the various Gnostic traditions can be very different from one tradition to another. The word demiurgos means “the creator of the world,” “false creator,” or “false god.” Archons mean “rulers” and indicate spiritual or cosmic forces associated with the demiurgos. This is generally true from one Gnostic tradition to another; yet the deeper meaning and teachings on the origin and nature of the demiurgos can be radically different.
Previously we pointed out how some schools view the demiurgos quite literally as the God of the Old Testament, while others do not view Yahweh as the demiurgos at all. These very different views, of course, lead to two very different relationships with the books that form the Old Testament, and they also represent two very different views and relationships with the material world. Those Gnostic schools that speak of the demiurgos as the God of the Old Testament tend to take a very dim view of this world, and generally speak of this world as completely dark and evil—hence the more radical dualism of some Gnostic traditions. Those that do not consider the God of the Old Testament as the demiurgos take a less severe view of this world and the natural order, though their view of unenlightened society and the establishments it engenders can certainly be somewhat severe. What both trends in Gnosticism will tend to agree upon, much like Buddhism, is the perspective of the great sorrow and suffering inherent in this life and the need for liberation of the soul from its bondage. In terms of the demiurgos, all Gnostic schools would generally agree that by “demiurgos” they mean the cause of our sorrow and suffering, and that to which the soul is bound until enlightened and liberated.
It is this that determines the meaning of salvation and Savior in Gnosticism. Salvation in Gnosticism is liberation of the soul from its bondage to the dominion of the demiurgos and archons, and the Savior is the one who reveals the path to enlightenment (gnosis) through which the soul is set free. Given the Gnostic view of salvation through gnosis rather than faith alone, and the implication of gnosis as the opposite of ignorance or as the dispelling of ignorance, it is safe to say that the demiurgos fundamentally personifies cosmic ignorance in all Gnostic schools. In general, all Gnosticism points to cosmic ignorance as the cause of our sorrow and suffering and represents a process by which a state of divine illumination might be acquired, through which ignorance may be negated. This is certainly true of Sophian Gnosticism, which speaks quite clearly of ignorance and the states of admixture and relative evil that it gives rise to.
The Origin of Cosmic Ignorance
On the most basic level, if one seeks to find the cause of cosmic ignorance, one will not be able to discover its beginning. Potentially it has always existed, just as the potential of enlightenment has always existed. In fact, the potential of the unenlightened condition and enlightenment are one and the same. In Sophian tradition, rather than speaking literally of a “beginning” of ignorance, all teachings on the origin of the demiurgos are meant to point to the way ignorance is put to an end—this end of ignorance being the beginning. This gives a subtle illumination of a saying from the Gospel of St. Thomas, in which it is written:
The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us how our end will be.” Jesus said, “Have you discovered, then, the beginning, that you might look for the end? For where the beginning is, there will the end be. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will not experience death.”51
While this alludes to the teachings on the light-continuum and person of light, it also implies an awareness of the “beginning of ignorance,” which is the end of ignorance.
According to the Kabbalah, cosmic ignorance is the natural product of the process of creation. In essence, creation begins with God constricting Godself to make the space in which creation will transpire. Basically, God withdraws into Godself, making a womb, as it were, in which creation can be conceived. For, at the outset, “God fills all space” as a singularity, which will not allow for individuation and multiplicity, and, likewise, the Pleroma of God’s presence and power would not allow for creatures and creation to come into being. It is similar to the principle of the Big Bang, of which modern scientists speak as the cause of the material universe—the instant “before” the Big Bang is an inconceivable singularity that had to give way in the explosion that originated our material universe. Fundamentally speaking, from a constricted state of matter, energy and light, our material universe explodes and continues to unfold to this very day. What the Kabbalah is talking about in metaphysical terms is very similar to this idea.
This withdrawal of God into Godself, or what is called tzimtzum in the Kabbalah, produces various gradations of God’s presence and power, each emanation being more restricted than the emanations preceding it. This process of constriction creates an appearance of dualism between God and creation. At the inmost metaphysical levels of creation, this fundamental dualism is most subtle and sublime. Progressively, it becomes increasingly more radical and distinct, until, at the level of the material dimension, the creation appears almost completely separate and apart from God—the source of all. This appearance of separation in consciousness, of course, is cosmic ignorance, which on one hand facilitates individuation and multiplicity to arise and on the other hand prevents realization of the underlying sacred unity. Thus, what gives rise to creatures and creation, facilitating the process of an involution and evolution of life, becomes a cause of the bondage of spirits and souls. This is what is meant by the demiurgos among Sophians, and the archons represent cosmic forces manifest under the dominion of this cosmic ignorance.
According to the Kabbalah, this restriction of God is, essentially, a restriction of God’s will or desire, which opens the way for a creation to come into substantial being that is imbued with free will. Cosmic ignorance is necessary in order for this to take place, because if from the outset all creatures were aware of their absolute unity with the One life-power, they would have no choice but to do the will or desire of God and would not be empowered to individuate and evolve to restore themselves to the sacred unity. Originally all spirits and souls existed in an unconscious unity with God and Godhead, but through the process of creation, that sacred unity is becoming conscious. In that originally everything was actually unconscious, there really is no beginning to cosmic ignorance. Yet, as creation unfolds, it becomes distinctly manifest, along with all other potential aspects of the One being-consciousness-force, and thus is spoken of as “created.” This is the subtle esoteric meaning of the words written by the prophet Isaiah according to the tradition, when he wrote in the name of Yahweh, “I form the light and create darkness, I make weal and woe; I the Lord to all these things.”52
Often, when horrible things happen in the world, many people will ask, “How could God let this happen?” Yet, this question comes from ignorance itself, for evil and all kinds of admixture is the natural consequence of free will. One might dare say that it is the price of freedom. For free will means that spirits and souls can enact whatever they desire to enact, whether it is in harmony with the Spirit of truth, a manifestation of the Spirit of falsehood, or is some admixture of truth and falsehood, which is more often the case. If by “God” we mean “enlightenment,” then evil does not come from God, but rather comes from cosmic ignorance. Yet, if the root of enlightenment and ignorance is the same being-consciousness-force, then even evil is not ultimately separate from God, but rather is a gross manifestation of cosmic ignorance, the true nature and essence of which is divine—only its divinity is completely obscured and hidden.
It is in this sense that Sophian teachings speak about the demiurgos and the origin of evil, though as characteristic of many Gnostic schools, the Sophian view is not as simple or linear as good versus evil. The Sophian view includes an entire spectrum of admixture between absolute good and absolute evil, and ultimately questions the existence of anything “absolute” within the fields of sentient existence or creation. After all, creation is the realm of ever-becoming, according to Gnostic teachings, and in creation everything is in a constant state of flux or change. Thus, all appearances are relative and, in this sense, illusory. God is absolute, but exactly what that means is subject to question. For God may well be the principle of constant change itself—hence the infinite and eternal power within, yet ever beyond the continuum of endless change we call “creation.”
There is a very interesting teaching within the Sophian tradition about the demiurgos, which is partly reflected in certain teachings that appear in the Order of St. Martin.53 In the Sophian view, we are all individuations of the One being-consciousness-force, and thus we are all centers of the One. Therefore, we are all akin to quantum manifestations of God. Previously we have spoken of our souls as being like cells in the body of Adam Kadmon, who is the “image and likeness of God.” As we awaken individually, the body of the primordial human being is awakening one cell at a time, and it is as though God is awakening with, in, and through us. In this context, it may be said that, in the unenlightened condition, the collective consciousness of creatures is the demiurgos and, that when enlightened, the collective consciousness of creatures is God. In this sense, some teachings in the tradition allude to Adam Kadmon as both the emanation of God and as the demiurgos. In speaking of Satan or the evil one, these teachings propose that Satan is the shadow of Adam Kadmon—a collective shadow self-produced by cosmic ignorance. This can prove an illuminating contemplation, and it is good to bear in mind as we continue to explore the dominion of the demuirgos and archons in the teachings of Sophian Gnosticism.
The Play of Cosmic Forces
The process of the One becoming many gives way to a play of cosmic forces in creation. In the play of cosmic forces, there are divine, admixed and demonic forces—a whole spectrum of diverse forms the One life-power assumes. In the previous chapter we mentioned the correspondence of the divine names Yahweh and Elohim with the Father and Mother, respectively, and the involvement of the Divine Mother with the entire array of spiritual forces in creation. Thus, while the name Elohim indicates the matrix of divine powers, it also indicates the dominion of the demiurgos and archons, and even the darker manifestations associated with the great adversary, Satan. The primary use of Elohim in the myth of creation as told in the Book of Genesis directly alludes to this play of cosmic forces within and behind creation and the involvement of the demiurgos, archons, and Satan in the process; that reality, as we experience it, is an interaction of a vast display of spiritual forces.
If we look into biological and environmental sciences and consider the countless material forces that make up organisms, or if we look into modern physics and consider the plethora of forces and elements that interact in various ways to produce the material universe, we may gain some insight into the meaning of the many complex and elaborate cosmologies presented by various Gnostic schools. Essentially, they are depicting the interplay of spiritual forces in the metaphysical dimensions of creation. As the saying goes in Hermetic Gnosticism:54 “As above, so below; as below, so above.” If there is a play of forces on the material level, and if there are other, more subtle levels of reality, then it stands to reason that there is a play of psychic and spiritual forces on a hidden and metaphysical level. This is the position taken by all Gnostic schools. According to Gnostic teachings, everything that transpires in the world is a direct reflection of the play of spiritual forces in the inner dimensions and, ultimately, everything that occurs in the world is the actual manifestation of spiritual forces. In truth, the spiritual and material worlds are completely interwoven with one another and cannot be conceived in any way as separate from one another.
According to Gnostic Christian teachings, this play of spiritual forces is not merely something external to ourselves. It is as much internal as it is external. Thus, through every thought, feeling, or emotion, word and deed, we are directly linked to corresponding spiritual forces. According to Gnostic teachings, in the unenlightened condition, on account of ignorance, we tend to be unaware of the play of spiritual forces, and are largely compelled on an unconscious level by various influences. In this world, at the level of the material plane, it is primarily admixed and dark forces that compel ordinary individuals and the herd consciousness of mass humanity—hence, teachings of the dominion of the demiurgos and archons over the world that are common to all Gnosticism. While this view might seem somewhat harsh and extreme, if one observes what actually transpires in human societies, cultures, and in the world at large, even within so-called “civilized societies,” it is rather hard to completely discount or argue with this Gnostic view. After all, why do we say we want peace, but make war, or say we want one thing, and then manifest something completely opposite? From a Gnostic perspective, it is a phenomenon that occurs as a direct result of conflicts between various psychic and spiritual forces, which on earth is largely focused upon the human mind, heart and life. Spiritual forces gain influence and entrance into the material plane through incarnate beings, humanity specifically.
This is reflected in an epistle often attributed to St. Paul or to one of his followers. There it is written: “For our struggle is not with blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”55 Here the author specifically makes reference to archons, hence “rulers” and “authorities,” and to the demiurgos by the term “darkness,” and speaks of these “cosmic powers” as reaching into “heavenly places.” This alludes to a common teaching among Gnostics, which proposes that the demiurgos and archons are associated with the zodiacal signs and planetary spheres and that, through gnosis of the light-presence and light-continuum, one is able to transcend the karmic matrix represented by one’s astrological birth chart and astrological influences. This is reflected in the Kabbalah, which speaks of the celestial spheres as the most restricted forms of the divine emanations, the level at which there is the most impurity of admixture. However, while Gnostics seek a transcendence of the play of cosmic forces, in whatever form they are conceived, at the same time Gnostics seek to be conscious participants in the play of spiritual forces—hence the mystical and magical dimensions of teachings and practices common to most Gnostic traditions. The mystical aspect of the teachings and practices of Gnostic schools is the self-realization process through which one attains supernal consciousness, and the magical aspect is a conscious direction of spiritual forces according to the Spirit of truth, which is a natural result of self-realization.
The correspondence of the demiurgos and archons to the zodiacal signs and planetary spheres leads to very deep esoteric and metaphysical teachings in Gnostic traditions; yet it also suggests the most practical level of the interpretation of the archons, in which they are spoken of as psychological states that arise from a fundamental ignorance. In spiritual astrology, there are impurities or vices associated with all of the zodiacal signs and planets, or what may be called “inauspicious manifestations”—negative psychological conditions. Essentially, cosmic ignorance gives rise to the sense of independent and substantial self-existence apart from creation and divine being, or what may be called the ego-illusion. This, in turn, gives rise to the lust-greed and fear-hatred that tends to dominate individuals who remain in the unenlightened condition. Thus, the demiurgos, in terms of psychological states, may be understood as selfishness or the ego-illusion, and the archons are forms of negativity that arise from selfishness—pride, arrogance, envy, jealousy, lust, greed, fear, anger, hatred, doubt, and any other form of negativity that can manifest in our minds, hearts, and lives. In the Sophian teachings, the archons personify various gradations of admixture in consciousness produced by negativity, while Satan personifies the darkest manifestations of evil that come into being when these forms of negativity are taken to an extreme.
Mystical attainment is, thus, a progressive dispelling of the ego-illusion and the negativity that naturally arises from it. Magical attainment relates directly to a mastery of the mind, heart, and life drawn into harmony with the soul of light and Christ self. In this sense, Gnostic teachings have a completely practical application, accessible to everyone who desires a change in their consciousness and life. Yet Gnostics, generally speaking, are pointing to something more than merely psychological states in teachings on the demiurgos and archons. As every spiritual practitioner from any authentic wisdom tradition will swiftly bear witness, there are actual spiritual forces of resistance encountered in spiritual practice and life, which come from beyond oneself and are quite distinct in the experience of mystics. However, on the most fundamental level, such negative spiritual forces are only able to influence and have power over a person within whom there is a corresponding admixture or darkness. Thus, all spiritual resistance and opposition is ultimately dispelled inwardly.
This is clearly reflected in the teachings of Yeshua in the canonized Gospels that appear in the Bible, as well as the Gnostic Gospels that appear elsewhere. Yeshua teaches the cultivation of positive thought, emotion, speech, and action, and the dispelling of all forms of gross and subtle negativity. He points us within ourselves to accomplish this—hence the spiritual life and practice he taught to his disciples. Whether one believes in an actual play of spiritual forces as understood by Gnostics or not, one can certainly agree with the wisdom of cultivating a positive way in life. Ultimately, this will lead to greater prosperity, success, health and happiness, just as it creates the conditions necessary for Gnostic initiates to enter into a direct experience of the Living Yeshua.
The Role of the Demiurgos and Evil
As indicated above, what Gnostics mean by the demiurgos and Satan is a natural part of the creative process in which free will is imbued into creatures and creation. In the Sophian tradition, it is viewed as part of the divine plan. The purpose of free will is an individuation of souls or consciousness through an involution that opens the way for the evolution of unique and individual beings. Essentially, everything begins in an unconscious unity and, through the process of creation, the potential for a conscious reunification is actualized and realized by operation of free will. Yet the role of the demiurgos and Satan goes beyond the generation of free will; for in an evolutionary process there must be forces of resistance and opposition that create the necessary pressure, tension, and stress for evolution to occur, and that tries and tests all developments in evolution to ensure they are good and strong and true. In a certain sense, the demiurgos and Satan ensure the health and well-being of creatures and creation.
We may gain some insight into this by considering the great pressure and heat necessary to transform the dullness of carbon substance into the dazzling beauty of jewels and diamonds. Without great pressure and intense heat, the potential beauty would not become manifest. Likewise, we can consider the role of the predator in nature, which serves to ensure the health, well-being, and strength of species, as well as to maintain the necessary balance in ecosystems. Without the predator, the development and evolution of diverse species could not occur and ecosystems would not be kept in the necessary dynamic balance. When faced with challenge personally, it may be frightful and undesirable to us, yet it is all part of a larger picture of the development and evolution of the soul-being and creation as a whole. Without it, we could not grow and evolve; we could not actualize our full human and divine potential.
While facilitating free will and serving as a force of resistance and opposition in the evolutionary process, at the same time, psychic and spiritual forces of admixture and darkness are natural distortions and obscurations of life-power that occur during immature stages of development. It is in this sense that we might understand the teachings of some Gnostic schools, such as the Sophian tradition, which propose that the demiurgos and archons, even the most dark and hostile forces, must ultimately be uplifted and redeemed, along with everything else in creation. As we have said, in nondualistic schools of Gnosticism, there is a divine spark in all things, and even what appears “demonic” is a secret operation of the Holy Spirit. Thus, whatever impurity, distortion, obscuration, or obstruction may arise in the process of creative evolution, it will eventually be worked out, and the divine spark that is in it will ultimately be realized and restored to the sacred unity. In the Gnostic Christian view, the fruition of the divine revelation is not as simple as the destruction of the demiurgos and Satan. Rather, the Gnostic envisions redemption of all cosmic forces in the light-presence and light-continuum.
This is reflected in the early life story of St. Mary Magdalene as told among Sophians. The message is, regardless of how immersed in admixture and darkness a holy spark or soul might become, the innate luminosity and divinity remains, and it will ultimately be actualized. In the larger scheme of things, nothing exists that does not have its place and role in creation, and there is nothing that will ultimately be lost in the fruition of creation. Thus, although Sophian Gnosticism does speak of relative states of heaven and hell,56 there are no teachings of “eternal damnation.” After all, appearances are a relative reality and everything is always changing. The true essence and nature of all things is divine being: the One being-consciousness-force.
These ideas about the nature of the demiurgos and evil, and the play of cosmic forces in a process of creative evolution, are integral to the Sophian teachings on the Apocalypse and Second Coming of Christ, to which we may now turn our attention.
51. Gospel of St. Thomas, saying 18
52. Isaiah 45:7
53. Another living Gnostic tradition
54. An ancient Greek pre-Christian form of Gnosticism that influenced many schools of Christian Gnosticism and continues to have a strong influence in Western Mystery traditions
55. Ephesians 5:12
56. First and foremost in terms of psychological conditions